Week 11’s main slate features the who’s who of college football. The Georgia Bulldogs, Texas Longhorns, Ohio State Buckeyes, Clemson Tigers, Miami Hurricanes, and Colorado Buffaloes are just a few of the teams featured on the primary fantasy schedule. That’s without considering some of the other programs that feature some underappreciated fantasy contributors and are still in the race for their respective conference titles. Hidden gems like the Iowa State Cyclones, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Army Black Knights could offer an inside track to DFS punters looking to set their rosters apart.
We’ve got you covered for DFS purposes, highlighting our preferred players from Saturday’s main slate.
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Or if cash games are more your speed, you can build your lineups alongside our projections with our Lineup Builder. From there, you can hand-build your lineup or lock in a few guys and let the builder optimize the rest based on our projections.
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Let’s dive into this week’s slate!
CFB DFS Quarterback Picks
Will Howard (Ohio State Buckeyes): $8,100 DraftKings
The Ohio State Buckeyes upset the state of the Big Ten and re-arranged the Top 25 with their victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions last week. They face a much easier task in getting past the Purdue Boilermakers in Week 11. As such, we’re forecasting a monumental performance from Will Howard, as the Buckeyes prove they are the real deal.
Howard has asserted himself as one of the pre-eminent quarterbacks in the country. Through the first 10 weeks of the season, the senior has a noteworthy 73.2% completion rate, 9.6 yards per pass attempt, and a 19-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Moreover, we’ve seen him get out and use his legs efficiently. He may only have 115 rushing yards on the season, but Howard has used five of his 53 carries to score touchdowns. That added scoring dimension gives him a leg up against Purdue.
While he doesn’t always put up the gaudiest fantasy stats, Howard should have no problem torching the Boilermakers. Purdue gives up the 18th-most passing and 11th-most rushing yards in the country. Not surprisingly, that correlates with one of the worst scoring defenses in the FBS. Opponents are putting up a staggering 42.1 points per game, representing the third-most in Division 1 football. Sadly, that number ratchets up to 46.7 as the visitors.
Big name appeal may try to misdirect you on Saturday, but don’t fall victim to its traps. Howard and the Buckeyes should have no problem moving the ball down the field against Purdue, which should result in the best fantasy performance of the slate, bar none. At $8,100, Howard is worth the investment and affords plenty of other wiggle room to splurge on other positions.
Shedeur Sanders (Colorado Buffaloes): $8,900 DraftKings
After looking unimpressive earlier in the campaign, the Colorado Buffaloes have re-asserted themselves as a college football powerhouse. Led by Shedeur Sanders, the Buffs have won five of their past six. Still, with one Big 12 loss already, Colorado needs to run the table and get help to make the conference championship game. We expect them to take care of the former with another decisive performance against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Inarguably, Sanders has been one of the top fantasy quarterback options this season. His 2,591 passing yards and 21 touchdowns rank eighth and third, respectively, but his more recent efforts are driving fantasy intrigue. Over his last four games, Sanders has thrown for at least 290 yards on three occasions while eclipsing an 80.0% completion rate in all but one of those contests. Further, he’s added multiple touchdowns in all of those outings, totaling 10 across the four-game sample.
Those benchmarks are on the rise against the Red Raiders. Texas Tech ranks as one of the worst passing defenses out there. They give up 282.4 passing yards per game, the 10th-most in the FBS, watching that number balloon to 305.7 over their past three. Predictably, opponents have used that to put up crooked scoring numbers against Texas Tech, averaging 32.4 points per game against the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech’s biggest weakness is Colorado’s most pronounced strength, and we expect them to wield it unmercifully on Saturday. Sanders should expose the Red Raiders’ defense en route to one of the best fantasy performances of the day.
CFB DFS Running Back Picks
Darius Taylor (Minnesota Golden Gophers): $8,700 DraftKings
No running back has had a greater rise than Darius Taylor. The Minnesota Golden Gophers’ primary rusher started the season with a salary in the $6,000 range. After several weeks of increasing salaries, Taylor consistently finds himself north of $8,000. He’s going to prove he’s deserving of that salary with another elite showing versus the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
While he serves as the every-down back for Minnesota, Taylor’s fantasy ceiling isn’t limited to his rushing contributions. The sophomore has tallied the second-most targets and receptions for the Golden Gophers, translating his 43 receptions into 315 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, that’s without considering his prominence in the ground game. Taylor has a beefy 126 carries this season, churning out 644 yards and eight more scores.
More importantly, Taylor’s rising salary is validated by superb performances more recently. Last time out, he ran for 131 yards and a touchdown against the Illinois Fighting Illini, adding 58 receiving yards. That was the third time over the past four games in which he had combined to surpass the century mark, recording a touchdown across his last three outings.
Rutgers’ defense has struggled in conference play. Over their last three games, the Scarlet Knights have allowed at least 35 points and 443 yards, giving up respective averages of 39.7 and 490.0. Taylor adds to that misery in Week 11, making him one of the premier running backs available.
Kanye Udoh (Army Black Knights): $5,900 DraftKings
Everyone knows that the Army Black Knights will run the ball, but no one has found a way to contain them this season. The 8-0 Black Knights lead the FBS in rushing, averaging a mind-numbing 335.1 yards per game. Although quarterback Bryson Daily is projected to be back in the lineup, we’re not expecting him to be back at 100%. As a result, Kanye Udoh is the rusher to target when they take to the field against the North Texas Mean Green.
Daily has taken the lion’s share of rushing attempts out of the backfield, but Udoh has eaten into that workload over the past few weeks. Over the last five weeks, Army’s running back has accumulated 622 rushing yards on 78 carries for a robust 8.0 yards per rush attempt. Moreover, he’s seen a growing workload, with the sophomore carrying the ball at least 17 times in each of the last three games. Additionally, his fantasy performances have been elevated with increased scoring, with Udoh crossing the goal line five times over that stretch.
Those baseline metrics only begin to scratch the surface of what Udoh is capable of versus the Mean Green. North Texas gives up a concerning amount of rushing yards, allowing 193.1 per game and ranking among the bottom 20 teams in the country. Worse, they’ve been more porous of late, getting burned for 224.0 per game over their last three.
Udoh has become the focal point of Army’s ground game, and deservedly so. He’s getting yards in big chunks and has been a scoring menace. Udoh’s ascent continues with another slate-changing performance in this AAC clash.
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CFB DFS Wide Receiver Picks
Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State Buckeyes): $6,600 DraftKings
As usual, the Buckeyes don’t feature just one premier wide receiver. They have a one-two punch that makes them virtually unstoppable through the air. However, from a fantasy perspective, it’s more challenging to discern which receiver is worth targeting on a slate. While it’s entirely possible to roster both Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, we give the edge to the latter in Week 11.
Smith has more yards on fewer receptions, but Egbuka has been the more reliable pass-catcher. The senior has hauled in 76.7% of the passes thrown his way, compared to 72.2% posted by Smith. There’s also a progression aspect of Egbuka’s profile that is worth taking note of. Through the first six games of the season, he was targeted 52 times while eclipsing double digits on three occasions. In two outings since, Egbuka has totaled just eight targets without surpassing five in either contest. We’re anticipating a more robust workload against Purdue, as he reclaims his spot as one of Howard’s preferred targets.
For many of the same reasons we recommend Will Howard, it’s worth stacking Egbuka. The Buckeyes wide receiver remains a threat every time he steps on the field, and we expect a stronger showing against an ineffective Boilermakers’ defense.
Travis Hunter (Colorado Buffaloes): $9,500 DraftKings
Double-stack! A lot of the joy of college football DFS comes from the expanded roster and super flex position that can be used to roster an additional quarterback. As Egbuka is to Howard, Hunter is to Sanders. We expect that standout receiver to shine again on Saturday, getting the best of the Red Raiders’ secondary.
He may have gone through a mid-season lull, but Hunter has cemented himself as the premier NFL pass-catching prospect. His 60 receptions and 757 receiving yards rank among the best in the country, and he’s positioned to set the bar even higher against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders have allowed seven different receivers to go off for at least 81 yards, with three of those players going notably over 100 receiving yards. Tetairoa McMillan has the closest profile to Hunter’s, and he accumulated 161 yards on eight catches and 14 targets.
That’s the standard to expect from Hunter in this Big 12 showdown. The junior is coming off a 153-yard effort last time out and has eclipsed the century mark in five of eight contests this season. Moreover, Hunter has the underlying workload metrics validating ongoing success. His 23.8% target share is a team-best, and he’s posted a sterling 83.3% catch rate on the season.
Sanders and Hunter have been one of the winningest fantasy combinations of the year, a standard that should carry Colorado to the end of the season and into the playoff conversation. Even at $9,500, we expect Hunter to live up to the implied expectations of his lofty salary.
Dominic Lovett (Georgia Bulldogs): $4,700 DraftKings
If you’re looking for a quality low-cost receiver to offset some of the more expensive salaries on the main slate, we’ve got the guy for you. Dominic Lovett remains a high-volume threat in a crowded Georgia Bulldogs’ receivers corps, but should vastly overachieve relative to his modest salary in Week 11.
You wouldn’t know it from his salary, but Lovett commands the most looks from quarterback Carson Beck. His 61 targets and 38 receptions are both team-bests, while his target share accounts for 20.2% of the Bulldogs’ passes. Further, we’ve seen him take on a more prominent role on offense as the season progresses. Lovett has had at least 10 targets in three of the past five weeks, including 21 over the last two. Accordingly, that accounts for two of his three touchdowns and 234 of his 389 receiving yards.
Undoubtedly, the Ole Miss Rebels represent a significant test for the Bulldogs. But opponents have had success throwing against the Rebels lately. Last week, the Arkansas Razorbacks accumulated 365 passing yards against Ole Miss, with receiver Andrew Armstrong accounting for 135 of those. Two games before, Kyren Lacy broke the century mark, with the LSU Tigers throwing for 337 yards.
Dominic Lovett is poised to become the next receiver to thrive against the Rebels. We’ve identified him as the top value on the board and x-factor on Week 11’s main slate.
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