Early college football DFS picks October 3: Wreck em Tech!

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Nov 29, 2019; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders running back SaRodorick Thompson (28) in the second half of the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports /

College football DFS running back picks October 3:

Top Tier:

Najee Harris is going to have a good game against A&M. That’s a given. What isn’t is who might outscore him. My money is on Gerrid Doaks. He’s going to have a huge game against South Florida and he is taking a much higher share of carries for the Bearcats than was originally thought.

Who said air raid teams don’t run? SaRodorick Thompson has over 100 yards and two rushing touchdowns in each of the first two games. This weekend will make three. He’s a sure thing. Leddie Brown is a little more of a risk against Baylor, but his ceiling is higher.

Middle Tier:

The middle is a little scary. Rodrigues Clark had a nice game for Memphis in their only contest, but he wasn’t particularly efficient. Trestan Ebner was an all-purpose monster against Kansas, but it wasn’t because of a wealth of opportunities. He still had just nine carries and two receptions. He’s not going to do that every game on special teams.

Kadarius Toney is the obvious pick here as Florida got Toney involved in the offense every time they could. He took carries, sweeps, and lined up as a receiver. He’s a solid option in this range. That said, I still like Deuce Vaughn due to his matchup against Texas Tech. K-State will try to slow the game down, which means a lot of running.

Time for a pop quiz. Who leads the nation in rushing touchdowns? Etienne? Nope. How about Cam’Ron Harris? Nope. Chuba? Not even close. It’s SMU’s Ulysses Bentley. Surprised? SMU is mostly a passing team, but Bentley has a nose for the end zone and has been heavily involved in the offense. He’s a strong play at this price.

Bargain Shoppers:

Emari Demercado was TCU’s leading rusher and caught five passes out of the backfield. That’s a positive sign heading into a matchup with a Texas team that was exposed by Texas Tech. I also love Roschon Johnson on the cheap here since he had more carries than Ingram and is far more explosive.

South Carolina used Deshaun Fenwick enough in the passing game to give him upside. Kevin Harris took the bulk of the carries, but Fenwick’s four receptions are just free points. If he’s going to be a part of the passing game, he’s worth a look on the cheap.

LD Brown at $4,000 is highway robbery. All of the chunk carries out of the backfield for Oklahoma State this year have been a product of Brown. Chuba gets most of the carries, but Brown is the one breaking the big gains. I love him at this price.