College Football DFS: Friday Week 2 Picks and Strategy for DraftKings and FanDuel

College Football DFS: Friday Picks

Week 2 of the college football season kicks off on Friday night, and we've got a smaller slate of games to work with this time around. Still, with a Big Ten team in action and plenty of intrigue as always, there's a lot to dissect for this slate. 

DraftKings and FanDuel are both up and running Friday night, and below we break down some of the best plays on each slate.

Friday College Football DFS Slate Overview 

Friday night kicks off with what's expected to be the closest game of the evening, with Louisville hosting James Madison. Both teams are fresh off a Week 1 victory, with both programs dismantling FCS foes in their respective openers. The Dukes enter the game as two-touchdown-plus dogs, but don't forget how head coach Bob Chesney led his team to a shocking 70-50 win over North Carolina as a Group of Five underdog last season. James Madison can be feisty.

Meanwhile, two Big Ten teams take the field, but only one appears on the slate. Maryland and true freshman gunslinger Malik Washington look to stay hot against Northern Illinois, which is also coming off a win. 

The nightcap features a Boise State team that just got embarrassed on the road against South Florida. The Broncos should fare much better against FCS Eastern Washington, especially with some pent-up aggression to release after a disappointing Week 1. 

College Football DFS Tools

• FanDuel Lineup Optimizer
• Matchups Page (Vegas odds, opponent averages, etc.)
• Advanced Lineups Page
• Stats
• Team Trends
• Targets
• Defense vs. Position
• Team Rankings

DFS Plays on DraftKings and FanDuel for Friday, September 5

QB Malik Washington, Maryland vs. Northern Illinois ($8,500 on DraftKings, $10,200 on FanDuel)

Washington is the third and fourth-most expensive quarterback option on DraftKings and FanDuel, respectively, but he could easily wind up being the best gunslinger on the slate. He's coming off an excellent performance in week 1 against Florida Atlantic, tossing for 258 yards and three touchdowns while completing 63 percent of his passes. He didn't look like a true freshman, and he had two touchdown passes of 29 yards, both of which were impressive throws. The Huskies' defense, meanwhile, barely scraped past Holy Cross despite allowing only 155 yards passing. Facing a quarterback with the talent of Washington will be a rude awakening, and he's a bargain on both slates. 

RB Duke Watson, Louisville vs. James Madison ($6,500 on DraftKings, $6,100 on FanDuel)

This should be a closer game than Louisville's season-opening blowout of Eastern Kentucky, but consider this: star Cardinals tailback Isaac Brown only got six carries before he was taken out of the game. Of course, he still managed to rack up 126 rushing yards. Point being, Louisville doesn't want to overwork its star ball-carrier, especially if it has a big lead. Watson is a cheap option on FanDuel here, but he should still see plenty of work. The Cards should also put up plenty of points in this contest with an implied score of 35, so there should be plenty of room to roam for the team's key players.

WR Jalil Farooq, Maryland vs. Northern Illinois ($5,800 on DraftKings, $7,200 on FanDuel)

For many of the same reasons you have to like Washington on this slate, Farooq is quite enticing as well. The Oklahoma transfer is now one of the Terps' top receivers. Northern Illinois will struggle to match up with him in the secondary. What's more, he reeled in just four catches (on eight targets) for 43 yards last week, well below his projection, so there could be some regression to the mean Friday night. Farooq is too talented not to get the ball, and the eight targets he saw in Week 1 demonstrate that the Terps understand that. 

DraftKings College Football DFS Picks for Friday, September 5

QB Maddux Madsen, Boise State ($7,100) vs. Eastern Washington ($11,400 on FanDuel)

If you're partial to DraftKings, Madsen is your quarterback all the way. He's projected for 20.89 fantasy points, the most on the slate for quarterbacks, yet he's just the sixth-most expensive option. Contrast that to FanDuel, where he's easily the priciest gunslinger, and this is a steal on DraftKings. The Broncos' offense struggled out of the gate against South Florida, but Madsen still took care of the football and threw a touchdown while amassing 256 all-purpose yards. Boise State should be licking its chops against an FCS defense in Eastern Washington, and Madsen looks primed for a bounce-back week.

QB Alonza Barnett ($4,500) vs. Louisville ($9,200 on FanDuel)

While the matchup isn't the greatest against Louisville, the Dukes boast an implied score of 20.5 points for a reason. Barnett is coming off an ACL tear from 2024 and wasn't expected to be ready for a while during 2025, but he beat the initial timeline in a major way and played the majority of the snaps. He didn't hesitate much on the ground either, rushing five times for 30 yards and a touchdown. He's the primary weapon in this offense and will likely be a necessity in DK lineups in a short slate of games.

RB Sire Gaines, Boise State ($6,700) vs. Eastern Washington ($9,200 on FanDuel) 

This could be another solid play for both slates, but Gaines is a great pick here for multiple reasons. For one, like his quarterback Madsen, whom I also recommend on the DraftKings side of things, and he's facing an FCS defense. The disparity between FCS and FBS programs are often most notable in the trenches, and Boise should dominate this game wire-to-wire, meaning plenty of carries should be in store for Gaines. Last week, even in a loss, he averaged 4.9 yards per carry and caught three passes. There's plenty of upside here with Gaines. He's a much more palatable on the DK side, though he still might prove a solid play on FanDuel as well.

WR Caullin Lacy, Louisville ($6,400) vs. James Madison ($8,700 on FanDuel) 

This is another no-brainer if you're partial to DraftKings. Lacy and fellow Louisville receiver Chris Bell are the two priciest wideouts, but Lacy is the cheaper option on DraftKings while he's almost $1,000 more expensive than Bell on FanDuel. Both receivers saw six targets in the opener, but Lacy had a better yards-per-catch at 15.5 and also received a handoff, while Bell didn't. There's room for both pass-catchers to thrive in this offense, but on DraftKings, take the significantly cheaper option who arguably had a better Week 1 outing. 

Also Consider: Chavon Wright ($3,200) vs. Maryland ($4,000 on FanDuel)

FanDuel College Football DFS Picks for Friday, September 5

QB Miller Moss, Louisville ($10,800) vs. James Madison ($8,700 on DraftKings)

Moss is projected to finish within less than a single fantasy point of the priciest quarterback on the FanDuel slate, Madsen, but is the cheaper option by $600. Moss had a shaky opener, throwing two interceptions against an FCS foe, but he still tossed for over 220 yards while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes and tallying two touchdowns. What's more, James Madison figures to sell out to stop one of the most talented running backs in the country in Isaac Brown, which should leave plenty of passing lanes for Moss and company. Expect a bounce-back performance, one you'd be getting at a bargain. 

RB Isaac Brown, Louisville ($10,500) vs. James Madison ($8,800 on DraftKings)

This isn't necessarily a bargain, but at some point, you have to pull the trigger on a superstar ball-carrier against an inferior foe. As mentioned earlier, Louisville only handed the ball to Brown six times in the opener, but that was all he needed to rack up 126 yards on the ground. He figures to get more touches in what should be a slightly closer game, and there are very few — if any — defenses in the ACC you'd feel comfortable in bottling up Brown, let alone that of the Dukes. They only allowed 2.1 yards per carry last week against Weber State, but the competition level just got kicked up several notches. If there's a player to go all-in for on this slate, it's Brown. 

WR Chris Bell, Louisville ($7,800) vs. James Madison ($6,800 on DraftKings)

Lacy made my picks for the DraftKings slate, but the best Louisville receiver to play depends on the site you're using. On FanDuel, Bell is the obvious choice. He's $900 cheaper than Lacy, but he's projected for more fantasy points (14.06 vs. 12.84). As mentioned, both receivers saw the same number of targets in the opener, and they both figure to be involved once again. In case you haven't noticed, I'm riding with the Cardinals for the FanDuel slate, as their passing game comes pretty discounted against a defense that can't match up with their personnel-wise.