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Appalachian State vs. Charlotte
- Point-Spread: App -6.5
- O/U Total: 50.5
- Implied Score: App 28.5 – Char 22
- Weather: 76 degrees / 17% rain / 4 mph winds
Appalachian State:
Top Play(s) – RB Rashod Dubinion ($5,500) The former Arkansas transfer has experience in this system under new head coach Dowell Loggains and fits the mold we like in college fantasy of a big fish (P4 transfer) in a small pond (G5 destination). Adding to Dubinion’s value is that backup Kanye Roberts suffered a season-ending injury, and the RB2 job seems to be up in the air as Khalifa Keith hasn’t seized that role. Could be a heavy workload for Dubinion on Friday.
Fade – QBs. No depth chart and still up in the air as to who will be QB1 between transfers AJ Swann (LSU) and JJ Kohl (Iowa State). Neither is expected to be a big fantasy contributor regardless of their starting status, so we’re not interested at all here.
Bargain Bin – TE Izayah Cummings ($3,000) We believe the Louisville transfer will get the start at tight end on Friday, though that isn’t confirmed. What is confirmed is the utilization of the tight end position under Loggains as we saw the last two years at South Carolina where the TE1 combined for 106 targets in that span. If Cummings is indeed the top guy, he’s an extreme value, but also comes with extreme risk.
Pivot Play – WR Jaden Barnes ($3,900) The Austin Peay transfer is the probable starter in the slot as the player with the most collegiate production on the team with over 1,000 yards receiving last year with nine touchdowns. There’s also some rumors that Barnes could see time in the backfield with the lack of depth behind Dubinion.
Best of the Rest – WR Dalton Stroman ($3,900) or WR Davon Dozier ($3,700) The two likely starters to join Barnes in the starting lineup. Stroman was WR3 for the Mountaineers last season with 20 receptions on 48 targets and five scores. Dozier has familiarity with Loggains, coming over from the SEC as an Arkansas transfer. Every App State pass-catcher is a complete dart throw without a depth chart.
Injury Notes – n/a
Charlotte:
Top Play(s) – QB Conner Harrell ($6,600) The only known starter on offense as there hasn’t’ been a depth chart release as of Wednesday night publishing this. Harrell, a UNC transfer, was announced as the team’s QB1 this week and is a fit for this offensive system under former Ohio head coach Tim Albin as he loves to get the QB involved in the run game. We saw exactly that last season with the Bobcats and Parker Navarro. Does that translate immediately with Harrell? We’d go very light on exposure as Charlotte is 131st nationally in returning production.
Fade – RBs. Without a depth chart, we admittedly don’t have much intel on how this will shake out. What we do know is that Albin commented back at AAC Media Days and mentioned the word committee. It wouldn’t shock us to see all four of Cameren Smith, Henry Rutledge, CJ Stokes and Rod Gainey Jr. get reps on Friday. Easy fade without any pregame information.
Bargain Bin – WR Jayden McGowan ($3,600) Charlotte’s WR room is a complete overhaul, replacing 90% of last year’s production. We know this system typically has “a guy” at receiver they’ll feed, as evidenced at Ohio with the likes of Coleman Owen and Sam Wiglusz. McGowan, a Vanderbilt transfer, is the expected starter in the slot where Owen and Wiglusz both played with the Bobcats.
Pivot Play – WR E.Jai Mason ($3,500) In terms of playing experience, Mason is next after McGowan, transferring over from Samford where he caught 51 passes and six touchdowns in 2024. The 9.0 yards per catch average, though, is less than inspiring.
Best of the Rest – WR Ta’ir Brooks ($3,000) The slot position is the one to own in this offense typically, so we’re most interested in McGowan of the projected starters at receiver. Brooks brings size at 6-foot-3, and experience having caught 22 passes and four touchdowns last season with Northern Arizona. Proceed with extreme caution with the entire Charlotte WR room if no depth chart is released.
Injury Notes – n/a
Kennesaw State vs. Wake Forest
- Point-Spread: Wake -17.5
- O/U Total: 52.5
- Implied Score: Wake 35 – KSU 17.5
- Weather: 75 degrees / 10% rain / 5 mph winds
Kennesaw State:
Top Play(s) – QB Dexter Williams ($5,900) There’s too much uncertainty with the Kennesaw State offense to invest much in our DFS lineups. New offensive coordinator Mitch Militello stems from the Tennessee staff under Josh Heupel but is a first-time play-caller so we don’t have an exact idea of how the scheme will look. Williams is a former P4 transfer, starting his career at Indiana, and we know he can run. So, that’s a start.
Fade – The offense. We’ll offer suggestions, but this is realistically a full-team fade given the circumstances. First-time play-caller. Limited intel. Head coach is a former position coach at the NFL level, so coaching styles are a mystery. And limited production from the projected starters.
Bargain Bin – WR Gabriel Benyard ($3,600) Benyard is a versatile piece, having spent time at running back and receiver during his career. He’ll start in the slot in this offense and had a strong spring game with a 70-yard receiving touchdown on the opening drive.
Pivot Play – RB Coleman Bennett ($3,900) Bennett has been the projected starter since the spring, so it was nice to see his name atop the depth chart without an OR designation. His numbers last season with Rice are not impressive, but Kennesaw State needs someone to step up as they lose 92% of their rushing production from a year ago.
Best of the Rest – WRs Lyndon Ravare ($3,000) or WR Christian Moss ($3,500) Projected starters on the depth chart and both are former transfers, coming over from Fresno State and Virginia Tech, respectively. Benyard should function as the WR1, though. Limit one (or better yet, zero) Kennesaw State receiver per lineup.
Injury Notes – n/a
Wake Forest:
Top Play(s) – RB Demond Claiborne ($8,600) I know DFS players will refrain from saying the word ‘lock’, but Claiborne is as close as you can get to one on this slate. Favorable matchup against a C-USA opponent. New head coach Jake Dickert has already thrown out quotes at media days stating he will give Claiborne the rock 40 times if he must. And he might have to, as Wake Forest is trotting out Robby Ashford at quarterback, who should’ve switched positions at this point in his career.
Fade – Backup RBs. See above. The spread isn’t large enough that we expect to see backups getting a significant amount of run.
Bargain Bin – WR Micah Mays ($4,700) Sterling Berkhalter will be a popular punt play at min pricing as he’s listed at the top of the depth chart, albeit in an OR situation with Karate Benson. If I’m rostering a Wake wideout, why not go with the 6-foot-2 sophomore in Mays who was 5th on the team in targets a year ago and drew heavy interest from P4 teams (Miami) in the transfer portal. If this offensive system is the same one that Rob Ezell deployed last year with South Alabama, he’ll feed his top target (31% target share).
Pivot Play – QB Robby Ashford ($7,400) We all know by now that Ashford is not a legitimate P4 quarterback and likely gets replaced at some point this season by Charlotte transfer Deshawn Purdie. But for now, Ashford will get the start, and we know he is an exceptional runner when he tucks the football and takes off. In his start against a G5 opponent last season, Ashford had 100+ yards on the ground and 40 fantasy points. So, he’s definitely playable on Friday.
Best of the Rest – WR Carlos Hernandez ($5,000) Limit one Wake wideout to a lineup with Robby Ashford at quarterback. Mays is our choice to be the team’s WR1, but not out of the realm of possibilities that is Hernandez either, as he has familiarity with the coaching staff coming over from Washington State.
Injury Notes – n/a
Western Michigan vs. Michigan State
- Point-Spread: MSU -20.5
- O/U Total: 50.5
- Implied Score: UCF 35.5 – WMU 15
- Weather: 64 degrees / 1% rain / 5 mph winds
Western Michigan:
Top Play(s) –
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