College Football DFS: Week 8 Friday Slate Lineup Picks and Strategy

We have two games on tap for College Football Friday, and both sites have offered up a slate of contests for us to choose from. Let's begin with the numbers!

SLATE OVERVIEW

Tulsa (-13) @ Temple O/U: 52.5

Western Kentucky (-1.5) vs. UAB O/U: 59.5

WKU and UAB seem to be decent targets, as their high O/U and narrow spread present ideal conditions for production. Although I don't doubt Temple's ability to score, the team doesn't show up anywhere in my endorsements today.

WEATHER REPORT

No weather concerns

College Football DFS Tools

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

QUARTERBACK

Austin Reed, Western Kentucky (DK $7,900, FD$11,500) vs. UAB

Reed is expensive to be sure, but he's one of only two quarterbacks I would start with confidence on this slate.  Reed has been a touchdown machine of late ad he now has a TD/INT ratio of 21:5, with four additional touchdowns on the ground. Reed's pass volume is also excellent, hurling out 30 or more passes on a regular basis.

Davis Brin, Tulsa (DK $6,500, FD $10,200) @ Temple

Brin returned to action and had a decent day against Navy last week despite throwing two picks. He has no injury tag this week, and we should have some confidence as he faces a much-weaker Temple team, who is an almost two-touchdown underdog. Combining Brin and Reed on FanDuel probably isn't very smart, as I don't think we can justify blowing $21,700 on two spots. Using Brin in the S-FLEX is much more doable on DraftKings, where his salary is a little low relative to his production.

RUNNING BACK

DeWayne McBride, UAB (DK $7,900, FD $10,500) @ Western Kentucky

McBride is the top RB choice on the slate by a wide margin, especially when you consider the quality of WKU's run defense. McBride ranks ninth in the nation among FBS running backs with 778 yards and 11 touchdowns to his credit, and I would definitely consider him over a quarterback in an S-FLEX spot. The drop-off after McBride is very steep, so fade him with caution.

Kye Robichaux, Western Kentucky (DK  $7,000, FD $8,300) vs. UAB

Robichaux comes in at a workable salary on both sites, and although WKU's run defense is suspect, UAB's is even worse, ranking 66th in the country. With 458 yards and three touchdowns to his credit, he's a solid mid-range grab who handles the bulk of the Hilltoppers' backfield work.

Deneric Prince, Tulsa (DK $5,600, FD $7,00) @ Temple

We need to dive deep somewhere, and I tend to try and find budget gems in the roster of a heavy favorite. I struck gold with DK Billingsley in Thursday's article, so let's see if we can strike gold with Prince. He is coming off an injury that appeared to hamper him last week after a great debut against Cincinnati, but there are other options besides Prince if news changes. Steven Anderson has done an admirable job as a fill-in, and Jordan Ford is a deep dive who could potentially see time if the game gets out of hand. I would go with Prince first, however.

WIDE RECEIVER

We are taking a unique tactic for our wideout endorsements, recommending some form of stack among WKU and Tulsa. Outside of these two teams, options are shaky, and the only guy I would consider outside the wideouts below would be UAB's Trea Shropshire (DK $4,400, FD $6,700), and only for DraftKings.  He is too much of a risk on FanDuel at $8,700.

Daewood Davis, Western Kentucky (DK $6,000, FD $9,500) vs. UAB

Davis and Malachi Corley's (DK $7,600, FD $9,200) stat lines are very similar so picking the correct receiver depends somewhat on which site you are playing.  Davis is a much better bargain on DraftKings, while Davis is $300 more expensive than Corley on FanDuel. Recency does seem to favor Corley, who has 21 catches over his past two games but Davis has had his share of big days in the passing offense as well. Ultimately, this choice will come down to personal preference and what your salary cap will allow. If you are looking for a dice roll instead for the Hilltoppers, look no further than Michael Mathison (DK $4,300, FD $5,900) who has big-play potential at a favorable price.

JuanCarlos Santana, Tulsa (DK $6,600, FD $8,400) @ Temple

Tulsa's situation is very similar to Western Kentucky's, as any number of receivers could make an impact. Due to the quality of the opponent, I would more likely stack with the Hilltoppers, but going with a Tulsa wideout still makes sense. I think Keylon Stokes, while considered the top receiver for Tulsa, is entirely too expensive, so I like the bargain Santana offers. He's also had 21 targets over the past two games next to Stokes' 18. Granted, Strokes did more with those targets, but the metric is an encouraging sign that Santana could blow up with some luck. Isaiah Epps (DK $5,300, FD $6,900) and Malachai Jones (DK $4,800, FD $6,000) are out there as well for less.