DFS CFB FanDuel Week 5 Friday Night Slate

Welcome back to the weekly DFS CFB FanDuel review. This edition is focused on the Friday Night slate, week 5 of the season. We’ll discuss top DFS CFB options by position for your FanDuel DFS CFB slates.

There are many unpredictable upsets occurring last week in college football. But our Friday Night DFS CFB FanDuel slate worked out quite well. We focused on several of the top plays we thought would continue to pan out.

But with limited options, we know several of our top players would be chalky. So, we had to find value plays in some of the positions. Our best value play, was USC Trojans running back Vavae Malepeai.

It seemed obvious to us, the Trojan coaching staff was using Malepeai as a ‘punch it in’ type of running back. He may not get the majority of the carries, but when near the end zone, Vavae’s number is called often to plug the ball into the end zone.

Before he scored two touchdowns last Friday, he already had three touchdowns in three games, only missing a TD in one game. We figured that’s likely why FanDuel gave Malepeai such a cheap DFS CFB salary.

So, we pounced. With that value play, and our chalky high point picks, we easily won money in both cash and GPP FanDuel plays last Friday night. We’re looking to take a similar approach, with even more limited games this Friday night.

Before we get there, a reminder to never take a DFS CFB optimal lineup as ‘bible’ for your personal lineup each day. Use the suggestions as guidance. Also, make sure you follow final lineup thoughts throughout the day on our twitter account @FantasyCPR or me @MattyMcMatt17 look for late breaking lineup news.

Here’s a look at the schedule for the Friday Night Week 5 slate:

Memphis at Tulane 8pm ET

UCLA at Colorado 9pm ET

The Memphis Tigers may be 0-1 in their conference, but they’re 3-1 on the year. Their one loss was a 21-22 squeaker against a solid Navy team. In each of their three wins, the Tigers scored well over 50 points each game.

The Tigers are 14 point favorites at Tulane, but they are expected to score nearly 50 points yet again, with an over/under over 60. So we know we want some of that offense for our DFS CFB FanDuel lineup.

Hosting a struggling UCLA team this week, the Colorado Buffaloes are expecting to win yet again by nearly 10 points, and are currently listed as a 9.5 point favorite. But it shouldn’t be a low scoring affair, with the over/under also set at just around 60 points. That’s a closer game, so we may want some offensive players from either team.

DFS CFB FanDuel Week 5: Friday Night Quarterbacks

Full disclosure, picking a quarterback for the Friday Night DFS CFB FanDuel slate in week 5 has been on of the hardest discussions I’ve had to make this season. There are two very good options, priced oddly. Then, the talent sort of falls off a cliff.

Steven Montez ($10,000) is your expensive pearl in the group. But frankly, I don’t get it. Caveat, I did initially have Montez in my quarterback slot because of an obvious great play at wide receiver, which we’ll get to later.

But that great play aside, Montez just doesn’t look as rock-solid and consistent as Brady White ($9,800) has this season. Yes, the defensive talent White has seen is significantly worse than Montez’s challenges, but that’s helps drive home our point for Friday night.

Montez is facing UCLA. Albeit, UCLA looks horrendous this year. But, we’re still talking about a good Pac-12 college football program with lots of talent (and money) surrounding the defensive unit on the field each week.

So we definitely like White’s defensive match up. Next, how are their stats matching up this season? Brady is seventh in college football with 12 touchdowns, Montez has eight. Before you jump on that number, keep in mind that White has four games under his belt while Steven only has three.

Still, the average touchdowns per game favors White. While Montez has two great touchdown games, so does White, five in two games this season. Brady’s high touchdown total comes in two blowouts. Again, Memphis has a great match up.

The only way Steven Montez is a great play Friday night, is if the game remains fairly close with a high score. Of the two games, Memphis is projected to score the most points. The Tigers are currently averaging over 50 per game, and scored as many in three of their first four games this season.

You could go with either pick here, as we’ll see later, and I don’t need to save $200 with this pick, but I think Brady just has a better result. If you’re looking at the FPPG average on FanDuel, keep in mind that White’s average is skewed because the Memphis vs. New Hampshire game wasn’t applicable to the slate last week. Don’t fall for the head fake like I almost did, grab White and stick with him on Friday.

DFS CFB FanDuel Week 5: Friday Night Running Backs

If you’ve followed my columns this season, you realized I didn’t stick two quarterbacks in my lineup like we typically like to do. It’s a great strategy that often works, but Friday Night has a unique pricing situation for DFS CFB FanDuel.

And so, we’re going with a different strategy on Friday night, three running backs.

Why three? Unlike the quarterback position, were you really only have two great shots at points, but they’re both pricey, the running back situation has a lot of talent spread over several players with reasonable salaries.

One exception is out of our price range, Darrell Henderson ($10,500). If you don’t like our top wide receiver option and go cheaper, you have to pick Henderson. We’re not, for the purpose of leading up to the sample lineup, but we’re not only playing one lineup and this article is meant to give you many options.

So why Handerson? Aren’t his total rushing yards inflated? Yes, they are. Darrell has 709 rushing yards, after only four games, and is leading college football in the stat. But even more impressive, Henderson has 58 carries and is averaging 12.2 rushing yards per carry. Yes, that’s correct. Darrell is averaging OVER a first down each time he touches the football.

Also, with eight total touchdowns, Henderson is averaging two touchdowns per game. In short, you’re paying a high price, but you’re getting 30 to 40 DFS CFB FanDuel points, which is worth the price. You just need to give up top picks in other positions.

Because we like White a lot at quarterback, and we have a high price tag on our top wide-out, we’re going to spread our salary over three solid running back picks instead. First, we’re going to get a taste of the Memphis running game, still, with Patrick Taylor Jr. ($7,400).

Henderson is a huge part of the Tigers running game, but Taylor is still managing to snag 38 carries over four games, almost 10 per game, with 170 yards and three touchdowns. So we’re paying a reasonable price for a five to ten point floor, with a 20+ ceiling. This is a great SUPER FLEX pick for our lineup. But yes, there’s risk.

Former Virginia Tech Hokie running back Travon McMillian ($9,200) is finding a comfortable home in Bolder, Colorado. In just three games, McMillian has 33 carries, most on the team, for 290 yards and three touchdowns.

So he’s getting around 11 carries per game, averaging nearly 100 rushing yards per game, and has a touchdown per game. Travon also has two receptions, and caught several passes for the Hokies in prior seasons. It seems like McMillian is likely to take over as a primary back for Colorado, so we expect all of his average numbers to climb against a poor UCLA defense on Friday night.

Finally, while we like the Buffaloes and Tigers offenses on Friday night, we still like the odds of some UCLA scoring in Colorado. The high 60 o/u and -9.5 favorite for Colorado hint to the likelihood UCLA piles up over 20 points.

With that in mind, we’re grabbing a similar running back situation to the one we loved from USC last week. UCLA’s Bolu Olorunfunmi ($7,700) only has 38 total carries in three games, but he also has four touchdowns in just three games (sound familiar?).

It’s beginning to appear that UCLA uses Bolu has their knock the ball into the end zone back as they approach, or are in, the red zone. Given the success we had with a play like this last week, we have no problem paying only $7.7K for a shot at around 20 DFS CFB FanDuel points from our second running back.

DFS CFB FanDuel Week 5: Friday Night Wide Receivers

The quarterback position is limited, but we love two players. The running back position has as many as four players we love, and we’re likely playing at least three, utilizing the Super Flex spot. But I absolutely HATE the wide receiver position on Friday Night. There…I said it.

There is one HUGE exception.

After playing four games and having one of the top passing numbers in college football, you’d expect the top wide receivers options to come from Memphis on Friday night right? I mean, Colorado has only played in three games, compared to the Tigers four already this season.

That’s what makes Laviska Shenault Jr. ($10,200) such a great play, and so dynamic. In just three games, Shenault has 455 receiving yards, fifth most in college football. Laviska is consistently scoring one touchdown per week, and has and awesome 17.5 yards per reception, with nearly ten receptions per game.

Laviska is the type of receiver who is nearly a guarantee for over 30 DFS CFB FanDuel points each time he’s on the field. For that reason, and given the dreadful options beyond Shenault, we have to have him in our lineup on Friday night.

Where do we go from there? Well, Damonte Coxie ($9,600) is a clear top receiver for the Tigers, but his price tag is ridiculous. We can’t play Brady, Coxie, and a top running back without having to reach for multiple value picks with very high risk.

Instead, we’re going to stoop down for two value plays, but with more modest risk. First, while Jay MacIntyre ($7,100) is clearly over-shadowed by one of the best receivers in college football right now, he’s still hauling in three receptions per game for around seven yards per catch and has two touchdowns in their first three games.

MacIntyre is the type of slant option Montez could look for, several times, when in the red zone against UCLA. There’s risk, but he’s likely getting us some points regardless of any touchdowns he scores.

In the same game, Theo Howard ($8,400) could be a big reason UCLA stays in the game against Colorado. Howard’s production has been very consistently this season, with nearly four receptions per game, between 50 and 80 receiving yards per game, and one touchdown. But it’s the solid six to ten points we’re paying for, with upside in the 15 to 20 point range. This is a decent WR2 DFS value on Friday night.

DFS CFB FanDuel Week 5: Friday Night Summary

Alright, how are we going to win this thing? Well, we love only two quarterbacks for DFS CFB FanDuel on Friday night. Montez is expensive, but a solid pick. However, we think White is easily the best play of the night. If you’re looking to win a GPP, do something stupid-smart like plugging Dorian Thompson-Robinson ($7,700) into your lineup. Otherwise, stick with Montez or White.

At running back, we love several options. Henderson is the obvious top play, and if you’re playing GPP with a cheap QB in your lineup, Henderson is your guy. Just keep in mind it may be hard to also get our top WR play.

If you can’t afford Henderson, which we can’t in our sample scenario, we love McMillian with Olorunfunmi knocking in a few touchdowns against the Buffaloes in Bolder. Also, Patrick Taylor Jr. is a great secondary option from the Memphis run game.

Finally, we hate the wide receiver position on Friday, but Shenault is a must-play in all formats, in our opinion. We’re talking about the best wide receiver in college football right, statistically. His salary is affordable, considering his return. To afford Shenault, we’re going with a solid Howard play from UCLA along with some risk in a MacIntyre pick in the WR3 spot.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the Week 5 DFS CFB FanDuel Friday Night slate: 

QB     Brady White ($9,800)

RB      Travon McMillian ($9,200)

RB      Bolu Olorunfunmi ($7,700)

WR     Laviska Shenault Jr.($10,200)

WR     Theo Howard ($8,400)

WR     Jay MacIntyre ($7,100)

Flex    Patrick Taylor Jr.($7,400)

Remaining Salary: $200

Note: This is a recommended lineup after discussing our top options for the slate. You should use this as a guide, and provide your own input when building DFS CFB FanDuel lineups.  We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.

Best of luck in your DFS CFB FanDuel contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across College Football, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, EPL, PGA, and NASCAR this fall!