NCAAF

College Football Market Share Report: Week 12

A.T. Perry saw 19 targets last week, and his salary reduction helps justify using him in a tougher matchup against Clemson. Who else's workload stands out entering Week 12 of the college football season?

Since many of the 2018 law changes that marked the return of college football daily fantasy, it has been quickly growing. After all, more individuals watched the 2020 National Championship Game than any other non-NFL sporting event.

With so many eyeballs on the games, and some monster statistics put up by the elite players in the sport, it is natural for many to gravitate to playing daily fantasy instead of traditional betting. FanDuel offers college football contests each weekend, which can include Thursday, Friday, and Saturday main slates -- depending on game volume.

College football is a unique challenge for DFS, as a lot of necessary information is not easily found. Often, injury news is reported through the schools themselves and newspaper beat reporters. It can also be particularly difficult to find accurate information on which players are on the field, who has the best usage, and where inefficiencies in the salary cap model may reside.

The latter point is the premise for this piece, which in addition to numberFire's betting guides and daily fantasy helpers, is designed to help you find out which college football players are on the field and seeing work.

With that in mind, let's examine the market shares for players on Saturday's main slate on FanDuel.

Note: Players with fewer than 10 pass attempts, 10 rushing attempts, and 5 targets in the previous week will not be featured but may still be viable in daily fantasy formats. For players returning from off weeks, previous reports will contain their most recent sample. All stats are from PFF.com.

Quarterbacks

Player Team
Name
Week
11
ATT
2021
ATT/G
2021
YPA
Rush
ATT/G
Rush
YDS/G
Tanner Mordecai SMU 53 38.1 8.55 3.4 26.0
Tyler Van Dyke MIA 48 30.6 8.91 2.3 19.1
Sam Hartman WAKE 47 34.8 9.10 2.2 40.6
D.J. Uiagalelei CLEM 45 30.8 5.69 6.0 34.1
Kenny Pickett PITT 44 38.7 9.11 2.2 35.8
Bo Nix AUB 42 32.9 7.15 3.5 27.1
Brock Purdy ISU 42 29.7 8.30 2.8 33.0
Desmond Ridder CIN 39 28.6 8.44 6.1 40.0
C.J. Stroud OSU 38 34.7 9.73 1.6 6.6
Donovan Smith TTU 33 19.7 9.90 8.7 53.3
Jay Woolfolk UVA 33 13.0 5.92 4.3 30.0
Payton Thorne MSU 31 27.6 8.86 4.1 23.4
Jason Brown SCAR 31 14.6 6.81 0.4 1.4
Cameron Rising UTAH 30 26.0 7.49 3.7 36.6
Jordan Yates GT 28 22.2 6.66 2.0 43.6
D. Thompson-Robinson UCLA 27 26.0 8.20 5.6 61.8
KJ Jefferson ARK 25 22.5 8.75 7.3 57.3
Spencer Sanders OKST 25 25.0 7.76 8.2 39.4
Jordan Travis FSU 25 16.3 8.22 6.8 63.4
Bryce Young ALA 23 33.0 9.16 0.5 17.7
Graham Mertz WIS 23 21.5 7.00 1.9 5.7
Anthony Brown ORE 22 26.6 7.54 7.9 59.5
Phil Jurkovec BC 20 15.3 12.26 4.5 48.5
Jack Coan ND 20 26.2 7.68 1.5 8.0
Caleb Williams OU 18 18.3 10.40 3.6 51.6
Braxton Burmeister VT 14 22.4 7.52 4.1 47.5


One of college football's best quarterbacks all season has been Tanner Mordecai ($9,000), and he should be solid value playing catchup against the Bearcats this weekend. Southern Methodist is an 11.5-point road underdog, and Cincy has been solid against the pass (164.9 yards per game; fourth-best in FBS), but Mordecai's 38.1 pass attempts per game are tops on the slate. He's posted 39 total touchdowns, and SMU plays fast; their 76.2 plays per game are 17th in the country. The Bearcats have been playing teams close as the nerves of the playoffs rise, so I like the SMU passing attack in a game with a 64.5-point total.

Both UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson ($10,700) and Florida State's Jordan Travis ($8,600) are solid options as the dual-threat targets of the slate. They average 61.8 and 63.4 rushing yards per game, respectively. That's not always viable, but Thompson-Robinson faces a Southern California defense that is ranked just 79th against the rush this season, and Travis draws a Boston College defense that is even worse (97th).

The struggles of Caleb Williams ($11,000) have him essentially off the board this week. Not only did he only attempt 18 passes in a negative script last weekend against Baylor, but Oklahoma draws the stingy Iowa State Cyclones defense this weekend. ISU is 14th in the country against the pass (191.8 yards per game), and Oklahoma's defense may struggle to contain Breece Hall ($11,000) if last weekend was any indication. They may turn to Spencer Rattler ($6,500) for a desperate spark to save their season if Williams is inept once again.

Running Backs

Player Team
Name
WEEK
11
RUSH
ATT
2021
RUSH/G
2021
RUSH
SHARE
WEEK
11
TGT
2021
TGT
SHARE
Kenneth Walker III MSU 30 22.6 65.5% 2 5.0%
T.J. Pledger UTAH 25 6.9 20.9% 1 4.8%
Braelon Allen WIS 25 14.5 26.0% 1 1.9%
Pat Garwo III BC 24 17.1 48.4% 1 1.2%
Jahmyr Gibbs GT 19 12.9 41.3% 6 15.8%
Travis Dye ORE 18 15.1 40.9% 6 15.0%
Breece Hall ISU 18 21.5 74.9% 4 11.6%
Phil Mafah CLEM 17 8.8 16.6% 2 2.2%
Zach Charbonnet UCLA 17 15.4 43.9% 1 7.2%
Jaylen Warren OKST 17 20.8 50.5% 1 7.5%
Justice Ellison WAKE 17 10.4 27.4% 1 1.8%
Jaylan Knighton MIA 16 19.7 42.1% 3 5.3%
Tank Bigsby AUB 16 15.7 51.1% 1 5.9%
Ulysses Bentley IV SMU 15 10.4 22.7% 2 4.0%
Dezmon Jackson OKST 15 7.0 5.1% 0 0.4%
Jashaun Corbin FSU 14 12.3 39.9% 3 11.2%
Darien Rencher CLEM 14 9.0 5.6% 2 0.6%
Dominique Johnson ARK 14 6.7 16.8% 2 3.0%
Kyren Williams ND 14 17.4 55.4% 2 12.8%
Miyan Williams OSU 14 8.3 18.8% 1 1.7%
Kennedy Brooks OU 14 14.3 51.4% 2 2.0%
Kevin Harris SCAR 14 11.1 32.6% 0 7.4%
Dominic Richardson OKST 13 5.7 12.4% 0 1.2%
T. Henderson OSU 13 14.0 45.5% 1 4.9%
Trey Sanders ALA 12 6.5 12.1% 0 0.3%
Israel Abanikanda PITT 12 10.6 33.9% 5 7.0%
Raheem Blackshear VT 12 10.1 30.8% 3 11.4%
Treshaun Ward FSU 11 7.5 24.4% 1 7.0%
Tre Siggers SMU 11 13.7 42.7% 1 3.8%
Christian Turner WAKE 11 8.4 24.5% 0 2.1%
Ethan Wright CIN 10 4.6 7.7% 0 0.7%
ZaQuandre White SCAR 10 9.4 21.5% 4 5.6%
Micah Bernard UTAH 10 8.1 22.1% 3 7.5%


Kenneth Walker III ($9,200) saw a massive salary discount, but it's totally justified despite another 30-carry week against Maryland. His matchup against Ohio State is a brutal one; the Buckeyes are 13th in the country (107.9 yards per game) against the rush. Ohio State is a gigantic, 19.5-point favorite (take the points!), and that could leave Walker short on both volume and the soft matchups he's feasted on in recent weeks. I'll sooner turn to Payton Thorne ($8,200) and the rest of the Spartans' passing attack against the inconsistent OSU secondary.

Even with that spread, it's not exactly a lock to use TreVeyon Henderson ($10,000), either. Henderson saw just 13 carries, but he scored on two of them to salvage his day. He also only saw one target. Ohio State had an exclusively positive script and still turned to the air primarily against Purdue, and that's a logical theme to expect as they search for style points for the CFP committee. I'd sooner roster all three wideouts Garrett Wilson ($9,400), Chris Olave ($9,200), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($8,500) in this shootout than Henderson's salary above all of them.

Israel Abanikanda ($6,200) has my attention this week. Virginia's rushing defense is awful; the Cavs are ranked 123rd in the country allowing 236.3 rushing yards per game. Pitt (hail to, for our editor-in-chief JJ Zachariason) leans on their passing attack and Kenny Pickett ($10,800) more than anyone, but they'd be wise to exploit this weakness. Abanikanda had 33.9% of Pitt's carries last week, and he's got the most double-digit carry games (5) and rushing touchdowns (4) of the backs on the team. I need value for the Ohio State guys, and I'm at least interested here.

Wide Recievers

Player TEAM
NAME
WEEK
11
TGT
WEEK
11
TGT
SHARE
TGT/G 2021
TGT
SHARE
2021
REC
YDS
SHARE
A.T. Perry WAKE 19 46.3% 8.5 25.8% 28.9%
Chris Olave OSU 13 34.2% 8.1 23.5% 20.0%
Keytaon Thompson UVA 12 37.5% 8.8 20.2% 20.4%
Dacari Collins CLEM 12 23.5% 3.8 6.0% 5.9%
Dylan Goffney SMU 12 23.1% 4.0 4.3% 3.8%
Jayden Reed MSU 12 38.7% 7.4 28.2% 33.1%
Kobe Hudson AUB 11 26.8% 5.8 17.2% 18.8%
Garrett Wilson OSU 11 28.9% 8.7 22.7% 23.0%
Charlie Kolar ISU 11 26.2% 7.6 21.9% 19.5%
Jordan Addison PITT 11 26.2% 9.0 23.5% 29.0%
Reggie Roberson Jr. SMU 10 19.2% 5.8 15.6% 15.8%
Beaux Collins CLEM 10 19.6% 5.3 13.3% 12.3%
Key'Shawn Smith MIA 10 22.7% 6.4 16.2% 13.0%
Jaxon Smith-Njigba OSU 10 26.3% 7.4 21.5% 29.0%
Charleston Rambo MIA 10 22.7% 9.4 26.3% 30.9%
Myles Price TTU 10 32.3% 4.3 14.0% 16.3%
Kyle Philips UCLA 9 34.6% 8.7 29.7% 28.2%
Mike Harley MIA 8 18.2% 5.9 16.5% 12.4%
Grant Calcaterra SMU 8 15.4% 6.0 16.2% 13.7%
Xavier Hutchinson ISU 8 19.0% 8.0 25.7% 29.7%
Jaylin Noel ISU 8 19.0% 3.9 11.3% 6.9%
Jared Wayne PITT 8 19.0% 5.4 12.8% 15.2%
Michael Mayer ND 7 33.3% 7.8 23.5% 22.9%
Tre Mosley MSU 7 22.6% 4.1 14.1% 16.7%
Brennan Presley OKST 7 31.8% 5.5 21.7% 18.8%
Solomon Enis UTAH 7 24.1% 4.1 9.9% 9.4%
Roderick Daniels Jr. SMU 7 13.5% 2.6 4.9% 3.3%
Will Mallory MIA 7 15.9% 4.0 10.1% 9.4%
Ja'Varrius Johnson AUB 6 14.6% 3.3 6.8% 10.6%
Demetris Robertson AUB 6 14.6% 5.7 15.1% 15.9%
Treylon Burks ARK 6 24.0% 7.3 31.6% 39.2%
Michael Woods II OU 6 25.0% 5.0 13.2% 12.4%
Taylor Morin WAKE 6 14.6% 4.0 12.2% 13.2%
Tay Martin OKST 6 27.3% 7.7 27.2% 29.6%
Greg Dulcich UCLA 6 23.1% 5.5 20.9% 25.4%
Tayvion Robinson VT 6 33.3% 6.2 27.1% 25.0%
Dontayvion Wicks UVA 6 18.8% 7.3 16.8% 26.5%
Brant Kuithe UTAH 6 20.7% 5.3 18.0% 16.6%
Tre Tucker CIN 6 16.7% 2.9 10.5% 10.2%
John Metchie III ALA 6 17.1% 8.5 26.0% 22.4%
Rashee Rice SMU 6 11.5% 6.5 17.5% 19.6%
Jameson Williams ALA 6 17.1% 7.4 22.6% 31.8%
Alec Pierce CIN 6 16.7% 5.9 21.3% 25.3%
Josh Vann SCAR 6 25.0% 5.6 20.8% 29.1%
Jake Ferguson WIS 6 25.0% 4.3 20.7% 18.3%
Lucas Krull PITT 5 11.9% 4.2 11.0% 9.1%
Ja'Khi Douglas FSU 5 21.7% 3.0 3.7% 8.8%
Chase Cota UCLA 5 19.2% 3.1 11.8% 12.7%
Kaylon Geiger TTU 5 16.1% 4.9 17.6% 16.8%
Devon Williams ORE 5 22.7% 4.1 12.4% 16.6%
Josh Whyle CIN 5 13.9% 3.4 12.3% 11.5%
Darren Wilson Jr. ISU 5 11.9% 1.8 4.5% 3.4%
Jelani Woods UVA 5 15.6% 5.7 11.7% 12.1%
Jaden Williams BC 5 25.0% 3.4 13.7% 8.9%
Erik Ezukanma TTU 5 16.1% 6.9 22.2% 25.1%


I never would have guessed that A.T. Perry ($8,100) would be a realistic option this week, but he still is against a tough Clemson defense. Clemson is just 32nd against the pass this season (205.1 yards per game), so the prolific Wake Forest wideout is definitely an option. His 19 targets last week against North Carolina State was a season-high, but he's seen at least 7 targets in each of his past five games. The 57.5-point total here is respectable, and the Deacs are actually 4.5-point underdogs in Death Valley.

Iowa State is a tremendous team to stack in college football DFS. Beyond their workhorse back Breece Hall, they keep their targets well-concentrated between Charlie Kolar ($6,900) and Xavier Hutchinson ($8,900). The duo has a 21.9% and 25.7% target share this season, respectively. Kolar's yardage upside -- for a tight end -- still is worthy of justifying his salary. He's posted at least 65 yards in six games this season. Both get a juicy matchup with the Sooners' 112th-ranked pass defense.

Don't let the six targets last week by Tay Martin ($8,000) fool you, either. Martin's Oklahoma State Cowboys were smashing Texas Christian last week, and he was able to not play the final quarter. He still had the 11th-highest target share last week of anyone on the slate (27.3%), and his 27.2% target share is the 4th-best mark on the slate at the 13th-highest salary. The matchup isn't an issue either; the Red Raiders give up 261.2 passing yards per game (97th in FBS).