College football DFS picks November 4: Grin and Jaret

College football DFS running back picks November 4:

Top Tier:

Jaret Patterson is the best player in the MAC, and one of the best backs in the country. He’s priced like it too. Patterson ran for 19 touchdowns last year. This Buffalo team runs a lot, so you don’t have to worry about his workload even though he splits carries. Patterson is the best player in the conference and you have to pay up for that.

If you can’t afford Patterson, Bryant Koback isn’t a bad plan B. Bowling Green’s defense was the worst in the conference last year and Koback was about the only bright spot on Toledo’s offense after Guadagni went down. The Rockets will ride him hard, especially in a game like this where he’ll be able to run at will.

Central Michigan has some uncertainty at quarterback while they await the fate of David Moore. In typical NCAA fashion, they are in no hurry to rule on his case. You can’t trust anyone in this passing game, but Kobe Lewis is trustworthy. He will no longer split carries with Jonathan Ward. Anyone else that takes carries from him will have to earn them. Lewis ran for 1,074 and a dozen touchdowns last year. With the uncertainty at quarterback, he’s going to have a large role in this offense.

Middle Tier:

Ball State is mostly a passing team, but that didn’t stop Caleb Huntley from rushing for 1,275 yards and a dozen touchdowns last year. The Cardinals offense is one of the most polished in the MAC. That will only help them after this unusual offseason. Huntley is in a great spot here.

NIU lost Tre Harbison to transfer, but the transfer portal giveth when it taketh away. Enter Erin Collins, who initially went to NC State before going the junior college route. This backfield job is his only. This game should stay close enough for Collins to make an impact in this game, but there’s always a risk with the unknown.

This Western Michigan offense is going to look a lot different than last year with LeVante Bellamy gone as well. Sean Tyler was a solid backup and could be in for a big year if he can handle the work. Bellamy had nearly 200 more carries than Tyler last year and scored a whopping 23 touchdowns. This is a great matchup for Tyler against Akron. With uncertainty at QB, he looks underpriced on this slate. Nevada transfer Jaxson Kincaide will likely take Tyler’s role from last year and maybe more if he outperforms Tyler.

Bargain Shoppers:

Cole Gest was buried behind Stevie Scott at Indiana. He’s not behind anyone at Akron. I mentioned how awful their run game was last year. I don’t like the matchup, but Akron’s only hope is to establish Gest to try and take some pressure off of Nelson and the passing game. He’s a solid GPP dart on the cheap.

DeMontre Tuggle was named the starting RB for Ohio, but O’Shaan Allison is still going to see his share of carries. They are going to poach some of the other’s fantasy value and this situation will be even worse if Kurtis Rourke can run like his brother. The price point on Tuggle is solid if he gets the bulk of the carries. I think it’s safe to say that Allison will get at least a dozen touches and maybe more if he does more with his touches than Tuggle does. This is a situation I’d rather avoid, but I have no issues using both considering that Central Michigan’s defense wasn’t that great last year.

Shakif Seymour is cheap enough to use. Toledo loves to run the ball and they are going to try to trample Bowling Green into the Glass Stadium turf here. However, Kevin Marks has a better track record at a stud backup. He also topped 1000 yards last season even with Patterson running roughshod all over the conference. Marks is a great GPP play.