Early DraftKings CFB DFS Lineup Picks: Daily College Fantasy Football (11/18/23)

November 18, 2023

Mike's DraftKings daily fantasy college football lineup picks for the early slate on Saturday (11/18/23). His CFB DFS lineup picks and DFS sleepers will help you win.

The last great college football season rolls into Week 12 this week. We only have a couple of weeks left, so let's enjoy it! We have a few good nooners today with Oklahoma heading out to Provo for the first time ever. Michigan heads to College Park to take on the Terr(ible)apins. Penn State hosts Rutgers. The marquee game of this window is Louisville down in Miami to take on the Hurricanes.

We start the afternoon in Harrisonburg with App State visiting James Madison. Utah heads down to Tucson to take on a scary-good Arizona team. We have the Battle of Los Angeles at the Coliseum. Clemson hosts the Tarheels. Sam Hartman faces his old team when Notre Dame hosts Wake. We have a big one in Knoxville with the Vols hosting Georgia. We have the Fun Devils playing host to Duck U and Houston hosting Oklahoma State to finish off this one.

In this article, I will provide you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 11/18/23, 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

Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma ($9,800)

Gabriel broke the slate last week with a staggering eight touchdowns against the Mountaineers, good for 62.92 DraftKings points. I wouldn't expect a repeat against BYU, but Gabriel is by far the most dangerous piece of this offense. With Oklahoma a heavy favorite again and Gabriel's 36 total touchdowns (that's more than roughly half of FBS teams have), his ceiling is the best on the slate.

Jordan McCloud, James Madison ($8,300)

Troy is the only team that has really held McCloud down. He has at least 25 DraftKings points in every other conference game and has scored 126.56 DraftKings points in the last three games alone. Appalachian State plays solid defense, but by no means are they great. McCloud is efficient throwing the football and has some added upside with his rushing prowess. Only Marshall has held McCloud under four touchdowns in the last month.

Ethan Garbers, UCLA ($6,400)

USC's defense looked better last week, but it's going to take a while to fix everything that is wrong. Garbers hasn't been all that accurate or all that efficient, but that doesn't matter against a team like USC. There is solid upside for Garbers. He broke 20 DraftKings points in the two games before the Arizona game. I expect him back in that range against USC, which is a good return for the price.

Also consider: Bo Nix, Oregon ($10,800); Donovan Smith, Houston ($7,900); Noah Fifita, Arizona ($6,800); Trenton Bourguet, Arizona State ($6,500)

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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs

Ollie Gordon, Oklahoma State ($8,800)

There's really no excuse for Gordon only having 12 carries last week. Yes, the Pokes were down 14 about five minutes into the game but come on! He's the best player on the field. Treat him as such. Another 200-yard game might not be in the cards, but Gordon could get close against a Houston team that got bulldozed by Corey Kiner and Cincinnati last week. I expect Gordon to see around 30 carries in this one. If he does, the sky is the limit.

Carson Steele, UCLA ($6,400)

The Arizonas held UCLA to a combined 17 points in those two games, which means that Steele was mostly an afterthought. He only has 30 carries combined in the last three games. The two receiving touchdowns against Colorado saved his bacon there. The back-to-back down games have kept the price low on Steele heading into the USC game. The Trojans have allowed 738 rushing yards and a staggering 12 touchdowns on the ground over the last four games. The post-Alex Grinch game against Oregon was better, but there is still a lot of potential for Steele here.

Gavin Sawchuk, Oklahoma ($5,500)

The Sooners finally have a running back (it's about damn time)! Sawchuk has 246 rushing yards and a touchdown in the last two games. Having a quarterback like Dillon Gabriel who is a touchdown machine cuts down on Sawchuk's work inside the red zone, but if we're getting 100-yard games at this price, do we really have anything to complain about? Sawchuk has all but 10 non-garbage time carries amongst Oklahoma running backs in the last two games. It's a safe assumption that the starting gig is his alone.

Also consider: Bucky Irving, Oregon ($7,600); Omarion Hampton, North Carolina ($7,300); Will Shipley, Clemson ($5,900); Jonah Coleman, Arizona ($5,000); Kyle Monangai, Rutgers ($4,900)

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers

Tez Johnson, Oregon ($7,300)

Troy Franklin gets a lot of the attention for the Ducks and rightfully so. Opposing secondaries also have to pay more attention to Franklin, which has resulted in Tez going Taz on opposing defenses. Johnson has 19 receptions for 306 yards and four touchdowns over the last four games. Arizona State's biggest weakness is the secondary, so Johnson should go nuts again. Franklin might too, but I'm saving the $1,400 to spend on quarterbacks.

Drake Stoops, Oklahoma ($6,800)

Stoops has finally lived up to all of that promise. He has taken over the Sooners, hauling in 12 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns in the last two games alone. For those of you keeping score at home, that's 81.2 DraftKings points. He might encounter a little more resistance from BYU, but not enough to push me off of this.

Elijhah Badger, Arizona State ($5,700)

Trenton Bourguet completed 19 passes last week. 12 of those 19 went to Badger. That's the kind of volume I want to see from my receivers! Oregon should jump out early in this one, leaving the Fun Devils to play from behind for most of the game. I don't trust Bourguet enough to use him, but I do trust his favorite receiver when 60% of the completed passes go his way.

Leon Johnson III, Oklahoma State ($4,800)

Johnson has only played in three games this season, but he has 16 receptions for 280 yards in those three games. He has become a big part of a small passing offense. Johnson still hasn't found the end zone, but there is a great chance of that happening against Houston in this one. Oklahoma State likes to pound the ball, but Johnson still gets around 40% of the targets in the passing game. That's what I want to see in a value play.

Also consider: Troy Franklin, Oregon ($8,700); Tahj Washington, USC ($7,000); Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona ($6,800); Nic Anderson, Oklahoma ($6,300); Reggie Brown, James Madison ($5,600); Beaux Collins, Clemson ($5,100); Jake Briningstool, Clemson ($4,000)

DraftKings CFB Stacks:

Oklahoma

The core of the Sooners' offense still puts up massive numbers even in blowouts. Dillon Gabriel is an absolute must-play on this slate. I can see omitting Sawchuk from this if you want, but I still think the volume for the price is going to be too good to pass up. Most will be on the trio of Gabriel/Stoops/Sawchuk. I'll add Nic Anderson to this as well. Anderson still topped 100 receiving yards last week despite the monster game from Stoops.

James Madison

This might be a little under the radar. I expect people to try to fit the big Oregon pieces in a stack and gamble on Clemson for value thanks to Carolina's maligned defense. Still more will look to UCLA against USC, but the Trojans held Oregon to 36 points last week. That's a significant improvement and I think they get a little better still.

The Dukes are cheap enough to stack along with an expensive one. Appalachian State's run defense is terrible, so I'm going with the back that gets more carries than receptions (Ty Son Lawton). McCloud should have a huge day running the ball and Reggie Brown is an absolute beast.

Also consider: Oregon, Oklahoma State, Clemson

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