College Football DFS: DraftKings Week 2 Night Slate Picks and Lineup Strategy

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Published on September 10, 2022

College Football DFS Picks: DraftKingsNight Slate Picks and Lineup Strategy for Week 2

There are some big-name QBs that are going to dictate how the NCAAF Week 2 night slate goes. Anthony Richardson of Florida sticks out at $6.8k as the Gators should have a pretty close matchup with Kentucky in the Swamp. USC's QB Caleb Williams ($9k) and WR Jordan Addison ($9.3k) should also be in closer games against rival Stanford compared to last week's 66-14 pounding of Rice but how much value does Dillon Gabriel have as the highest-priced QB on the slate at $9.5k considering Oklahoma is a -33.5 point favorite against Kent State?

Eight games make up the night slate on Saturday, so let's end week two with a bang.

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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks: Quarterback

It's crazy that the two highest-priced QBs in the Week 2 night slate are both from Oklahoma in Dillon Gabriel and Nick Evers. That just shows the blowout potential the #7 Sooners have against Kent State but also lends credence to the motto that "if you have two quarterbacks, you really have none."

It really is a shame that Kent State can't put up more of a fight in this one as they have a pass defense to target after allowing 345 yards with 4 TDs and 0 INT to Washington's Michael Penix, Jr. last week. I'm still staying away from that game because there's much more value to be had down the ladder.

Will Levis ($5,700) Kentucky at Florida

Everybody is going to be tuning into this #20 at #12 matchup to get a glimpse of Anthony Richardson who has been dubbed everything from a "1st round NFL lock next Spring" to "Heisman front runner" The way to have success in DFS though is to fade the obvious, and in this case, the best play of the night might be right across the field in Kentucky QB Will Levis.

Levis has a great opportunity to steal the hype on Saturday night, and he has the talent to do so after throwing for 303 yards and 3 TDs in last week's win over Miami-Ohio. The Florida defense also gave up some points to Utah QB Cameron Rising last week as he was 22/32 for 216 yards and a TD but also ran for 91 more. People will also likely be fading Levis as he was just 7/17 for 87 yards in last year's 20-13 win over the Gators.

Garrett Shrader ($7,500) Syracuse at Connecticut

The Orange are -24.5 favorites at UConn but there doesn't seem any possible way they will cover that number. Syracuse football fans know that when things are going good (like they are following last week's 31-7 win over Louisville) is when the team lays an egg. That doesn't mean the offense won't be productive though, giving QB Garrett Shrader tremendous value as he was 18/25 for 237 yards with 2 TDs vs. the Cardinals in the season opener.

Shrader was not a pass-first QB by any means last season (1,445 yards, 9 TD / 4 INT) so buying in early if that is a part of his game in 2022 has great value. He also added 95 yards and a TD rushing last week on 16 carries.

Phil Jurkovec ($5,300) Boston College at Virginia Tech

There are some things to like about Phil Jurkovec this week, first of all, his price and also that he threw the football 41 times in game one. The 5th year senior threw 3 TDs in the 22-21 loss to Rutgers and should be in another close game as BC is just a +2.5 underdog at Virginia Tech. The Hokies might be in for a down year after falling 20-17 at Old Dominion last weekend.

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks: Running Back

Eric Gray ($6,900) Oklahoma vs. Kent State

Once again you have to factor in the 'how much do they play' angle with the Sooners expected to dominate Kent State, but Gray tallied 102 yards on just 16 carries last week in a 45-13 win over UTEP. The number that really sticks out is zero though, as in Gray didn't score a rushing TD while Marcus Major had two, Gavin Freeman one, and QB Dillon Gabriel taking in a 12-yard scamper as well. Expect coach Brent Venables to make up for that this week and get his bell cow into the end zone, especially against a Kent State defense that allowed over 500 yards of total offense in a 45-20 loss to Washington in their opener.

Sean Tucker ($9,400) Syracuse at Connecticut

You hate that his QB steals away so many rushing attempts (Shrader had 16 carries last week) but Orange coach Dino Babers still seems committed to the run with Sean Tucker getting 21 totes last week against Louisville. Tucker did find the end zone vs. the Cardinals with a 4-yard TD run, something he should repeat (multiple times?) against a UConn defense that gave up 261 yards on the ground against Utah State in their opener two weeks ago.

E.J. Smith ($4,900) Stanford vs. USC

If Stanford can keep their game against the Trojans close (+9.5) you have to like the workload E.J. Smith should get. He had 11 carries for 118 yards last week but also added 5 catches for 37 yards. Emmitt Smith's son can really have his breakout game against USC, whose defense did give up 146 yards rushing to Rice last week.

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks: Wide Receiver

Elijah Cooks ($3,600) San Jose State at Auburn

At the very least San Jose State should be passing on Saturday night, expected to be down a lot as +24.5 underdogs at Auburn. Elijah Cooks had a solid week one with 6 catches for 123 yards. He also has tons of valuable experience entering his super-super Senior season after five years at Nevada and will serve as a security blanket for QB Chevan Cordeiro.

Keylon Stokes ($7,600) Tulsa vs. Northern Illinois

Maybe the game conditions dictated it in a 40-37 OT loss at Wyoming last week, but Tulsa threw the football a lot with QB Davis Brin going 30-52. Keylon Stokes grabbed 11 of those balls for 169 yards and a 19-yard score, one of three Golden Hurricane receivers to go over the century mark. NIU gave up three TDs through the air in last week's 34-27 win over Eastern Illinois so expect Tulsa to air things out again.

Ja'Varrius Johnson ($4,500) Auburn vs. San Jose State

Auburn might not need to throw the ball a ton as -24.5 favorites over San Jose State, but they didn't last week either in a 42-16 win over Mercer and Ja'Varrius Johnson still had 117 yards. San Jose State allowed 270 yards through the air to Portland State last week, so Auburn would be wise to get quarterback T.J. Finley some passing reps before a tough matchup with the Penn State secondary next weekend.

College Football DFS GPP Plays

Emory Jones $6,000, Arizona State vs. Oklahoma State

Anthony Richardson is one to watch on Saturday night as Florida hosts Kentucky, but does that add extra fuel to former Gators QB Emory Jones's fire as the Sun Devils visits Oklahoma State? Ownership is going to be low on Jones with OSU having the #3 total defense in the country last season. That being said the Cowboys lost their defensive coordinator to Ohio State in the offseason, and found themselves in a 58-44 dogfight against Central Michigan in the opener. Jones hit 13 of 18 passes in a 40-3 win over Northern Arizona last week, but he'll be asked to do much more vs. OSU.

Nathan Carter ($4,900) Connecticut vs. Syracuse

We know Syracuse is going to try and pound the rock on Saturday night with Shrader and Tucker, but is the best rushing value really on the other side of the field? Nathan Carter has gotten 20+ carries in both of UConn's games to start the season going for 120+ yards in each contest. Although the Orange defense did a good job of keeping Louisville QB Malik Cunningham in check in the opener, they still gave up 4.4 ypc to the Cardinals.

Tahj Washington ($3,000) USC at Stanford

Jordan Addison is the big dog on the slate at WR tonight at $9.3k, creating a great opportunity to pivot to one of USC's other WRs. Addison had a couple of TD catches in his USC debut last week, but it was Washington that led the team with 4 receptions and 65 yards. One would think the matchup with Stanford is going to be a bit closer than last week's 52-point win over Rice as well.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.