DFS: Saturday College Football Lineup Optimizer

Leonard Fournette, the biggest name in college football, won't be available in the early slate for FanDuel this week, so if you wanted to throw $10,000 of your $45,000 lineup at a running back, you won't be able to do it in the biggest tournaments of the weekend. That doesn't mean other big names aren't available, especially at quarterback, where each of the top four projected passers in the Lineup Optimizer play in the early slate.

Those passers, all projected for 30-plus FanDuel points, won't come cheap, of course, so you'll have to shave a few bucks elsewhere. The Optimal Lineup opted to go with Dalvin Cook for $7,700 rather than Shock Linwood from Baylor, who probably has the better matchup but also comes with $400 more in price.

Additionally, even with a cheap backup running back expected to see a larger role, costs had to be cut at wide receiver as well. Of course, in college football, that isn't a bad thing, given how many $6,000 or less receivers can put up huge numbers.

With 20 games on the early slate, you won't have trouble finding options to play.

Here is the Optimal Lineup for FanDuel's main CFB slate, as of Friday morning.

Note: The Optimizer will produce multiple lineups throughout the week based on news and other factors leading right up to kickoff. The lineup Chris spotlights in his column may be significantly different than the lineup you receive from the Optimizer later.

Houston QB Greg Ward @ Tulsa $9,200
Key Stat: Scores 25+ FD points in 80 percent of simulations

Ward is running one of the best offenses in the country right now, and he hasn't really been putting the ball in the air all that often -- only one game with more than 30 pass attempts. Of course, his 15 rushing attempts per game and four total rushing touchdowns definitely help in that regard. Tulsa's offense has shown some life this season, scoring at least 38 points in each of the first three games, so Houston could be in a situation where they have to keep their feet on the pedal all game long. It is worth noting that Ward had just 15.8 FD points in the last matchup between these teams, however it's hard to worry about that too much given his five straight 30-plus point efforts.

FSU RB Dalvin Cook @ Wake Forest $7,700
Key Stat:Scores 15+ FD points in 80 percent of simulations

Cook is off to a tremendous start to the season, averaging 7.4 yards per carry and racking up 476 yards through his first three games. Of course, most of those yards came in the first two games, as he was pretty much shut down in the team's last game, a narrow win over Boston College in which he rushed for just 54 yards on 15 carries. With this week's matchup projected to be a blowout, with FSU scoring 30-plus points per our projections, everything is lining up for a huge bounceback from Cook, who had scored double-digits in Fantasy points in seven straight games before the BC game.

Pittsburgh RB Qadree Ollison @ Virginia Tech $5,600
Key Stat: Lowest cost per projected point in lineup

Pitt gave much of the work in the running game to Darrin Hall in last week's loss to Iowa, but Hall has a leg injury that is keeping him off the field this week. Ollison had been listed as a co-starter for the Panthers along with Hall, so he should get a big workload in what is projected to be a pretty close game. Allison had 288 yards on 37 carries with two touchdowns in his first two games of the season, so expect big things from him as a feature back.

Washington State WR Gabe Marks @ Cal $6,600
Key Stat: Worth cost in 93 percent of simulations

We know Washington State is going to throw the ball early and often no matter what the game situation is, but you have to like that the Optimizer projects them for a double-digit loss this week. Marks is coming off a disappointing five-catch, 51-yard performance in the team's last game, but had 39.8 FD points in his first two games, so we know the upside is there. With how much the Cougars are likely to throw the ball, having any piece of their passing game seems like a great idea.

Houston WR Steven Dunbar @ Tulsa $5,900
Key Stat: Scores 15+ FD pints in 41 percent of simulations

Any time you can get a piece of an offense projected for 46 points, you have to feel good about it. Dunbar isn't the Cougars' top option at wide receiver, but the sophomore has come on strong over the last two games, scoring a pair of touchdowns and totaling 134 yards on seven receptions. He's a bit of a boom-or-bust play, but you won't get many sure things at this price, so go with the matchup.

Virginia Tech WR Isaiah Ford vs. Pittsburgh $5,800
Key Stat: Worth value in 40 percent of games last 12 months

In just four games, Ford is already halfway to his freshman year total in receiving yards, so this has obviously been a good start to the season. He slowed down a bit in conference play last season, so it will be interesting to see if he can avoid the same fate as a sophomore. The Optimizer likes Ford's chances of getting to at least 15 FD points, which would be close to returning 3-times value, a good sign.

Western Kentucky TE Tyler Higbee $6,300
Key Stat: Only TE projected for more than 13 FD points

Tight ends who can be counted on for production in the college game are exceedingly rare, with so many teams running spread concepts that downplay their value. In this context, Higbee truly stands out. He has already set career-high marks in every relevant receiving category, and has at least 88 yards or a receiving touchdown in each game so far, giving him a 17.5 FD points average. Rice is giving up 38 points per game, so the high-flying WKU offense should have high expectations yet again this week. Higbee is one of the few standout tight ends left, and his production so far suggests this price is a steal.