Fansided

College football DFS picks September 5: Ride the Ponies to cash

By Mike Marteny

DALLAS, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 09: Shane Buechele #7 of the Southern Methodist Mustangs throws against the East Carolina Pirates in the first half at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 09: Shane Buechele #7 of the Southern Methodist Mustangs throws against the East Carolina Pirates in the first half at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
college football dfs
HOUSTON, TX – NOVEMBER 02: Brenden Knox #20 of the Marshall Thundering Herd runs between Ikenna Enechukwu #91 of the Rice Owls and Blaze Alldredge #55 in the half on November 2, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

College football DFS running back picks September 5:

Top Tier:

North Texas returns both Tre Siggers and DeAndre Torrey to the backfield. The situation is no more clear than it was last year. Siggers carried more of the load, but both are solid options against Houston Baptist. The Mean Green should run a lot in this game.

I much prefer Brenden Knox and TJ McDaniel though. Knox is the undisputed starter for a team breaking in a new QB against a FCS squad. McDaniel is a starter in a potent offense, even if it is a throw-first one. I expect Knox and McDaniel to run circles around the North Texas duo tomorrow.

Middle Tier:

When we last saw Quardraiz Wadley, he led the Miners in rushing back in 2018 before missing 2019 with a broken toe. He’s back with a nice matchup against Stephen F. Austin here.

In the middle tier, Wadley and Rodrigues Clark should be the targets. Clark is the starter for Memphis after last year’s leading rusher Kenny Gainwell opted out of the season. Clark will get first crack at carries with Asa Martin tagged to get some as the backup. Clark was solid as a freshman last year when he saw the field and is a nice price here.

Da’Leon Ward had a few huge games for the Lumberjacks last year before missing the last six weeks of the season. He also is targeted quite a bit out of the backfield, so he’s a strong option in this tier as well.

Marcel Murray is nursing a leg injury. This coming after the Red Wolves announced more of a committee approach to their run game anyway. Isaiah Azubuike and Ryan Graham both suffered season-ending injuries last year. There are enough running backs that you should be able to get away with avoiding this entire situation.

Bargain Shoppers:

Dreshawn Minnieweather was a good back for Houston Baptist last year, but I don’t know how much room he’s going to have to run against North Texas. There’s huge risk involved here. Same with Brock Sturges. He’s the undisputed starter for the Bobcats, but they only averaged 2.8 yards per carry over the entire 2019 season.

Sure, Army’s quarterback runs a lot, but Sandon McCoy still carved out a nice role as the backup running back last year. He’s a free space today at this price. I like Hobbs for this price as well since Army has at least two running backs on the field at all times.

Josh McGowen is an interesting punt here. He closed the season with a 158 yard performance against Northwestern State. While he isn’t technically the starter to himself, McGowen should still get enough carries alongside Ward at a much lower price.