DraftKings College Football: CFB Week 8 Main Slate Plays and Lineup Strategy

This article is part of our DraftKings College Football series.

CFB DFS Picks: DraftKings College Football Week 8 DFS Picks and Plays

I love this slate because it'll serve as a nice distraction for me as I try to avoid dreading what awaits my Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday night in Austin. But it's great for other reasons, too.

The slate is littered with fun games with high totals and competitive spreads.  Miami-Louisville, Colorado-Arizona, and Baylor-Texas Tech will be drawing a lot of my attention.

On the injury front, Georgia Tech's odds of upsetting Notre Dame got a lot longer with the news of Haynes King being ruled out. Backup Zach Pyron ($8,400) is priced like a starter so that's no windfall for us DFS players.

And, since it's the third Saturday in October, we're treated to Alabama vs. Tennessee. Neither has been playing its best ball of late but we can expect them to raise their game this week with this matchup being crucial to their playoff chances. That game isn't heavily featured in this article but it shouldn't completely escape your list of games to consider this weekend. 

Slate Overview

Miami at Louisville

This one's understandably the headliner of the slate for DFS purposes with the highest total on the board and a competitive spread. Both teams have top 20 offenses per FPI and middling defenses by their metrics as well, so it's a good scoring environment. It'll be a beautiful day in Louisville, too, so we won't have to worry about Miami needing hot cocoa on the sidelines because it's in the 40s.

The pricing is going to make it tricky to go all-in on this game. Cam Ward checks in at $10,800 so to pair him with Xavier Restrepo ($8,200), you'll need to get creative with the rest of your lineup. Once you have too many guys under $4K in your lineup, it may be time to reconsider.

For that reason, Miami's Isaiah Horton ($5,900) might be a more popular stacking option with Ward than Restrepo will be. So, in a sense, finding a way to build a good lineup with Ward-Restrepo might be the better GPP play than settling for Ward-Horton just for leverage purposes. I still fully endorse the Ward-Horton duo, it just might not be as sneaky as you'd hope. 

Louisville continues to be a nice value source on these slates. The Cards have the No.17 offense per FPI and most of the star contributors are reasonably salaried. Tyler Shough ($7,900) isn't cheap and hasn't been playing all that well of late with fewer than 30 DK points combined in the last two weeks. He won't be popular so there's the leverage angle, but the rushing floor is non-existent and I'm not sure we can expect much more than 20 DK points from him. 

The Louisville receivers are still in play, though. Ja'Corey Brooks ($7,300) headlines the group and with good reason. He ranks third on the slate in YPT (13.0) among wideouts with at least 35 targets and his six receiving scores rank second. 

Caullin Lacy ($4,200) has averaged 6.0 targets per game since returning but hasn't been overly efficient with 11 grabs for 122 yards on 18 opportunities. Still, at $4,200, the volume is appealing. Chris Bell ($3,400) is probably my favorite value from this passing game. He sees a shade under four targets per game but averages 11.0 YPT. That's worth more than the $3,400 you have to pony up to get him.

Lastly, Louisville running back Isaac Brown ($5,600) has quietly been an extremely solid producer over the last month. The pricing is finally starting to catch up after Brown had been in the low $4,000s of late. He's putting up 24.8 DK points per game over his last three and that sample includes matchups against solid defenses like Notre Dame and SMU. 

Brown is from Homestead, FL, so this is his shot to put up numbers against his hometown team.

Colorado at Arizona

This one should be fun. Despite what the metrics say with Arizona having the No.77 offense, I think the 'Cats will be able to put up some points. Both defenses rank outside the top 50 nationally.

Arizona has been solid against the pass and mediocre against the run while Colorado's defense has been pretty generous in both areas. 

Noah Fifita ($6,200) has had a fall from grace from a fantasy perspective the likes we haven't seen since Khalil Tate (if you know, you know). I still have to believe there's something there with him. If nothing else, $6,200 is far from a barrier to entry for getting exposure for this game. It's fairly easy to get Fifita and Shedeur Sanders (9,300) in the same build.

As for the skill groups, Travis Hunter is obviously the most fun play. He's also $10K, which changes how you build out the rest of your lineup. I continue to bang the drum for the second-tier Colorado wideouts. Will Sheppard ($3,900) is one of the best values on the board and LaJohntay Wester at $5,600 is a great pick as well. 

Tetairoa McMillan ($8,300) has been dragged down a bit by Fifita's play but he's still hard to ignore on this slate among the primo receivers. The other Arizona receivers are too inconsistent to warrant much more than a dart, though. 

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Quarterback

Miller Moss ($7,200) USC at Maryland

Even with the travel factor being a bit of an unknown, this is a great buy-low opportunity on Moss and USC in general. Maryland, true to form, has turned back into a pumpkin this month. Its pass defense ranks 115th in the nation against conference competition and they haven't even played anybody that good from the B1G save for Indiana.

Against the Big 10, Maryland allows 308.3 passing yards per game at a 10.4 YPA clip. The Terps have four interceptions, but a lot of that came in one game against Kurtis Rourke who still dominated them. 

Moss averages nearly 40 passes per game. Though his 63.7 completion rate and 6.9 YPA don't stand out, this is a spot where he can do some stat padding. $7,200 for a quarterback of a team with the third-highest implied total on the board is something that should interest us.

Sawyer Robertson ($6,800) Baylor at Texas Tech

I'm digging the value QBs this week. Like Moss, Robertson is on the road against a vulnerable pass defense. Texas Tech has coughed up 308 passing yards per game thus far. In conference play, that number swells to 336.3. Somehow the Red Raiders have bent but not broken to an extreme degree in conference play with as many touchdowns allowed (4) as interceptions.

We have reason to believe in another start for Robertson with Dequan Finn listed as questionable. Robertson has thrown it 44-or-more times in each of his last two outings and has six passing touchdowns in that span. His receiving options are bargains, too, making Robertson and the Bears an appealing team to target on this slate.

Shedeur Sanders ($9,300) Colorado at Arizona

If you're paying up at QB, Sanders is my preferred choice. Sanders has thrown for multiple touchdowns in all but one game and has three or more in four different games. He's up to 17 passing touchdowns on the year and faces a weak Arizona secondary in what should be a high-scoring, back-and-forth game. 

I like the idea of game-stacking him with Fifita on the other side and sprinkling in some of the pass-catchers, but Sanders merits a play in his own right.

Others to Consider: Dylan Raiola, Nebraska ($4,700!!!)

Running Back

Tahj Brooks ($8,400) Texas Tech vs Baylor

This is a smash spot for Brooks. He has been cooking since the start of conference play with 17.0, 32.2, and 32.6 DK points in three games. He has seen no fewer than 21 carries in any of those games and has gotten as high as 32 carries against Cincinnati.

Baylor is a defense that is best attacked on the ground. The Bears allow just 176 passing yards per game which is barely more than what they give up on the ground. Brooks is a player to build your lineups around this week.

Roman Hemby ($5,500) Maryland vs USC

Can you believe it? A Lincoln Riley-coached team can't stop the run? I thought USC fired the source of the problem. Oh well.

Maryland needs to run the ball to stay competitive in this spot. The Terps' season is teetering on the brink of disaster after they got boat raced at home by Northwestern last week. They have gotten over-reliant on Billy Edwards and Tai Felton and it's had bad downstream effects.

Hemby can fix that. He's seeing frustrating volume so far at just 12.3 carries per game but he's averaging just about 5.0 YPC and is useful in the passing game too with 16 catches. His usage should tick back up this week given that USC's run defense is an exploitable weak point by the Terps. 

Phil Mafah ($7,500) Clemson vs Virginia

We're gonna keep riding this until the wheels fall off. Mafah is showing up in cashing lineups week after week and has four 100-yard games in six outings thus far. His $7,500 tag is commensurate with his output of late so he'll need to scratch out at least 20+ points to be worth it. 

But against Virginia in a home matchup, it's hard to imagine Mafah falling flat. He's seen 44 carries in the last two games and piled up 262 yards in that span. Virginia is okay against the run but the Hoos will have their hands full stopping the Clemson passing game, so Mafah should be getting plenty of cracks at that defense with light boxes in front of him. 

T.J. Harden ($4,500) UCLA at Rutgers

Okay, okay. UCLA is bad. Really bad. One of the worst P4 teams in fact. That's alright this week though. 

Rutgers is abysmal against the run. We saw it last week against Wisconsin and we've seen it other times as well. Harden has a 38% rushing share, though it's concerning that he has just 14 carries for 41 yards over the last two weeks. He has racked up over 100 receiving yards in that span, which helps his floor in PPR. This is a play on Harden hopefully getting to double-digit carries against a bad defense and letting the chips fall where they may. 

If you're out on Harden but still want a crack at the Rutgers run defense, Jalen Berger is min-price and has 17 carries over the last two weeks. I may mix him into some lineups myself.

Others to Consider: Woody Marks, USC ($7,400); Marcus Carroll*, Mizzou ($4,400) *if Nate Noel is out

Wide Receiver

Here's this week's target report. Filters are stats since Week 4, minimum of 4.5 targets per game and 9.5 yards per target. Have at it.

Josh Cameron ($4,500) Baylor at Texas Tech

This play especially makes sense if you're rostering Sawyer Robertson, but Cameron has been the most effective Baylor receiver thus far and is justifiable as a play if you need someone in this range. 

He has had at least six targets in three of his last four games and is up to 18 grabs for 277 yards and four touchdowns on the year. Texas Tech is vulnerable through the air and Robertson has been routinely throwing multiple scores over the last few weeks. Cameron has a nice projection here.

Will Sheppard ($3,900) and LaJohntay Wester ($5,600) Colorado at Arizona

The Travis Hunter effect always seems to make the rest of the Colorado receivers bargain options. Wester is tied with Illinois' Pat Bryant for the most receiving touchdowns of anyone on this slate with seven. He only averages 8.0 YPT but when you're scoring that many touchdowns, it has a downward pressure on your yardage figures. We'll make that tradeoff. 

Sheppard isn't scoring as frequently as Wester but he's consistently getting targets (5.7/G) and is efficient with them. He averages 9.7 YPT and has a catch rate of 65%. It doesn't take a huge game for Sheppard to return value at the $3,900 figure and if the trends hold, he'll give you double-digit points.

We want shares of this Colorado passing game this week and Wester and Sheppard present the easiest paths to getting them.

USC Pass Catchers at Maryland

Makai Lemon ($3,000); Duce Robinson ($3,200); Ja'Kobi Lane ($5,300)

Here's a snapshot of the USC passing game over the last four weeks. Lane has been the busiest and while he hasn't been explosive, he's getting in the end zone. $5,300 is tolerable when he has target volume and touchdown upside in his favor. 

Lemon is coming off his best game of the season with six grabs for 73 yards on nine targets against Penn State. He's getting more involved in the offense now that he's healthy and is min-priced. That's something to remember whether you're loading up on USC or just need a viable min-priced play to make your build work.

Robinson isn't far ahead of Lemon in terms of salary ($3,200) but is both talented and also consistently involved. He's tied for the team lead in touchdowns over the last month and if you remove the goose egg against Utah State from his sample, he's chugging along with 9.5 YPT on 18 targets. At 6-6, 220, Robinson is a matchup problem for Maryland's secondary. 

Others to Consider: Jake Briningstool, Clemson ($4,000); Germie Bernard, Alabama ($4,100); Isaiah Horton, Miami ($5,900); Chris Bell, Louisville ($3,400)