College Football CFB DFS Playbook & Core Plays - Week 8 Saturday Early: Quinn Ewers Stars for Texas
Welcome to Week 8 of the 2022 college football season with a full Saturday slate of games for our CFB DFS lineups. If you're looking to play college football DFS, you can build lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel for Saturday's main early slate kicking off at 12 pm ET. Check out all the CFB DFS top picks, lineup strategies, teams to target, and value plays to lock in for Week 8 college football. Plus, watch Pete Cole and myself break down the CFB DFS Saturday main slate in our Week 8 college football preview video below. Remember, you can access all of our College Football DFS coverage with a Fantasy Alarm All-Pro Subscription. If you have any questions about CFB daily fantasy lineup strategy for Week 8 or beyond, ask away in the Fantasy Alarm Discord chat. Plus, check out our college football daily projections and the CFB DFS lineup generator for more winning picks. Now, let's jump into the CFB DFS top plays and lineup picks for College Football Week 8.
As always, this CFB DFS playbook will focus on the 13-game slate on Saturday afternoon mainly on DraftKings. The FanDuel main slate doesn't include some of those early matchups and instead swaps in some night games. Be sure to check out Pete Cole's night slate playbook for more top plays on the FD side of things.
College Football Week 8 Betting Odds
- 12 pm ET – Kansas at Baylor (-9.5) – 58 O/U
- 12 pm ET – Syracuse at Clemson (-14) – 49.5 O/U
- 12 pm ET – Iowa at Ohio State (-30) – 49.5 O/U
- 12 pm ET – Cincinnati (-3) at SMU – 60 O/U
- 2:30 pm ET – UNLV at Notre Dame (-26.5) – 47 O/U DK ONLY
- 3 pm ET – West Virginia at Texas Tech (-6) – 65.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Ole Miss at LSU (-1.5) – 65.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – UCLA at Oregon (-6) – 70.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Texas (-6.5) at Oklahoma State – 60.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Purdue at Wisconsin (-2.5) – 51.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Boston College at Wake Forest (-20.5) – 60 O/U DK ONLY
- 3:30 pm ET – Memphis at Tulane (-7) – 55.5 O/U DK ONLY
- 4 pm ET – Arizona State at Stanford (-3) – 53 O/U DK ONLY
College Football Week 8 Team Totals (via DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Wake Forest – 40.5
- Ohio State – 39.5
- Oregon – 38.5
- Notre Dame – 37.5
- Texas Tech – 36.5
- Baylor – 34.5
- Texas – 33.5
- LSU – 33.5
- Ole Miss – 32.5
- Cincinnati – 32.5
- Tulane – 31.5
- UCLA – 31.5
- Clemson – 30.5
- West Virginia – 29.5
- Stanford – 27.5
- SMU – 27.5
- Oklahoma State – 26.5
- Wisconsin – 26.5
- Arizona State – 25.5
- Purdue – 24.5
- Kansas – 23.5
- Memphis – 23.5
- Boston College – 19.5
- Syracuse – 18.5
- Iowa – 9.5
- UNLV – 9.5
College Football Week 8 CFB DFS Picks – Saturday Early Slate
CFB DFS Quarterbacks Week 8
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Bo Nix | ORE | UCLA | 9300 | 32.99 | 11700 | 31.91 |
| It’s crazy to say, but Bo Nix is actually playable and could be popular in cash despite being the highest-priced QB on the slate. Yes, this is Bo Nix we’re talking about, but he’s been on fire running Oregon’s offense. Besides the dud effort against Georgia (understandable), he’s put up at least 32 DK in every game since with the Ducks consistently scoring 40+ points now. UCLA’s defense doesn’t present much of a challenge and this game has a total above 70. Nix is getting it done through the air (12:3 TD:INT ratio) and on the ground (eight rush TDs) this season. | ||||||
| C.J. Stroud | OSU | IOWA | 9200 | 28.65 | 10400 | 27.15 |
| On any other slate, Stroud would be a no-doubter play without thinking twice about his expensive price tag. However, we have to consider this lower-scoring environment against a tough Iowa defense where the Buckeyes are favored by 30. The Hawkeyes’ offense is terrible, but the D is actually solid – and then there’s the blowout factor. Even so, Stroud might be matchup-proof has the ceiling to toss 4-5 TDs and put up 35-40 DFS points on a weekly basis while headlining the top offense in college football. Maybe just limit it to GPPs, though. | ||||||
| Spencer Sanders | OKST | UT | 7800 | 33.08 | 11200 | 33.98 |
| Sanders has been a great DFS play nearly every week and that should be the case again here in a high-scoring matchup with Texas. With how shaky the Oklahoma State defense has been this season, Sanders needs to do a ton with his arm and legs to keep his team in it. The rushing has been fantastic as he’s run for two TDs in back-to-back games and has at least 54 rushing yards and a rushing score in every FBS matchup this season. That keeps his floor high for cash and should make him popular again this week. | ||||||
| DJ Uiagalelei | CLEM | SYR | 7400 | 27.76 | 10400 | 27.19 |
| People will likely stay away from Uiagalelei because of this tough matchup on paper against Syracuse. However, that just makes him a great GPP play with the real possibility that ‘Cuse struggles on the road against a dangerous Clemson offense. DJ has been great for DFS lately with at least 26 DK in four straight games, three passing TDs in three of the last four, and active rushing involvement each time out. The floor is better than you’d think for cash too, but he’s better suited for GPP lineups. | ||||||
| Jason Bean | KU | BAY | 7300 | 13.29 | 9900 | 13.29 |
| Jalon Daniels remains out, so we have Bean starting again for Kansas. He’s been filling in nicely with 28 DK the last two games with Daniels sidelined. The KU offense hasn’t changed much with Bean in there and that means he’ll be a solid DFS play in a higher-scoring attack. Plus, Baylor will surely put up points against a shaky Jayhawks defense, so Bean will be needed even more to throw and make plays with his legs – just like he’s done the last two games. He’s a solid QB2 and Super-Flex in all formats. | ||||||
| Quinn Ewers | UT | OKST | 6400 | 16.58 | 8700 | 16.58 |
| Ewers is starting to get priced up a bit, but he’s still too cheap on both sites in this excellent matchup. Oklahoma State’s pass defense has been one of the worst in the country, allowing 301 pass yards per game (126th in FBS). Ewers is arguably the best raw QB talent in CFB and he’s been great for Texas since returning from injury. He had 28 DK in that blowout over Oklahoma and put up 17 DK in a tough matchup last week vs. Iowa State. Don’t be surprised if Ewers is a highly-rostered QB2 in cash. | ||||||
| Michael Pratt | TUL | MEM | 6300 | 25.67 | ||
| On the DK slate, we have Pratt at a very affordable price point in a fantastic matchup. Memphis’ pass D ranks 127th nationally with 301.4 passing yards allowed per game. Opposing QBs have been lighting up this matchup all season and Pratt should be the next. After missing a game due to injury, the Tulane QB has been great the last two weeks with seven total TDs, a pair of 300-yard passing games, and putting up 28 and 36 DK in the contests. We’ll take that all day with upside for more at just $6300 on DK. | ||||||
| Drew Pyne | ND | UNLV | 5000 | 15.42 | ||
| How about a starting QB for just 5k on DK? Though Pyne and the Notre Dame offense has been inconsistent this season, this is really cheap for a starter of three-touchdown favorites like the Irish. He’s shown the upside to put up 20+ DFS points at his best this season and that potential 4x value is enticing for GPP lineups. It’s still risky because the guy only had 151 passing yards and 11 DK last week against a soft Stanford defense. | ||||||
Other QBs To Consider:
- Sam Hartman – Wake Forest (GPP)
- Dorian Thompson-Robinson – UCLA (Cash)
- Jayden Daniels – LSU (GPP)
- Blake Shapen – Baylor (GPP)
- Phil Jurkovec – Boston College (GPP)
CFB DFS Running Backs Week 8
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Bijan Robinson | UT | OKST | 9400 | 28.27 | 10500 | 24.84 |
| If Bijan is on the slate, then we have to consider him in all formats. Yes, he’s expensive, but the Longhorns’ stud RB has been worth it. He has at least 22 DK in every game this season and is regularly seeing 20+ touches when Texas is in close games. Even against Oklahoma State’s above-average rush defense, we know Robinson will get the volume and he should get you 20-25 DFS points again. Much like Breece Hall last year, you can’t go wrong with playing Robinson no matter the price. | ||||||
| Braelon Allen | WISC | PUR | 7400 | 22.16 | 9500 | 18.47 |
| Allen continues to be a workhorse stud RB in Wisconsin’s backfield and we can expect that to continue this week. That one dud outing vs. Illinois was definitely an outlier as Allen has gotten back to his regular 100+ yards and 20-30 DFS points in the last two games. Although Purdue’s rush defense is top-20 nationally, Allen is locked into volume as the focal point of a run-heavy offense. The cash floor is always there, but the tougher matchup might make him more of a GPP option. | ||||||
| Quinshon Judkins | MISS | LSU | 6700 | 22.83 | 9400 | 22.32 |
| We’ve been pounding the drum for Judkins for weeks now and he continues to produce. The freshman put together another dominant DFS performance last week with his 139 rushing yards on 25 carries, three total TDs, and 36 DK. Even though his salary is increasing, Judkins’ production over the past 4-5 games speaks for itself. He’s firmly in play for cash or GPP lineups against an average LSU rush defense. | ||||||
| Xazavian Valladay | ASU | STAN | 6600 | 23.53 | ||
| Stanford’s rush defense is among the worst in the country, allowing 197.5 yards per game (119th) and 5.44 yards per carry (124th). Enter Valladay, who’s rushed for 100+ yards in four of six games this season while also being involved as a pass-catcher. Arizona State’s offense doesn’t have much going for it besides Valladay at this point. This is a solid DK price and the matchup makes him a great cash play when you consider the proven production. The guy has at least 25 DK in four of six games and 19.8 DK in another. | ||||||
| Charles McClelland | CINCY | SMU | 6100 | 18.25 | 8500 | 16.40 |
| On paper, SMU presents the best matchup for RBs on this slate with the defense allowing 209 rushing yards per game (123rd in FBS). Meanwhile, Cincinnati may lean on the run game more this week with starting QB Ben Bryant questionable and possibly sitting out. McClelland ran for 179 yards and two scores on 21 carries last week and presents an interesting GPP option at his price range. The reason he’s only a tournament play is because Corey Kiner is back and could steal production from McClelland. | ||||||
| Tyjae Spears | TUL | MEM | 5700 | 20.11 | ||
| On the DK slate, Spears could fly under-the-radar and end up being a low-rostered value. The Tulane lead back has shown the upside to go for 25+ DK in four of seven games this season while either getting workhorse touches or being plenty involved in the passing game. The only times he didn’t go off was in a blowout (twice) or on the road at Kansas State (understandable). Every other game, Spears has put up stud-like numbers. You can roster in cash or GPP as sub-6k is too cheap. | ||||||
| Audric Estime | ND | UNLV | 5400 | 14.07 | ||
| If you want a GPP or cash play that will be very low-rostered, Estime is your guy. He’s been Notre Dame’s best RB over the past month with 288 rushing yards, three TDs, and a 7.4 ypc average over the last three games combined. Estime could have a solid game with upside to score a couple times as Notre Dame is a big favorite UNLV at home. Plus, the UNLV rush defense is allowing 165.1 rushing yards per game (91st in FBS) and has given up 13 rush TDs over seven games. | ||||||
| CJ Donaldson | WVU | TTU | 5100 | 18.38 | 5500 | 12.95 |
| When fully healthy, CJ Donaldson is way too cheap at his price tags on both sites. However, we don’t know if the West Virginia RB is playing or how much he’ll play as he returns from a concussion. There’s a chance he splits carries with Tony Mathis with the latter being good lately in Donaldson’s absence. Still, this is a huge bargain for a guy that put up at least 17 DK in every game before getting hurt – not to mention quickly emerging as WVU’s lead back. | ||||||
| Josh Williams | LSU | MISS | 3000 | 8.87 | 5800 | 7.65 |
| Williams being min price on DK at this point is a joke and almost a free square if you want it. He’s also pretty affordable on FD as the sites continue to overlook him. Williams has been LSU’s top running back for three straight games now and just had a 100-yard rushing game last week against Florida. We’ve touched on him in playbooks before and we’ll continue to sing his praises until the sites as long as he’s this cheap. Plus, this is a high-total matchup with Ole Miss and LSU being slight favorites. | ||||||
Other RBs To Consider:
- Will Shipley – Clemson (GPP)
- Zach Charbonnet – UCLA (Cash/GPP)
- Richard Reese – Baylor (Cash)
- Casey Filkins – Stanford (Cash)
- Qualon Jones – Baylor (GPP)
CFB DFS Wide Receivers Week 8
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Rashee Rice | SMU | CINCY | 7900 | 26.52 | 9300 | 18.58 |
| More often than not, Rice has been a DFS stud this season and great cash play at WR no matter the price. One look at his game logs can tell the whole story. The only worry is his toe injury that he’s been playing through and caused missed practice this week. It’s likely he plays, but definitely something to monitor ahead of this noon ET kickoff. Cincy’s pass defense is solid, too, so maybe limit to GPPs this time around. | ||||||
| Charlie Jones | PUR | WISC | 7800 | 28.64 | 9200 | 20.12 |
| Despite an injury concern, Jones will reportedly play this week. If he’s out there, then the breakout WR needs to be considered in all formats. He’s proven multiple times how capable he is of going off for 25, 35, or even 40+ DK points. You know how good he’s been if you’ve played CFB DFS at all this year. This matchup against Wisconsin is tough and lower-scoring, though, so he’s better suited for GPPs. Still, he could be low-rostered due to the matchup/injury situation and come through big time. | ||||||
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | OSU | IOWA | 7000 | 3.8 | 8500 | 2.80 |
| Smith-Njigba is expected back after sitting out the last three games with an undisclosed injury. Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to how much he’ll play in his first action in over a month. People may be hesitant to play him in this tougher, low-scoring matchup against Iowa, so it makes him a great GPP option who could easily go off for three TDs in any given game – especially if people roster Harrison Jr. or Egbuka over him. It's also worth mentioning that both Harrison Jr. and Egbuka are both good plays on this slate and have upside to be the top WRs overall. | ||||||
| Xavier Worthy | UT | OKST | 6100 | 17.27 | 8300 | 14.56 |
| Simply put, Worthy is too cheap and in a great matchup here. It’s the perfect recipe for a solid cash WR if you don’t want to pay up for one of the high-priced guys. Oklahoma State’s pass defense is one of the worst in the country (as outlined above) and Worthy should post good numbers here as Quinn Ewers’ clear top target. The Ewers-Worthy pairing is very affordable on both sites. | ||||||
| Kayshon Boutte | LSU | MISS | 5300 | 10.1 | 6100 | 7.06 |
| Is Boutte finally back? He had six catches for 115 yards last week as he went over the 100-yard mark (let alone, 50 yards) for the first time all year. He’s also had six catches in back-to-back games, which is a good sign because it was the lack of targets and receptions from Jayden Daniels that was the worry earlier in the season. This may be the last week to play Boutte on the cheap if he comes out with another solid performance in a higher-total matchup with Ole Miss. | ||||||
| Beaux Collins | CLEM | SYR | 5200 | 13.17 | 7100 | 11.67 |
| Like with Uiagalelei, people may be hesitant to roster Clemson guys in this tougher matchup against Syracuse. Still, Collins has been very consistent this season and makes for a decent cash option in the mid-range. He has 12 DK or more and a TD in five of six games this season. Collins and Uiagelelei have a clear connection that dates back to their high school days and it’s led to weekly production from the pairing. | ||||||
| Michael Mayer | ND | UNLV | 5000 | 19.18 | ||
| Can anyone explain why Mayer is just 5k on DK? It’s too cheap and makes the tight end close to an automatic play in cash. Mayer is Notre Dame’s top pass-catcher and playmaker by a mile and he’ll be a mismatch here against UNLV. It’s risky to play him because of the Irish being big favorites in a low-total game, but Mayer has the floor for double-digit PPR points and the upside for 30+ DFS points. | ||||||
| Elijah Higgins | STAN | ASU | 4400 | 10.3 | ||
| Michael Wilson is out for Stanford, so there will be increased targets and opportunities for both Brycen Tremayne and Elijah Higgins. Even with Wilson playing, Higgins has already been a top target for QB Tanner McKee. He has 16, 10 and 13 DK over the past three games and has at least four receptions in four straight. Arizona State’s pass defense is below-average and Higgins can definitely return value on the DK slate. | ||||||
| Xavier White | TTU | WVU | 4400 | 10.83 | 6700 | 9.70 |
| The Texas Tech receiving corps is one to monitor injury-wise ahead of this 3pm ET kickoff. If Myles Price is out again, then White becomes an excellent value. He’s taken full advantage of Price’s absence the last two games with 30 and 20 DK points. Now he faces a West Virginia pass defense that ranks 101st nationally in yards allowed per game. J.J. Sparkman’s status is also up in the air, making Jerand Bradley and Trey Cleveland decent values as well. | ||||||
| Mason Fairchild | KU | BAY | 3700 | 13.32 | 6800 | 11.42 |
| Fairchild is one of the biggest beneficiaries of Jason Bean taking over at QB for Kansas. The tight end was a favorite of Bean’s last week when he went off for six catches, 106 yards, two TDs and 31 DK. He also caught a TD from Bean the week prior after Jalon Daniels went out. Kansas will likely be playing from behind on the road here vs. Baylor and it lead to a ton of targets, receptions, and DFS points for Fairchild once again. | ||||||
| Ja'Tavion Sanders | UT | OKST | 3700 | 12.86 | 5700 | 10.86 |
| For whatever reason, DK and FD both refuse to increase the price tag to roster Sanders. The guy is Quinn Ewers’ second-favorite target (behind Xavier Worthy) and could easily smash value. Though he only had three catches last week, Sanders is still a top red zone weapon for Texas and should be priced way higher. As outlined above, this Oklahoma State pass defense is terrible and Sanders can have a big game here. | ||||||
| Sam LaPorta | IOWA | OSU | 3400 | 10.13 | 5300 | 7.13 |
| The Iowa tight just had nine receptions for 100 yards and 22 DK last game but is still very cheap. That’s probably because he plays in the Iowa offense. Still, LaPorta has shown he can put up stats (especially in PPR) even if his team fails to eclipse 10 points on the scoreboard. He could see a ton of targets this week as Iowa plays catch-up against Ohio State. It’s worth a look in GPPs as a dart. | ||||||
Other WRs To Consider:
- A.T. Perry – Wake Forest (GPP)
- Emeka Egbuka – Ohio State (GPP)
- Oronde Gadsden – Syracuse (GPP)
- Zay Flowers – Boston College (Cash/GPP)
- Kaden Prather – West Virginia (Cash)
- Gavin Holmes – Baylor (GPP)
- Bryson Green – Oklahoma State (GPP)
- Jerand Bradley – Texas Tech (Cash/GPP)
CFB DFS Week 6 Early Core Plays
DraftKings Cash:
- Xavier Worthy – Texas
- Michael Mayer – Notre Dame
- Josh Williams – LSU
FanDuel Cash:
- Xavier Worthy – Texas
- Josh Williams – LSU
- Spencer Sanders – Oklahoma State
DraftKings GPP:
- Quinshon Judkins – Ole Miss
- Tyjae Spears – Tulane
- Charlie Jones – Purdue
FanDuel GPP:
- Quinn Ewers – Texas
- Kayshon Boutte – LSU
- CJ Donaldson – West Virginia
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