Welcome back college football fans! We’re back for another weekend of CFB DFS with yet another Power 5 conference joining in on the fun. The Pac-12 is finally back and they’ll jump right into this weekend’s DFS slates. This playbook covers Saturday’s 13-game DraftKings early main slate kicking off at 12 pm ET. A couple notes on this playbook before we dive in. First off, the Wisconsin-Purdue game has been postponed due to COVID issues. Also, Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is OUT again this week after testing positive for COVID last week.
Also note that this playbook focuses on the early main slate of DK. FanDuel has a full main slate that includes games all throughout the day, including night matchups. As always, I’ll be in the chat early Saturday morning to provide last-minute injury updates and answer any lineup questions for either site! Good luck!
THE SLATE (betting odds via DK Sportsbook as of 11/5):
12 pm ET -- Arizona State @ USC (-11) -- 56.5 o/u
12 pm ET -- Michigan (-3) @ Indiana -- 54 o/u
12 pm ET -- North Carolina (-11.5) @ Duke -- 63.5 o/u
12 pm ET -- West Virginia @ Texas (-6.5) -- 54 o/u
12 pm ET -- Michigan State @ Iowa (-6.5) -- 46.5 o/u
3:30 pm ET -- Florida @ Georgia (-3) -- 52.5 o/u
3:30 pm ET -- Kansas @ Oklahoma (-37.5) -- 63 o/u
3:30 pm ET -- Houston @ Cincinnati (-13.5) -- 54.5 o/u
3:30 pm ET -- Texas Tech @ TCU (-8.5) -- 60.5 o/u
3:30 pm ET -- Minnesota (-7) @ Illinois -- 61.5 o/u
3:30 pm ET -- Maryland @ Penn State (-24.5) -- 64 o/u
4 pm ET -- Arizona @ Utah (-14) -- 56 o/u
4 pm ET -- Oklahoma State (-12.5) @ Kansas State -- 46 o/u
Highest Team Totals (per DK Sportsbook Odds)
Oklahoma -- 50.25 points vs. Kansas
Penn State -- 44.25 points vs. Maryland
North Carolina -- 37.5 points @ Duke
Utah -- 35 points vs. Arizona
TCU -- 34.5 points vs. Texas Tech
Minnesota -- 34.25 points @ Illinois
Cincinnati -- 34 points vs. Houston
USC -- 33.75 points vs. Arizona State
Texas -- 30.25 points vs. West Virginia
QUARTERBACKS
| Quarterbacks |
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Sean Clifford | PSU | UMD | 8900 | 31.58 | | |
| The expensive QB range on this slate is a bit tough to decide on this week. Texas’ Sam Ehlinger ($9300) is always in play but hasn’t totally lived up to his high price tags the last couple games. Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler ($9100) has a really good matchup but the ceiling is capped in an expected blowout over Kansas. That brings us to Penn State’s QB, who also has a very favorable matchup vs. a Maryland defense that’s given up 40+ points in both games this year. The Nittany Lions should light up the scoreboard and Clifford will be a big reason why. His rushing upside is something we can really hope for this week and it potentially makes him more valuable than both Ehlinger and Rattler. Clifford ran for 119 yards and a TD in PSU’s opener against another subpar defense (Illinois) and he showed some dual-threat ability in 2019 with 50+ rushing yards in five separate games. He’ll have much more involvement running it this season with the Lions dealing with season-ending injuries to their top two RBs - and Maryland’s been getting torched on the ground so far. The floor is high for Clifford and he’s a safe cash play at the high end. |
| Desmond Ridder | CINCY | UH | 8700 | 27.17 | | |
| If you don’t totally trust Clifford yet at his expensive salary, pivot towards Desmond Ridder as your high-priced cash or GPP QB. The Cincinnati dual-threat has come through for us the past two weeks with 48 and 38 DK points, respectively, with special thanks to his five rushing scores vs. soft defenses. Ridder gets another favorable matchup vs. Houston’s defense that’s given up 35 PPG and is very susceptible to both the pass and run games. His rushing production is very encouraging over the last couple games because it’s something we weren’t getting from Ridder in the beginning of the season. When you combine the rush upside with his passing abilities in this easy matchup, Ridder’s floor seems pretty safe with a really high ceiling if he’s scoring on the ground multiple times again. |
| Kyle Trask | UF | UGA | 8100 | 34.78 | | |
| At first glance, the matchup seems really scary for the Florida offense and may lean you away from Kyle Trask. Georgia may own the nation’s 12th-best scoring defense right now, but they are notably better against the run than the pass. The Bulldogs have the fifth-best run D in the country, yet they have been shaky vs. the pass at times this season - as evidenced by Alabama QB Mac Jones throwing for 417 yards and four TDs against them. Obviously Florida isn’t ‘Bama, but the Trask and Co. can light up the scoreboard at any given moment and the offense hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Trask has tossed at least four TDs in every game this year and against Texas A&M (his toughest test), he put up 32 DK points with 312 yards and four scores. Florida is built on having a strong passing game and they will lean on Trask throwing it a ton and making plays - especially considering Georgia’s tough run D. He’s a great GPP play at this salary. |
| Kedon Slovis | USC | ASU | 7800 | 0 | | |
| Thankfully we have the Pac-12 back on the slate DFS CFB slates with some more fantasy-friendly offenses. One of the best offenses in the conference this year will undoubtedly be USC and QB Kedon Slovis might become a weekly staple of our QB playbook. Slovis headlines the Trojans’ pass-happy, Air Raid offense that will allow him to throw it plenty to a slew of talented receivers (we’ll get to them later). As just a freshman last year, Slovis quickly won the starting QB job and finished the season with 3,502 passing yards and a 30:9 TD:INT ratio in 10 full games. He’ll benefit a ton from facing an Arizona State pass defense that was one of the country’s worst last season. In this matchup a year ago, Slovis went off for 432 passing yards and four TDs and he could easily do something similar this weekend. He makes for a great cash game play with upside for GPP’s as well. |
| Max Duggan | TCU | TTU | 6400 | 19.02 | | |
| Admittedly, Duggan has not been great fantasy-wise lately with 17 or fewer DK points in each of the past three games. Still, though, we have to consider any QB who’s facing the lowly Texas Tech pass defense. Tech is allowing 339 passing yards and nearly three pass TDs per game this season, which makes them the worst passing D among all Power 5 programs. Basically every opposing QB vs. TTU has been a solid DFS play in 2020 and we should expect the trend to continue here with Duggan showing flashes of his upside at different points this year. He’s one of the better dual-threats in the cheap price range and can offer DFS value from passing and running as the headliner for the TCU offense. The price is really affordable when you consider the favorable matchup - and he’s a great GPP Super-Flex option with tons of ceiling. |
| Jarret Doege | WVU | UT | 6100 | 19.35 | | |
| Want another cheap QB in a plus-matchup? Texas’ defense has been very iffy this season, allowing 38.4 PPG to Big 12 opponents and Longhorns’ games have turned into offensive shootouts nearly every week. It happened with Oklahoma State last week and with TCU, Oklahoma and Texas Tech earlier in the year - and West Virginia certainly has the offensive talent to keep pace on the scoreboard. Doege has started to heat up with three consecutive games of 300+ passing yards and 20+ DK points. He doesn’t offer any rushing upside like other QBs on this slate, but the WVU offense likely has to throw more this week to match Texas on the scoreboard. Doege makes for a great Super-Flex play in all formats. |
Also Consider:
Sam Ehlinger - Texas ($9,300) - Cash/GPP
Spencer Rattler - Oklahoma ($9,100) - GPP
Sam Howell - North Carolina ($8,100) - GPP/Fringe Cash
Spencer Sanders - Oklahoma State ($7,600) - Cash/GPP
Taulia Tagovailoa - Maryland ($7,000) - GPP
Jayden Daniels - Arizona State ($6,700) - GPP/Fringe Cash
Michael Penix Jr. - Indiana ($6,600) - GPP
RUNNING BACKS
| Running Backs |
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Leddie Brown | WVU | UT | 8200 | 30.17 | | |
| Since West Virginia doesn’t get the same national attention as other teams, Leddie Brown has flown a bit under the radar for casual college football fans - but DFS players know he’s been a stud all season. He’s seeing huge volume in the WVU offense as both a rusher and receiver - and he’ll likely be heavily involved once again against a forgiving Texas defense this week. Over five conference games thus far, Brown is averaging 27 total touches and 144 total yards and he’s scored seven TDs over the last four games with at least 26 DK points in each outing. His heavy volume of carries and involvement in the passing game will keep his DFS floor pretty high every week and that won’t stop in a high-scoring matchup with Texas. He’s actually a little too cheap for what his true value is and makes for a great cash or GPP RB1 this week. |
| Chuba Hubbard | OKST | KSU | 7800 | 22.36 | | |
| Until we’re shown otherwise, Chuba Hubbard needs to be considered every week because of his consistently high usage in the Oklahoma State offense. Not much can be said about Hubbard that you don’t already know, but just look at his carry numbers by game through five games: 27, 22, 20, 25, 25. Any RB with that amount of volume is DFS gold and Hubbard has the talent to take any of his touches to the house and break the slate. In those five games, he rushed for 100+ yards three times with six total TDs. As long as he’s below 8k, Hubbard is a huge value for cash games and could easily be the slate’s highest-scoring RB if he finds the end zone multiple times. There are two worries with Hubbard this week: the Kansas State rush defense has been stingy at times this season, and Oklahoma State QB Spencer Sanders has been a TD vulture at times. Besides that, though, Hubbard is as good as any RB on the slate and is priced down from what his real value can be. |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | OU | KU | 6900 | 30 | | |
| It seems a different Oklahoma RB emerges every week as the newest DFS target - and Stevenson is the latest to catch our attention. Unlike T.J. Pledger and Seth McGowan, though, Stevenson is a completely different story and he might actually become a workhorse in this backfield moving forward. He made his season debut last week after being suspended to begin the year - and promptly put up 30 DK points with his 87 rushing yards and three TDs on 13 carries with two receptions as a bonus. Stevenson was expected to be the Sooners’ lead back whenever he returned, and it’s clear the team won’t shy away from using him in that role with last week’s performance as evidence. Neither Pledger or McGowan is a big-body back like Stevenson and they are better as change-of-pace complements than lead guys like earlier. That’s probably how this backfield shakes out moving forward and we should treat Stevenson like a #1 back now. The matchup couldn’t be better for Stevenson either with Kansas getting torched on the ground this year, allowing 216 rushing yards per game and 16 rush TDs through six games. Stevenson might not play the whole game in a likely blowout, but he should do enough damage to be a great cash game RB before he heads to the bench. |
| Devyn Ford | PSU | UMD | 5900 | 10.8 | | |
| Ford is now Penn State’s lead back by default with Journey Brown and Noah Cain both out for the season and the opportunity is obviously there for him in a Penn State offense that should score plenty against Maryland’s porous defense. UMD is allowing nearly 300 rushing yards per game through two weeks with nine rushing scores given up already. Lead backs for Minnesota and Northwestern had huge games vs. this defense and Ford should as well - even with QB Sean Clifford having a good rushing game too. Although he’s yet to eclipse 20 DK points in two games, it’s encouraging to see Ford get 20 carries and score a TD in PSU’s first game when it was a close loss to Indiana. Last week’s effort can be thrown out because it came against a tough Ohio State D in a game PSU was playing from behind. This week, though, Ford could see 20+ touches again and feast in a soft matchup. |
| Devin Brumfield | UTAH | ARIZ | 5200 | 0 | | |
| Replacing a workhorse, NFL talent like Zack Moss is no easy task - but that’s what Utah is trying to do this offseason with its backfield. The depth chart has Devin Brumfield and Jordan Willmore listed as co-starters but it should be the former who gets the first opportunity to be the #1 back. Last season, Brumfield was the main backup to Moss as he averaged 4.5 ypc with 263 rushing yards compared to Willmore’s 194 yards and 4.0 ypc average. Most reports have talked up Brumfield as the top candidate to be Utah’s lead back and he’s a massive bargain if that’s the case. Willmore ($4900) is more a GPP play, but Brumfield is a very solid cash play with Utah being two-score favorites in a high-scoring game (58.5 total). Arizona’s rush defense (and overall D) was pretty terrible last year and Vegas seems to expect the same with that spread. Brumfield is a huge bargain in what could be a big game with Utah likely leaning on the run game with an uncertain QB situation. |
| Zach Evans | TCU | TTU | 4000 | 7.5 | | |
| This TCU-Texas Tech game will have plenty of DFS production on both sides in a high-scoring matchup - and there’s some value in the TCU backfield. True freshman Zach Evans was a highly rated recruit coming in and is finally starting to see more touches over the past couple games. Evans posted season-high’s in total yards (91) and touches (9) last week and scored his first TD of the year as he was more involved in the offense than ever before. In the previous game, he had six touches for 66 yards and is now firmly in the rotation after only getting one or two carries earlier in the year. Injuries and underperforming from other TCU backs has opened the door for Evans to get more playing time and touches. Darwin Barlow ($5400) is also a solid value at this price but at 4k, Evans is a great GPP cheap option in a high-scoring game vs. a shaky Texas Tech defense. |
Also Consider:
Mohamed Ibrahim - Minnesota ($10,000) - GPP
Javonte Williams - North Carolina ($8,500) - GPP
Zamir White - Georgia ($7,200) - Cash/GPP
Gerrid Doaks - Cincinnati ($6,700) - GPP
Bijan Robinson - Texas ($4,500) - Cash
Seth McGowan - Oklahoma ($4,500) - GPP
WIDE RECEIVERS
| Wide Recievers |
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Kadarius Toney | UF | UGA | 7800 | 25.5 | | |
| Toney’s been bouncing back-and-forth between the RB and WR pools but he deserves to be mentioned among the top-tier WR’s now that he’s here. He’s the Swiss Army knife of this Florida offense who can take it to the house any time he touches the ball. Speaking of taking it to the house, Toney has been a TD machine this season with seven through four games and five over his last two outings. The Gators are looking to get the ball into Toney’s hands as often as possible and we can bank on him being a big part of the offensive gameplan in a critical matchup vs. Georgia this week. It’s a hefty price tag, but when you consider he’s put up 20+ DK points and found the end zone every game thus far - he’s worth and then some in cash or GPP. |
| Dyami Brown | UNC | DUKE | 7700 | 23.52 | | |
| Speaking of top-tier receivers, Dyami Brown has vaulted into that category after last week’s outburst. Brown put up a whopping 56 DK points last Saturday with his 11 receptions, 240 yards and three TDs. He’s been the #1 receiver in this UNC offense all season and not many expected him to be so much more involved than fellow Tar Heels wideout Dazz Newsome, who’s been on a milk carton. Brown and QB Sam Howell have a clear rapport and that should continue with UNC still having one of the nation’s highest-scoring offenses that needs to make up for a subpar defense. Last week, Brown’s big game came with Beau Corrales sitting out and that will be the case again this Saturday with Corrales still injured. He was UNC’s second-best receiver this year, so his absence bumps up Brown’s ceiling even more - like we saw a week ago. For the expensive price, though, he’s only a GPP play because of how much North Carolina likes to run the ball. |
| Rashod Bateman | MINN | IL | 7000 | 16.65 | | |
| If you’re a college football fan, you know about Rashod Bateman’s NFL-ready talent. Last year, Bateman and former Minnesota WR Tyler Johnson formed one of the best 1-2 receiving corps in the country. With Johnson off to the NFL, it’s Bateman who’s the top receiving target for QB Tanner Morgan. His 14 catches through two games are almost triple the next-closest Golden Gophers’ pass-catcher (Chris Autman-Bell) and he’s going to be a PPR stud every week in a high-scoring Minnesota offense. The matchup this week couldn’t be better as Illinois is allowing 309 passing yards and three pass TDs per game through two weeks. The only risk is how run-heavy the MINN offense has been so far, with Morgan not throwing it as often as he did last year. That could easily change this weekend and Bateman has the talent to be the highest-scoring WR on the slate. At the price, he’s a fantastic GPP play if you aren’t paying for other stud receivers. |
| Kyle Pitts | UF | UGA | 6200 | 25.62 | | |
| Who remembers when Kyle Pitts was the TD god for Florida before Kadarius Toney took over that title? After scoring four times in the opener with six TDs through the first two games, Pitts has slowed down a bit partially because of a foot injury. He hasn’t missed time (thanks to some COVID cancellations), but Pitts failed to find the end zone for the first time last week. Still, though, he put up a stat line of five grabs for 81 yards as he remains one of the top receiving targets for QB Kyle Trask. Finally his salary has gone down where he’s very much affordable in all formats. As mentioned with Trask above, Florida is a pass-heavy offense and will likely throw it more often than not in this matchup vs. Georgia’s strong run defense. He’ll provide a high floor with his target share and reception volume and could easily find the end zone multiple times. Pitts/Trask is a very affordable mini-stack this week. |
| Tyler Vaughns | USC | ASU | 5700 | 0 | | |
| We mentioned earlier how the USC offense, and passing game specifically, is in a great spot this week vs. an Arizona State pass defense that struggled mightily last year. If we like Kedon Slovis as our QB, you can easily pair him with one of his two top wideouts. With Michael Pittman off to the NFL, it’s Vaughns and Amon-Ra St. Brown headlining the Trojans’ receiving corps this season. St. Brown ($6300) is a solid play as well, but Vaughns is a great value after they’re stats were similar last season. Vaughns put up 74 receptions, 912 yards and six TDs while St. Brown finished with 77 catches for 1,042 yards and six TDs. Take the discount in Vaughns for all formats this week in what should be a high-scoring matchup. |
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Winston Wright Jr. | WVU | UT | 5100 | 14.92 | | |
| If we like West Virginia QB Jarret Doege, then why not pair him with one of the Mountaineer WRs at a very affordable price tag? Wright leads the team in receptions (32) and receiving yards (391) thus far and he has two 100-yard outings under his belt through six games. In what could be a high-scoring game with Texas, Wright could see enough targets to be a value at this salary. He’s more valuable in PPR formats like DK and has a proven receiving floor. Bryce Ford-Wheaton ($4800) is also in play as cheap exposure to this game, but Wright is the better point-per-dollar option. |
| Jake Smith | UT | WVU | 5000 | 13.33 | | |
| Maybe we sound like a broken record with Jake Smith, but he’s still way too cheap for the fantasy floor he can provide with a high reception volume. If you’ve played DFS CFB this year, you know how valuable the slot WR is in Texas’ offense with QB Sam Ehlinger heavily targeting the position for short, easy completions. Although Smith has battled a hamstring this year, he’s undoubtedly the starting slot receiver when healthy and he’s apparently good to go for a second straight game. In Smith’s two fully healthy games this season, he’s put up a combined 13 receptions,119 receiving yards and two TDs - including a 7-70-1 stat line and 20.7 DK points a week ago. He could easily duplicate those numbers this week and we’ll take that all day at 5k. |
| Austin Stogner | OU | KU | 4600 | 11.25 | | |
| Finally we get Stogner in the WR pool and he’ll continue to be a strong cash game play as long as he remains below 5k. As the tight end in Oklahoma’s offense, Stogner’s DFS floor is usually pretty safe because of his consistent reception volume and surprisingly high target share from QB Spencer Rattler. His 22 receptions and 335 yards are only barely behind Marvin Mims, the Sooners’ receiving leader, who has 23 catches and 388 yards - and he's $2000 cheaper. Stogner has now scored twice in OU’s last three games and he’s quickly emerged as one of Rattler’s favorite targets in a frankly underwhelming Oklahoma receiving corps. Although this is the most expensive he’s been this season, it’s still a bargain for cash games. |
| Sam LaPorta | IOWA | MSU | 4200 | 11.35 | | |
| Who wants to get in from the start on the next great Iowa tight end? The Hawkeyes have produced a long line of talented TE’s (George Kittle, Noah Fant, T.J. Hockenson in recent years) and Sam LaPorta might be a name to watch. Despite only totaling 15 catches and 188 yards all of last season, the sophomore already has 11 receptions for 117 yards through the first two games and he leads Iowa in both receiving categories. He’s a clear favorite target of new QB Spencer Petras and he’ll get even more opportunities with Iowa’s top WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette out this week. Although this matchup with Michigan State will be low-scoring, LaPorta could still get 5-6 catches and return enough value to be a solid salary-saver in all formats. |
Also Consider:
Jahan Dotson - Penn State ($8,300) - GPP
Tylan Wallace - Oklahoma State ($7,900) - Cash/GPP
Amon-Ra St. Brown - USC ($6,300) - Cash/GPP
Whop Philyor - Indiana ($5,800) - Cash/GPP
Taye Barber - TCU ($5,500) - GPP
Erik Ezukanma - Texas Tech ($5,300) - Cash/GPP
Alec Pierce - Cincinnati ($4,900) - GPP
Pat Freiermuth - Penn State ($4,700) - Cash
Nathaniel Dell - Houston ($4,500) - GPP
Kwamie Lassiter II - Kansas ($4,200) - Cash
Example Lineups
| DK Cash |
| Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary |
| QB | Kedon Slovis | USC | ASU | - | $7,800 |
| Pivot | Sean Clifford | PSU | UMD | 31.6 | $8,900 |
| RB | Leddie Brown | WVU | UT | 30.2 | $8,200 |
| Pivot | Chuba Hubbard | OKST | KSU | 22.4 | $7,800 |
| RB | Rhamondre Stevenson | OU | KU | 30 | $6,900 |
| Pivot | | | | | |
| WR | Tyler Vaughns | USC | ASU | - | $5,700 |
| Pivot | | | | | |
| WR | Jake Smith | UT | WVU | 13.3 | $5,000 |
| Pivot | | | | | |
| WR | Sam LaPorta | IOWA | MSU | 11.4 | $4,200 |
| Pivot | | | | | |
| FLEX | Devyn Ford | PSU | UMD | 10.8 | $5,900 |
| Pivot | Winston Wright Jr. | WVU | UT | 14.9 | $5,100 |
| S-FLEX | Jarret Doege | WVU | UT | 19.4 | $6,100 |
| Pivot | | | | |
| DK GPP |
| Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary |
| QB | Kyle Trask | UF | UGA | 34.8 | $8,100 |
| Pivot | | | | | |
| RB | Leddie Brown | WVU | UT | 30.2 | $8,200 |
| Pivot | | | | | |
| RB | Zach Evans | TCU | TTU | 7.5 | $4,000 |
| Pivot | | | | | |
| WR | Kadarius Toney | UF | UGA | 25.5 | $7,800 |
| Pivot | Dyami Brown | UNC | DUKE | 23.5 | $7,700 |
| WR | Tyler Vaughns | USC | ASU | - | $5,700 |
| Pivot | | | | | |
| WR | Nathaniel Dell | UH | CINCY | 9.9 | $4,500 |
| Pivot | Kwamie Lassiter II | KU | OU | 13.1 | $4,200 |
| FLEX | Devin Brumfield | UTAH | ARIZ | - | $5,200 |
| Pivot | Taye Barber | TCU | TTU | 12.8 | $5,500 |
| S-FLEX | Max Duggan | TCU | TTU | 19 | $6,400 |
| Pivot | | | | |
