College Football DFS: Night Slate Breakdown Week 3

DraftKings' night slate and FanDuel's After Hours offering differ slightly, and we'll focus on the three games they have in common.  I'll give a nod to the unique games independent of my primary recommendations.

SLATE OVERVIEW

Louisiana Tech @ Southern Miss (-5.5) O/U: 58.5

Miami @ Louisville (-2.5) O/U: 64.5

Wake Forest @ North Carolina State (+1)  O/U: 53.0

Texas State @ Louisiana-Monroe (+6.5) O/U: 62 (DRAFTKINGS ONLY)

Abiilene-Christian @ UTEP (-4.5) O/U: 54 (DRAFTKINGS ONLY)

SMU @ North Texas (+13.5) O/U: 69 (FANDUEL ONLY)

The Miami-Louisville matchup has the second-highest and should also be competitive, so it's a game we are likely to target heavily. I wouldn't rule out the SMU-North Texas game either, as both teams are capable of airing it out.

QUARTERBACK

Micale Cunningham, Louisville (DK $7,700, FD $9,900) vs. Miami

Cunningham is a no-braainer QB pick for this slate. Although Trevor Lawrence is the current frontrunner for the Heisman, Cunningham is in the conversation as well, although he lacks the hype of a former Cardinal named Lamar. After a successful 2019 campaign, Cunningham tossed for 341 yards and three toiuchdowns against Western Kentucky.  The Hurricanes defense held UAB to 14 points last week, but this is a much stiffer test.

Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (DK $6,300, FD $8,000) @ NC State

Hartman was squelched by the Clemson defense last week, so I wouldn't use his performance last week as a reliable metric. Jamie Newman left the program for a reason - aside from the higher visibility in Athens, he knew that the Deacons would turn back to Hartman, who won the job originally but suffered an injury that led to Newman's tenure as the signal-caller. His receiving corps was compromised after Sage Surratt elected to opt out, but he was able to confound the Tigers secondary on a few plays courtesy of Donavon Greene.  This isn't a slate where I plan on utilizing a QB at the S-Flez, but I expect Hartman will be much less popular than Cunningham, making him a decent GPP candidate.

Also consider: Jack Abraham, Southern Mississippi (DK $7,300, FD $7,800) vs. Louisiana Tech

RUNNING BACK

Cam'Ron Harris, Miami (DK $8,500, FD $9,300) @ Louisville

I'm fine with spending up for Harris, who is the safest option on Saturday evening.  He rumbled for 134 yards in his first game and caught his share of balls out of the backfield. The Cards yielded 114 yards on the ground to the Blazers last week, but Harris is a superior running back to Spencer Brown, and Louisville couldn't contain Brown effectively. While D'Eriq King is one of the more talented rushing QBs in the conference, Harris will definitely get his share.

Frank Gore, Jr., Southern Mississippi (DK $3,800, FD $6,600) vs. Louisiana Tech

Although Don Ragsdale dove in for a touchdown, the JUCO transfer was ineffective otherwise. Meanwhile the diminutive Gore was able to find the holes much easier. His meager stat line will deceive you, but Gore seemed to make a case for the starting job over Ragsdale, although they'll continue to give Ragsdale chances. I like other running backs in the stand-alone games tonight, but of the primary game grouping, Gore could save you s good bit of cash.

WIDE RECEIVER

Tutu Atwell, Louisville (DK $6,600, FD $8,900) vs Miami

Although Dez Fitzpatrick emerged as the deep threat last week, Atwell will always be in Cunningham's sights, even in double coverage. The tandem will be a popular stack but I have no problem going in this direction in a game I expect the Cards to win. He caught seven passes for 78 yards last week against Western Kentucky.

Brevin Jordan (TE), Miami (DK $5,600, FD $7,900) @ Louisville

It took a little whie for D'Eriq King to find him, but Jordan finished strong with five catches and a touchdown. Jordan is the most talented tight end in the conference and possibly the country, and has a good shot at being one of the first tight ends taken in the draft next year. With a tougher defensive line to contend with, King may need to find Jordan more often on Saturday if the Cards cap his running skills on the edges.

Jason Brownlee, Southern Mississippi (DK $6,000, FD $6,300) vs.  Louisiana Tech

Tim Jones will get more of the attention in this game, but the Eagles like to spread the ball around and Brownlee is locked in as the number two guy in the passing scheme. I especially like his price on FanDuel, and is a great money-saving option if you're trying to stuff your flex positions with higher-priced talent.

DRAFTKINGS-ONLY SELECTIONS

RB Brock Sturges, Texas State (DK $6,200) @ Louisiana-Monroe

Sturges has put up 164 yards and three touchdowns over the first two games, and he faces a team that was punished mercilessly by Army  on the ground last week. They surrended 438 rushing yards and looked helpless on defense. Stueges could be set up for a superlative game if the Warhawks look as bad as they did last week.

WR Marcell Barbee, Texas State (DK $5,400)@ Louisiana- Monroe

We were unable to recommend a QB for the Bobcats due to injury implications, but whoever takes the snaps on Sunday will have Barbee in his sights.  He led the receiving corps with two touchdowns against UTSA. The Warhawks secondary was untested against run-heavy Army, so it's unclear how effective they'll be.

FANDUEL-ONLY SELECTIONS

QB Shane Buechele, SMU (FD $10,100) @ North Texas

After throwing up 367 yards against Texas State, he's the better pick in this game because Jason Bean and Austin Aune will continue to share snaps. His output should put both Reggie Roberson ($9,800) and Rashee Rice ($8,300) in play as key receiver selections for the slate.

WR Reggie Roberson, SMU ($9,800) @ North Texas