College Football DFS Picks: DraftKings CFB Week 13 DFS Plays

CFB DFS: DraftKings College Football DFS Week 13 Main Slate

The second-to-last week of the regular season -- known to some as SEC vacation week -- can sometimes be a little lacking in terms of big, impactful games. It's an understandable sacrifice; we've had a gauntlet to get to this point and next weekend is rivalry week. As Primus would say, "They Can't All Be Zingers." 

Luckily, DraftKings has steered into the skid with its game selections for this week's slate. All but two games have totals of at least 51.5 points, and half the games are set at 55.5 or more. We even have two games north of 60, including the fun addition of FAU and UConn to the mix. 

No need to save room for next week. We can dig into this slate and go back for seconds. 

Slate overview

Tight Spreads & High Totals

Finding a game with a high over/under where both teams are expected to be competitive is always a primary goal for building our lineups. Games like that create a great scoring environment on both sides with little worry about the star players being pulled, like we do when a game gets lopsided. 

Here are this week's games to target:

FAU (+7.0) vs UConn (O/U 64.5)

Oh yeah. Just like we all expected. FAU and UConn. A couple of schools that made the 2023 Final Four get another honor this week of being the best game on a DFS slate. 

Both teams are expected to push for 30 points, with UConn projected to have a real shot at hanging 40. 

UConn is led by Joe Fagnano ($8,500), who averages 24.5 DraftKings points per game. Prior to last week's surprising dud against Air Force, Fagnano had averaged 32.7 DK points per game over his last five games with a sparkling 18:0 TD:INT ratio in that span. He's in a good spot to get back on track against FAU here. However, UConn might want to test that run defense too because...

FAU allows 199.1 rushing yards per game. Giving up almost 400 to Navy will goose that number, sure, but the Owls have allowed at least 162 yards and two rushing touchdowns in four straight games, including that one. That makes Cam Edwards (($6,9000) really interesting here with his 53 percent rushing share. 15+ carries against this defense should be more than enough. There's also target machine Skyler Bell ($7,400), who has a 34% target share and has seen fewer than 12 targets just once in his last four games, and that was in the slow-paced game against Air Force. UConn's Big 3 is definitely viable packaged into one lineup this week.

As for FAU options, we can at least be confident there will be a lot of opportunities. FAU ranks second in FBS in plays per game (77.7). The efficiency is middling at 5.5 YPP, but it's hard to argue with 431 yards per game from this offense.

Quarterback Caden Veltkamp ($8,000) puts it in the air an FBS-leading 43 times per game. A lot of those targets go to Easton Messer ($7,000), who has 103 targets on the year and is coming off his best game of the year (9/10/133/1). Asaad Waseem ($5,800) isn't as efficient but still draws plenty of targets, including 15 last week against Tulane. 

Gemari Sands leads the Owl backfield and checks in at just $4,800, giving us a cheap lane to exposure to this game. 

Arizona (-6.5) vs Baylor (O/U 62.5)

We've written a lot about Arizona over the last few weeks. We haven't gotten it totally right yet, though. Noah Fifita ($6,400) has been a decent per-dollar play but not enough to really help his investors get over the top. It's interesting, though, that his salary drops to a bargain $6,400 against the worst defense he'll have faced in conference play other than Oklahoma State. It might be worth giving him one more shot at $6,400.

The run game remains an enigma. Arizona piled up nearly 200 rushing yards against Cincinnati but it was divvied up between Kedrick Reescano, Quincy Craig and Ismail Mahdi. I kind of throw my hands up at knowing which of them is the right play, but if you're a multi-entry player, you can mix and match. All three are either $4,200 or $4,100. Baylor gives up nearly 200 rushing yards per game anyway.

I'm not as interested in the Baylor side because Arizona's defense is some version of solid, ranking 39th in SP+ and sporting a great pass defense. Maybe it's a good time to buy the dip on Bryson Washington ($5,700) but I think we have reason to believe that it's just not really happening for him. 

Other notables

• Houston (-1.5) vs TCU (O/U 55.5)
• Texas (-8.5) vs Arkansas (O/U 58.5)

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Quarterback

Joe Fagnano, UConn ($8,500) at FAU

Again, this is a great game to target. It might be the game to target on this slate. Fagnano's 12.2 DK points last week look like an anomaly as UConn ran a season-low 53 plays against Air Force. He has otherwise been one of the most productive fantasy quarterbacks this season. I see no reason why that would change against a bad FAU defense. Adding on, Fagnano can be stacked with other Huskies fairly easily.

Taylen Green, Arkansas ($7,500) at Texas

This is all about the $. Green usually checks in around the $9K mark and this week he's down at $7,500. There's an $1,100 difference between him and Conner Weigman for crying out loud.

Yes, it's on the road. Yes, Texas has a good defense. Yes, it's flimsy analysis to assume Texas is just going to be looking ahead to the Texas A&M game and therefore will be in trouble here. Now that that's out of the way...

Green has lit up good defenses before -- just look at his game against the Aggies with 42.7 DK points. That's anecdotal, of course, but it shows that the upside is in there with Green despite the matchup. Also, the field will likely be off of Green after three straight middling outings, topping out at 22.4 DK points. We can have lowered expectations for Green this week and still be happy with the returns from a $7,500 play. If he can get into the mid-20s, which is very possible with his rushing volume, we'll be in good shape.

Carson Beck ($6,900) Miami at Virginia Tech

The bad news is that Beck doesn't get to play NC State again this week. The good news is that Virginia Tech's defense isn't much more imposing, ranking 89th in defensive SP+. They allow a respectable 220 passing yards per game against conference foes, though the Hokies haven't really faced an elite passing game, either. 

Like Green, the value here is too good to pass up on. Miami is going to put up 35+ points in this spot as it makes its push for a playoff bid. I know Miami's first foray outside the state of Florida did not go well (SMU on Nov.1) but it's officially must-win time for the 'Canes and Beck shouldn't have much trouble. The only concern for Beck not returning value at $6,900 is the weather, as the forecast shows a chance of rain in the second half.

Others to Consider

• Arch Manning, Texas ($9,000) vs Arkansas
• Conner Weigman, Houston ($8,600) vs TCU

GPP Play

Deuce Adams, Louisville ($5,000) vs SMU: Keep an eye on Miller Moss' status as he popped up on the injury report this week as questionable. Adams would presumably be the next guy up. $5K for a quarterback gives you insane lineup flexibility, and even 15-20 points out of them is perfectly fine. It's hard to know exactly what to expect from Adams if he makes his first start against a good defense, but that offensive system with those weapons will put him in a decent spot. Keep an eye on the pregame injury reports.

Running Back

Cam Edwards, UConn ($6,900) at FAU

Edwards owns the UConn backfield with a 53 percent rushing share that actually sits at 57 percent when you remove the opener against Central Connecticut. He has gotten fewer than 15 carries just twice in his last 10 games and is coming off a stellar 24-carry, 165-yard outing against Air Force.

Connecticut would be smart to go with a similarly run-heavy approach here with how vulnerable FAU is against the run. Edwards has shown he can handle a heavy workload.

Bo Jackson, Ohio State ($6,600) at Rutgers

This might be the most Business Trip game we see all year. All Ohio State wants to do is get in and get out without having to expend much effort. Top wideouts Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are both questionable and it wouldn't be shocking to see the Buckeyes keep them limited our out entirely with the Michigan game on tap next week.

This would likely result in an extremely run-heavy game plan for the Buckeyes. And it'd also make sense for Ohio State to workshop some things on that front because if there's one area where it hasn't totally dominated this year, it's on the ground.

Jackson does seem to have taken the lead role there, having seized a 36 percent rushing share over the last five games. He has posted a pair of 100-yard games in that sample, including last week's 15-carry, 112-yard effort that included a touchdown. This might be Jackson's biggest carry count of the season against a Rutgers rush defense that allows 6.6 yards per carry somehow.

Isaiah West ($4,000) is a GPP option as well who could pick up some work in garbage time, especially if CJ Donaldson is out.

Gemari Sands, FAU ($4,900) vs UConn

There's little indication that Xavier Terrell will be ready to go after missing the last month, so the backfield should be led by Sands. Now, Sands isn't a workhorse by any means but he is coming off one of his most productive games of the season with 13 carries for 50 yards to go with five carries for 38 yards on seven targets. The passing-game work helps raise his floor some, and Connecticut has been leaky against the run, allowing 185 rushing yards per game. There are worse ways to spend $4,900 this week.

Quintrevion Wisner, Texas ($5,900) vs Arkansas

This is another matchup-based play, seeing as Arkansas has been abysmal against the run this year. To be fair, Texas has been awful running the ball in its own right, but in this particular matchup, I give the edge to the offense.

None of Wisner's numbers are going to wow you, but he at least sees the most consistent work of any Texas running back. We'll bank on opportunity against a soft rush defense to hopefully get us where we need to go. 

Others to Consider

• Duke Watson, Louisville ($5,000) at SMU
• Girard Pringle, Miami ($4,700) at Virginia Tech

Wide Receiver

Here's this week's target cheat sheet. I filtered it to receivers on this slate with at least an 18% team target share who also average at least 9.0 yards per target. I also narrowed the sample to Week 9 through Week 12 to get a healthy sample while also giving weight to players who are clicking right now. Those are fairly arbitrary thresholds, but they still tend to paint a good picture of who is A.) Getting Volume and B.) Maximizing It.

Kendrick Law, Kentucky ($4,600) at Vanderbilt

I have a sneaking suspicion Kentucky puts a bit of a scare into Vandy on Saturday. Kentucky, once left for dead after a 2-5 start, has rattled off three straight wins, including victories over Auburn and Florida. 

The offense has actually looked fairly potent of late. It dropped 34 on Tennessee and 38 on Florida. Both of those were home games, which gives me a little bit of pause about it translating in this spot. Still, a player with Law's profile has to intrigue you.

Kentucky is a ~10-point underdog, which sets up a more pass-heavy script. Law himself has been on fire of late. A 23% target share at 12.3 YPT over the last four games is wild. He has caught 25 of 26 targets in that span for 320 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He projects to be busy again Saturday, and Vandy's passing defense has started to show some cracks. 

Emmett Mosley V, Texas ($4,400) vs Arkansas

Two Texas players in one article? In the year 2025? What's happening?

Well, again, Arkansas' defense is laughable. And after watching Texas closely all season, it's clear to me that Mosley is the Horns' best option in the passing game. He missed the first month of the season but has found his footing. In his last three games, Mosley has secured 14 of 22 targets for 188 yards and three touchdowns. 

Ryan Wingo might be the safer play given his higher target share, but he shouldn't register as $2,200 more than Mosley. This is a good spot for Arch Manning to get his confidence back, and Mosley projects as a nice value play if you're shopping in this aisle for a receiver or flex option.

Skyler Bell, Connecticut ($7,400) at FAU

This dovetails with all the UConn-FAU discussion from this article. Bell has a nearly 35% target share over the last month and has six touchdowns in that span. He's an easy click whether you're loading up on this game or not. 

Tight ends

TE's get a bad wrap in CFF but Eli Stowers ($5,200) and Tanner Koziol ($5,000) are exceptions. Stowers is the engine of the Vandy pass game, commanding a 36% target share at 9.7 YPT over the last month. Koziol is similarly involved for Houston at 29 percent with a 9.2 YPT figure in that same span. Both are strong options on this slate

Koziol is part of a pretty concentrated target distribution alongside Amare Thomas ($6,100), making them a good stacking option for what should be a high-scoring game against TCU.

Others to Consider

• Makai Lemon, USC ($7,600) at Oregon
• Malachi Toney, Miami ($7,200) at Virginia Tech
• Mylan Graham, Ohio State ($4,000) at Rutgers
• KJ Duff, Rutgers ($5,700) vs Ohio State
• Max Klare, Ohio State ($4,700)
• Kole Wilson, Baylor ($4,100) at Arizona