DFS College Football 101: Friday afternoon slate

DFS College Football 101: Week 13 Friday

For this article, we are looking at the afternoon slate on Black Friday – November 23. There are five-games on tap for DraftKings with four of them on FanDuel. The Arkansas-Missouri matchup is not listed on FanDuel, and that's the only difference between the two sites for this timeframe. Here are the odds attached to each of these Friday matchups:

Arkansas at Missouri (-23) – Total: 59

Virginia at Virginia Tech (-4) – Total: 49.5

East Carolina at Cincinnati (-17) – Total: 50

Oregon (-18) at Oregon State – Total: 69

Central Florida (-15) at South Florida – Total: 69

Looking within that, I'll highlight the best fantasy selections on FanDuel & DraftKings while also touching on some situations to monitor for your DFS squads.

QUARTERBACK

Holton Ahlers – East Carolina (FanDuel $9,000 / DraftKings $7,400)

I'm not sure how the total between East Carolina and Cincinnati is only 50 points. The weather looks fine, and both of these offenses are capable of tacking it on. I'm expecting the Bearcats to be working with a substantial lead in this one, leading East Carolina to rely on their passing game to keep pace. QB Holton Ahlers has been brimming with confidence lately, topping 30 fantasy points in each of his past three games. The Cincinnati defense is pretty solid, but I believe Ahlers can put together a respectable fantasy performance while finding his numerous receiving weapons. If nothing else, the prospect of garbage time could bail him out.

Also Consider: We all know McKenzie Milton is one of the best fantasy quarterbacks in the game. My first choice is to stack him alongside Ahlers in the Super FLEX spot on both sites … If Milton proves to be too expensive (which seems to be the case for most lineup combinations), Bryce Perkins of Virginia is a reasonable fallback option. Perkins is listed as questionable, but most reports suggest he's closer to probable. The UVA quarterback has elite dual-threat ability to find fantasy production despite looking at the lowest over/under of this slate.

RUNNING BACK

Michael Warren II – Cincinnati (FanDuel $9,800 / DraftKings $7,100)

Michael Warren has been a beast this season, and it's highly unlikely he'll slow down on Friday afternoon. The Bearcats check in as 17 point home favorites, and you better believe Warren will get his 20-25+ touches to pile up numbers. His opponent, East Carolina, is not known for their defensive prowess. They have allowed big games to other elite running backs like Armstead of Temple and Henderson of Memphis in recent games. It's time to add Warren to that list.

CJ Verdell – Oregon (FanDuel $8,900 / DraftKings $5,900)

Verdell has been up-and-down all season, but I really like his fantasy prospects on Friday. Oregon State has one of the worst rushing defenses in the country, ranking second (129th) by allowing 7.1 yards per carry on the season. I'm going to let that sink in for a moment. The Ducks are favored by 18 points, so game flow will certainly be on the side of Oregon's rushing attack. I'm expecting both teams to keep things on the ground, as the forecast calls for 10-12+ mph winds and light rain. Verdell went for 110 total yards and a pair of touchdowns last week vs Arizona State, and he could easily repeat that performance this time around.

Also Consider: Larry Rountree III of Missouri is in the player pool on DraftKings, and I really like him through all formats. He has taken over the bulk of Mizzou's rushing attempts lately, and Arkansas ranks 69th in rushing defense … Oregon State is so bad against the run that I wouldn't be surprised if CJ Verdell and Travis Dye both have big performances for the Ducks. Feel free to look towards Dye if you need value or are looking to diversify in tournaments … You never know how the red-zone opportunities will fall for UCF, but Greg McRae has been getting a respectable amount of carries while scoring in four straight games. Game flow is on his side with the Golden Knights favored by more than two touchdowns.

WIDE RECEIVER

Trevon Brown – East Carolina (FanDuel $9,500 / DraftKings $6,700)

Dillon Mitchell of Oregon and Trevon Brown of East Carolina are the top two fantasy receivers on this slate. I'm siding with Brown for several reasons. First, he's significantly cheaper than Mitchell on DraftKings, making the decision much easier over there. Also, the weather and game flow doesn't look great for Mitchell this afternoon. There's a good chance Oregon will fall back on their rushing attack while pulling away from their in-state rivals. On the other hand, East Carolina will be passing early and often while getting Brown involved as much as possible. The matchup doesn't look great on paper at Cincinnati, but Trevon Brown should see plenty of volume to reward fantasy backers.

Tre Turner – Virginia Tech (FanDuel $7,300 / DraftKings $3,800)

Turner isn't a must play by any stretch of the imagination, but I wanted to highlight a cheaper receiver to help round-out your lineups. Virginia Tech is down a few receivers, which has led to Turner stepping up in recent weeks. Eric Kumah and Hezekiah Grimsley are both expected to miss Friday's game vs Virginia, so Turner should keep seeing plenty of playing time and opportunities to put up numbers. He even saw three rushing attempts for 25 yards and a score last week vs Miami, which is a nice added bonus.

Also Consider: If you haven't noticed, I'm heavily invested in the East Carolina passing offense. Let's go ahead and add WR Tyler Snead to the mix within that, as he has emerged with 15 catches, 236 yards, and four touchdowns over his past three games. His $4,800 salary on DraftKings is a no-brainer … Some other mix-and-match options include Mitchell Wilcox of USF, Olamide Zaccheaus of UVA, Tre Nixon of UCF (tournaments), and Joe Reed of UVA.