College Football CFB DFS Playbook Week 4 Saturday Main Slate: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
College Football Week 4 is here and we have your top CFB DFS picks and lineup strategies! This Saturday's CFB Week 4 main slate is loaded with marquee matchups like Florida State vs Clemson, Ole Miss vs Alabama, Colorado vs Oregon, and UCLA vs Utah. In this CFB DFS Playbook, we'll break down top college football DFS picks for Saturday's main slate on DraftKings for the afternoon games. Check out Pete Cole's playbook for the night slate breakdown. The FanDuel main slate includes the night gams as well, but you can check out top picks below when building CFB DFS lineups. All the CFB Week 4 odds below are via DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of this writing. Let's now get into the top CFB DFS picks for Saturday's college football Week 4 slate on September 23rd.
College Football Week 4 Schedule – CFB DFS Saturday Main Slate
- 12 pm ET – Florida State (-2) at Clemson – 55 O/U
- 12 pm ET – Virginia Tech at Marshall (-5.5) – 41 O/U
- 12 pm ET – Oklahoma (-14) at Cincinnati – 57.5 O/U
- 12 pm ET – SMU at TCU (-6.5) – 62 O/U
- 12 pm ET – Auburn at Texas A&M (-8.5) – 51 O/U
- 12 pm ET – Rutgers at Michigan (-24) – 44 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Boston College at Louisville (-14) – 54 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Miami FL (-23.5) at Temple – 45.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – BYU at Kansas (-9.5) – 54.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Texas Tech (-5.5) at West Virginia – 54.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – UCLA at Utah (-3.5) – 52.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Colorado at Oregon (-21) – 70 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Ole Miss at Alabama (-7) – 55.5 O/U
- 3:30 pm ET – Maryland (-7.5) at Michigan State – 52.5 O/U
College Football Week 4 CFB DFS Picks
Top CFB DFS Quarterbacks
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
Bo Nix | ORE | COL | 9600 | 25.57 | 12200 | 24.57 |
Bo Nix is definitely expensive as the highest-priced QB on both sites, but that shouldn’t deter us from rostering him. As exciting as Colorado’s offense is, the defense is also terrible and will be exploited but good QBs and schemes like Nix with the Ducks. We’ve seen the QBs for TCU and Colorado State both put up numbers in this matchup already – Nix is better in this Oregon attack. He’s also playing well with a 78% completion rate, 8:0 TD:INT ratio, and 25 DK average through three games. Fade at your own risk with Oregon expected to score 45-50 points. | ||||||
Dillon Gabriel | OU | CINCY | 9100 | 31.57 | 10700 | 29.57 |
The OU offense and Dillon Gabriel have looked really good so far this season. Gabriel has an 11:1 TD:INT ratio and 82.5% completion rate through three games with 300+ and 400+ yards in two different games. The competition and environment gets a bit tougher on the road at Cincinnati here. Still, Gabriel should put up numbers in a higher-scoring matchup with the Sooners having one of the top team totals on the slate. He’s expensive, but certainly viable in cash or GPP for another 30-40 DFS output. | ||||||
Jalen Milroe | BAMA | MISS | 8300 | 29.58 | 10200 | 29.58 |
After getting benched for last week’s game, Jalen Milroe is back as Alabama’s starting QB. The general public and CFB DFS players may be down on Bama, but don’t overlook Milroe this week. His rushing ability and dual-threat upside can make him a top play. Plus, the Tide offense could call more plays to use him as a runner more this week. Despite not playing too well vs Texas, he still finished with 22 DK in that game – and that was without any rushing TDs and tossing two picks. Milroe had 92 rushing yards over the first two games and may just be scratching the surface of his running upside. Don’t be surprised if Milroe posts 30+ DK this week. | ||||||
Tyler Shough | TTU | WVU | 8100 | 28.14 | ||
Tyler Shough is off to a strong start DFS-wise for Texas Tech despite the team’s 1-2 record. He put up 31 DK in Week 1 and then 38 DK in Week 2 while playing in two higher-scoring games. Shough tossed 3 TDs in both games and also ran for 101 yards in that Week 2 loss to Oregon. This road matchup vs West Virginia could be sneaky tough, but Shough’s DFS cash floor should be good with his rushing. He likely goes overlooked on the DK slate with Milroe and Morris in the same price range. | ||||||
Chandler Morris | TCU | SMU | 7800 | 27.95 | 10500 | 24.51 |
Outside of the Oregon/Colorado game, TCU is favored in the second-highest total of the slate. Naturally, we have to target Chandler Morris as a top Super-Flex play in all formats. He’s especially affordable on DK to fit in as your QB2. Morris has 26+ DK in all three games so far while getting it done both through the air (285 YPG, 6 pass TDs) and on the ground (146 rush yds, 2 rush TDs). We can bank on a high volume of pass attempts with the rushing upside in this high-scoring matchup vs SMU, who allowed Dillon Gabriel to throw for 4 TDs two weeks ago. | ||||||
Emory Jones | CINCY | OU | 6900 | 31.27 | 9400 | 28.93 |
The former Florida and Arizona State transfer is thriving at Cincinnati where the offense is better suited to his dual-threat sillset. Emory Jones went bonkers in Week 1 with 50 DK thanks to his 5 TD passes and two rushing scores. Last week, he put up 29 DK with 100+ rushing yards. Though Oklahoma’s defense is a step up in competition, Jones will be plenty busy as both a passer and rusher while likely playing catch-up. He makes for a solid cash or GPP Super-Flex play because of that running upside. | ||||||
Thomas Castellanos | BC | UL | 5900 | 27.29 | ||
Thomas Castellanos nearly orchestrated an upset win over Florida State last week when he threw for 305 yards, ran for 95 yards and a TD, and put up 33 DK. He’s been a very solid DFS QB so far with 22+ DK in all three games. The dual-threat upside makes him a better option with at least 67 rushing yards in every game thus far. Louisville’s defense has yet to face a true dual-threat like Castellanos this year, but GT’s Haynes King did run for 53 yards in this matchup in Week 1. As far as cheap Super-Flex QBs go, Castellanos may be popular in cash lineups on the DK slate and he could very well outperform other high-priced guys. |
Top CFB DFS Running Backs
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
Blake Corum | MICH | RU | 8300 | 24.07 | ||
If Michigan is on the slate, then Blake Corum is a top RB play. Simple as that. He’s scored 5 TDs in the past two games with 25+ DK in both. The only worry is how much he gets in Michigan’s blowout wins, but hopefully Rutgers can keep it close enough here. Even so, Corum showed he can rush for 100+ with multiple scores when his team wins big. Plus, Donovan Edwards isn’t cutting his workload much right now. Ideally, that won’t change with Michigan starting Big Ten play this week. It’s tough to fade him in cash. | ||||||
Bucky Irving | ORE | COL | 7500 | 21.37 | 10000 | 18.37 |
As mentioned above with Box Nix, the Colorado defense is terrible and will be one to target all season. Don’t overlook Bucky Irving, who “only” had 9.4 DK last week in a blowout win vs Hawaii. He did also have 32 and 22 DK in the two games prior, and we could easily see 25-30 DFS points in this soft matchup. The Colorado D gave up 262 rush yards to TCU, 222 yards to Nebraska, and even 102 to Colorado St last week. Irving is averaging 8.0 ypc and can go for 100+ yards with multiple scores here. He's firmly in play for cash or GPP lineups. | ||||||
Jawhar Jordan | UL | BC | 6500 | 25.07 | ||
Jawhar Jordan was a great value for us last week with 113 yards, a TD, and 23 DK at just $5500. Even with the price increase, Jordan should not go overlooked on this week’s slate. He’s averaging a whopping 10.8 ypc so far with 344 rushing yards through three games. The BC rush defense was actually solid against Florida St last week but it also allowed 264 yards to Holy Cross two games ago. Jordan can easily go for 100+ yards and multiple scores in this matchup if he gets 15-20 touches like last week. Fire him up for GPPs but there are better plays in cash. | ||||||
Emani Bailey | TCU | SMU | 6400 | 18.53 | 9200 | 19.40 |
Originally, we thought Trey Sanders would be splitting work with Emani Bailey in this TCU backfield. That was the case in Week 1, but Bailey has seen the lion’s share of carries over the past two weeks. He had 20 touches for 80+ total yards in Week 2 and then 26 touches for 150+ total yards last week for a 26 DK performance. That stat line is what we’re banking on this week at against SMU in a high-scoring matchup. Against Oklahoma two games ago, SMU allowed Tawee Walker to run for 117 yards on a 5.6 ypc average. We can pencil in Bailey for a similar stat line with upside for more if he finds the end zone like he did last week. | ||||||
Rasheen Ali | MRSHL | VT | 6000 | 31.95 | ||
Rasheen Ali was a slam-dunk value for us two weeks ago at $4800 and he came through with 34 DK. Well, he’s still underpriced at just $6000 on the DK slate. Expect him to be popular in cash lineups once again. The Virginia Tech rush defense is one of the worst in the country this season and Ali will see workhorse touches in this game. VT allowed 143 yards and 3 TDs to Rutgers lead RB Kyle Monangai last week. The defense also gave up plenty of rushing production to Purdue and ODU in previous games. Don’t overthink it and play Ali in cash. | ||||||
Devin Neal | KU | BYU | 5900 | 30.13 | 11000 | 27.80 |
Devin Neal has been a stud this season with 26+ DK in all three games. He also has 6 total TDs while averaging 101 rush yards and 43 receiving yards per game. Neal is getting promising volume in the KU backfield too with 16, 14, and 18 touches so far. That’s even with Daniel Hishaw involved, who is also a decent value play on this slate. Plus, Neal is still getting plenty of rushing work with Jalon Daniels not running as much while coming back from injury. In a tight matchup vs BYU here, Neal is in a great spot to return value on DK. He’s especially cheap compared to FD, where he’s the most expensive RB. | ||||||
Will Shipley | CLEM | FSU | 5700 | 16.1 | 8200 | 14.40 |
Will Shipley is really underpriced on both sites because of two straight subpar performances. However, both of those were in blowout wins where he wasn’t needed as much. Back in a tighter Week 1 matchup against Duke, though, Shipley saw 17 carries for 114 yards and added six catches for 29 yards and a TD. That 29 DK performance and the 20+ touches are more in line with what we can expect from Shipley this week and moving forward. If Clemson wants to pull the upset vs Florida State, it’ll need Shipley to be heavily involved as both a rusher and receiver. He might be the top cash RB on the slate with some depressed prices. Obviously the matchup is tough, but Shipley can put up numbers on pure volume alone. | ||||||
LJ Johnson Jr. | SMU | TCU | 3900 | 8.1 | 7200 | 10.45 |
LJ Johnson has moved to the top of SMU’s RB depth chart as a co-starter with Jaylan Knighton. We’ll see how this shakes out, but Knighton was suspended last week for apparently not attending class. Johnson only saw four carries in last week's blowout win, but he also saw 14 carries for 128 yards and a TD in Week 1 for SMU. There’s a lot of risk here because we don’t know if Knighton will play and Johnson is also a game-time decision with an ankle injury. Still, he could be an interesting value dart in GPP if he is SMU’s lead back in a high-scoring matchup with TCU. |
Top CFB DFS Wide Receivers
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
Xavier Weaver | COL | ORE | 7200 | 27.87 | 9400 | 21.70 |
With Colorado as big underdogs to Oregon (and in a high-total game), we can count on plenty of targets for the Buffs’ top two receivers. Jimmy Horn and Xavier Weaver should both get high volume in this matchup as they’ve been targeted heavily anyway, but the game flow calls for more passing too. Plus, Travis Hunter being out gives Weaver and Horn a larger target share. As for Weaver, he gets the slight nod with 20+ DK in all three games. His 386 receiving yards leads the team so far too. He's a better cash play than GPP on this slate, but the target/reception volume should be there. | ||||||
Troy Franklin | ORE | COL | 6900 | 23.4 | 9800 | 18.57 |
Let’s keep the Oregon love going with the Ducks’ top receiver. Troy Franklin is off to a strong start with 17 receptions, 292 yards, and 3 TDs through the first three games. He’ll keep it going against the poor Colorado defense and makes for a great pairing with Bo Nix in all formats. You can also look at Tez Johnson or Gary Bryant Jr. as cheaper Oregon receivers if you want other exposure to the Ducks. As with Nix, though, fade Franklin at your own risk because a big stat line and 30+ DK could be coming. | ||||||
Evan Stewart | TA&M | AUB | 6700 | 31.35 | 10000 | 23.60 |
Evan Stewart has looked like an absolute stud this season and he’s a top WR play yet again this week. In Week 1, he went for eight catches, 115 yards, 2 TDs, and 34 DK. Then he followed it up with 11 catches for 142 yards and 28 DK vs Miami in Week 2. After missing last week with an undisclosed injury, he’s apparently good to go and it seems the absence was just precautionary in a blowout matchup. Still, check the injury news ahead of this kickoff to make sure he’s playing. If he is, expect another big game at home against an Auburn defense that hasn’t faced tough competition yet. He'll also probably be contrarian compared to the Oregon and Colorado guys. | ||||||
Jamari Thrash | UL | BC | 6600 | 27.03 | ||
Shoutout to Jamari Thrash, who took full advantage of the transfer portal to go from Georgia State to Louisville while instantly putting up numbers. Thrash now has 24+ DK in all three games so far. In the Cardinals’ two real games, he had 7 catches for 88 yards and 2 TDs vs Georgia Tech and then 4 catches for 159 yards and a TD last week vs Indiana. Despite this hot start and consistent production, somehow Thrash is still priced below 7k on DK. Let’s roll with him again because he’s a clear top playmaker in the Louisville offense. | ||||||
Xzavier Henderson | CINCY | OU | 6300 | 20.63 | 8400 | 15.30 |
With transfer QB Emory Jones running the Cincy offense, Xzavier Henderson has quickly emerged as the top receiving target. The two are familiar with each other from their Florida days and there’s a clear connection. Henderson had seven catches for 149 yards, a TD, and 30 DK in Week 1 and then 12 grabs for 140 yards and 29 DK last week. There was a dud in between those outbursts, but we should expect another good game here. Cincinnati will likely be throwing more to keep pace with Oklahoma and Henderson can be a strong cash or GPP play. | ||||||
Jerand Bradley | TTU | WVU | 5900 | 16.7 | ||
Jerand Bradley was Texas Tech’s top receiver last year and he’s continued it so far this season. Bradley has 17 catches for 211 yards and 2 TDs through three games. He put up 22 and 19 DK in Tech’s two competitive matchups so far, with 80+ yards and a TD in both. That’s a great sign that he’s still one of Tyler Shough’s favorite targets. By the way, Bradley had some big games at the end of last year when Shough took over the starter. He could be targeted plenty in a close game vs West Virginia and offer a strong cash floor. | ||||||
Roman Wilson | MICH | RU | 5500 | 22.97 | ||
Roman Wilson has been a TD machine this season with six through three games and a score in each. His receiving volume is also good with 4 and 6 catches in the first two games and 75+ yards in both. Despite averaging 23 DK so far, Wilson is underpriced in the mid-5k range on DK. He’s a definite value for cash with GPP upside if he continues to find the end zone. The blowout risk is there, but Wilson has also produced in big wins already. | ||||||
Andrel Anthony | OU | CINCY | 5300 | 16.13 | 8000 | 12.80 |
On the DK slate, Andrel Anthony is a clear value in the 5k range and priced below both Drake Stoops and Jalil Farooq. On FD, those guys are actually cheaper than Anthony. Overall, though, Anthony has quickly emerged as a top receiver in this high-scoring Oklahoma offense. His 254 yards lead the team and his 14 receptions are tied with Stoops for the team lead. Anthony has 20 and 18 DK in the past two games, and we’d take that all day at $5300. | ||||||
Jacolby George | MIA | TEMP | 5100 | 19.73 | ||
Xavier Restrepo is also a really solid play from Miami’s WR corps. Jacolby George, though, is $700 cheaper on the DK slate for similar or better production. George has a solid floor of 5+ catches and 50+ yards in all three games so far. He also showed off the ceiling with 3 TDs and 31 DK vs Texas A&M two weeks ago. Temple’s defense has been decent against the pass so far, but it also hasn’t faced Miami’s passing attack of Tyler Van Dyke throwing to George and Restrepo. The price tag barely over 5k makes George a value this week because he should be more expensive based on his performance so far. Roster with caution, though, because there's rain and heavy win expected in the area. | ||||||
Kobe Prentice | BAMA | MISS | 4700 | 8.4 | 5600 | 6.40 |
Can we really play an Alabama receiver at this point? Yes, the Tide’s passing attack has looked ugly more often than not and Jalen Milroe isn’t the best passer. Still, Kobe Prentice is a GPP value at his cheap price tags. The Bama WR corps needs someone to step up and become a top playmaker. Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond have underwhelmed. Prentice, though, was notably playing hard in that loss to Texas and led the team with five catches for 68 yards. He was a favorite target for Milroe and that could happen again this week/moving forward with Milroe back as the starter. | ||||||
Jaheim Bell | FSU | CLEM | 4600 | 18.95 | 8400 | 17.20 |
Florida State has played two competitive games so far and Jaheim Bell was a difference-maker in both. He had two TDs, 50+ total yards, and 19 DK vs LSU and then five catches for 76 yards, a TD, and 18 DK last week vs BC. In his hybrid TE/FB/RB role, Bell presents major mismatches in FSU’s offense and we shouldn’t be surprised to see 15-20 DK from him on a weekly basis. Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson are the headliners, but Bell shouldn’t go overlooked as he could play another big role vs Clemson. He’s a nice value on DK compared to the elevated FD price. | ||||||
Michael Harrison | COL | ORE | 4400 | 12.1 | 5800 | 10.27 |
After Travis Hunter left last week’s game, Michael Harrison stepped up. The tight end moved into Hunter’s bigger-bodied receiver role and was a red zone target for Shedeur Sanders. He had seven catches for 76 yards and caught both overtime TDs. That’s a great sign that Sanders trusts him to make plays when defenses focus in on Weaver and Horn. We know Colorado will be passing a ton in this game while likely trailing Oregon. So, Harrison makes for a solid value in all formats. Roster with caution, though, because we only have one game of sample size with him stepping into Hunter’s vacated targets. | ||||||
RJ Maryland | SMU | TCU | 3400 | 11.4 | 6900 | 9.15 |
If you want cheap exposure to one of the highest game totals on the slate, RJ Maryland is a solid option. SMU spreads the ball around to multiple pass-catchers, so it’s always to pinpoint one in any given week. As for Maryland, the tight end had five catches for 58 yards and a TD in Week 1 and then had four catches in Week 2 vs Oklahoma. He didn’t have any stats last week, but that’s fine because it was a blowout win over an FCS school. In a high-scoring matchup here where SMU could be playing from behind vs TCU, there should be plenty of targets to go around. Maryland can get 4-5 catches for 50-60 yards and possibly a TD to exceed value. |
CFB DFS Week 4 Core Plays
DraftKings Cash
- Bo Nix – Oregon
- Will Shipley – Clemson
- Rasheen Ali – Marshall
DraftKings GPP
- Bucky Irving – Oregon
- Evan Stewart – Texas A&M
- Devin Neal – Kansas
FanDuel Cash (Early Games)
- Bo Nix – Oregon
- Will Shipley – Clemson
- Andrel Anthony – Oklahoma
FanDuel GPP (Early Games)
- Jalen Milroe – Alabama
- Michael Harrison – Colorado
- Emani Bailey – TCU
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