College Football DFS: Saturday Night Plays on DraftKings for Week 3

DraftKings is offering up eight games for Saturday night, and the action begins with the 7:00 p.m. slate.  The top contest of the evening is the Saturday Night Special, featuring a $12 buy-in and an $80,000 guaranteed prize pool.

SLATE OVERVIEW

Tennessee (-6) @ Florida O/U: 57.5

Nebraska (-10.5) vs. Northern Illinois O/U: 42.5

Mississippi (-17.5) vs. Georgia Tech O/U: 63.5

West Virginia (-2.5) vs. Pittsburgh O/U: 47.5

Syracuse (-2.5) @ Purdue O/U: 58

Arkansas (-7.5) vs. BYU O/U: 47.5

Kentucky (-25) vs. Akron O/U: 49.5

TCU (-7.5) @ Houston O/U: 63.5

WEATHER

Tennessee @ Florida - 64 percent chance of rain

CFB DFS TOOLS

• New DraftKings College Football Optimizer
• Weekly CFB Matchup Info
• CFB Targets
• CFB Stats
• CFB Team Trends
• CFB Advanced Team Stats with Plays per Game, Pass %, Run % and more 

CFB DFS Picks on DraftKings for Week 3

Quarterback

While some obvious smash candidates are at this position (Jaxson Dart, Joe Milton), we're always looking for an edge by plugging in upside candidates with low rostership. The public will focus on Milton and Dart, but let's look outside the box at quarterback.

Garrett Shrader, Syracuse ($7,300) @ Purdue

Syracuse has breezed through a soft schedule so far, and Shrader has looked stellar in the process. The 'Spoilermakers' are 1-1 after dropping a Week 1 loss against Fresno State. They survived a tough battle against West Virginia last weekend to right the ship, but the team's Achilles heel is their pass defense. We can trust these numbers because Purdue didn't have a common FBS opponent to skew the numbers - they're truly not that strong. They've allowed an average of 300 yards passing against opposing quarterbacks over the first two games of the season, giving them the dubious distinction of being one of the worst pass defenses in FBS. Conversely, they've been very stingy against the run, so the way to a win against Purdue is with Shrader through the air.

Chandler Morris, TCU ($7,200) @ Houston

TCU bounced back against a weak opponent after dropping a shocker to Colorado in the opener. While the Buffaloes stole the headlines in Week 1, it could be easy to forget how close this game became in the final quarter. Morris battled for 279 yards, two touchdowns and added a third on the ground, and although his two picks were critical errors, his numbers were otherwise solid. He continued his steady play in Week 2 and now has 542 passing yards and four touchdowns for the season. He'll take on a Houston pass defense that's been less than spectacular. Rice lit them up in Week 2, and although they had a bit more success against UTSA, the Cougars surrendered an average of 294 yards per game against those opponents.

Also consider: KJ Jefferson, Arkansas ($7,500) vs. BYU

Running Back

Emani Bailey, TCU ($6,500) @ Houston

Bailey's services weren't needed against Nichols State, and if the Horned Frogs began the season against decent FBS opponents, his usage and subsequent production would have been much higher. His 164-yard performance against Colorado is a better presentation of that to expect, as the Cougars will manage to keep this game somewhat close. While not as bad as their pass defense, Houston is also somewhat ineffective against the run. They've allowed 139 yards per game to opposing rushers, which is somewhere in the middle of the pack nationally. 

CJ Donaldson, West Virginia ($6,200) vs. Pittsburgh

I targeted Donaldson in my seasonal drafts as a high-upside running back candidate, and although the touchdowns haven't come with any frequency, I think there's a lot of potential here that we just haven't seen yet. He ran hard against a very tough Penn State defense in Week 1 and saw less action against Duquesne, but we should expect 17-19 touches against the Panthers. Pittsburgh looks tough against the run on paper, but I wouldn't call Cincinnati and Wofford a reliable sample size.

AJ Green, Arkansas ($5,500) vs. BYU

Green is our value pick because Raheim Sanders (knee) is expected to miss a second-straight game. Green was given a full load against Kent State in Week 2 and performed exceptionally well, recording 82 yards and averaging 5.5 yards per carry. The Razorbacks will probably rotate Green with Rashod Dubinion ($4,700) and Dominique Johnson ($3,700), but I think Green production will match his salary value nicely.

Wide Receiver

Syracuse Receivers @ Purdue

Isaiah Jones ($5,400)

Umari Hatcher ($5,100)

Donovan Brown ($5,000)

Oronde Gadsden's (ankle) status is in doubt, so Garrett Shrader will have to turn to his other targets with more frequency. I've placed these receivers in the order of preference, although I think Hatcher has the most upside. The 6-3 sophomore is a visible target for Schrader, and all three of these guys seem to be outclassing incumbent wideout Damien Alford, who only has four catches over two games.

Ricky Pearsall, Florida ($6,600) vs. Tennessee

Graham Mertz has had Pearsall in his sights all season, and Mertz fell just outside my endorsements for this slate. He has some of the best numbers on the slate, with 14 catches, 215 yards and a touchdown over two games. There's no other Florida receiver that records this kind of consistency.

Jordan Watkins, Mississippi ($6,300) vs. Georgia Tech

With Zakhari Franklin (undisclosed) and Tre Harris (knee) banged up, it's reasonable to assume that we'll see a massive snap count for Watkins, who has 11 catches and 171 yards on the season. He's yet to find the end zone, but this could be the week he gets there. Georgia Tech's red zone defense is poor, and their overall pass defense isn't much better. Dayton Wade ($3,700) is another wideout we could see more of if both Franklin and Harris are out.

Also consider: Barion Brown, Kentucky ($5,500) vs. Akron