College Football DFS Playbook & Core Plays - Week 9 Thursday: Cameron Rising Guides Utah Utes
College football Week 9 kicks off tonight with a nice three-game CFB DFS version of Thursday night football. We have two games kicking off at 7:30 pm ET and the third one starting up at 10 pm ET as you build college football DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. It should be a fun night with two power conference matchups on the schedule tonight, including Top 25 teams in NC State and Utah. Keep an eye out for the CFB DFS Playbook, core plays, PrizePicks top picks & more for Saturday's full slate of Week 9 college football games. If you're building CFB DFS lineups tonight, be sure to check out our college football weekly projections and the CFB DFS lineup generator. Let's now dive in to the CFB DFS top picks and plays for Thursday night, October 27th.
DFS CFB Week 9 Odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook):
- 7:30 pm ET – Virginia Tech at NC State (-13.5) – 39.5 O/U
- 7:30 pm ET – Louisiana (-1) at Southern Miss – 42.5 O/U
- 10 pm ET – Utah (-7) at Washington State – 56 O/U
Team Totals:
- Utah – 31.5
- NC State – 26.5
- Washington State – 24.5
- Louisiana – 21.5
- Southern Miss – 20.5
- Virginia Tech – 13.5
DFS CFB Week 9 Thursday Top Plays
Quarterbacks
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Cameron Rising | UTAH | WSU | 8800 | 29.43 | 11500 | 28.79 |
| Rising is the clear top QB on this three-game slate and he should be everyone’s top guy for cash lineups. The Utah dual-threat is coming off a massive 55 DK performance against USC when he scored five total TDs (three rushing) with 415 passing yards. Usually we can bank on 25-30 DFS points from him as a floor due to the consistent rushing stats. You can fade in GPPs to differentiate, but don’t overthink it in cash against a below-average Washington State pass defense. | ||||||
| Cameron Ward | WSU | UTAH | 6500 | 20.71 | 10200 | 19.21 |
| Most cash lineups will roll with Ward in the Super-Flex opposite Rising to get full exposure to this Pac-12 matchup with the highest total on the slate. Ward has been up-and-down this season, but we know he’s going to get the passing volume in the air-heavy Washington State attack. Utah’s defense can be tough but Ward will benefit from playing at home where he’s played much better, averaging 25 DK per game (compared to 17 DK on the road). | ||||||
| Jack Chambers | NCST | VT | 6000 | 5.8 | 7500 | 5.41 |
| There are a few directions you can go at QB in GPP lineups, but Chambers has some upside here because of his dual-threat ability. He had 19 rush attempts and 59 rush yards last game while starting in place of the injured Devin Leary, though some of those weren’t true “carries” and instead scrambling away from a tough Syracuse defense. Chambers had the bye week to get more comfortable in the NC State offense and could easily smash value if he’s more effective as both a passer and runner – like he was at times with Charleston Southern the previous three years. | ||||||
Running Backs
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Malachi Thomas | VT | NCST | 7200 | 20.6 | 9700 | 17.85 |
| In his two games back from injury, Thomas has stepped right into a sizable workload atop Virginia Tech’s backfield. He’s seen 20 and 19 total touches in the contests with at least five receptions, a TD, and 20 DK in both. Thomas’ role as a pass-catcher is notable because that should be the case again this week with VT as double-digit underdogs to NC State. There aren’t many trustworthy backs at the high end on this slate, but Thomas is locked into a bigger workload than the Utah RBs – especially with Keshawn King questionable. | ||||||
| Frank Gore Jr. | USM | ULL | 6800 | 14.89 | 9000 | 13.40 |
| Gore hasn’t cracked 100 rushing yards since Week 1, but he does have back-to-back games with 90+ rushing yards coming into this week. It’s good to see him getting 15-20 touches per game as the top playmaker on the Southern Miss offense, and he should be plenty involved once again. This is a tough matchup, but Gore’s volume will make him a solid cash option on a slate without many RBs to trust. | ||||||
| Chris Smith | ULL | USM | 5800 | 13.44 | 8200 | 11.34 |
| Smith is expected back after missing the last two games with an injury. We don’t know what the workload will be like in his first game back, but Smith could move right into a lead role in the Louisiana backfield. Before he got hurt, Smith was used plenty as a pass-catcher and that kept his DFS value safe enough when he wasn’t getting it done on the ground. Southern Miss boasts a top-25 rush defense in the country, so this is more a GPP play on this slate. | ||||||
| Jaylen Jenkins | WSU | UTAH | 4800 | 10.29 | 7000 | 8.86 |
| With Nakia Watson out, Jenkins is the first man up in the Washington State backfield. He had 10 touches, including four receptions, for 72 total yards and a TD last game with Watson sidelined. Jenkins also had 130 rushing yards on 13 carries with 54 receiving yards the game prior after Watson got hurt. Though he may split work with Dylan Paine, Jenkins is WSU’s starter now and he’s too cheap on both for someone who should return plenty of value in cash. | ||||||
| Dylan Paine | WSU | UTAH | 3000 | 1.6 | 4800 | 1.10 |
| If you want an even cheaper dart from the Washington State backfield, then look at Paine. He’s expected to take on a bigger role with Watson out and will operate as the secondary guy to Jaylen Jenkins. It’s tough to tell how the workload will be split up, but Paine should get more touches than his four last game because that was the redshirt freshman’s first collegiate action. It’s worth a shot in GPPs if you want to be different from the masses. Djouvensky Schlenbaker will reportedly also get some snaps at RB too, if you want to go that route. | ||||||
Wide Receivers
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Devaughn Vele | UTAH | WSU | 6900 | 14.09 | 8400 | 11.81 |
| Vele is pricey, but sometimes that’s what it costs to roster the top WR on the best offense of the slate. Cameron Rising doesn’t throw it to the wideouts often, but it’s going to Vele when he does. He has at least five catches and 62 yards in four straight games for a decent cash floor and safer volume than most receivers in action tonight. If you’re playing Rising, then getting either Vele or Kincaid in the same lineup is smart. | ||||||
| Dalton Kincaid | UTAH | WSU | 6500 | 19.16 | 9200 | 15.90 |
| The Utah tight end just went off for 15 receptions, 217 yards, a TD, and 45 DK against USC last game. We definitely can’t expect another performance like that, but it’s a good sign of how much Cameron Rising loves throwing to his tight end. Kincaid is even more important to the Utah passing game now with Brant Kuithe out for the season. Even though he’s priced high, it may be hard to fade the leading receiver on the top offense of the slate. | ||||||
| Jason Brownlee | USM | ULL | 5400 | 14.39 | 8000 | 12.70 |
| Brownlee is the clear top pass-catcher for Southern Miss, leading the team in every major receiving stat while seeing a healthy amount of targets every week. He’ll provide a decent cash floor because of his consistent involvement, and there’s GPP upside if he can find the end zone. Brownlee is the only Southern Miss receiver worth playing in cash, but Tiaquelin Mims is a nice value on DK with his recent performances. | ||||||
| Kaleb Smith | VT | NCST | 4800 | 12.11 | 7100 | 10.37 |
| The Virginia Tech offense could struggle here against NC State on the road, but Smith is a solid value as the team’s top receiver. The Hokies will ideally be throwing it more while trailing and Smith can see enough targets to return value. He’s only two games removed from going off for nine catches, 152 yards, and 26 DK points. | ||||||
| Robert Ferrel | WSU | UTAH | 4600 | 15.98 | 8800 | 12.88 |
| Since missing the first two games of this season, Ferrel has at least 9.4 DK points in every contest and has developed a clear rapport with Cameron Ward. Plus, with Renard Bell out last game, Ferrel had a season-high 131 yards on five catches. He’s put up 19 DK or more in three of the last four games and is too cheap on DK. The price differential compared to FD is very telling. Expect him to be popular in DK cash lineups. | ||||||
| Keyon Lesane | NCST | VT | 3400 | 6.33 | 5700 | 5.12 |
| With Chambers under center last game, Lesane led the NC State receivers in receptions and yards with four for 39. It’s not a lot, but it makes Lesane worth a look in cash or GPPs at his cheap price if he continues to be Chambers' favorite target. Thayer Thomas, meanwhile, has been hurt by Devin Leary being out. Lesane also benefited from Devin Carter being out last game, which is an injury to monitor tonight. | ||||||
| Leyton Smithson | WSU | UTAH | 3000 | 4.42 | 5400 | 3.42 |
| The pass-heavy offense of Washington State allows for multiple pass-catchers to be DFS viable, and Smithson is someone who can return value at his cheap price tags. He had four catches for 62 yards last game with Renard Bell out and that injury is directly impacting him. Smithson has moved to the outside starting WR spot with Bell out as Stribling shifts to the slot role. If last game’s stat line is any indication, then Smithson is a massive value on both sites for a starting receiver who’s now going to be much more involved. | ||||||
| Dae'Quan Wright | VT | NCST | 3000 | 7.5 | 5400 | 5.17 |
| The freshman tight end has started to become more involved in recent games after not playing at the beginning of the season. He has at least three catches and 37 yards in all three games played and offers a bit of value at his dirt cheap salaries – especially min price on DK. There is some risk with Wright because he is a backup to Nick Gallo, but the uptick in involvement is encouraging. Plus, a recent report indicates he intends to continue playing to burn his redshirt status. | ||||||
Others To Consider:
- Ben Wooldridge – QB, Louisiana (GPP)
- Michah Bernard – RB, Utah (Cash/GPP)
- Jordan Houston – RB, NC State (Cash)
- De'zhaun Stribling – WR, Washington State (Cash)
- Michael Jefferson – WR, Louisiana (Cash)
- Jakarius Caston – WR, Southern Miss (GPP)
CFB DFS Core Plays
DraftKings Cash:
- Cameron Rising – Utah
- Robert Ferrel – Washington State
FanDuel Cash:
- Cameron Rising – Utah
- Devaughn Vele – Utah
DraftKings GPP:
- Jack Chambers – NC State
- Leyton Smithson – Washington State
FanDuel GPP:
- Chris Smith – Louisiana
- Dylan Paine – Washington State
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