Ivan Herrera 
Welcome back to another exciting season of CFB! Week one action continues as we get a special edition of CFB on a Sunday just a week before the return of the NFL. This slate features a game that most CFB fans have had circled since they announced the schedule, FSU vs LSU.
For this small three game slate, instead of going position by position I am going to do a small breakdown of the games and list my favorite plays from each team.
Northwestern at Rutgers(-6) 9amPST/12pmEST
This matchup features two Big Ten schools that would like to forget their 2022 campaigns. NW finished 1-11 last season and is coming into this game on the back of some controversy inside their program. A hazing scandal led to the departure of their head coach and the interim hiring of David Braun. On the other side, Rutgers finished the year 4-8 and is looking to start off the season with a home win.
For DFS purposes, I don’t like the game, but it may provide some value to open up the rest of your builds. While Northwestern hasn’t officially named a starting quarterback as of writing this article, it can be assumed that Ben Bryant will be the one under center on Sunday. He is a transfer from Cincinnati who threw for 2732 yards and 21 touchdowns last season with the Bearcats. Meanwhile, for the Scarlet Knights, Gavin Wimsatt looks to be the one who will start the season at QB. Wimsatt did not have a good season last year, only throwing for 757 yards in his limited appearances.
The running back rooms for both sides aren’t great. Rutgers will have more of a split backfield as they don’t have an official RB listed as the starter. With Northwestern, the loss of Evan Hull opens up the backfield for anyone to take. The most likely player to set up as the lead back is Cam Porter, who had 286 yards and two touchdowns as the backup last year.
Both programs are welcoming new transfer WRs. On the Northwestern side, transfers AJ Henning and Cam Johnson should work well together with returning TE Marshall Lang. Rutgers also has a pair of transfer WRs. The first transfer WR is JaQuae Jackson, who had 1178 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns at California (PA). The second is Naseim Brantley, who was a FCS All-American in 2022 after finishing the year with 909 yards and nine touchdowns.
Players to target:
NW: Ben Bryant (QB) $5500DK/$8200FD. AJ Henning (WR) $3900DK/5700FD. Marshall Lang (WR) $3100DK/5000FD.
Rutgers: JaQuae Jackson (WR) $3000DK/5600FD. Naseim Brantley (WR) $4500DK/7000FD.
Oregon State(-16) at San Jose State 12:30pmPST/3:30pmEST
SJSU comes into the game after a loss to USC in Week Zero. Meanwhile, Oregon State is making its 2023 debut. This matchup should be exciting from the start, as both sides have good quarterbacks. SJSU’s Codeiro tried his best to keep up with Caleb Williams last week. He threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns while adding another 52 yards on the ground. On the Beaver side, they are debuting their new QB, DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred from Clemson. Last season at Clemson, DJ had a bit of a short leash but still managed to throw for 2521 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Like mentioned, both sides have good quarterbacks who can be considered for DFS. On the RB front, the advantage goes to Oregon State. They are led by their returning leading rusher, Damien Martinez, who just missed a 1,000-yard season after only ending with 982 yards and seven touchdowns. SJSU didn’t show much in the running game, with their RB group finishing with only 16 carries in Week Zero. The RB who made the best impression was Utah Tech transfer Quali Conley.
On the receiver end, both teams have interesting players. On the SJSU side, they have two WRs that look to be good. The first is the player with three touchdowns against USC, and that’s Nick Nash. The other one is Justin Lockhart, who missed Week Zero. Lockhart seems to be available for the game against the Beavers. But if he is not, Charles Ross is a good alternative. For the Beavers, they have a trio of returning WRs. Bolden, Gould, and Irish didn’t have great years, but they now have a QB who is top-tier throwing them the ball.
Players to target:
SJSU: Chevan Cordeiro (QB) $7200DK/9600FD. Quali Conley (RB) $4700DK/4000FD. Nick Nash (WR) $5400DK/8400FD. Justin Lockhart (WR) $5100DK/6100FD.
Oregon State: DJ Uiagalelei (QB) $8600DK/10600FD. Damien Martinez (RB) $5700DK/9600FD. Anthony Gould (WR) $6200DK/8200FD. Silas Bolden (WR) $5900DK/7400FD.
LSU(-2) vs FSU 4:30pmPST/7:30pmEST
These two teams are meeting once again after a great game that finished 24-23 last season in favor of FSU. In this game, we have three Heisman candidates. Both teams have a Heisman candidate at quarterback, with Jayden Daniels for LSU and Jordan Travis for FSU. The third Heisman candidate is LSU’s linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.
Like I just mentioned, these two teams have Heisman hopefuls at QB, so it’s difficult to give either team an edge. But for DFS purposes, the edge would go to Daniels because of his rushing upside. Travis is the better passer, but he had less than half of Daniels rushing yards. Inside the 10, Daniels has a chance to sneak in some touchdown runs.
The RBs advantage goes to FSU. Trey Benson and Lawrence Toafili lead the way at FSU, and they should be the best RBs on the field Sunday night. Benson led the way with 990 yards and nine touchdowns, while Toafili ran for 457 yards and scored five times. On the other side, LSU has three RBs, Cain, Diggs, and Williams, that can have a run Sunday night. I think all three are solid RBs, but there is a chance they split carries and none of them separates themselves.
Like with QBs, the WR room on both sides has great talent. LSU has Malik Nabers, who had a breakout year last season with 1017 receiving yards and four touchdowns. His WR teammate is Brian Thomas Jr., who has 689 yards and six touchdowns in his two seasons at the college level. Thomas’s numbers should also see an uptick with Boutte leaving for the NFL. With the Seminoles, they are returning their top WR, Johnny Wilson, who had 897 yards and five touchdowns. Joining Wilson is Michigan State transfer Keon Coleman. Coleman with the Spartans had 789 yards and seven scores. Both of these receivers should see targets from their quarterback.
Players to target:
LSU: Jayden Daniels (QB) $9000DK/11000FD. Malik Nabers (WR) $7300DK/9200FD. Brian Thomas Jr. (WR) $6100DK/6600FD. Mason Taylor (WR) $4500DK/5900FD.
FSU: Jordan Travis (QB) $8400DK/10400FD. Trey Benson (RB) $6100DK/9200FD. Lawrence Toafili (RB) $5200DK/6600FD. Johnny Wilson (WR) $6500DK/8800FD. Keon Coleman (WR) $6000DK/7600FD. Jaheim Bell (WR) $3500DK/6100FD.
Drago’s Best Bets:
- FSU +2
- Rutgers -6
- Oregon State vs San Jose State over 55.5
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