Apparently, Texas A&M has finally identified the biggest problem facing its football program this season.
The message boards.
After getting embarrassed 27-6 by Missouri on Saturday, Mike Elko decided to use part of his postgame press conference to take shots at TexAgs, calling the popular Aggie fan site “Billy’s cesspool.”
For context, Texas A&M managed 74 total yards and two first downs through the first three quarters.
But sure, the message boards are the problem.
I genuinely don’t know how you can spend the kind of money Texas A&M spends on football, put that product on the field, and then get upset when your fans have the audacity to complain about it.
This is a program with seemingly unlimited financial resources, one of the biggest stadiums in college football, and a fan base that acts like a national championship is just around the corner.
They’ve even got the championship history to prove it. Remember when A&M added the 1919 and 1927 national championships to the wall outside Kyle Field in 2012?
Nothing says college football powerhouse quite like discovering a couple of national championships from nearly a century ago.
Maybe one of these days they’ll actually win one. Probably not, but I’m sure somebody will be happy to write another eight-figure check to find out.
Elko apologized on Monday, which was probably a good idea. Although I do have some sympathy for him. If I had to watch that offense every Saturday, I’d probably start yelling at strangers on the internet, too.
If you want people to stop complaining about your football team, maybe try scoring a touchdown.
What Last Week Taught Us
Last week was a pretty good reminder that you can identify several of the right plays and still have a miserable tournament day.
Isaiah Mizell scored 39 DraftKings points, Jamal Roberts put up 41, Nate Sheppard had 38, and LaNorris Sellers added 35. Patrick Overmyer scored 40 at less than 5% actual ownership in the large-field tournaments. Those were the players showing up near the top, and there were some perfectly reasonable paths to building around them. 3-RB constructions also appeared in 24% of that contest’s top 1%.
Then there was Oregon.
I was pretty excited about Oregon onslaughts against UCLA. Naturally, the Ducks lost 17-15. Dylan Raiola finished with -2 DK points, and Jamari Johnson managed one. Those combinations absolutely ruined a big part of my portfolio.
As if that wasn’t enough, Pitt running back Ja’Kyrian “Boosie” Turner got hurt early against North Carolina and finished with three DK points. Different game, different disaster. Very enjoyable Saturday all around.
The lesson isn’t to stop taking aggressive stands. Getting Overmyer right was exactly why we spend the week doing football research instead of blindly following projections. But even good convictions need complete lineups with enough ways to finish first. Last week, too many of my best ideas ended up attached to the same losing outcomes.
Week 7 in 60 Seconds
There’s not a single game on the DK main slate with a total in the 60s. If only there were a Big 12 game with a massive total that DK could’ve included. Cough Cincinnati-West Virginia. Without an obvious must-stack shootout, I’d expect game-stack ownership to be spread across several environments. I love that for large-field GPPs.
The mid-range running backs are loaded, particularly J’Koby Williams, Jeffrey Overton Jr., and Trelain Maddox. Cheap quarterback options like Austin Simmons and Isaiah Marshall make it easier to pay for Jeremiah Smith or Sheppard.
Then there’s Georgia. Dwight Phillips Jr. could become one of the best plays on the slate if Nate Frazier sits. Of course, Frazier wasn’t even listed on last week’s availability report and still didn’t play.
Very reassuring.
What’s the Field Going to Do?
I expect a lot of the field to end up with similar lineup combinations, even if the quarterback pairings and game stacks are all over the place.
Williams and Maddox look like two of the safest plays on the slate. Overton is another popular mid-range option who fits naturally alongside them. With those backs occupying so many comfortable salary slots, I expect many builds to look awfully familiar.
And oh, look, Smith is on another main slate.
I expect plenty of lineups to pair him with two or three mid-range running backs, while filling out the remaining receiver spots with cheaper options like Cam Pickett, Jordan Shipp, and Yannick Smith. Others will prioritize Sheppard or build more balanced receiving groups.
An example of a popular lineup skeleton looks something like:
Jeremiah Smith + J’Koby Williams + two more mid-range RBs + two value QBs + two cheaper receivers.
The quarterbacks and secondary receivers might change, but a lot of these lineups could still depend on the same handful of players having ceiling games. That’s where I think we’ll see meaningful overlap without one particular game dominating the slate.
Solver vs. Field
We create the highest-quality CFB content
Sean Newsham and Alex Hardin are two of the most successful college football DFS players ever. Together with the ETR Team, we bring you the best CFB information. We analyze what’s happening in a way that’s digestible and actionable, with a goal of preparing you to make the best decisions possible during the College Football season.
Click to learn more about ETR’s In-Season College Football (CFB) subscriptions.
Full Details » Already a subscriber? Log In
