College Football DFS: Week 4 Saturday Night Slate Picks and Strategy for DraftKings and FanDuel

After getting lucky last week, we have some variation between the Saturday night slates for DraftKings and FanDuel. We'll begin by analyzing the shared games and then take care of the outlier contests at the end of the article. Let's begin!

CFB Week 4 Shared DraftKings/FanDuel Slate Overview

Missouri (-9.5) vs. South Carolina O/U: 48.5

BYU (-8.6) @ East Carolina O/U: 49.5

Miami (-8.5) vs. Florida O/U: 50.5

Baylor (-2.5) vs. Arizona State O/U: 60.5

Indiana (-6.5) vs. Illinois O/U: 52.5

Washington (-19.6) @ Washington State O/U: 51.5

Vegas is showing us only one game with blowout potential, and the rest of the games are fairly decent for DFS purposes. There are definitely teams I favor, namely Baylor, Miami, Washington and Missouri. After a cursory glance at salaries, we'll have to make some concessions after picking some ironclad guarantees to anchor our lineups. I also think there's some merit to deviating from a quarterback in the Superflex this week, but that will come down to personal preference.

CFB DFS Weather

UF/MIA - 34 percent chance of rain 

Top Shared DraftKings/FanDuel Picks for CFB Week 4 Saturday Night 

Quarterback

Sawyer Robertson, Baylor (DK $9,200, FD $11,000) vs. Arizona State

Although Demond Williams was a tempting option, the Huskies run the ball a lot and depend on getting their offense going on the ground. Baylor is dependent on Robertson getting vertical and delivering the ball to his playmakers. The Bears also have an excellent running back, but he's just one piece to a larger arsenal that centers on a solid passing game. Even in losing scenarios, Robertson has played lights out through three games. He ranks second in the FBA with 1,072 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Well worth the salary point.

Bear Bachmeier, BYU (DK $6,600, FD $10,400)@ ECU

I am sure this pick is not without controversy, but it's important to remember that I make selections based on targets that I need to make salary cap space for. Certainly, there are better quarterbacks than Bachmeier on the slate, but this pick serves a specific purpose for offsetting cost if you elect to use a quarterback in the S-FLEX. As I said, I'm not confident that it's the best move for us this week, and I'm not high on Bachnmeier's cost on FanDuel. Still, there's merit to taking Bachmeieier against ECU on DraftKings. The Pirates rank 239th nationally in passing defense, and Bachmeier's numbers are pretty decent so far.  For FanDuel, Sam Leavitt (DK $8,700, FD $9,200) would probably be my cost-saving measure for an S-FLEX quarterback, but his salary is very inflated on DraftKings.

Running Back

We're bound to run into trouble here when it comes to selecting a running back. We have two excellent options in Jonah Coleman (DK $7,800, FD $11,000) and Bryson Washington (DK $8,500, FD $10,200), but how do we decide? Most of my initial bulbs gave Coleman the nod despite potential for an early end to his day, but the high projected total for Washington and a mediocre Arizona run defense make Washington palpable as well. Salary-wise, Coleman makes more sense on DraftKings, while Washington commands a lower cost on FanDuel, so that may be how I break the tie. We need to explore cheaper options to offset our current spending, so let's dive deeper.

Mark Fletcher, Miami (DK $6,200, FD $8,800)vs. Florida

The Gators haven't shown much in terms of defensive mettle, but the rivalry intangibles are always bound to mess with predictive data. Still, I think Fletcher is a solid call and a slight cost-saving measure for a second running back selection. He has 272 yards and four touchdowns through three games this season, so there's a high probability that the back will find the end zone in this matchup.

Aidan Laughery, Illinois (DK $3,800, FD $5,200) @ Indiana

I had Kaden Feagin and Ca'Lil Valentine penciled in, but it looks like Laughery will be back for this game. Although he may not be 100 percent, his absence has driven his salary down to a region where we absolutely need it, so I'm willing to take the slight risk in hopes that he returns to the back who racked up over 100 yards in Week 1. Slotting him in solves a lot of our salary concerns.

Also consider: Ahmad Hardy, Missouri (DK $6,800, FD $9,200) vs. South Carolina

Wide Receiver

Who WOULDN'T want Jordyn Tyson? I get it. It's alluring, but also exceedingly popular. I also think defenses are catching on to the trend, and he's entirely too expensive for my taste. Let's look deeper.

Josh Cameron, Baylor (DK $6,200, FD $8,400) vs. Arizona State

Although Robertson spreads the ball around, Cameron has turned three of his 15 catches into touchdowns this season and is our best avenue to a Baylor stack. Although some prefer diversity, a stack is almost unbeatable when it hits, and your probability shoots higher when you have a passer like Robertson on one end. I don't want to load up on Baylor too much, however. If you chose Washington over Coleman, you'd reduce risk by ending the Baylor exposure there, which is acceptable. Or, you could risk it all and take the triple stack. I don't mind it.

Hank Beatty, Illinois (DK $4,900, FD $8,800) @ Indiana

I wouldn't characterize the Illini's passing offense as 'electric,' but I do think DraftKings has given us a bargain with Beatty's salary. His number on FanDuel is best ignored, but $4,900 is a steal for Beatty, who is a frequent target for Luke Altmeyer. He's got 19 catches so far, which is great for DraftKings' PPR scoring, and although he could use a touchdown on his resume, I'm fine to ride with the volume.

Chase Roberts, BYU (DK $5,300, FD $7,700)@ ECU

Do we have a good discount for FanDuel players? Roberts is a candidate at $800 beneath the median. An obvious stack with Bachmmeier, Roberts is a veteran who knows how to get open, and the Cougars are set up well to air it out against the Pirates. We've seen big numbers from Roberts when Jake Retzlaff was throwing him the ball - Robert could erupt if the game flows his way.

Also consider: Malachi Toney, Miami (DK $6,600, FD $7,600) vs Florida, Kevin Coleman, Missouri (DK $6,100, FD $8,600)

DraftKings-Only Slate Overview

Boise State (-10.5) @ Air Force O/U: 51.5

There isn't much that catches my eye in this game, but you can certainly make a case for Boise State's Sire Gaines ($6,600), who has strung together some decent games for the Broncos. Maddux Madsen ($7,700) is a serviceable quarterback who you can get for a discount. Nothing for Air Force seems worth mentioning with all of the other options available, so it's best to just fade them.

FanDuel-Only Slate Overview

Virginia (-15.5) vs. Stanford O/U: 48.5

Stashed in this game is one of America's best college running backs. Virginia's J'Mari Taylor ($9,100) has been ripping up defenses, and he should have some success against Stanford this week. Stanford's Micah Ford ($8,200) is also pretty special and quite viable. The QB/WR stocks aren't bad here either, and I'd be fine with taking a bit of Chandler Morris ($11,500) alongside Cameron Ross ($8,500, listed as Cam Ross on FanDuel).