Early DraftKings CFB DFS Lineup Picks: Daily College Fantasy Football (9/30/23)

The last great college football season rolls into Week 5 this week. We have a smaller slate with 12 games on tap for the early main slate on DraftKings. Most teams are in conference play now and we have no FCS teams on the slate. It's starting to get normal. The nooners give us Clemson up in Syracuse. USC heads to Boulder to play chicken with the hype train in an early kick. Florida heads up to Lexington to take on Kentucky. A&M takes on Arkansas at Jerry world. The morning ends in Evanston with Penn State coming to town.

We start the afternoon off Berkeley with the Fun Devils in town. We have Kansas in Austin trying to duplicate the feat of 2021. Georgia heads to Auburn for the Deep South's oldest rivalry. Indiana heads to College Park to take on the Terrapins. Michigan is in Lincoln to take on the perpetually rebuilding Cornhuskers. Illinois heads to West Lafayette to take on the largest bass drum in the world. Who knows...we might even get some football. We end this in Memphis with Boise coming to the Liberty Bowl.

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/30/23, locking at noon Eastern. I’ll provide multiple player suggestions for players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, aiming to highlight one option at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Quarterbacks

Shedeur Sanders, Colorado ($9,500)

Shedeur Sanders is the player most important to his team on the slate. Colorado has no chance without him, and he seems to like it that way. Oregon roughed him up and ruined his day with seven sacks. That took away most of his 159 passing yards, but he still didn't make a mistake. USC's defense has been a sore spot all season. The Trojans won't lock him up like the Ducks did. USC's defensive line is the strength of the defense though, so Sanders might lose more points to sacks. The difference is he will likely throw for 300 on the Trojans.

Quinn Ewers, Texas ($8,700)

I kind of think Texas hit rock bottom when a then-terrible Kansas team came down to Austin and beat them in overtime. Things have changed since then, but this memory still lingers, along with the trolling that Texas hadn't beaten the Jayhawks in football in nearly 1,000 days. That emphatically came to an end in Lawrence last year. Expect the real revenge to come in Austin here. I don't think Texas lets up in this one. It's going to get ugly, and Quinn Ewers should be a big reason why.

Luke Altmyer, Illinois ($5,700)

Luke Altmyer had a rough game against Penn State, but that can be forgiven. He has at least 22 DraftKings points in the other three games. Altmyer hasn't been running as much of late, but he topped 300 passing yards last week against Florida Atlantic. He is starting to click in this offense and Purdue has given up some big passing games this year. There is a lot of upside for someone this affordable.

Also consider: Caleb Williams, USC ($10,500); Drew Allar, Penn State ($8,500); Seth Henigan, Memphis ($8,000); Garrett Shrader, Syracuse ($7,400); Hudson Card, Purdue ($6,600); Sam Jackson V, Calfornia ($5,500)

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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs

Blake Corum, Michigan ($8,300)

Blake Corum has all eight of Michigan's rushing touchdowns on the season, scoring seven in the last three weeks alone. Rutgers did a good job of limiting him (Corum's longest run on 21 carries was 14 yards), but they still couldn't keep him out of the end zone multiple times. I expect more of the same against Nebraska. Corum won't rack up the yards per carry, but he should score a couple of times.

Ashton Jeanty, Boise State ($6,800)

Ashton Jeanty had a career-high 205 rushing yards against a solid San Diego State defense last week. Even if George Holani returns, he will likely be limited. I'm not sure that Holani is the best back on this team anymore. Jeanty has shown more than Holani ever did as the starting back for this team. The price is still low enough for me to pile on Jeanty. Memphis has allowed 500 rushing yards in the last two games alone!

Reggie Love III, Illinois ($4,200)

Illinois gets a bit of a break against Purdue. Love was spotted at practice this week, so he should be good to go today. The Illinois offense is still a work in progress, but Love has a fairly large role in it, especially when you take the price into consideration. He has at least 12 touches in every game this season and has at least one reception in every game. That's a good floor for a value play.

Also consider: Jaydn Ott, California ($8,100); Blake Watson, Memphis ($6,500); Cam Skattebo, Arizona State ($6,400); Daijun Edwards, Georgia ($6,000); LeQuint Allen, Syracuse ($5,700); Trevor Etienne, Florida ($5,200); Jaylin Lucas, Indiana ($4,600)

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers

Jimmy Horn, Colorado ($6,600)

Travis Hunter is already out and Xavier Weaver exited the Colorado loss in the third quarter. No update has been given on Weaver and we may not get one. Jimmy Horn was active in the passing game even with both other guys healthy. He could be in for a monster role against a weak USC defense if Weaver misses this game or is limited. At any rate, Horn still has a good floor even if Weaver plays.

Roc Taylor, Memphis ($6,100)

Roc Taylor has double-digit targets in each of the last two games. He set a new career-high with 143 yards last week on seven receptions. Taylor has only found the end zone once so far, but with the increased targets should come increased production. There are a ton of receivers in this price range that grab my interest, but I'm a sucker for Taylor's target share, especially if Memphis falls behind Boise early.

Brock Bowers, Georgia ($5,400)

Auburn's tough defense is going to force Carson Beck to rely on his backs and receivers. The good news is that Brock Bowers is sometimes both in the body of a tight end. The Bulldogs have given Bowers plenty of looks in recent weeks as this offense finds its identity. Bowers should be a reliable safety valve for Beck in this one. He has the potential for another ceiling game here.

Luke Hasz, Arkansas ($5,000)

We'll include another tight end here in what should be a close matchup. The freshman hauled in four receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown against BYU. He followed that up with six receptions for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns against LSU last week. The Hogs lack a true gamebreaker at receiver, so they'll give it to Luke Hasz and let him truck some people. It's a good strategy.

Also consider: Evan Stewart, Texas A&M ($7,200); Andrew Armstrong, Arkansas ($6,200); KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Penn State ($6,100); Isaiah Williams, Illinois ($5,700); Cam Camper, Indiana ($5,300); Trond Grizzell, California ($4,800); Ja'Tavion Sanders, Texas ($4,700)

DraftKings CFB Stacks:

USC

The Trojans are in a great matchup, but they are also very, very expensive. This stack can be done if you have some love for Love and you don't mind using a couple of tight ends to save money. Caleb Williams is obviously the most important part of this. No USC wideout is really "safe," but Brendan Rice has scored a touchdown in all four games so far.

I like the playmaking ability of freshman Zachariah Branch as well. Marshawn Lloyd looked really good last week, so I don't mind using him too. Those four only leave you $4,850 to spend on the other four slots, so playing two QBs might not be an option in a full USC stack. It will set you apart, but maybe not in a good way.

Purdue

The Illinois defense has been a wreck against the pass and not nearly as stout against the run. Purdue has the weapons to attack them everywhere, led by Texas transfer Hudson Card. Devin Mockobee is a wrecking ball and Tyrone Tracy has been more than just a backup this year. Both get enough work to deploy here. Deion Burks is the receiver you want, but I have no issues with using Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen either.

Also consider: Colorado, Memphis

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