College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 12/3/21

Week 14 of college football is here! FanDuel's college football DFS main slate on Friday includes two games.

In case you're unfamiliar with how it works, you can check out the rules and scoring on FanDuel, where you can hit the lobby each week to see the full array of slates and contests being offered.

As for the basics, your roster consists of a quarterback slot, two running backs, three wide receivers (which also includes tight ends), and one "Super FLEX". In the Super FLEX spot, 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 DFS projections, game projections, and market share report to tackle as many slates as possible in the lead-up to the College Football Playoff. In this piece, we are breaking down Saturday's main slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Let's look at which players are in great spots as well as identify some players with low salaries who will allow you to roster the high-salary players.

Quarterbacks

Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky ($11,500) – Zappe has tallied video-game-like numbers in Western Kentucky's pass-happy offense. The senior leads the nation with 52 touchdown passes. Additionally, he is averaging 416.08 passing yards per game which also leads the country. He is easily the top quarterback on Championship Friday. He will also be very popular.

Frank Harris, Texas San-Antonio ($10,000) – Harris was banged up in the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners' final regular-season game last weekend. However, he is expected to play against Western Kentucky on Friday night. Harris is appealing because of his dual-threat ability. The senior has accounted for 28 total touchdowns this season. Additionally, it is a strong spot for the Roadrunners signal-caller. Western Kentucky is ranked 113th nationally in passing yards allowed per game (261.9).

Cameron Rising, Utah ($8,800) – Rising will be overshadowed by Zappe and Harris (likely Anthony Brown too). The dual-threat quarterback has accounted for 23 total touchdowns this season. I'd expect the Oregon Ducks to stack the box against the Utah Utes on Friday night. These two teams met back on November 20th. The Ducks were run over by running back Tavion Thomas. If the Ducks stack the box, the game will fall on Rising's right arm. He should have plenty of opportunities to make plays as the Utes play for the PAC 12 Championship.

Running Backs

Tavian Thomas, Utah ($9,800) – As I mentioned above, Thomas destroyed the Oregon Ducks less than two weeks ago. In that game, Thomas popped the Ducks for three rushing touchdowns. Additionally, over his last six games, Thomas has received 20-plus carries per game. Despite missing one game this season, Thomas has found pay dirt 18 times via the running game (fifth nationally).

Travis Dye, Oregon ($9,000) – Dye has been highly productive with CJ Verdell sidelined for the season. Since Verdell's injury, Dye has been the focal point of the Ducks offense. He has recorded 18-plus touches in six out of the last seven games. He has also recorded 13 total touchdowns during that time frame. The matchup with Utah is difficult (ranked 24th in rushing yards allowed per game), and hopefully, that will reduce his popularity in tournaments.

Noah Whittington, Western Kentucky ($6,100) – Whittington offers leverage off the highly-popular Western Kentucky passing game. I'd expect Bailey Zappe and three Western Kentucky wide receivers to be the popular build on Friday night. Additionally, Whittington's rushing workload has increased over the second half of the season. He is averaging 11.4 carries per game over the last five games. The freshman only averaged 6.8 carries per game through his first five games of the season.

Others to Consider: Sincere McCormick ($9,500)

Wide Receivers

Mitchell Tinsley, Western Kentucky ($8,600) – Western Kentucky's high-octane passing offense will be very popular. While Jerreth Sterns ($10,200) has had a tremendous season, I'd rather take the discount on Tinsley. Tinsley has nine-plus receptions in each of the last three games. Additionally, he has recorded an eye-popping 342 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions over the last three games. Tinsley leads the Hilltoppers with a 13.2 aDoT (average depth of target).

Daewood Davis, Western Kentucky ($6,800) – Davis won't see as many targets as Sterns, Tinsley, and Malachi Corley ($7,500). However, he has managed to find the end zone eight times this season. Like Tinsley, his ADOT is appealing (13.0). I like his chances of beating the Roadrunners for a long touchdown pass. Texas San Antonio is allowing 7.97 yards per pass attempt. They have been burned for 20 touchdown passes through 12 games.

Kris Hutson, Oregon ($5,700) – Hutson has emerged late in the season for the Ducks. The freshman's speed has provided a spark to the Ducks passing game. Over the last two games, Hutson has 11 receptions, 178 receiving yards, and one touchdown reception on 18 targets. He is a great source of salary relief.

Others to Consider: Jerreth Sterns ($10,200), Zahkari Franklin ($8,600), Joshua Cephus ($7,600), Malachi Corley ($7,500), Devon Williams ($6,900), Brant Kuithe ($6,700)