CFB DFS picks and strategy for the Friday slate (11/18)

It’s been a real grind with weekday college football DFS slates along with our daily college basketball sets. But this is what we live for, and I have to give a shoutout to my partner on the CFB side, Jake Kucheck, for handling the MACtion slate breakdowns for me while I settle into my busy schedule. We have a fantastic slate of games all day Saturday, but first we have to delve into Friday’s two-gamer.

This breakdown will highlight my top 2-3 plays at each position as well as some secondary options for those looking to MME. Furthermore, I will be providing you with a three-man core for both sites that you can use for your main build as well as my top PrizePicks plays.

Lastly, news is constantly dropping in the college football world and it’s not exactly easy to find unless you know what you’re looking for. This is why you should fully take advantage of a key piece of your subscription, which is the CFB DFS Discord channel. This is where we drop updated depth charts, any breaking injury news as well as sharing our evolving thoughts. I know as much as anyone how time-consuming tracking news and researching can be but that’s why you have us to do it for you. That’s a huge advantage to have over the rest of the field with a bagel in their lineup. Let’s dive in.

Vegas Odds Team Odds Team Odds Total USF +420 Tulsa -540 (-14) 58 SDSU -610 (-14) New Mexico +460 36 Quarterbacks Jalen Mayden, San Diego State ($8.2k) Mayden has been stupendous for the Aztecs since taking over as the QB1 and has shown the ability to make exciting plays with his legs or with his arm. He has thrown for 1,253 yards/8 TDs while rushing for 171/3 in five games. The matchup against New Mexico isn’t daunting at all and I think he is very clearly the best option at the position for 1 QB builds or 2.

Additional QB Targets Tulsa QBs — This is a terrible slate for quarterbacks honestly, and I think I’m probably going to roll Mayden and move on. However, if you want another passer in your superflex, then it’s going to have to be from Tulsa. Davis Brin has been dealing with serious injuries most of the season which is causing him and Braylon Braxton to split time. This isn’t ideal for DFS purposes but If I had to choose one, it’s going to be Braxton at this point. Brin was the starter last week but was benched due to ineffectiveness and he just hasn’t looked like himself since the early-season injury against Ole Miss.

Running Backs Brian Battie, South Florida ($6.4k) Battie has made the best of a bad situation as the South Florida football program is just terrible for lack of a better term. He has emerged as the go-to option in the backfield having produced 380 yards on 59 carries in the past three games. He has been able to punish porous defenses such as Houston and SMU, but now he gets a chance to decimate a Tulsa group that is allowing over 200 YPG on the ground. It would be truly shocking if he didn’t eclipse 100 yards for a fourth straight game.

Additional RB Targets Deneric Prince, Tulsa — The results have been mixed for Prince since he got healthy midseason, but he is still the primary guy in the backfield for Tulsa and is getting a healthy number of touches.

Jordan Byrd, SDSU — The RBs on this particular slate aren’t that appetizing either to be honest but Byrd does carry some intrigue with a soft matchup on tap against New Mexico. His overall carries have dwindled as Kenan Christon has cut into his workload, but he is contributing enough as a pass-catcher to still have viability in this spot.

Wide Receivers Tulsa WRs This is actually a slate where I’d consider just running 4-5 wide receivers. The Tulsa pass-catchers represent the best options as they’ll be teeing off against an overmatched USF secondary. Keylon Stokes is the alpha of the group as he leads the team in targets with 92 and has a healthy stat line of 63-1032-6. Meanwhile, JuanCarlos Santana (42-662-5, 75 targets), Isaiah Epps (31-381-5, 58 targets) and Malachai Jones (32-397-2, 55 targets) contribute heavily to this offense as well.

Additional WR Targets Xavier Weaver, USF — We were all in on Weaver last week during the main slate, and he mostly came through with a 4-60-1 stat line. He has a whopping 93 targets for the Bulls with the next closest player sitting at 47. He is fantastic as a PPR option and has scored double-digit fantasy points in every single game this year.

SDSU WRs — Tyrell Shavers blew up for 4-111-1 last week and real slate-breaking GPP upside, but it’s hard to trust him in your main lineup due to the low floor. Jesse Matthews is a bit more consistent as a pass-catcher but doesn’t have the same highs as Shaver. 4-40-1 is a realistic expectation for Matthews. Lastly, we have Mekhi Shaw as a player that has seemingly built good rapport with Jalen Mayden and is coming off a 5-64-1 performance.

Core Jalen Mayden Brian Battie Keylon Stokes PrizePicks Plays The board hasn’t updated for Friday’s games.

CFB DFS picks and strategy for the Friday slate (11/18)

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