CFB DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks For 9/27: Week 5 Playbook

The 2025 college football season rolls on this Saturday, September 27th, with a full Week 5 slate of games. Let’s dive into the top CFB DFS Picks as you build lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. In this article, we’ll discuss the best plays at each position with CFB DFS projections factored in. 

As you read over our CFB DFS Picks, take advantage of Fantasy Alarm’s College Football DFS Ownership Projections for both DK and FD. Plus, you can use our Weekly Player Projections and CFB DFS Lineup Generator. 

CFB DFS Picks, Daily Fantasy Playbook & Schedule: September 27th

Before we discuss top CFB DFS picks this week, let’s take a look at the slate. DraftKings has a 12-game main afternoon slate on Saturday. Meanwhile, FanDuel has a 14-game slate that includes 4 night games and an added afternoon matchup. For this article, we’ll focus on top players and values for both slates, with an emphasis on DraftKings strategy. But check out our FanDuel-specific core plays below. Here’s a look at the Week 5 CFB DFS schedule with betting lines and odds: 

DraftKings Main Slate: 

• 12 pm ET – Notre Dame (-4.5) at Arkansas – 63.5 O/U
• 12 pm ET – Cincinnati at Kansas (-4.5) – 57.5 O/U (DK Only)
• 12 pm ET – Georgia Tech (-14) at Wake Forest – 52.5 O/U
• 12 pm ET – Louisville (-4.5) at Pittsburgh – 57.5 O/U (DK Only)
• 12 pm ET – USC (-7) at Illinois – 60.5 O/U
• 3:30 pm ET – Auburn at Texas A&M (-6.5) – 52.5 O/U
• 3:30 pm ET – LSU at Ole Miss (-1.5) – 56.5 O/U
• 3:30 pm ET – Baylor (-21) at Oklahoma State – 57.5 O/U (DK Only)
• 3:30 pm ET – Utah (-12.5) at West Virginia – 47.5 O/U
• 3:30 pm ET – Indiana (-8.5) at Iowa – 47.5 O/U
• 3:30 pm ET – Ohio State (-8.5) at Washington – 51.5 O/U
• 4:15 pm ET – Tennessee (-7.5) at Mississippi State – 63.5 O/U

FanDuel Only Games: 

• 12 pm ET – Duke (-4.5) at Syracuse – 60.5 O/U
• 7 pm ET – Arizona at Iowa State (-6) – 48.5 O/U
• 7:30 pm ET – Alabama at Georgia (-3) – 53.5 O/U
• 7:30 pm ET – Oregon at Penn State (-3.5) – 52.5 O/U
• 7:45 pm ET – Kentucky at South Carolina (-5.5) – 47.5 O/U

CFB DFS Lineups: Top Plays

Haynes King, QB, Georgia Tech 

DK: $7,900 | FD: $12,000

There are multiple high-priced QBs worth playing this week. Arkansas’ Taylen Green and USC’s Jayden Maiava headline the position as well, but Haynes King is the top choice. Georgia Tech’s dual-threat has a strong floor with tons of upside because of his rushing ability. He ran for 156 yards and 3 rushing TDs against Colorado in the season opener, and then racked up 103 yards and a score on the ground vs. Clemson. Expect King to be plenty active again as a runner this week on the road at Wake Forest. He’s especially affordable on DK, too.

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame 

DK: $8,500 | FD: $11,200

If Notre Dame is on the slate, then Jeremiyah Love should be regularly considered a top RB play. He’s the headliner in the Irish offense and locked into a high-volume role. Love put up 147 total yards and 2 TDs on 27 touches against Texas A&M in Week 3. Then he had 157 yards and 2 scores on 19 touches vs. Purdue last game. Now he’ll face a shaky Arkansas defense that just gave up 290 rushing yards to Memphis. Plus, this game has the highest total on the slate. 

Makai Lemon, WR, USC 

DK: $7,300 | FD: $10,000

USC is favored in one of the highest totals of the slate. That immediately brings all of the Trojans’ top playmakers to the forefront. Plus, the matchup is against an Illinois defense that just got demolished for 63 points and 579 total yards by Indiana last week. Makai Lemon has been a favorite target for USC QB Jayden Maiava so far. The wideout has 24 receptions, 438 yards, and 3 TDs across 4 games. He also just exploded for 127 yards and 2 scores last game. Lemon would get an even bigger boost if Ja’Kobi Lane sits out again. On that note, Lane is also a great play if he does return. 

CFB DFS Lineups: Value Plays

Star Thomas, RB, Tennessee

DK: $4,600 | FD: $7,900

Tennessee uses a split backfield with Star Thomas and DeSean Bishop operating in the 1A/1B roles. The carries, yardage, and overall DFS production have been pretty even thus far. In this week’s high-total matchup, both are upside plays with Thomas especially having value at his cheaper prices. Mississippi State has faced one power conference opponent, and it gave up 251 rushing yards to Arizona State in that game. Two ASU running backs went over 100 yards as well. The same thing could easily happen here, making Thomas a solid value. 

Ryan Davis, WR, Utah 

DK: $4,500 | FD: $6,700

Despite Utah getting blown out by Texas Tech last week, wide receiver Ryan Davis still had 10 catches for 70 yards. The Utes prefer a run-heavy offense, which can cap the receiving production. Yet, Davis has a solidified role as the clear top target for QB Devon Dampier. Through four games, Davis’ 29 receptions and 241 yards both lead the team by a decent margin. The matchup gets easier this week against West Virginia, and Davis should have enough catches and yards to return value. 

Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame 

DK: $3,800 | FD: $6,600

If you don’t want to pay up for Jeremiyah Love, getting some exposure to the Notre Dame offense is a good idea. One cheap way to do so is via wideout Malachi Fields. He has a team-high 203 receiving yards this season as a top target and big-play threat in the Irish passing attack. This matchup vs. Arkansas projects to be a back-and-forth shootout, and Fields should be involved enough to exceed value. He and Jordan Faison are simply too cheap on the DK slate. 

Core CFB DFS Lineup Picks: QBs, RBs & WRs