Knowing the type of offensive game a team uses and understanding their individual skill sets is crucial in making your picks. You don't want to draft a running back against a team with a fast defense, and you don't want to draft a wide receiver if his quarterback is having passing issues.

Saturday is the most action-packed day of the week, and you're bound to lose a contest if you aren't fluent in your options, and there are many options. Here are our biggest prospects, and some straight-to-the-point reasons they will deliver in today's early game matchups. You can read part two, for this evening's College Football DraftKings DFS Picks, lineups advice and matchups analysis.

Editors Note: Our partner DraftKings is hosting a $1 Million Daily College Football Championship, with great prizes including a three day trip to Miami and 250K to first place.  Sign up now and get a 100% bonus on your first deposit along with a FREE RotoBaller NFL Premium Pass + Premium DFS Lineup Picks (just email us with your DraftKings username to redeem your free RotoBaller subscription).

 

Daily Fantasy College Football Picks for 9/5 DraftKings CFB (Early Games)

With the NCAA college football season finally upon us, there is nothing better than a little Daily Fantasy Football on DraftKings. Below are our favorite DraftKings daily fantasy picks for the third day of the college football season on Saturday, September 5th.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of this column, discussing CFB DFS for the later games coming shortly...

 

DFS Picks for 9/5 - Stanford Cardinal @North Western University

Kevin Hogan ($7,900) is entering his fourth year as the starting quarterback for Stanford University. Hogan had the best game of his career towards the end of the season, completing 16 of 19 passes and 234 yards against UCLA. However, Hogan's fantasy numbers have always suffered from chronic fluctuation, and is almost as hit-or-miss as a running back from week to week. If you're looking for worthy investments in this matchup, head coach David Shaw revealed that their offense game will primarily go through running back Christian McCaffrey ($7,000), much to the approval of Stanford fans.

Additionally, Stanford is loaded with depth at the tight end position, and Austin Hooper ($3,700) has been called the best Stanford tight end of all time. Expect to see TE Dalton Shultz run 2-man sets with hooper, and even moments of 3 and 4 of their tight ends taking the field at once, making them a true redzone threat. Stanford is known for their wacky playbook, and they'll be giving Northwestern's defense a run for their money. As for the Wildcats, who endured a quarterback controversy while September crept closer, sophomore running back Justin Jackson ($7,300) rushed for 1,216 yards and 10 touchdowns last year, and will likely see some action. However, if Stanford defense is as solid as we expect, we should hope Northwestern will have some type of passing game.

 

DFS Picks for 9/5 - Louisiana Monroe @Georgia Bulldogs

This season, Louisiana-Monroe is packing up the playbook and resorting to a spread offense after losing effective pocket-passer, Pete Thomas. That being said, they didn't have any stand-outs last year as far as receivers go, and are likely still grooming their new QB. The Georgia Bulldogs, on the other hand, are still on the map with running back Nick Chubb ($10,900), who got his unlikely debut when his comrades fell to injuries. Head coach Mark Richt awarded the starting QB job to Virginia transfer, Greyson Lambert ($7,500). However, with two capable candidates right behind him on the depth chart, Richt has expressed he's not afraid to bench anyone who's not performing, so Lambert will need to deliver to keep the gig. Watch what happens before you bank on him.

 

DFS Picks for 9/5 - Louisville Cardinals @Auburn Tigers

Auburn is currently gambling on all counts: at QB, at RB, and even defense. Their biggest strength and most depth right now is at the linebacker position, and they need to replace some notorious talent. The Louisville Cardinals face some of the same issues on a smaller scale, and must replace WR DaVante Parker, with no lack of options. However, RB Brandon Radcliffe ($7,100) spent most of last season as a kick-returner, despite coming out of the gate at fourth string. He started 5 games, was the teams' top rusher, and gained 737 yards on 144 carries, totaling 12 touchdowns. This could go either way, but it seems likely that Louisville takes the win

 

DFS Picks for 9/5 - Virginia Cavaliers @UCLA Bruins

With Brett Hundley gone to the NFL, UCLA's new quarterback is Josh Rosen ($7,200) who has never seen a competitive snap. Seems legit. Rosen has a strong and long list of returning starters in his supporting cast, and he did win the job over Asiantii Woulard, who was the #1 dual-threat QB in his recruiting class, according to ESPN. But your real money makers are probably very familiar to you. RB Paul Perkins ($9,400) lead the Pac 12 in rushing last season, and will be an ideal target for Rosen. Brett Hundley's favorite target, however, was WR Jordan Payton ($6,700), who made 67 catches last season and totaled right under a thousand yards. Virginia suffered a close loss to UCLA last year, and finished their season 5-7. The Cavaliers are replacing their top tailback with the speedy Taquan Mizzell ($6,000), and are still armed with the talented WR, Canaan Severin ($4,600), whose improvising skills should come in handy under their new quarterback, Matt Johns ($5,800), who is expected to play under center. Despite Virginia's promising talent, UCLA's experience and more polished lineup will likely prove dominant.

 

DFS Picks for 9/5 - Florida Atlantic Owls @Tulsa

Last year, Florida Atlantic went 0-7 for away games. Despite this, they were decent at home and QB Jaquez Johnson ($8,200, 21.8 FPPG) was the Conference USA newcomer of the year in 2013. But if you're looking for a sleeper tight end on Saturday, look no further than Chandler Dexter ($2,000), who is expected to carry a fair amount of responsibility on the field. As for Tulsa, this is former offensive coordinator, Phillip Montgomery's, first year as a head coach and as a result, the Golden Hurricanes will likely be running spread. They have some decent returning talent on defense and also have solid talent in RB Zack Langer ($7,900), who will likely be the star rusher of this match up, and WR Keevan Lucas ($9,800, 20.4 FPPG) who is more constructively experienced than any other reciever in the game. Tulsa stands the best chance at victory, in this one.

 

DFS Picks for 9/5 - Penn State Nittany Lions @Temple Owls

Penn state is back in the game without sanctions, and is likely to repair a lot of the (gaping) holes in their program. There's plenty of glimmers of hope, like WR DaeSean Hamilton ($6,200), who was the leading reciever for the team last year. Tight end Jesse James is gone to the NFL, but Kyle Carter ($2,500) is stepping up as the full-time starter and will surely see some action. As for Temple, who is absolutely stacked with defense, QB PJ Walker ($6,300) is expected to give more responsibility to former DB and current RB, Jahad Thomas (truly a steal at $5,300), so don't be afraid to give that a whirl for your first week back in one-day leagues. Despite popular projections, Temple will take the win at home.

 

DFS Picks for 9/5 - UTEP Miners @Arkansas Razorbacks

The Miners got out of a terrible decade-long slump last season and went 7-6. Tailback (RB) Aaron Jones ($8,100) will be the offensive objective for UTEP, but he will be going against a team that shutout LSU (17-0) and Ole Miss (30-0) last season. However, Arkansas will be without half their lethal running-back duo, as Jonathan Williams is out for the season. Razorbacks fans can only hope that RB Alex Collins ($9,400) will continue to carry some of the weight for QB Brandon Allen ($8,500) who is expected to be more productive/accurate this time around. Regardless, Arkansas definitely has this in the bag.

 

DFS Picks for 9/5 - BYU Cougars @Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska has a lot to live up to with the loss of Ameer Abdullah to the NFL. So far we know that QB Tommy Armstrong Jr ($8,800, 22.2 FPPG) will be doing a lot less running and a lot more passing in the new scheme. WR Jordan Westerkamp ($5,000) will probably be his most popular target, with injuries and a lack of experience tainting their recieving roster. However, there's been implications of a pro-style offense for this season, so expectations are high. As for BYU, Injury-prone QB Taysom Hill ($9,900, 31.2 FPPG) who seems almost hungry for contact, is a big risk taker and could run up a nice fantasy score as usual. BYU is the safe bet.

 

DFS Picks for 9/5 - Bowling Green Falcons @Tennesse Volunteers

Bowling Green has a poised, fast paced offense, especially for a team in the MAC east. QB Matt Johnson ($6,600) will be more effective than ever this season, but the tight end that you wanna bag in this match-up is Ethan Wolfe ($3,300) of Tennesse. The Volunteers still have a long way to go, but even if they play their best, Bowling Green would seemingly be the victor.

 

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