And it all comes down to this.
After months of exciting college football action, we are down to the final week of the regular season. Some teams are vying for a conference Championship game next week, others are fighting to become bowl-eligible, while even more teams are just running out the clock on a disappointing season. Wherever your allegiances lie, we’ve got two Saturdays left to make our college football DFS dreams come true, and we’re planning on making the most of it.
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
Jayden Daniels (LSU Tigers): $11,000 DraftKings
Michael Penix and Jayden Daniels stand above the rest on Saturday’s main slate. Both quarterbacks are looking to bolster their Heisman Trophy candidacy against sub-par defenses, and both have the salary to match. You wouldn’t be wrong for rostering either one, but we give the advantage to Daniels.
A few factors play into Daniels’ distinction as the best available. First, and for obvious reasons, he’s a DFS stud. The Tigers QB has put up an eye-popping 174.46 fantasy points over his last three outings, surpassing the 65.0-point threshold in two straight.
Secondly, the Texas A&M Aggies haven’t performed well on the road, showing more defensive cracks lately. In hosting the Aggies, opponents are averaging 368.8 yards per game. A steep departure from the 239.0 Texas A&M gives up at home. Additionally, those metrics are crumbling over their recent sample, with Texas A&M giving up an average of 321.3 yards per game over their previous three.
Lastly, Daniels has reserved his best work for at home and should be ready to shine on Senior Day. He leads the team in rushing yards, eclipsing the 1,000-yard threshold already this season, accounting for 46 of the team’s 67 touchdowns this year. Daniels has one more magical performance left in him, and we’re ready for it.
John Rhys Plumlee (UCF Knights): $8,200 DraftKings
Every few weeks, we offer a sage reminder: don’t lose sight of John Rhys Plumlee. I get it; there’s a lot to sift through. Fifteen other quarterbacks have a higher salary than Plumlee, implying that they are more valuable than him. But for the last time this season, Plumlee can hang with the best of them, and we’re confident he’ll show it in Week 13.
Plumlee is in a favorable spot scheduling-wise. The UCF Knights pivot concludes his collegiate career with a home game against the 4-7 Houston Cougars. UCF needs one win to become bowl-eligible, while the Cougars will likely be content to just put a bow on the season and re-up next season. Bookmakers have implied as much with their betting line, installing the Knights as prohibitive -13.5 chalk.
Moreover, Plumlee remains a top-end dual-threat quarterback. The Mississippi native has rushed for at least 45 yards in four straight, finding the end-zone in two of those contests. Those rushing metrics are complemented by respectable traditional stats. Plumlee has thrown for at least 248 yards in four of his last five, totaling nine touchdowns over that stretch, with multiple TDs in three of those outings.
Houston remains one of the most porous defenses in the FBS. The Cougars give up an average of 419.4 yards per game, with some of their worst performances coming over the last few weeks. Plumlee might not be the most expensive quarterback on the board, but he could end the day as one of the most productive. We’re billing the Knights QB as the top value available.
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CFB DFS Running Back Picks
Ollie Gordon (Oklahoma State Cowboys): $9,000 DraftKings
The Oklahoma State Cowboys conclude the regular season with a home matchup against the BYU Cougars. OK State needs a win to guarantee themselves a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game next week, and we don’t expect them to disappoint against the Cougars.
Bettors are hammering the Cowboys, moving them up to -17 favorites ahead of Saturday’s clash. If Oklahoma State is as comfortable as the betting line implies, that should mean a heavy dosage of Ollie Gordon and the ground game.
Irrespective of gamescript, Gordon has been a fundamental part of the team’s success in 2023. The sophomore is tied for the most rushing yards in the country, running for at least 121 yards in seven of his last eight. More impressively, Gordon has been a scoring machine, finding paydirt 13 times over that same sample, with 11 of those TDs coming over the last five games.
BYU has been humbled in its inaugural Big 12 campaign. The Cougars rank 103rd in yards allowed, giving up an average of 416.4 per game. Worse, they sit 120th in rushing yards allowed, getting steamrolled to the tune of 186.7 yards per game. The Cowboys should mosey into Championship Weekend on the strength of another elite performance from Gordon.
Jonah Coleman (Arizona Wildcats): $5,300 DraftKings
Our second pick is in stark contrast to the first. Gordon is the best available, is on everyone’s radar, and is priced as such. Conversely, Jonah Coleman has quietly taken care of business for the Arizona Wildcats, helping them to their first winning record since 2017. Arizona will be looking to put an exclamation mark on a brilliant season in a classic grudge match against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Coleman started the campaign on the wrong end of the Wildcats’ depth chart. The sophomore tallied just eight carries through the first three games of the season, breaking out with a 71-yard effort against the UTEP Miners. Since then, Coleman has had no fewer than 11 carries in any outing, earning distinction as Arizona’s lead running back.
Altogether, Coleman’s had a hugely successful season. He’s accumulated 834 yards on the ground, averaging 7.1 yards per carry, adding 282 receiving yards on 23 catches. Coleman has integrated himself into the team’s offensive schemes seamlessly, a fact not yet reflected in his DFS salary.
Over the last few weeks, opponents are trouncing the Sun Devils. ASU has given up an average of 225.0 rushing yards per game since the start of the month, giving up 49 or more points in two of the three contests. His salary doesn’t reflect it, but Coleman will be the latest RB to thrive against Arizona State.
RJ Harvey (UCF Knights): $7,200 DraftKings
Plumlee isn’t the only player who benefits from exploiting Houston’s defensive deficiencies. RJ Harvey has been a primary contributor for the Knights all year and should play a vital role in the rushing and passing attack on Saturday.
Harvey comes into this Big 12 battle on a bit of a tear. The senior has recorded no fewer than 20 fantasy points in any of his last four outings, averaging 30.98 points per game across that span. Not surprisingly, we see a spike in Harvey’s production at home, a facet that should be more pronounced in the final home game of his collegiate career.
For many of the same reasons we expect Plumlee to excel, we also like Harvey’s ceiling. The Cougars have mailed it in on this year’s campaign, and this is UCF’s last chance to snag that elusive sixth win. Harvey sits among the elite in our median and ceiling projections, and we expect him to get to the top end of that spectrum in Week 13.
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CFB DFS Wide Receiver Picks
Malik Nabers (LSU Tigers): $9,600 DraftKings
Our stacking combinations don’t end there. Finding a way to roster Malik Nabers with Daniels could be the permutation to land you on top of any tournament. Like his quarterback, Nabers leads our WR projections, and he should be on the receiving end of several long passes from Daniels.
Nabers has his own gravitational pull in the Tigers’ receiving corps. The junior has been targeted 115 times this season, representing a mind-numbing 34.0% target share. Nabers is making the most of those looks, hauling in 80 catches for 1,424 yards and 12 scores. Moreover, he’s saved his best for last, as Nabers as totaled 564 yards and five TDs over his previous four contests. Practically, that translates to 126.4 fantasy points, eclipsing the 30.0-point benchmark in all but one of those contests.
As stated, LSU has an unimpeded path to victory on Saturday. Surely, Nabers will be a complementary piece to Daniels as they end the regular season with another astute offensive display. Nabers rates substantially higher than any other wide receiver and should end the day as one of the top fantasy players.
Squirrel White (Tennessee Volunteers): $5,700 DraftKings
From our pre-eminent wideout to our top value, we’re keying in on Squirrel White as a potential x-factor on Saturday’s slate. The wide receiver has been a primary target in the Tennessee Volunteers’ passing game and should have plenty of room to roam against the lowly Vanderbilt Commodores.
White leads the Volunteers in every pass-catching category. His 54 receptions, 81 targets, and 654 yards put him ahead of the pack, earning a more robust workload as the season progresses. Over his last five games, White is averaging 70.0 yards per game on 5.6 receptions and 8.2 targets. Those benchmarks should only improve against a Commodores secondary that is allowing 276.3 passing yards per game.
The only knock on White is that he doesn’t have a great track record of scoring. Still, both of the underclassman’s touchdowns have come over the same five-game sample. Amplified scoring would elevate White into the elite pass-catcher category, and his last game of the regular season should foreshadow what to expect from him next year. White is an undervalued option in Week 13.
Rome Odunze (Washington Huskies): $8,500 DraftKings
Our last recommendation comes from the potentially playoff-bound Washington Huskies. Washington’s aerial attack has been second to none this season. The Huskies accumulate more yards through the air than any other program, helping them maintain their perfect record. Michael Penix deserves a lot of the credit for getting the team where it is, but the team wouldn’t be as successful as it is without Rome Odunze.
Odunze ranks fifth in the nation in receiving yards, compiling 1,206 in 11 games. Where he sets himself apart is with some of his underlying metrics and big play ability. The junior is averaging a career-best 18.3 yards per catch, with game-longs of 36 yards or better in six of his last ten.
Odunze’s game-breaking ability has been on full display over the last couple of outings, with the Las Vegas native accumulating 217 yards and four touchdowns over the past two weeks.
Lastly, we’ve seen the best of Odunze come out at home. His yards per catch and yards per game jumped to 19.6 and 114.2, respectively, at Husky Stadium. Those numbers should only climb even higher against the Washington State Cougars, a game that features a total of 66.5.
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