Welcome back, college football fans and DFS players alike! How’d you do with your Week 5 DFS CFB lineups? We had a very interesting and exciting slate of football last Saturday with big performances from some offenses and duds from others. It’s time now to look towards the Saturday main slate of games kicking off at 12 pm ET. 

Before we get into any specific players and pricing, it’s imperative to understand how DraftKings and FanDuel differentiated their main slates this week. On DK, per usual, there are 11 games that span the early and late afternoon kickoffs and lineup construction is pretty straightforward there. On FD, however, we have an early slate that includes only the 12 pm ET games - and then a larger main slate that includes both 3:30 pm ET and 7 pm ET kickoffs. Your lineups on that site will obviously look very different than on DK.

For the reasons above, this playbook for the Saturday main slate will focus mainly on the early games that appear on both DraftKings and FanDuel. We will have a night slate playbook up too that will cover the additional games on FanDuel’s main slate and the DK night slate more in-depth. For now, we’ll break down a few of the top plays at each position for these early Saturday games by taking into account the price differentials, individual matchups, depth charts and point spreads. 

Now, let’s dive into the specific players that are worth rostering in both cash game and tournament lineups for this Week 6 Saturday afternoon main slate!

QUARTERBACKS

Jalen Hurts - Oklahoma ($9,300 DK / $11,500 FD)

Hurts is likely the Heisman frontrunner right now and he needs to be considered for your DFS lineups whenever Oklahoma is on the slate - despite his expensive price tag. He can obviously get it done through the air - as he’s tossed three touchdowns in each game this season - but Hurts’ real value comes from the rushing upside he provides. The Sooners’ dual-threat quarterback has rushed for at least 150 yards in two different games already and he’s racked up 443 rushing yards and five rushing scores over the first four games. Although Oklahoma is blowing out their opponents so far - and they should do the same to Kansas this week - Hurts has still been able to post big numbers because he’s playing the majority of games despite having big leads. Thankfully for us, Hurts isn’t coming out of games too early which has allowed him to put up at least 300 total yards and three touchdowns in every game so far. 

Joe Burrow - LSU ($8,700 DK / $10,800 FD)

If you rostered Burrow two weeks ago, you probably cashed easily because the LSU passer tossed six touchdowns with nearly 400 passing yards. We can’t expect him to repeat those numbers as that’s likely a ceiling game for Burrow, but he should come close in a favorable matchup yet again this week. The Utah State defense is allowing 241 passing yards per game and they’ve yet to face a top-notch offense like LSU’s. In Week 1, we saw Wake Forest’s Jamie Newman throw for 401 yards and three touchdowns against this defense - which should give us a good baseline for what Burrow can do in this matchup. If you’re not paying up for Hurts, the Tigers’ QB is the next-best option in the high end of the position. 

Sean Clifford - Penn State ($7,100 DK / $10,200 FD)

We say it every week, price differential for certain players between FanDuel and DraftKings can go a long way - and that’s certainly the case for Clifford this weekend. His DK price tag makes him a huge value compared to what he costs on FD. We just saw the Penn State QB rack up nearly 400 passing yards, four total touchdowns and 54 rushing yards against Maryland last week and he gets a slightly better matchup this time around. The Purdue defense is allowing 280 passing yards per game and opposing quarterebacks have been able to post big numbers against them. 

Also Consider: 

Spencer Sanders - Oklahoma State ($7,600 DK / $9,700 FD)

Steven Montez - Colorado ($7,400 DK Only)

Tanner Morgan - Minnesota ($6,500 DK Only)

Austin Kendall - West Virginia ($6,300 DK / $7,300 FD)

RUNNING BACKS

Chuba Hubbard - Oklahoma State ($8,900 DK / $10,600 FD)

When playing running backs in DFS, we always want to target guaranteed volume more often than not - and Hubbard is getting a ton of work right now in this Oklahoma State offense. Hubbard has seen at least 26 touches in three of four games this season and his workload as a rusher is certainly hard to ignore with carry totals of 32, 37 and 25 over the last three games, respectively. The matchup against Texas Tech’s stout rush defense is a tough one, but if Hubbard is getting this much work on the Cowboy’s high-scoring offense then his floor still remains high. Paying up for Hubbard at his expensive price tag is obviously tough to do, but if you don’t have him in cash games when he puts up 40+ points - you’ll be on the outside looking in. 

Keaontay Ingram - Texas ($6,800 DK / $9,100 FD)

There’s no denying the talent of Ingram, but the only knock against him this season has been the amount of work (or lack thereof) he’s been getting in this Texas offense. That finally changed last game when Ingram racked up 114 rushing yards on 21 carries. His previous season-high for carries was 13 in Week 3. Ingram’s rushing upside is still capped because of how often Sam Ehlinger carries the ball and vultures touchdowns. However, he’s the clear lead back for a Longhorns offense that’s favored on the road against a West Virginia defense that’s allowing 172 rushing yards per game. If you’re not paying up for Hubbard at RB this weekend, Ingram is next-best option in the high-end to roster in cash games. 

Javian Hawkins - Louisville ($5,000 DK / $7,200 FD)

The depth at running back this week is not pretty, but Hawkins should be able to return value at an affordable price. Louisville’s lead back is getting a consistent workload with at least 17 carries in three of four games, and he put up back-to-back games of 120 rushing yards in the season’s first two weeks. Plus, the Cardinals have been leaning on the rushing game more often with starting quarterback Jawon Pass missing the last couple games. On Saturday, Hawkins gets an easy matchup against a Boston College defense that’s allowing 183 rushing yards per game. In a home game where Louisville is favored by a touchdown, we can expect Hawkins to get 17 or more carries again with a real chance at over 100 rushing yards and potentially a score or two.

Also Consider:

Mekhi Sargent - Iowa ($6,100 DK / $7,900 FD)

Reggie Corbin - Illinois ($5,800 DK Only)

Trey Sermon - Oklahoma ($5,400 DK / $8,900 FD)

Gary Brightwell - Arizona ($5,100 DK Only)

WIDE RECEIVERS

Devin Duvernay - Texas ($7,500 DK / $9,500 FD)

We’ve seen Duvernay put up a pair of massive games as the top receiver in the Texas offense while Collin Johnson nurses an ankle injury. Johnson is questionable to play on Saturday and if he’s out again, Duvernay should see a ton of targets yet again. The wideout had 12 catches for 154 yards and two scores in Week 2 with Johnson leaving the game early, and then put up 12 receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown in Week 4 with Johnson ruled out. He’s clearly Sam Ehligner’s top option in the passing game and has a pretty high floor with how many targets he’s seeing in Johnson’s absence. Definitely check on the Texas injury report before this kickoff, but if Johnson is out then Duvernay becomes a top play at WR on this slate. 

Ja’Marr Chase - LSU ($7,000 DK / $9,900 FD)

In Joe Burrow’s six-touchdown performance from two weeks ago, it was Chase who was the main benefactor with 10 catches for 229 yards and four receiving scores. He was able to have such a massive game because No. 1 wideout Justin Jefferson left the game early - but it’s still clear that Chase is a game-changing talent who should see a ton of targets even with Jefferson back (he’s probable to play with an ankle injury). Chase could easily be the highest-scoring WR on this slate yet again because of Utah State’s poor passing defense and LSU’s tendency to attack through the air throughout the game. 

KJ Hamler - Penn State ($6,000 DK / $9,000 FD)

Hamler may not get the national recognition of other top wideouts across the country, but he’s one of the most dynamic athletes who can literally score any time he touches the ball. That talent was on full display last Friday when Hamler tore up the Maryland defense for six catches, 150 yards and an ankle-breaking 58-yard touchdown. He had been quiet in the two games prior after a dazzling Week 1 performance, but that is the type of production we can expect from Hamler going forward - especially this weekend. Purdue’s defense is not good against the pass and pairing up Hamler with Sean Clifford is a very cheap roster build in cash games that could be the highest-scoring QB-WR duo on the slate. 

Stephen Sullivan - LSU ($4,000 DK / $5,500 FD)

This is a very interesting cheap play on this slate that could pay off big or bomb entirely. Sullivan has been the tight end in LSU’s offense this season but he’s making the move back to wide receiver this week with Terrance Marshall out with an injury. Sullivan automatically becomes the No. 3 WR for the Tigers (assuming Justin Jefferson suits up) and could get more targets than normal with the position change. Over the last two games, Sullivan had three and four catches for 51 and 48 yards, respectively, and he could smash value if he finds the end zone this week. He becomes a great value play if Jefferson sits out or is limited. 

Purdue WRs

With Purdue coming in as four-touchdown underdogs to Penn State, the offense will likely be passing a ton late in the game trying to play catch-up. That fact alone should give the Boilermaker wideouts some value. However, we’re looking at David Bell and Jackson Anthrop in this receiving corps for two other big reasons. For one, Purdue’s top receiver Rondale Moore is hurt and won’t play - which moves both these guys up the depth chart right away. Plus, Purdue will be starting Jack Plummer at quarterback with Elijah Sindelar out - and both Bell and Anthrop has solid games last week with Plummer in the game. Bell had eight catches for 114 yards while Anthrop had seven grabs for 66 yards. Both could be safety blankets for Plummer yet again this week and you can roster both as great value plays if you’re trying to pay up at other positions. 

Also Consider: 

Rashod Bateman - Minnesota ($6,400 DK Only)

Tony Brown - Colorado ($5,700 DK Only)

Sam James - West Virginia ($5,200 DK / $8,400 FD)

Kyle Pitts - Florida ($4,700 DK / $6,500 FD)

Caleb Repp - Utah State ($3,600 DK / $6,300 FD)
 

Example Lineup on DraftKings:

QB: Jalen Hurts - Oklahoma ($9,300)

RB: Chuba Hubbard - Oklahoma State ($8,900)

RB: Javian Hawkins - Louisville ($5,000)

WR: Stephen Sullivan - LSU ($4,000)

WR: KJ Hamler - Penn State ($6,000)

WR: Jackson Anthrop - Purdue ($4,000)

FLEX: Tony Brown - Colorado ($5,700)

S-FLEX: Sean Clifford - Penn State ($7,100)

 

Example Lineup on DraftKings (Alternate):

QB: Joe Burrow - LSU ($8,700)

RB: Keaontay Ingram - Texas ($6,800)

RB: Javian Hawkins - Louisville ($5,000)

WR: Ja’Marr Chase - LSU ($7,000)

WR: Rashod Bateman - Minnesota ($6,400)

WR: Kyle Pitts - Florida ($4,700)

FLEX: David Bell - Purdue ($4,900)

S-FLEX: Tanner Morgan - Minnesota ($6,500)
 

Example Lineup on FanDuel (Early):

QB: Joe Burrow - LSU ($10,800)

RB: Chuba Hubbard - Oklahoma State ($10,600)

RB: Javian Hawkins - Louisville ($7,200)

WR: KJ Hamler - Penn State ($9,000)

WR: Stephen Sullivan - LSU ($5,500)

WR: Jackson Anthrop - Purdue ($6,300)

S-FLEX: Sean Clifford - Penn State ($10,200)
 

Example Lineup on FanDuel (Main):

QB: Jalen Hurts - Oklahoma ($11,500)

RB: Chuba Hubbard - Oklahoma State ($10,600)

RB: Keaontay Ingram - Texas ($9,100)

WR: Stephen Sullivan - LSU ($5,500)

WR: Tylan Wallace - Oklahoma State ($9,400)

WR: Kyle Pitts - Florida ($6,500)

S-FLEX: Austin Kendall - West Virginia ($7,300)