Once again, the SEC should dominate the headlines across college football. The Week 3 slate of games is stuffed with big-time matchups that feature SEC squads. We have an SEC-Big Ten matchup in Tuscaloosa, 2 ranked-on-ranked games involving SEC teams, and 3 conference games that are all expected to be tight.
That ensures another robust DFS scene. Here’s who you should target from across the league.
Week 3 DFS predictions
Below are 3 DFS picks from the Week 3 college football slate that can all be found on Underdog Fantasy. If you’re new to Underdog, grab Saturday Down South‘s exclusive Underdog Fantasy promo code that will help you earn $50 in bonus credits when you enter your first $5 contest!
Arkansas RB Mike Washington higher than 53.5 rushing yards vs. Ole Miss
A ton of points are expected in this game, and I agree it should be an up-and-down kind of matchup. Arkansas has an offense that is operating as effectively as any in the country right now, and tailback Mike Washington has been a big reason why. Braylen Russell had more carries in the Week 1 game (11 vs. 9) but Washington’s 2 receptions kept him tied for total touches. In Week 2, the carries swung the other way, as Washington played one of his best games. He ran 9 times for 116 yards and a touchdown, averaging 12.9 a pop. Russell has been the slipperier back but Washington has hit more explosives. That will matter against an Ole Miss front that has taken a step back. Per Game on Paper, Ole Miss currently ranks 119th in EPA per run faced. It’s early, and the sample size is small, but this defense ranked fifth in the same metric a year ago. Georgia State averaged 5.5 yards a carry against Ole Miss in the opener and then Kentucky ran for 4.7 per carry last week. No team was over 4 per carry last year against the Rebels.
Florida QB DJ Lagway lower than 210.5 passing + rushing yards vs. LSU
The LSU defense currently ranks fifth in the country in EPA per play faced. Cade Klubnik averaged just 6.1 yards per pass attempt with a 50% completion rate at home against LSU in Week 1. Louisiana Tech averaged 3.7 yards per pass against this LSU defense last week. Now, second-year passer DJ Lagway gets to face the Tigers inside the den. Lagway started 1 true road game last year, so this is still a relatively new experience for him. And he has more than 200 passing yards in a game only 5 times thus far. He isn’t a threat in the run game at this point, and I think sacks can help drive this number down. Klubnik faced pressure on 42% of his dropbacks in Week 1, per PFF. Louisiana Tech’s starting quarterback was under pressure on a little over a third of his dropbacks last week. I just can’t imagine Florida going into this matchup with a plan to let Lagway throw it 30 times.
Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love higher than 13.5 rushing attempts vs. Texas A&M
A massive chunk of the discourse surrounding Notre Dame’s Week 1 defeat at Miami has centered around the Irish’s usage of tailback Jeremiah Love. In the 27-24 loss to the Canes, Love had 10 carries for 33 yards. He went nearly 10 minutes of game clock in the first quarter without getting a carry, then didn’t record a rushing attempt for the final 13 minutes of the second quarter. A preseason Heisman candidate, Love is simply too valuable a playmaker not to get the ball more often. If he wasn’t healthy for Week 1, Notre Dame has been hiding something serious. If he was beat up, getting Week 2 off should have him feeling refreshed. Against a Texas A&M defense that currently ranks 111th in EPA per run faced, I suspect Notre Dame will try to establish a physical run game early on. And with so much attention paid to Love’s usage, I could see coordinator Mike Denbrock scripting up some stuff early to get him involved. He’s their best home-run hitter on an offense being run by a redshirt freshman quarterback. At some point, Notre Dame has to take the parking boot off of Love and let him run.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
