DraftKings CFB DFS Lineup Picks: Daily College Fantasy Football (10/18/23)

We are still in the midst of the greatest 50 days of the year for any football fan. October 8 marked day one of 50 consecutive days of either FBS or NFL football. What a time to be alive! For all of the evil things the Mouse does, one thing that is right about all of this is ESPN gobbling up the TV rights to Conference USA, the Fun Belt, and the MAC. Instead of putting those games on ESPN+ on Saturdays, they did the right thing for everyone and gave us mid-week football. The ESPN money may have destroyed the Pac-12, but it also gave us this.

We start this one off in South Texas with Florida International heading up from Miami to take on Sam Houston. Two hours later but still in the same state, we close out in El Paso with the Aggies heading over on I-10 to take on the Miners.

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 10/18/23, locking at 7 PM Eastern. I’ll provide multiple player suggestions 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.

College Football Betting Picks for October 18th

I don't have the full odds article done yet, so we are just going to do this here. That's what Wednesday games do to me. You know the drill!

Florida International at Sam Houston (-5.5)
Betting Confidence Factor: 2

This line is all over the place. It keeps rising and I'm not sure why. The Sam Houston defense looked really good up until they ran into Liberty. Keyone Jenkins has been very turnover-prone of late. I'll take Sam Houston, but I'm probably leaving this one alone.

New Mexico State (-3.5) at UTEP
Betting Confidence Factor: 3

Nope! UTEP has a quarterback now! Miners outright.

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Quarterbacks

Diego Pavia, New Mexico State ($9,300)

Pavia took it to a good Sam Houston defense last week, so he is matchup-proof in the rest of New Mexico State's games. Pavia has at least 90 yards rushing in three of the last four games, all while throwing eight touchdowns to just one interception through the air. Pavia is expensive, but no one else on the slate can match the rushing upside with the passing prowess.

Cade McConnell, UTEP ($5,500)

McConnell stepped up with Gavin Hardison and Jake McNamara both knocked out of the FIU game last week. Both are unlikely to play tonight, so McConnell should log his first career start. I'll shove all-in on him at this price. McConnell racked up 262 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns last week on only 17 attempts!

Also consider: Keegan Shoemaker, Sam Houston ($6,600); Keyone Jenkins, Florida International ($6,200)

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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs

Shomari Lawrence, Florida International ($5,700)

RB is tough tonight. UTEP and FIU both are good running teams, but they split the carries evenly amongst the top two backs. Lawrence had 12 carries to 10 for Kejon Owens last week, but Owens had more yards. Lawrence is the better receiver out of the backfield though, so I give him the edge. With the carries nearly evenly split and Owens catching his first pass of the season last week, both are good options.

Deion Hankins, UTEP ($5,400)

The same applies for the UTEP situation. Torrance Burgess is priced $500 more than Hankins, but Hankins entered the season as the starter and out-touched Burgess last week. With Hankins back to full strength, it appears that he is going to see a few more touches than Burgess. It's still about a 60/40 split though, so both are good options.

Also consider: Star Thomas, New Mexico State ($6,000); John Gentry, Sam Houston ($4,700)

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers

Noah Smith, Sam Houston ($6,400)

31 of Smith's 38 receptions on the season have come in the last three games alone. He has scored three touchdowns in that time and has also carried the ball 10 times out of the backfield. The Bearkats are going to get Smith the ball any way they can. I'll take that volume over stats skewed by big plays in cash games. Actually, the volume is hard to ignore in any format.

Kelly Akharaiyi, UTEP ($6,200)

Despite upheaval at the quarterback spot for the Miners, Akharaiyi game up with eight receptions for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A lot of that was with Cade McConnell at quarterback. Tyrin Smith was also out for the Miners last week and may be again this week. I look for Akharaiyi to have another big game here with McConnell starting the game.

Malik Phillips, Sam Houston ($5,700) 

The Bearkats were down to their fourth-string RB last week, so that explains the heavier passing numbers. The RB room is still banged up, though admittedly not as much as last week. Phillips hauled in 10 passes for 118 yards last week after picking up five the week before. Sam Houston was awful on offense for their first month in FBS. They are looking much better now.

Also consider: Kris Mitchell, Florida International ($7,400); Trent Hudson, New Mexico State ($5,800); Jeremiah Ballard, UTEP ($4,900)

DraftKings CFB Stacks

Sam Houston - FIU is the only team that struggles against both the run and the pass on this slate. The problem is that Sam Houston might only have one or two backs again. I will limit my stack to the passing game, but the volume is there to take on three receivers if you want. Shoemaker has been really good lately. Adding Texas transfer Al'Vonte Woodard to Smith and Phillips will differentiate you from the field and save you money. How many other stacks can say that?

Also consider: UTEP, Florida International

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