Well folks, we made it. Week 0 is here, and we have bets to make on College Football! The opening weeks are the best time to take advantage of the board on PrizePicks as mistakes are made, and we’re here to help you take full advantage.
As a reminder, we are going to have plenty of content in-season for you every week in our NFL Premium + CFB Package, including:
· DFS (Articles & Livestream)
· Player Props Articles
· Matchup Reports
· Projections
· Rankings
· and MORE!
Let’s dive into the props!
Audric Estime Over 15.5 Fantasy Points
RB, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
This line has moved slightly from the initial release that originally started at 13.5, but we’re still getting great value here with my projection at 22.7 fantasy points. For those still catching up with CFB news from the offseason, Audric Estime is now the clear-cut RB1 in the Irish backfield, set to have a monster year with some of the moves that transpired. Last year’s backup Logan Diggs transferred out to LSU. Another backup, Chris Tyree, moved to slot receiver. Looking at Saturday’s matchup with Navy, there are still some lingering question marks with the backfield depth as primary backup, Jadarian Price, is coming off a season-long injury that prevented him from seeing the field in 2022. New OC Gerad Parker doesn’t have a long history of calling plays, but when he did at West Virginia in 2020-21, his RB1 accounted for over 50% volume share. We like the sound of that for an Estime over. Fantasy points is our preference, but we’re more than OK with over 72.5 rushing yards as well.
Cyrus Allen Over 55.5 Receiving Yards
WR, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
One of my personal favorites this offseason when researching, receiver Cyrus Allen is coming off a promising freshman season last year in which he finished third on the team with 502 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 50 targets. Now in his second year, Allen is likely the team’s top option as an outside receiver, which is a very notable designation under head coach Sonny Cumbie, as his WR1 has led the team in fantasy points in eight of the last nine seasons. Also benefiting Allen, and perhaps this entire Louisiana Tech passing attack in the matchup with Florida International, is that the Bulldogs will be without starting running back Marquis Crosby due to injury, and potentially backup Tyre Shelton as well. We see a ton of passes thrown for Louisiana Tech in this matchup, and suspect Allen to be on the receiving end of quite a few deep shots.
Sieh Bangura Over 12.5 Fantasy Points
RB, Ohio Bobcats
I promise we won’t have as many overs like this on a week-to-week basis, but this number is too low for a player who surpassed 12.5 fantasy points in all but two games a year ago. Volume is king with player prop overs, and Bangura hit 20+ carries in each of the final five games to close 2022. There is potential for Ohio to lean on their stud running back here, with quarterback Kurtis Rourke coming off a torn ACL. From all reporting, Rourke is good to go, but why not preserve his health by leaning on your proven commodity in the backfield? Looking at the San Diego State defense, they return just two starters in the front seven, with the defensive line considered the biggest question mark on that side of the ball. Ohio returns four starters along the offensive line.
Deion Hankins Over 11.5 Fantasy Points
RB, UTEP Miners
This is a projection play as I have Hankins just over 17 fantasy points for this week’s matchup with FBS newcomers, Jacksonville State, who return just three of their top six tacklers from 2022. Three starters are back on the UTEP offensive line who should pave the way for Hankins who really emerged down the stretch last season, averaging over four yards per carry in each of the last nine games. The Miners did add some depth in the transfer portal over the offseason from the JUCO level but graduated Ronald Awatt, who led the team in rushing attempts in 2022. Hankins will assume a good chunk of that vacated production this season and we like that matchup here.
Diego Pavia Over 18.5 Fantasy Points
QB, New Mexico State
Long-term, we’re skeptical about Pavia’s fantasy relevance against better opponents, but he made minced meat of the lower-level teams on the schedule, averaging 26.9 FPPG in the last six games. Three of those performances were against UMass, Valpo, and Lamar. Lo and behold, who is Pavia’s first opponent? The junior quarterback combined for 250 yards of total offense and 25.2 fantasy points in the win over the Minutemen last season, and my projection this week comes in just shy of that at 24.1. For a dual-threat like Pavia, who should garner 8-10 carries on the ground, this number is very achievable.
