DraftKings College Football DFS Picks: Main Slate Plays for Week 0

This article is part of our DraftKings College Football series.

DraftKings College Football DFS Plays: Main Slate Picks for Week Zero

We are back. College football is back and all is right in the world. Week 0 is upon us and DraftKings has multiple slates for us to sink our teeth into on the first Saturday of the season. This article will focus on the main slate -- a six-pack of games that features three Power 5 schools and three FCS schools, making for an interesting menu of players and strategies to deploy. Below you'll find slate odds, RotoWire's DFS tools, matchup info and position-by-position breakdowns to help guide your lineup decisions. Happy College Football, everyone.

College Football Odds: Week 0 Main Slate

Western Kentucky (-26.5) vs. Austin Peay  O/U 66.5

Nebraska (-13.5) @ Northwestern O/U: 50.5

Illinois (-11) vs. Wyoming O/U: 43.5

Utah State (-26.5) vs. Connecticut O/U: 59.5

UNLV (-21.5)  vs. Idaho State O/U: 52

Florida State (-38.5) vs. Duquesne O/U: 59

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

Matchup Info

*Note: FCS Teams do not have live odds displaying, hence the zeroes in the Exp. Score column for games involving those teams. However, the rest of the opponent stats allowed table is accurate with 2021 data.

DraftKings College Football Week 0 DFS Plays: Quarterbacks

Austin Reed, $9,000, Western Kentucky vs. Austin Peay

We can't expect Western Kentucky to be the same after losing a lot of its offensive brain trust from 2021, nor can we expect Reed -- a West Florida transfer -- to be Bailey Zappe. But the offensive philosophy should be similar and it's not as though Zappe was playing at a Power 5 Powerhouse before getting to Western Kentucky. In short, Reed could end up being 80% of what Zappe was in 2021 and that would still result in elite fantasy production. He has talented weapons like Malachi Corley, Daewood Davis, Jaylen Hall and others at his disposal and he draws an extremely favorable matchup against an overmatched Austin Peay squad. Unlike North Carolina's situation against Florida A&M later in the day, Western Kentucky may not be so quick to pull its starters Saturday, meaning Reed should get close to a full allotment of playing time and the stats will follow.

Logan Bonner, $8,600 Utah State vs. Connecticut

Utah State has a ton of roster turnover as it ranks 113th in returning production this season. The key holdover, though, is Bonner, who is a fifth-year senior who is coming off a 36-touchdown campaign in 2021. The offensive philosophy should remain the same with a balanced run/pass split with plenty of tempo (8th in plays per game in 2021), leaving room for Bonner to have considerable passing volume against a shaky-at-best Connecticut secondary. The only hesitation with playing Bonner is the tournament consideration; he's the third-most expensive quarterback and the roster percentage will be sky-high on this short slate. But sometimes on these short slates, it's best to just eat the chalk. 

DFS GPP Plays: Quarterbacks

Jordan Travis, $8,800, Florida State vs. Duquesne

Many DFS players figure to skip over Travis and target Reed and Bonner in their QB and S-Flex spots. That makes plenty of sense and it's something I'll do myself in multiple lineups. Travis and the 'Noles have a soft matchup against an FCS opponent, though maybe we shouldn't take that all that lightly...

Sorry to any 'Noles readers. Had to do it. 

But looking at Travis in this context, Florida State will only pull him once the game is out of hand. And how does a game get out of hand? By building a huge lead. Things got better for FSU and Travis after that embarrassing loss in September last year and Travis averaged 28 DK points over his last three games (Miami, @ BC, @ Florida). He's a threat as a runner with seven rushing scores in each of the last two seasons and the weapons around him in the passing game have improved. Targeting Travis is a good way of differentiating yourself on this slate. 

Ta'Quan Roberson, $5,700, Connecticut at Utah State

This isn't for the faint of heart; we aren't even positive that Roberson starts Saturday. Even if he does, new coach Jim Mora could opt to rotate quarterbacks to get an idea of his plan at that position moving forward. But Roberson -- though he looked rough at times for Penn State last season -- was a four-star recruit not so long ago and has a good blend of arm strength and mobility. Going up against a defense that ranks 119th in returning production could help Roberson do just enough to return value at $5,700. If you look at him as a S-Flex option compared to other skill players in that salary tier, it's not that unlikely that he outperforms those other choices. And of course, the roster percentage should be infinitesimal. 

DraftKings College Football Week 0 DFS Plays: Running Back 

Navigating the top of the board will be one of the keys to this slate. Utah State's Calvin Tyler checks in at the top ($8,100). He gets to face a porous UConn defense that allowed nearly 200 yards on the ground last year and Tyler himself accounted for 35 percent of the Aggies' carries last year. He's got a high floor but if the game gets out of hand as expected, Utah State might take some carries off his plate to preserve him for next week. Illinois' Chase Brown is probably my favorite from the top-tier running backs; he had a 36 percent carry share on a team that ran the ball nearly 60 percent of the time and I don't see that split changing much even with Tommy DeVito behind center. He'll get plenty of cracks against a Wyoming defense that was leaky against the run last year and has had plenty of personnel turnover. The one concern I have is Wyoming dragging the pace of play down, but Brown should still see north of 20 touches against the 'Pokes. 

Anthony Grant, $6,700 Nebraska

This is an interesting one. Grant is something of a wildcard and at $6,700, that might be too big a gamble for some. Grant is in his first year in Lincoln after transferring in from a junior college. Nebraska divvied up its carries across multiple backs last year, and even if some of those pieces have gone elsewhere, the Huskers may still employ a committee approach. 

The theory here is that Grant will have a low enough roster percentage given the uncertainty surrounding the backfield rotation but he ultimately emerges as the top option. Nebraska has a decent implied total of 31, and I expect the bulk of that to come on the ground. Grant could be a huge difference maker on this slate if he seizes the top spot in the backfield. Also, Northwestern allowed 213 rushing yards per game last season, for what it's worth.

Lawrance Toafili, $5,300 Florida State

Florida State has a deep stable of running backs featuring the likes of Treshaun Ward and Oregon transfer Trey Benson. Still, Toafili is in the mix and is considered one of Florida State's most-improved players from this offseason by those in the know. 

Over two seasons, Toafili has averaged 7.5 YPC and 7.0 YPT over 69 rushes and 33 targets. It's unlikely in this game script that Florida State overloads any one back, so Toafili may see nearly equal carries to the other backs, and if he really is third in the pecking order, it should be all him once the game is out of hand. I wouldn't put him in every lineup, but I'd also be a bit anxious about fading him completely.

DFS GPP Plays: Running Backs

Aidan Robbins, $3,300 UNLV vs. New Mexico State

Another transfer making his debut for his new team, Robbins joins the Rebels after two seasons with very little utilization at Louisville. There's not a ton we know about him, but we do know that he's listed as UNLV's starting running back without the dreaded -OR distinction. We also know that he's 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds. Now there's no denying that football is a complicated ballet that requires several moving in concert to have success. But sometimes a guy is just bigger and faster than the guys trying to tackle him. And that's what I'm envisioning here. 

Robert Burns, $3,000 Connecticut at Utah State

There's always a sucker min-priced play in Week 0. Maybe this is it. But I'm willing to take that gamble in lineups where I'm not using the aforementioned Robbins. Burns is listed as the starter  on this week's depth chart, ahead of the more-experienced Nathan Carter. Connecticut is still a massive road underdog, but if Burns is indeed the guy and finds his way into the end zone, that should be more than enough of a return from a min-priced option. 

DraftKings College Football Week 0 DFS Plays: Wide Receivers

Malachi Corley ($7,600), Jaylen Hall ($6,600), Daewood Davis ($4,800), Western Kentucky  

To stack all three with Austin Reed will run you over half your budget, so you will have to be creative with the rest of your lineup if you choose this route. Corley is justifiably priced atop this group as the top returning receiver following the departures of Jerreth Sterns and Mitchell Tinsley. He's aided in PPR scoring like DraftKings as he's more volume-dependent than explosive, though he did score seven touchdowns on 73 catches last year. Hall is the newcomer from Western Michigan where he broke out in 2021 with 46 grabs for 752 yards and three touchdowns. Davis is understandably going to be highly sought after; he's the cheapest of the bunch and the most explosive -- he averaged 11.2 YPT and scored eight touchdowns on 68 targets last year. He's the best value of this bunch, but don't fool yourself into thinking you're pulling one over on the field by rostering him. He's about the chalkiest receiver on this slate but again, I don't mind chasing that and differentiating myself elsewhere. The WKU passing game is a key to this slate. 

Brian Cobbs, Utah State vs. UConn

Deven Thompkins is off to the NFL, leaving Justin McGriff as the top returning target for Utah State. He's appealing in this setup because of the established chemistry with Logan Bonner. He checks in at $6,800, which could be construed as a value given the expectations for the Utah State passing game in this spot. A word of caution, however; McGriff caught just over 50 percent of his targets last season at just 6.1 YPT when Logan Bonner himself completed over 60 percent of his passes at 8.5 YPA. Could he improve? Sure. But I might consider looking elsewhere, especially with how high his roster percentage may be. 

Enter Cobbs, a Maryland transfer who caught 59 percent of his targets at 8.5 YPT during his time in College Park. He drops down a level of competition and could be a major factor for Utah State this year. I'd also keep an eye on NyNy Davis ($3,900), a redshirt freshman who has an intriguing skill set and could slot in as the No.3 option. 

Ricky White ($5,100)  and Jeff Weimer ($4,400) UNLV vs. Idaho State

A pair of transfers are catching my eye in this spot. Kyle Williams is the top dog in this receiving corps after pulling in a 23% target share last season that could increase with Steve Jenkins' departure. But all of Jenkins' 24% share won't go directly to Williams, and White and Weimer are in line to start for the Rebels. White, a Michigan State transfer, is best-known for his 196-yard thrashing of Michigan as a freshman in 2020 but has done little since. If he can tap back into that type of play, Idaho State will have trouble stopping him. Weimer joins UNLV from the junior college ranks and has made a strong impression in fall camp. I'd avoid playing a UNLV quarterback as there's significant risk of Doug Brumfield and Harrison Bailey rotating, but I expect the receivers to combine for solid production. 

Drae McCray, $4,700 Austin Peay at Western Kentucky

It's Week 0; I had to throw an FCS guy in here, right? McCray caught 52 passes for 872 yards and eight touchdowns last season and is Austin Peay's best returning offensive player in my estimation. Austin Peay has been mum on its starting quarterback situation so this isn't a stacking option, but if you're in the market for a sub-$5K receiver, this might be a decent path. Western Kentucky ranked 90th in defensive SP+ last season and while that likely won't put them on upset watch Saturday, it wouldn't be shocking for the Govs to score some points of its own and McCray is the top candidate to help toward that end. 

Malik McClain, $6,100 Florida State vs. Duquesne

If you're fading my points on Florida State from earlier, you can skip this blurb. However, if you're picking up what I'm putting down, McClain is an interesting target either as a one-off or as a pairing to Jordan Travis. McClain only caught 16 of 38 targets last season -- not great, admittedly -- but that's likely tied in part to a high depth of target. He still managed to score two touchdowns on those 16 receptions. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds with an expected starting role, McClain could play a hand in Florida State putting Duquesne out of contention.

If you're looking to wager on college football this season, RotoWire has a full suite of betting pages and tools with everything you need from the latest college football odds to weekly college football picks along with updated college football futures and Heisman odds.