College Football DFS Playbook & Core Plays Week 12 Friday: Keylon Stokes Is A Top Pick For Tulsa
Good afternoon, FA Nation, and we are back for more college football tonight! Week 12 of CFB DFS action continues with a two-game Friday night slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. The first game kicks off at 9pm ET as South Florida travels to H.A. Stadium Tulsa to face Keylon Stokes and Tulsa and then at 9:45p ET Jalen Mayden and San Diego State visit Albuquerque as big road favorites against New Mexico. Check out the college football betting odds, team totals, and over/under's below to get an idea of which games or teams to target in CFB DFS lineups. If you're building CFB DFS lineups tonight, be sure to check out our college football weekly projections and the CFB DFS lineup generator. So now we are ready to dive in and check out my top CFB DFS top picks and plays for Friday night, November 18th
College Football Week 12 Friday Odds
- 9pm ET – South Florida @ Tulsa (-14.0) – 58.0 O/U
- 9:45pm ET – San Diego State (-14.0) @ New Mexico – 36.0 O/U
Implied Team Totals
- Tulsa – 36
- San Diego State – 25
- South Florida – 22
- New Mexico – 11
CFB DFS Week 12 Friday Top Plays
Jalen Mayden, San Diego State QB ($8.2K DK/$10K FD)
Mayden, who switched to safety coming into the season after falling to 4th on the Aztec QB depth chart and then back to QB, was just named the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week. He threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns, completing 17 of 22 passes as SDSU rallied to beat San Jose State 43-27 last week. SDSU had 268 passing yards, 157 rushing yards, 425 total yards, and a 206.14 pass efficiency rating under Mayden and now on the season, he is 91-for-138 for 1,253 yards and eight touchdowns. Mayden, who also has rushed for 171 yards with three touchdowns, ranks second in the MW in total offense yards per play (7.74, 20th in FBS), despite playing his first five games at safety. One more stat- the Aztecs are 4-1 since Mayden took over the offense and he is the only clear option at QB on tonight’s slate.
Keylon Stokes, Tulsa WR ($7.6K DK/$9.5K FD)
Stokes has come back to earth a little after starting the season with three straight 30+ DK fantasy point games. He is still, though, the stud WR on the slate and with another 1,000-yard season under his belt, he has put up at least 18 DK fantasy points cooled off a bit after his blazing-hot start to the year but has still produced 18-plus FP in seven of 10 games this year. Tonight, he gets the worst defense in the country. USF allows 288.0 yards in the air and 220.1 yards on the ground and Stokes sees an average of nine targets per game- monster night could be on tap for the Tulsa alpha that is 4th in the nation with 1.032 receiving yards.
Deneric Prince, Tulsa RB ($6.7K DK/$8.4K FD)
Prince has had an up-and-down season. He missed five of the first six games of the season and has two good games compared to three mediocre. He did run for 231 yards in Week 8 against Temple (42 DK fantasy points), and we could very well see a repeat of that performance against the bad USF run defense. The Bulls defense is ranked 125th in RB fantasy points per game (33.3) and they are allowing 220.1 ground yards. Lock prince in tonight in all formats.
Brian Battie, South Florida RB ($6.4K DK/$7.5K FD)
We may be seeing the passing of the torch to Battie as the top runner in the AAC soon. He now has three straight 100+ yard rushing performances and carried the ball a season-high 26 times against SMU last week. He will be facing a Tulsa defense that really isn’t much better than USF against the run. They are 123rd in rushing yards per game allowed (212.3) and it looks like the Bulls will be starting a true freshman at QB tonight which means a heavy workload on the horizon for Battie.
CFB DFS Week 12 Friday Top Value Plays
Jaylon Armstead, San Diego State RB ($4.0K DK/$5.9K FD)
Jordan Byrd leads SDSU in rushing with 364 yards and three touchdowns, but Armstead (308 rushing yards on 47 carries) has taken over as the lead back for the past two games (29 total carries) since returning from an ankle injury. The weakness of the Lobos’ defense has been defending the run as they are allowing 163.7 rushing yards per game. While SDSU does continue to give carries to five different running backs, Armstead has proven to be the most productive. Against the weak Lobos’ rush defense, this may be the best opportunity for Armstead to reach the 100-yd mark for the first time as he is still getting about 60% of the team's carries since his return in Week 10.
Tyrell Shavers, San Diego State WR ($5.2K DK/$6.8K FD)
Jesse Mathews, San Diego State WR ($4.9K DK/$7.1K FD)
Since Mayden took over as the starting QB five games ago Shavers and Mathews have become his favorite targets. Shavers has four plus receptions in four of those five games with a 5.0 target average. He is also averaging 82.4 yards receiving with two games over the 100-yard mark- 149 yards in Week 6 against Hawaii and 111 yards last week against San Jose State. If you need to save a few more dollars Mathews is sitting there with three straight weeks of at least four receptions, a touchdown, and a 16.3 DK fantasy point average. Both receivers are in play tonight in Cash/GPP and can even be used together in tournaments.
Others to Consider:
- Byrum Brown, South Florida QB ($5.3K DK/$7.2K FD) – True freshman should get first start- worth a shot against a bad Tulsa defense
- Nathaniel Jones, New Mexico RB ($4.4 DK/$5.8K FD) – 146 yards two weeks ago against Utah State but this Aztec defense is no joke.
- Christian Washington, New Mexico RB ($3.1K DK/$5.4K FD) – Avg of 9 carries per game over last 3 – total dart throw
- Xavier Weaver, South Florida WR ($6.7K DK/$8.5K FD) – Double-digit DKFP in every game this season with 6 TDs in last 5 games- the problem is he has another QB throwing this week and Brown is untested.
- JuanCarlos Santana, Tulsa WR ($6.4K DK/$7.9K FD) – At least 8 DKFP in every game but one
- Malachai Jones- Tulsa WR ($4.3K DK/$5.6K FD) 10 targets last week- FD Value
DRAFTKINGS CORE
- Jalen Mayden- San Diego State
- Deneric Prince- Tulsa
- Keylon Stokes- Tulsa
- Jesse Matthews- San Diego State
FANDUEL CORE
- Jalen Mayden- San Diego State
- Deneric Prince- Tulsa
- Keylon Stokes- Tulsa
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Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.