This article is part of our FanDuel College Football series.
Before we start, just a heads up that the weather in Texas is supposed to be extremely hostile Saturday, with rain and storms pummeling the region seemingly through the weekend. If the radar is friendly around gametime, it'll be worth getting the Baylor crew in some GPP exposure at the least. No way to tell as of Friday what will happen, though.
Anyway, back to the normal routine.
CASH-GAME TARGETS
QUARTERBACK
Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma (vs. Texas Tech) - $9,400
There will be a nauseating narrative overload with this one, as Mayfield will take on his former team -- one that he started for as a walk-on true freshman in 2013. It's hard to imagine Mayfield not being the most-owned player at quarterback on this slate, and perhaps any position. There's good reason for that. Oklahoma is projected to score roughly 42 to 45 points Saturday, and Mayfield is a dual-threat player who figures to get a rushing production bonus against a Tech defense allowing 263.9 yards per game on the ground, and 19 rushing touchdowns in seven games.
Honorable mention: Greg Ward, Houston (at UCF) - $10,600; Marquise Williams, North Carolina (vs. Virginia) - $9,300
RUNNING BACK
Saquon Barkley, Penn State (at Maryland) - $7,300
If Mayfield isn't the highest-owned player on the slate, Barkley seems like the other top candidate. Pretty much the Nick Chubb of the Big Ten, Barkley is a program-changing talent whose price will skyrocket for the remainder of the year. Big and with rare athleticism, Barkley has torched every defense unfortunate enough to face him, stomping his way to 567 yards (8.3 YPC) and three touchdowns, including 26 carries for 194 yards against Ohio State last week.
Kenneth Farrow, Houston (at UCF) - $6,700
I can't tell if others consider Farrow a cash-game type -- some might be sour on him due to his feast-or-famine production -- but I think his consistency will even out as the season moves along. Greg Ward is awesome, but his current pace of 28 rushing touchdowns likely isn't sustainable, especially with Farrow averaging 16.5 carries per game.
Honorable mention:Derrick Henry, Alabama (vs. Tennessee) - $8,500; Alex Collins, Arkansas (vs. Auburn) - $8,000; Shock Linwood, Baylor (vs. Iowa State) - $7,900; Wayne Gallman, Clemson (at Miami) - $6,500; Samaje Perine, Oklahoma (vs. Texas Tech) - $6,300; Joe Mixon, Oklahoma (vs. Texas Tech) - $5,900; Justin Jackson, Northwestern (at Nebraska) - $5,400
WIDE RECEIVER
Sterling Shepard, Oklahoma (vs. Texas Tech) - $7,400
If you buy into the Mayfield big game narrative, you probably have to love Shepard this week, too. The Sooners have held Shepard's target volume to a modest level, but this is the perfect setting for a breakout. Shepard is a top notch receiver and has room for considerable growth over his already considerable season total of 30 catches for 499 yards and five touchdowns.
Aaron Burbridge - Michigan State (vs. Indiana) - $6,800
Burbridge had a perplexing dud against Purdue a few weeks ago and a nondescript game against Central Michigan the week before that, but he's been fire in all of his other five games in 2015. Far and away the most-targeted receiver for Michigan State, Burbridge has 44 receptions for 702 yards and four touchdowns in seven games. Indiana's pass defense is one of the worst in the nation, Power Five conferences or not.
Honorable mention:Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma (vs. Texas Tech) - $5,900; Calvin Ridley, Alabama (vs. Tennessee) - $5,700; Corey Jones, Toledo (at Massachusetts) - $5,300; Chris Godwin, Penn State (at Maryland) - $4,800
TIGHT END
Rodney Mills - Massachusetts (vs. Toledo) - $4,000
With his price up a little, Mills is no longer a no-brainer pick, but he's still pretty close. He has a role comparable to that of a WR2 behind lead target Tajae Sharpe, so his $4,000 price tag is still low. In the three games he's played, Mills combined for 15 catches for 300 yards and two touchdowns. If you do fade Mills, Troy Fumagalli ($2,000) is my second-favorite play.
Honorable mention:Jordan Leggett, Clemson (at Miami) - $3,500; OJ Howard, Alabama (vs. Tennessee) - $3,000; Hunter Henry , Arkansas (vs. Auburn) - $3,000; Josiah Price, Michigan State (vs. Indiana) - $2,000; Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin (at Illinois) - $2,000
TOURNAMENT TARGETS
QUARTERBACK
Phillip Ely, Toledo (at Massachusetts) - $7,100
There are two scenarios I can imagine for this game. The first, and the one I'll presume will occur for the purpose of cash-game lineups, is a scenario where Toledo's defense just shuts down the Umass offense, and the Rockets breeze their way to an easy win riding the incredibly deep backfield of Kareem Hunt, Terry Swanson and Damion Jones-Moore. The other scenario, and the one that would make this pick pay off in a GPP setting, is one where UMass' offense plays just well enough to force Toledo to throw the ball 30 or more times. If Ely does that, I like his chances of approaching 250 yards and two or three touchdowns. After a slow start in his return from a torn ACL, Ely has gotten hot the last three weeks, completing 53-of-81 passes for 696 yards (8.6 YPA, eight touchdowns and two interceptions). The Massachusetts pass defense has been decent, but the pass rush has been quiet, and its pass defense numbers were padded by facing bad passing games like Florida International and Kent State. In any case, for Ely to be a hit for your GPP squad, you'd need to really nail the RB/WR/TE picks because he doesn't have as much upside as someone like Greg Ward. His GPP appeal lies more in the cash he'd free up than the numbers he's capable of.
RUNNING BACK
Alex Collins, Arkansas (vs. Auburn) - $8,000
Collins might have a surprisingly low ownership number, due to his fairly hefty price tag and the disappointing nature of the Arkansas offense. He could have one of his best games of the season against Auburn, however, because the Tigers are allowing 5.1 yards per carry and have surrendered 14 rushing touchdowns in six games.
Honorable mention:Derrick Henry, Alabama (vs. Tennessee) - $8,500; Shock Linwood, Baylor (vs. Iowa State) - $7,900; Kareem Hunt, Toledo (at Massachusetts) - $7,100; Wayne Gallman, Clemson (at Miami) - $6,500; Samaje Perine, Oklahoma (vs. Texas Tech) - $6,300; Elijah Hood, North Carolina (vs. Virginia) - $6,000; Joe Mixon, Oklahoma (vs. Texas Tech) - $5,900; Travon McMillian, Virginia Tech (vs. Duke) - $5,800; Terry Swanson, Toledo (at Massachusetts) - $5,700; Justin Jackson, Northwestern (at Nebraska) - $5,400; Chris Carson, Oklahoma State (vs. Kansas) - $5,400
WIDE RECEIVER
De'Mornay Pierson-El, Nebraska (vs. Northwestern) - $4,700
Pierson-El has seen his role steadily grow in the Nebraska offense since returning from his preseason foot injury. I am biased as a Pierson-El Superfan, but it's hard to not get excited about his potential in the remaining games. Northwestern's tough defense restricts him to GPP consideration only, in my opinion, but at this price, Pierson-El could meet value with just one big play. Hopefully he has a few, though.
Honorable mention: Demarcus Ayers, Houston (at UCF) - $7,700; Sterling Shepard, Oklahoma (vs. Texas Tech) - $7,400; Gabe Marks, Washington State (at Arizona) - $7,100; Dom Williams, Washington State (at Arizona) - $7,000; Aaron Burbridge, Michigan State (vs. Indiana) - $6,800; Artavis Scott, Clemson (at Miami) - $6,600; Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma (vs. Texas Tech) - $5,900; Calvin Ridley, Alabama (vs. Tennessee) - $5,700; Chris Godwin, Penn State (at Maryland) - $4,800; James Washington, Oklahoma State (vs. Kansas) - $4,800
FADES
QUARTERBACK
Luke Falk, Washington State (at Arizona) - $9,500
Hopefully, I can find someone other than Falk to name in this blurb one of these weeks, but for now he's the main fade among expensive quarterbacks for me (Seth Russell weather issues aside). As a general policy, it's bad to spend this much money on a guy who can all too easily give you negative points in the rushing column, especially with several dual-threat quarterbacks at comparable or lesser prices on the same slate.
RUNNING BACK
Mike Warren, Iowa State (at Baylor) - $7,300
Warren is very impressive, but I hated this matchup to begin with, and heavy rains would make it that much easier for the Baylor defense to lock on to the running game. With quarterback Sam Richardson generally inept anyway, Warren will see heavily stacked fronts even if the weather somehow cooperates.
WIDE RECEIVER
Corey Coleman, Baylor (vs. Iowa State) - $9,600
Coleman is amazing -- he's averaging a touchdown every 3.69 targets -- but the weather, potential for blowout and extremely high price make him an easy fade. I wouldn't confidently project Coleman for more points than a guy like Sterling Shepard even if the weather weren't an issue, so I don't see the point in paying this much and taking on the weather risk when there are cheaper options who provide much more certainty.
