College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 10/14/21

Week 7 of college football is here! FanDuel's college football main slate on Thursday includes two games.

In case you're unfamiliar with how it works, you can check out the rules and scoring here. You can check the lobby link above to see the full array of slates and contests being offered.

As for the basics, your roster consists of a quarterback slot, two running back slots, three wide receiver slots (tight ends are included in this group), and one "Super FLEX" slot. In the "Super FLEX", you can insert one player from any position, including quarterbacks.

Here, our goal is to help you field a roster full of fantasy goodness, and in true numberFire fashion, we'll use our in-house projections as well as betting totals and advanced statistics to tackle as many slates as possible in the lead-up to the College Football Playoff. This week, we are only breaking down Thursday's main slate, which locks at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Let's break down which star players are in great spots, as well as identify some players with lower salaries who will provide value to get to them.

Quarterbacks

Seth Henigan, Memphis ($11,500) - The freshman quarterback has played exceptionally well for the Memphis Tigers this season. Henigan ranks 8th nationally in passing yards per game (323.0) and has tallied 14 touchdown passes in his six starts this season. Up next, is a date with Navy's vulnerable pass defense. Navy is allowing 234.2 passing yards per game which ranks 76th nationally (allowing 8.3 yards per pass attempt).

Jake Bentley, South Alabama ($8,600) - You may remember Bentley from his stint at South Carolina but the senior is now the starting quarterback at South Alabama. While his box scores have been pedestrian this season, I'm expecting that to change on Thursday night. South Alabama will square off with the Georgia Southern Eagles, who have the nation's worst pass defense. The Eagles have been throttled for 338.8 passing yards per game including 9.08 yards per pass attempt. They've allowed a mind-boggling 20 touchdown passes through six games.

Tai Lavatai, Navy ($7,500) - Lavatai has made two straight starts for the Navy Midshipmen, who operate the triple-option on offense, so Lavatai is rarely asked to throw the ball. However, he has racked up 45 rushing attempts in his two starts. The sophomore has 110 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns over the last two games and has also completed 6 out of 11 pass attempts for 122 yards and 1 touchdown during that time span. The contest between Memphis and Navy could turn into a scoring fest. Both teams struggle defensively, notably, Memphis ranks 116th nationally in total defense and has allowed 25 touchdowns this season.

Running Backs

Brandon Thomas, Memphis ($10,000) - Thomas has a secure role as the Tigers starting running back. The freshman has received 16-plus carries in four out of five games this season while he leads Memphis with 586 rushing yards and 6 rushing touchdowns through six games. Additionally, he's in a great spot as Memphis faces off with Navy's porous run defense. The Midshipmen have allowed an eye-opening 14 rushing touchdowns this season (six games).

Isaac Ruoss, Navy ($7,400) - Running back is the place to get contrarian on Thursday night as we have two triple-option offenses (Navy and Georgia Southern) included on the slate. The triple-option offense can provide a wide range of outcomes for ball carriers because the opportunities are based on reads made by the quarterback. Ruoss is the one Navy ball carrier that has received a fairly predictable workload. The fullback has 45 carries over the last three games and he leads the Midshipmen with 233 rushing yards this season. Ruoss also has found pay dirt in two out of the last three games.

Bryan Hill, South Alabama ($6,900) - This play comes with an asterisk. South Alabama's backfield is banged up. Their top two leading rushers, Kareem Walker ($6,000) and Terrion Avery ($5,200) are both questionable with injuries. If both are out, Bryan Hill will likely start. He has rushed for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns on 44 carries over the three games that he's played in this season.

I will note that Kareem Walker is significantly under-salaried if he returns on Thursday night. I'd assume Walker would be re-inserted into the starting lineup. The senior has recorded 208 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns on 53 carries (three games played). If Walker is out but Avery is back, I'd expect Avery to start at running back over Bryan Hill.

Others to Consider: Logan Wright ($9,000), Gerald Green ($8,000), Rodrigues Clark ($6,600), James Harris II ($6,200), Jalen White ($5,700), JD King ($5,600), and Amare Jones ($5,300).

Wide Receivers

Calvin Austin III, Memphis ($12,000) - Austin III has been one of the nation's most productive wide receivers this season. He is averaging 139.2 receiving yards per game which ranks 2nd nationally. Austin III also has eight touchdown receptions which ranks 4th nationally. The senior has drawn an insane 55 targets over the last four games.

Khaleb Hood, Georgia Southern ($6,500) - Hood owns a massive 35.7% target share in Georgia Southern's triple-option offense. Through six games, Hood has 22 receptions and 225 receiving yards (45 targets). He's also occasionally involved in the Eagles' running game with 53 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown on 9 carries. He has received at least two carries in two straight games.

Jalen Wayne, South Alabama ($6,000) - Wayne and fellow wide receiver, Jalen Tolbert ($9,500), rarely leave the field for the Jaguars. Both wide receivers have logged 320-plus snaps this season and that is particularly appealing against the nation's worst pass defense. Wayne has drawn six-plus targets in four straight games and he's under-salaried considering his role and the matchup this week.

Others to Consider: Jalen Tolbert ($9,500), Sean Dykes ($9,000), Jadon Ivory ($7,200), Caulin Lacy ($7,000 - if he plays), and Eddie Lewis ($5,200).

Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.