A brief peek back at what went right and what went wrong in Week 8:

Good Calls

The TCU game didn’t go how we wanted, but it did go as we might have expected –Rattler was great and my Value call, Theo Wease, was the 2^nd leading receiver. Just about everything went right on the Main Slate last week too. All Value and Stud QBs and RBs put up huge numbers – Justin Fields (30.44), Bo Nix (26.72), Chuba Hubbard (22.5), Breece Hall (27.3), and Mo Ibrahim (29.7) all scored over 20 fantasy points.

Bad Calls

Well, I was way off on my WR choices: Shi Smith only recorded 2 catches against what had been a lowly LSU secondary and NC State’s Devin Carter didn’t have any catches. I apologize for leading you astray, but hopefully you only listened to my non-WR advise.

The past is behind us - time to look ahead to the best plays for Week 9:

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Single Game Slate

For the single game showdown slate, you select 5 “flex” players, which can be any offensive player, including QB. One of those 5 is selected in the MVP spot, where his points will be multiplied by 1.5.

TCU (-2.5) @ Baylor, O/U: 48

I wouldn’t expect our Frogs to be featured on any single-game slates for the rest of the season, maybe against Oklahoma State, as the Frogs have certainly fallen off the national radar and don’t really have any other nationally intriguing games remaining. So this space will try to focus on where players from TCU’s game would fit on the Main Slate…..however this match up with the Bears is rightfully not one of the 11 games FanDuel has selected for its Main Slate this week. Given the low total and how these teams have fared thus far, you probably wouldn’t want to roster anyone from this game in your lineup anyway.

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Main Slate

Reminder: your Main Slate roster will include 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, and a Super Flex (any offensive player, including QB). The Main Slate this week includes 11 games, including many likely blowouts (only 3 games have point-spreads under a TD), but a lot of household names will be in play.

Stud QB

Mac Jones ($10,800): Alabama (-31) vs. Mississippi State, O/U 63.5 – The Crimson Tide could probably win this game with their 3^rd string and it’s possible Mac doesn’t get a full game in and maybe the game plan is to simply run every play. However Alabama has a First Half team total of 26.5 (greater than many team’s full game totals), with a full game team total of 47.5. Nobody has really slowed him down yet, and there’s no reason to believe the Bulldogs will on Saturday. Even without his All-World receiver Jaylen Waddle, Jones still has plenty of weapons at his disposal.

Value QB

DJ Uiagalelei ($8,500): Clemson (-24) vs. Boston College, O/U 56.5 – With Trevor Lawrence sitting this one out after a positive COVID test, Clemson get to trot out their newest toy. The true-Freshman super-recruit has garnered comparisons to Steve McNair and Cam Newton, and will look to keep the high performance Tigers offense humming in Lawrence’s absence. Now, I wouldn’t expect him to put up Trevor-like numbers in his first start, and perhaps the coaches will focus on establishing the run, but getting the Clemson QB at this price is too much to pass up.

Stud RB

Kahlil Herbert ($9,600): Virginia Tech (-3.5) vs. Louisville, O/U 67.5 – Look, you already know that Najee Harris and Travis Etienne are going to be great plays, especially so this week. You’d be glad to have them in your lineup, but looking to focus a bit off the beaten path here. Herbert has quietly been an absolute monster this season after transferring away from Kansas. He had his worst game last week and still went over 100 total yards. With Hendon Hooker back at QB, he might not be as heavily involved as at the start of the season, but the offense should be more efficient, giving him more scoring opportunities. On the other side, the Louisville defense that will attempt to has given up an average of 230 yards per game over its last 3 games.

Value RB

Jo’quavious Marks ($6,900): Mississippi St. (+31) vs. Alabama, O/U 63.5 – OK, so the Bulldogs aren’t expected to score many points in this one and will likely get fully blown off the field. However, with star RB Kylin Hill opting out (or doing whatever’s necessary to get away from Mike Leach), the Mississippi State backfield is open for a new star to emerge. The 4-star true-Freshman is ready to take on the challenge, and has already shown some flashes running and catching. You’ll probably need him to fall into the endzone to pay off, but he’s going to get the looks.

Stud WR

Tylan Wallace ($8,700): Oklahoma State (-3.5) vs. Texas, O/U 59 – As the Cowboys have continued to stack up wins this season, Wallace has been good, but hasn’t yet been WOW-good. No, putting up stats on Kansas does not count. I think this will be his spotlight game for the season – the one they’ll show as his name is called during the NFL Draft. This is a spotlight game on network television against one the sport’s biggest brands. Texas has looked terrible and is losing recruits daily and Tom Herman’s seat hasn’t been hotter – it sets up as the game that might save Herman’s job, but I’m looking for Tylan to drive the final nail in the coffin.

Value WR

Slade Bolden ($6,400): Alabama (-31) vs. Mississippi State, O/U 63.5 – The Jaylen Waddle injury was terrible and it’s awful to see one of the most fun players in college football to no longer be on the field. However, it’s next man up for Nick Saban, and that man is Slade Bolden. Last week Bolden stepped in and secured 6 catches for 94 yards. With a full game’s workload he’s certainly capable of breaking 100 yards and scoring a TD or 2.

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Weekly Contest

Note: you will need a FanDuel account, but you do not need to make a deposit to join this contest, all these games are free and just for bragging rights.

Can you defeat me and the competition this week? We only have the Main Slate contest this week. Join by copying the below URL into your browser.

For the Main Slate contest: https://www.fanduel.com/entry/51328-239573357

Good luck!