Welcome back to another week of the CFB DFS Playbook Saturday Night Edition. Today we will dig into the Saturday college football Week 5 evening slate with a focus on the top CFB DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel. Some of the top players and teams in action for this Saturday Night CFB Week 5 slate include a Top 20 matchup between Sam Hartman and #11 Notre Dame travelling to Durham to face Riley Leonard and surprising #17 Duke. We also have a potential shootout in Knoxville where Spencer Rattler and South Carolina visit Joe Milton and the #17 Tennessee Volunteers. Check out the college football betting odds and over/under's below to get an idea of which games or teams to target in CFB DFS lineups. If you're building CFB DFS lineups tonight, be sure to check out our college football weekly projections and CFB DFS lineup generator. So now we are ready to dive in and check out my top CFB DFS top picks and plays for Saturday Night…

 

College Football Week 5 Saturday Night Odds 

7p ET Iowa State @ Oklahoma (-20.0) 48.5 O/U 

7p ET Coastal Carolina @ Georgia Southern (-6.5) 65.5 O/U FD Only

7:30p ET Notre Dame (-5.5) @ Duke 52.0 O/U

7:30p ET South Carolina @ Tennessee (-12.5) 63.5 O/U

7:30p ET UNC-Charlotte @ SMU (-23.5) 53.5 O/U FD Only

7:30p ET Michigan State @ Iowa (-12.5) 36.5 O/U

8p ET Pittsburgh (-2.5) @ Virginia Tech 39.5 O/U

8p ET San Diego State @ Air Force (-10.5) 42.5 O/U 

8p ET West Virginia @ TCU (-12.5) 52.0 O/U

9p ET Alabama (-15.5) @ Mississippi State 46.5 O/U

 

CFB DFS QUARTERBACKS

Dillon Gabriel - Oklahoma vs. Iowa State ($9.5K DK/11.0K FD)

The win over Cincinnati was arguably Dillon Gabriel’s worst game of the season as he overthrew a couple of touchdown passes and fumbled in the red zone yet he still ended up with 27 DK points on 322 yards passing and a touchdown both through the air and on the ground.  On the season the Heisman hopeful is completing 78% of his passes for 1,227 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just one pick with a pair of rushing touchdowns. With three 300-yard plus games so far including 400 yards against Tulsa there is no reason to not expect another monster game from Gabriel against Iowa State. 

Spencer Rattler - South Carolina @ Tennessee ($7.3K DK/9.5K FD)

One-third of the 2023 college football season is in the books and Spencer Rattler has forced the nation to rethink their opinions on the former Oklahoma Sooner and Five-Star quarterback. He ranks in the top-10 nationally in passing yards in one of the worst running offenses in college football plus has taken more sacks than any other quarterback in the SEC. Over his last seven games (2022-23) Rattler’s TD-INT ratio is 17-5 while averaging 326.6 yards per game with a 71.6% completion percentage and three 300+ yard/0 interception games and now he gets to shine against Tennessee in the highest scoring game of the slate. $7.3K is just too cheap for Spencer Rattler, especially after he hung 63 points and 438 yards in a 63-38 win over the Vols last season.  

Rocco Becht - Iowa State @ Oklahoma ($5.5K DK/7.2K FD)

I fell flat on my face last week with my sneaky value pick of Pitt’s Phil Jurkovec at the quarterback position. Let’s try it again but this time it will be the Iowa State signal caller who was just named the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Week. Rocco Becht completed 27 of 38 passes for 348 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in their 34-27 victory over Oklahoma State becoming one of four quarterbacks in ISU history to record a game with 300-plus yards passing, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Becht now has a passing touchdown in each of his first four career starts and his total of seven on the season is the fifth-most in school history by a freshman. Oklahoma’s defense is no joke, but I have watched this kid since high school, and he is a special player. He can evade pressure like no other and according to Pro Football Focus, Becht is the #1 QB in evading pressure in Football Bowl Subdivision (out of 149 qualified QBs) and has been sacked just once on 39 defensive pressures. Take a shot in GPP's on a low owned and cheap Rocco Becht. 

Other Top Quarterbacks

Joe Milton, Tennessee ($9.3K DK/10.8K FD) - Milton should be the chalk tonight and projects as the highest scoring quarterback but can we trust this volatile talent? He does get a tasty matchup against a Gamecock pass defense allowing 317.0 passing yards per game (fourth worst in the entire nation) plus he has four rushing touchdowns.  This is the obvious game stack of the slate so make sure to get some pieces from both sides. 

Chandler Morris, TCU ($8.2K DK/10.1K FD) - Morris is coming off his best game as a starter throwing for 265 yards and three touchdowns against SMU. He has between 26 and 27 DK points in all three games against FBS opponents plus offers rushing upside. Solid GPP play.

Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech ($5.5K DK/8.0K FD) - Baylor transfer Drones is coming off a 25 DK point game in his second start where he ran for 75 yards and two scores and threw for 159 more. He is cheap and can run so Drones makes for another GPP value like Rocco Becht.

Preston Stone, SMU ($9.1K FD) - The AAC Player of the Week two weeks ago had a career game against Prairie View A&M (38 FD points) but then a dud against TCU with two picks and no touchdowns. This could be a big bounce back week against Charlotte.

Davis Brin, Georgia Southern ($9.0K FD) - Brin went from being the Sun Belt player of the week, to being the goat the following week with five interceptions and a fumble in the Wisconsin game. He returned in a big way completing 34 of 46 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.  This is the top FanDuel point per dollar quarterback of the slate in a big boy 65.5 game total against Coastal Carolina.

 

CFB DFS RUNNING BACKS

Emani Bailey - TCU vs. West Virginia ($6.8K DK/$9.3K FD)

Emani Bailey is having a monster year and with the way he is rushing the football it would be foolish for TCU to not continue pounding the running game. Bailey has 483 rushing yards after four games (120.75 average per game) and with only two touchdowns on the season there is no reason not to expect even bigger fantasy scores on the horizon. We do have one issue here- the West Virginia defense is one of the best in the country, allowing only 109.8 rushing yards per game, further ceasing opponents to only 3.2 yards per carry. Still at only $6.8K, the Big-12 rushing leader is fully in play in all formats tonight.

Rodney Hammond Jr. - Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech ($5.1K DK/6.8K FD)

I was shouting from the rooftops last week before their game against North Carolina- play Rodney Hammond Jr! I did get that one right as he ran for 83 yards and a score plus caught three balls out of the backfield for 18 DK points. This was after a slow start to his season due to nagging injuries and finally a vote of confidence from Pat Narduzzi. This is an ultra-talented running back and assuming he’s healthy, Hammond will now be getting most of the carries, vintage Izzy Abanikanda from a season ago. He got banged up at the end of last week’s game but assuming Hammond is good to go I will be playing him in most of my lineups tonight against a Virginia Tech run defense that is allowing 212.5 yards per game on the ground which is 122nd out of 130 teams in the entire nation plus they have allowed 850 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground in just four games.

Nate Carter - Michigan State @ Iowa ($6.0K DK/6.4K FD)

Nate Carter, a transfer from UCONN has furnished Michigan State with a solid threat on the ground rushing for 369 yards (5.1 Yards Per Carry) and four touchdowns rushing in four games. The sophomore ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 24th in the FBS averaging 92.3 rushing yards per game and is also tied for sixth in the conference and 32nd in the FBS with four rushing touchdowns. Carter also became the first Spartan since Jehuu Caulcrick in 2007 to score three touchdowns in a single quarter after running for three scores (2 yards, 44 yards, 6 yards) in the third quarter of the 45- 14 win over Richmond in Week 2 where he put up 36 DK points. Even with a 48-yard rushing day dud (6 DK points) against Washington Carter, a freak athlete who squats 600 pounds, is still averaging 20.2 DK points and a solid play against Iowa tonight. 

Other Top Running Backs

Audric Estime, Notre Dame ($7.9K DK/8.5K FD) - Estime leads the nation in rushing yards (591), is fourth for yards per carry (7.68) and ninth for yards per game (118.2) while Duke is 68th nationally in rush defense. Just not sure about the price tag- but if you have the funds roll him out.

Jabari Small, Tennessee ($6.4K DK/7.1K FD) - Small has totaled 258 yards and one touchdown on 42 rushing attempts through four games this season. Jaylen Wright is a GTD and if he’s out Small should see major run and becomes a big-time play. 

CJ Donaldson, West Virginia ($5.6K DK/7.2K FD) - Donaldson has at least 13 carries every game and has looked solid against two strong defenses – Penn State (81 yards) and Pittsburgh (102 yards). He gets a big boost if Garrett Greene is under center. 

Leshon Williams, Iowa ($5.2K DK/7.1K FD) - Williams has rolled out a team-best 173 rushing yards (43.3 per game) while Michigan State allows 128.5 yards per game on the ground.

Mario Anderson, South Carolina ($4.4K DK/5.1K FD) - Anderson ran the ball 26 times last week plus scored against Mississippi State and now gets a potential shootout at Tennessee. GPP play. 

Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech ($5.4K DK/6.5K FD) - Tuten ran for 88 yards on 9 carries while also adding a team-high 5 catches for 45 yards. The NC A&T transfer has turned into a big play threat and if Tech can keep opening holes, we may see another big day. 

 

CFB DFS WIDE RECEIVERS

Xavier Legette - South Carolina @ Tennessee ($6.1K DK/9.6K FD)

With star wideout Juice Wells dealing with a rash of injuries that have kept him out of action all season Xavier Legette has burst onto the scene in a huge way. The fifth-year senior has 556 receiving yards this year to go along with three touchdowns to lead the SEC and the nation in receiving yards through four weeks. Legette and Quarterback Spencer Rattler have developed a seamless connection as the top QB-WR duo in the conference. In three games in 2023, Legette has recorded over 100 yards receiving which came against North Carolina (178), Furman (118) and Mississippi State (189). This is the top overall play at wide receiver on both sites tonight.

Andrel Anthony - Oklahoma vs. Iowa State ($6.0K DK/$8)

After struggling to gain consistent playing time at Michigan, Oklahoma wide receiver Andrel Anthony has stepped into Marvin Mims’ shoes and become one of the most underrated transfer portal pickups of the college football season. He now has 371 receiving yards through four games, including consecutive 100+ yard games against Tulsa and Cincinnati. Like he has all season the Sooners Alpha receiver once again led the team in receptions (7), yards (117) and targets (8) last week at Cincinnati. Through four games with the Sooners, Anthony has more receptions (21) and yards (371) than he did in two seasons with Michigan. The big-play receiver gets a home date against Iowa State in the second highest scoring game of the slate and with 18+ DK points in three straight games he will be a popular choice in all formats tonight.

Squirrel White - Tennessee vs. South Carolina ($5.8K DK/5.6K FD)

Tennessee sophomore wide receiver Squirrel White has totaled 17 receptions for 172 yards in four games this season. The 5’10”, 165-pound White who is a fast and agile target that usually plays out of the slot for josh Heupel’s offense has recorded six receptions against Virginia, four against Austin Peay, three at Florida and four versus UTSA. Tonight, he gets a treat as the Vols face the fourth worst pass defense in the entire nation as South Carolina allows 317 yards in the air per game. A $5.6K he is one of the top point per dollar plays of the slate on FanDuel.

Jaylin Noel - Iowa State @ Oklahoma ($4.8K DK/$7.6K FD)

Iowa State has some talented receivers for quarterback Rocco Becht to throw to. Jaylin Noel is a dynamic and pivotal member in this offense and against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, he caught eight passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. Last year, Noel had 60 catches for 572 yards and three touchdowns, and he is now embracing being the torchbearer to the Cyclones all-time leader in receptions Xavier Hutchinson. The receiving room alpha now has eight receptions in back-to-back games and should see a load of targets in the slot as Iowa State should be playing from behind all day against heavily favored Oklahoma. Noel is too cheap here and in play in all formats. 

Other Top Wide Receivers

Bru McCoy, Tennessee ($6.5K DK/6.7K FD) - Gets a shot at the fourth worst pass defense in the entire nation- South Carolina. He’s a volatile receiver but capable of nuking the slate

Jordan Moore/Jalon Calhoun, Duke ($5.3K DK & $5.7K DK/6.5K & 6.5K FD) - Moore (29 targets) is averaging 11.7 DK points and Calhoun (27 targets) 10.0 DK points as Riley Leonard’s top two pass catchers. 

Trey Knox, South Carolina ($4.2K DK/5.7K FD) - With Juice Wells out again Knox played 62 of 70 snaps last week and has seen 13 targets in the last two games. Knox or O’Mega Blake (nine targets last two games) are both in play in GPP stacks alongside Rattler and Legette. 

Nic Anderson, Oklahoma ($4.3K DK/7.4K FD) - Oklahoma spreads the ball around but Anderson does have four touchdowns in the last two games. GPP flyer only but this is a cheap play for the Sooner touchdown leader.

Jayden Higgins, Iowa State ($3.5K DK/5.9K FD) - Higgins has racked up 13 catches for 153 yards, as well as collecting two touchdowns. The Sooners will be looking to cover guys like Noel and Daniel Jackson, so expect to hear Higgins’ name called tonight.

 

DRAFTKINGS CORE

Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) or Joe Milton (Tennessee)

Spencer Rattler - South Carolina

Emani Bailey - TCU

Xavier Legette - South Carolina

FANDUEL CORE

Joe Milton III - Tennessee

Davis Brin - Georgia Southern

Squirrel White - Tennessee

Emani Bailey - TCU