DraftKings College Football DFS Picks: CFB Week 12 Main Slate Picks and Lineup Strategy

This article is part of our DraftKings College Football series.

CFB DFS Picks: DraftKings College Football Week 12 DFS Picks and Plays

It's been a whirlwind few weeks at McKechnie HQ so forgive me for tapping out last weekend. Big shoutout to Chris Morgan for stepping in and dropping some quality plays.

I was in Oxford for the Ole Miss-UGA game and let me tell you...if you've got the itch to get to an SEC campus to take in a southern gameday experience, Oxford should be near the top of your list. 

The Grove is something you need to see to truly believe with ornate tailgate tents as far as the eye can see. Yes, some folks do hang a chandelier in their tailgate tents. I am witness to that.

I also went into the game and while my Bulldogs got pantsed by the better team, it was still a memorable experience. In a moment of weakness (at least according to my Georgia friends), I joined my cousin (freshman at Ole Miss) for the Rebel revelry on the field after the game. No regrets there; it was an intoxicating environment to, uh, say the least. 

But, enough about me. Let's focus on you and building some winning DFS lineups this weekend. 

Slate Overview

West Virginia vs Baylor

This game leads the board in expected points (59) while having the added bonus of a narrow spread (Baylor -1.5). There are paths to getting at both sides of this matchup. West Virginia has one of the worst pass defenses on the board and allows 9.1 YPA. Baylor is nothing special defensively and have been markedly worse away from Waco. The Bears are giving up nearly 6.0 YPP and 430 total yards per game in road/neutral site setups. Garrett Greene's return for West Virginia should give an added jolt to the Mountaineers offense, too. 

For our purposes, I like both Greene ($7,400), though we'll have to wait for confirmation that he's starting, and Sawyer Robertson on the other side at $8,700.

WVU's running backs are in a frustrating timeshare but at least both see consistent work. Jahiem White ($4,700) is the more explosive of the two and is a nice bargain while CJ Donaldson ($3,600) has more carries and touchdowns. You won't find many backs with their workloads at those salaries. Baylor's Bryson Washington ($6,400) has been a stud but it wouldn't be surprising to see Baylor test the WVU secondary more.

With the pass-catchers, it's hard to fully trust the WVU side. Quarterback Garrett Greene's value is tied to his rushing production and he only averaged 26 attempts in his six full games pre-injury. Traylon Ray ($3,600) might be worth a shot in GPP's with his explosiveness (10.9 YPT over his last four games) but he doesn't have much PPR juice thanks to a low target volume and 55% catch rate. You could do worse than Kole Taylor for $3,300, too.

The Baylor options have more appeal. Josh Cameron ($4,700) came through for us last time and has three touchdowns in his last three games while averaging 6.0 targets per game. Ashtyn Hawkins ($3,700) hasn't had great touchdown luck but has caught 13 of his last 16 targets for 179 yards (11.2 YPT)

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Quarterback

Quinn Ewers ($8,700) Texas vs Arkansas

You could argue this is buying high after Ewers cooked Florida for 333 yards and five touchdowns in his best game of the season last week. But $8,700 isn't bad for the guy at the helm of a Texas offense expected to score the second-most points on the slate. Arkansas is a pass funnel defense that allows 8.3 YPA. That number inflates to 9.2 against SEC competition.

Even if Texas doesn't need Ewers to throw it 35 times, games like last week go to show that he can get you where you need to go in just a handful of drives. He's pretty stackable this week, too, with Isaiah Bond ($5K) checking in as the only Texas wideout priced above $3,800.

Cade Klubnik ($8,600) Clemson at Pittsburgh

Unless DraftKings knows something we don't, it's hard to see why Klubnik is almost a grand cheaper against the cap than backup Chris Vizzina. Oh well, we'll take it.

Klubnik has thrown three touchdowns in three of his last four games. Pitt has been stingy in terms of giving up passing touchdowns to conference foes with just five while picking off seven, but it also hasn't really faced the best the ACC has to offer save for SMU (which shredded it). 

This might not be a ceiling game for Klubnik but Pitt should keep it competitive enough to where he has to drop back plenty. Somewhere in the mid-20s for DK points is a reasonable expectation here. 

Others to Consider: Sawyer Robertson, Baylor ($8,700); Fernando Mendoza, California ($7,200)

Running Back

Isaac Brown ($6,700) Louisville at Stanford

Another week, another slate where Brown checks in as a value. Brown is a Top 25 caliber fantasy running back in the nation and he's priced as RB10 on this 12-game slate. 

Stanford has been credible against the run, allowing 144.8 yards per game on 4.3 YPC. That's not overly concerning for a player like Brown, especially in this setup.

Louisville is a 20.5-point favorite and that plays into a run-heavy script. Brown is responsible for 40 percent of Louisville's carries this season and over the last four weeks, that number has crept up to 60 percent. In that span, he's also averaging 25.4 DK points. He'll get plenty of cracks against this mediocre defense. 

Brashard Smith ($8,800) SMU vs Boston College

If you're aiming high at running back this week, Smith needs to be a target. Smith is on an absolute tear as SMU has started to trust him with bigger workloads. In the last two games, he has taken 49 carries for 278 yards with a pair of touchdowns in each game. He even caught a touchdown in SMU's trouncing of Pitt in Week 10. 

Boston College is middling against the run, allowing 4.52 YPC and 135.6 rushing yards per game in conference play. With SMU off a bye and BC on the ropes, this is a great setup for a huge day from Smith.

Kaytron Allen ($4,900) Penn State at Purdue

I kept scrolling down the RB board thinking I must've missed Allen because I wasn't seeing him among the top-billed backs this week. Then I found him down under $5K and had to do a double take.

No, seriously, Penn State's 1A running back is sub-$5k this week against one of the worst rush defenses in the country. Nicholas Singleton ($6,600) should be available here after getting dinged up last week but he really hasn't played up to that salary this year. He gets just 11 carries per game and while he's more efficient (6.17 YPC) than his counterpart (4.77), the volume discrepancy is significant with Allen having 45 more carries. Also of note, Singleton has averaged 3.9 YPC in his last four games while Allen is at 4.5 in that sample.

For once, past efficiency isn't a huge deciding factor for me here. It's volume. Purdue's defense which allows 5.0 yards per carry will take care of that. I think Allen will be the tip of the spear for Penn State's run game Saturday with Singleton possibly not at 100 percent. Penn State has the Playoff on its mind and needs to keep Singleton healthy for the stretch run. It should be the Allen show this week.

Others to Consider: Jaydn Ott, California ($7,000 -- buy-low situation)

Wide Receiver

Here's this week's target report. It's filtered to the last five weeks with players averaging at least five targets per game at a 9.0 YPT clip. The rank signifies where they are on the whole slate in terms of target volume in that time frame.

Ja'Corey Brooks ($7,700) and Chris Bell ($3,500) Louisville at California

Continuing the Louisville theme this week we have two of their best pass-catchers. Both have been regulars in these articles throughout the season and with good reason. They've either ultra-productive, underpriced, or both.

Brooks has flat-out been one of the best fantasy receivers this season. He's behind only Travis Hunter among receivers on this slate in terms of fantasy points per game. 

Bell is second on the team in target share and has a strong 9.3 YPT figure on 4.6 targets per game. He's a little more boom-or-bust but he's worth taking a shot on at $3,500 in a game where Louisville is expected to challenge for 40 points.

Elic Ayomanor ($5,200) Stanford vs Louisville

On the other side of the Louisville-Stanford clash we have Ayomanor, who has been the lone bright spot of this passing game this year. Ayomanor commands a 32 percent target share, which is among the highest figures in the nation. It's hard to be overly explosive when you're getting peppered with targets to that degree but he's still getting it done for our purposes. He has scored 15.5 or more DK points in each of his last three games. Stanford has had two weeks to prepare for this game and should have some creative ways to get Ayomanor the ball in space.

Mario Williams ($3,900) Tulane at Navy

Playing a receiver against a triple-option team like Navy is a tricky proposition. At least you would think, since those teams tend to drag the pace of the game down. Luckily, Navy hasn't been dragging teams into the mud so much this year. Opposing offenses are running 69.0 plays per game against them, which is among the most favorable numbers of any defense on this slate.

Tulane spreads the ball around a decent bit but no one draws targets like Williams in this offense with a 27 percent share. He's explosive (10.9 YPT) with it and has a healthy 38 catches on 60 targets. 

$3,900 is bordering on a misprice given his role and production regardless of matchup. And this matchup checks out as neutral in my eyes. 

Makai Lemon ($5,000) USC vs Nebraska

Lemon has been the best USC receiver of late. In his last four outings, he's drawing 8.3 targets per game and posting an 11.1 YPT figure. That's the kind of thing we're looking for. 

Nebraska has been something of a break-don't-bend pass defense. The 'Huskers haven't allowed a 300-yard passing performance all season but they've given up 16 passing touchdowns, including eight in the last three games. Lemon's target share should insulate him from having a significant yardage dip here even if it doesn't appear that USC will be able to throw it all over the yard against Nebraska.

Others to Consider: Oronde Gadsden, Syracuse ($5,400); Nyziah Hunter, California ($4,500); Traylon Ray, Baylor ($3,600); Matthew Golden, Texas ($3,400); DeAndre Moore, Texas ($3,800)