DraftKings College Football: Week 9 Main Slate Picks

Welcome to our breakdown for the Week 9 main slate over on DraftKings. We have a 10-game slate that features a wide variety of teams and matchups. Games like Houston versus South Florida, Oklahoma versus Kansas State, and Iowa State versus Texas Tech all profile as high scoring affairs that should be drawing plenty of our attention from a fantasy perspective. Then there are projected slugfests like Georgia versus Florida, Penn State versus Iowa, and Clemson versus Florida State that have the type of low implied totals that may not garner much fantasy appeal. Without further adieu, let's get to the main course and break down this week's main slate. Listed below are our tools followed by a cheat sheet and my position-by-position breakdowns.

Lineup Optimizer
Weekly Rankings by Position
Targets
Team Trends
Odds
Defense vs. Position

Quarterback

D'Eriq King, Houston ($10,200) vs. South Florida

To me, the slate starts and ends with King. He leads the nation in fantasy points per game at 39.0 and he is a true dual-threat quarterback that has thrown multiple touchdowns in every game while also adding a rushing score in each outing. South Florida is particularly vulnerable against the run, so look for King to exploit that Saturday as the Bulls cough up 229 rushing yards per game. As good as Kyler Murray is and as well as I expect him to do this week, King should be the highest priced player on the board this week.

Blake Barnett, South Florida ($9,700) at Houston

You may find it strange that a ranked and undefeated USF team is more than a touchdown 'dog this week, but I buy it. South Florida really hasn't played anybody and ranks 40th in overall in S&P+ while Houston, despite a blemished record, ranks 27th overall by that metric. This is all a roundabout way of saying that South Florida will be playing from behind Saturday, meaning the balance of the game rests in Barnett's hands. Luckily, Barnett is more than capable in his own right and Houston is flawed on the back end, allowing 333.6 passing yards per game. This is the highest implied total in on the slate and I'll likely be up into the wee hours of the morning figuring out a way to get both King and Barnett into a viable lineup this week.

Superflex DuJour

Brock Purdy, Iowa State ($7,000) vs Texas Tech

The freshman might be short on experience but he's been nothing short of spectacular since taking over for the Cyclones with two wins over quality opponents while combining for 572 passing yards and seven scores. Purdy can also move a bit, as evidenced by his 123 rushing yards in those contests. He'll be facing a Texas Tech defense that's mediocre at best and gives up the second-most passing yards per game of any defense on this slate. For $7,000, Purdy is a completely affordable superflex option that should outperform most of the other options in that price range.

Running Back

Alex Barnes, Kansas State ($7,600) at Oklahoma

Kansas State struggles to do much of anything other than run the ball. Luckily, that's where Barnes comes in. Barnes quietly ranks 13th in the nation in rushing yards with 788 through seven games, and he has nine rushing touchdowns on top of it. The Sooners, meanwhile, are a break-don't-bend defense that doesn't give up a ton of rushing yardage but has surrendered just under two rushing scores per game. Barnes is the type of physical runner that will wear on the Sooners in time and Kansas State's offense will not abandon the run no matter the deficit, so look for him to push for heavy volume with strong efficiency to boot.

Patrick Carr, Houston ($4,800)

As mentioned above, South Florida's run defense is beyond suspect. The rub here is how to approach the Houston backfield, which features a fairly deep committee of talented players. Carr, though, is the only running back with a rushing share greater than 20 percent. With that, Carr will get the first crack at running on the Bulls. Carr has been rock solid with his opportunities, too, sporting a 6.3 YPC average. There's some concern about a lack of touchdown upside, but at $4,800, Carr is an excellent value that has a good volume projection against a soft run defense.

Vavae Malepeai, USC ($4,400) vs. Arizona State

This is a tournament Hail Mary, but one worth mentioning considering what's going on at USC. JT Daniels (concussion) has yet to clear protocol as of press time, so the Trojans will have to turn to the inexperienced Jack Sears at quarterback. If that ends up being the case, Malepeai is a decent punt option. He averages a respectable 5.0 yards per carry and has a team-high seven touchdowns. USC will have to stick to the ground game, and if Aca'Cedric Ware (shoulder) can't go, Malepeai will see healthy volume. Again, this is a tournament-only move, but if things set up the way I laid out here, Malepai becomes an interesting play.

Wide Receiver

Marquise Brown, Oklahoma ($8,600) vs. Kansas State

Yes he's expensive but no receiver on this slate can outperform his price tag better than Brown. He averages 14.0 YPT, sees 8.5 targets per game, and finds the end zone on nearly 20 percent of his receptions. I'm not reinventing the wheel suggesting an expensive receiver here, I'm just saying that of the expensive wideouts, Brown is easily my favorite this week.

Tee Higgins, Clemson ($6,100) at Florida State

Florida State has recruited well enough over the years to compile a strong front that has slowed the opposition's run game all year. The 'Noles secondary, while also talented, hasn't held up its end of the bargain. FSU gives up 271 passing yards and 2.14 touchdowns per game through the air -- the worst mark of any team on the slate. Now, Clemson does spread the ball around a fair bit, but Higgins is still the de facto No.1 target with a 19 percent market share. He has seen at least 17 percent of the targets in all but one game this year and Higgins averages a healthy 10.1 YPT. Higgins is also coming off arguably his best game of the season against one of Clemson's best opponents to date and is clearly developing a chemistry with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Mitchell Wilcox, South Florida ($4,000) at Houston

Tight ends don't usually draw my attention on DraftKings, but Wilcox is an exception this week. He owns a 17 percent target share and has gotten at least 10 percent of South Florida's targets in each game this year. The yardage output is unlikely to be enough for him to pay off without a touchdown, but a score is in play here against a weak Houston defense. For $4,000, Wilcox is a decent punt play at the flex or one of your receiver spots.