College Football DFS Picks: Week 12 Friday Slate Plays and Lineup Strategy

CFB DFS Plays: Week 12 Friday Slate Picks and Strategy

Friday's slate doesn't kick off until 9:00 p.m. EDT, so you have plenty of time to get your picks in. We'll be looking at ideal selections for DraftKings and FanDuel.

SLATE OVERVIEW

Tulsa (-3.5) vs. South Florida O/U: 57.5

San Diego State (-14) @ New Mexico O/U: 36

With a 21- point projected total differential between the two games, it's fairly obvious where we should be focusing. The SDSU/UNM game is going to be the contrarian spot, and we're going to find our quarterbacks here.

WEATHER REPORT

No rain/snow conditions

USF/Tulsa - 26 degrees

College Football DFS Tools

• DraftKings Lineup Optimizer
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• Stats
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QUARTERBACK

While Davis Brin (DK $7,500, FD $9,200) seems like a top option on the slate, I would use caution.  Brin has struggled with injuries, and with Tulsa out of bowl contention, they may give freshman Braylon Braxton more snaps. We don't have a reliable source to confirm how snaps will be divided, but conventional wisdom suggests that we won't get a complete game from Brin.

Jalen Mayden, San Diego State (DK $8,200, FD $10,000) @ New Mexico

We have an odd situation afoot here for the Aztecs. Mayden took over for Braxton Burmeister a couple of weeks ago and played well enough to unseat him. We now see Burmeister in a backup role and also logging time as a wide receiver. Mayden looked great against San Jose State, so one can assume that he'll get the nod again. There's no telling what kind of volume Burmeister would get at wideout, so his QB-like salary just isn't worth it. Despite the potentially-low total, Mayden is probably the safest bet at the position.

Byrum Brown, South Florida (DK $5,300, FD $7,200) @ Tulsa

Katravis Marsh (neck) is out for the season, but the Bulls seem to have a lot of confidence in Brown, who stepped in ahead of Jordan Smith and took over at quarterback to finish out the SMU game last week. The freshman didn't have much time to play, and he's a true wildcard on this slate, but considering the variance involved with Tulsa, I'm willing to take a risk on him to see what kind of value we can get from an untested signal-caller.

RUNNING BACK

Deneric Prince, Tulsa (DK $6,700, FD $8,400) @ South Florida

This is a pretty plum spot for Prince, who comes in with a nice salary on FanDuel. USF is one of the worst teams in FBS against the run (271st), and while the Golden Hurricane will air it out regardless of who is under center, Prince will be behind him getting a vast majority of the snaps. His stats won't wow you, but the opponent sets up to be an exploitable spot for him.

Brian Battie, South Florida (DK $6,400, FD $7,500) @ Tulsa

Eben if Jaren Mangham makes his way back onto the field, Battie has flat-out outplayed him in relief.  Battie had posted three consecutive 100-plus-yard games with the most recent coming against SMU, where he rushed for 145 yards. Luckily for Battie, Tulsa's rush defense isn't much better than his own team's abilities, so both backs should be exchanging blows against each other's defense all evening.

I'll be honest, these two backs are about all I can endorse, and going contrarian will likely not be fruitful. If you feel like you have no choice but to get unique, I'd identify New Mexico's Nathaniel Jones (DK $4,400, FD $5,800) as the best sleeper candidate.

WIDE RECEIVER

Keylon Stokes, Tulsa (DK $7,600, FD $9,500) vs. South Florida

It would be hard to fade Stokes, although he'll obviously be a chalk add for the public. The Bulls also have a pretty weak secondary, so a player like Stokes should be on fire in a scenario like this. As usual, JuanCarlos Santana (DK $6,400, FD $7,600) will emerge as a less expensive way to get involved in this pass offense, and I'm not opposed to stacking them.

Xavier Weaver, South Florida (DK $6,700, FD $8,500) @ Tulsa

Are we playing with fire by placing our hopes on an untested quarterback?  Honestly, we probably are, and with the Bulls entering some pretty frigid conditions in Tulsa, we shouldn't have much confidence in this offense, but Byrum Brown couldn't ask for a better security blanket. Weaver has fought his way to a 53-catch, 718-yard season with a shaky offense, and I think his stat line can weather some inexperience at the quarterback position. This will be USF's third quarterback of the season, so you could say that Weaver is passer-proof. Jimmy Horn Jr. (DK $5,300, FD $6,800) is also a deep-threat option in this offense.

Although we only gave two official endorsements, Stokes, Santana, Weaver and Horn are my best four picks due to uncertainty with production in the other game. However, we gave Mayden an endorsement so we should probably find an Aztec to target. The best option is probably Tyrell Shavers (DK $5,200, FD $6,800), but Jesse Matthews (DK $4,900, FD $7,100) is also a producer in the passing game.