This article is part of our DraftKings College Football series.
CFB DFS Picks: DraftKings College Football Week 12 Main Slate Breakdown
This is the kind of week to embrace the weird. We're light on marquee matchups, especially on this slate, as everyone finishes out their regular season schedule before rivalry week takes over next weekend. Undefeated James Madison is hosting Game Day, need I say more?
Slate Overview
As is often the case when USC is on the slate, the Trojans are involved in the game with the highest total on the board at 65.5 as they get set to take on UCLA. That total clears the next-highest number (UGA-Tennessee; 59.5) by nearly a full touchdown. It's a condensed slate in the sense that six of the 12 games have totals ranging between 54.0 (Oregon-Arizona State) and 59.5. That gives us plenty of games from which to choose. Clemson-UNC, Houston-Oklahoma State, and JMU-App State have the narrowest spreads in that cluster, which makes them appealing for game-stacking. Meanwhile, the likes of Oklahoma (-24; 41.0 TT), Oregon (-23.5; 38.75 TT); Notre Dame (-24.5; 35.5 TT) and Michigan (-19; 34.5 TT) are expected to win in blowout fashion.
As far as the units to attack go, well, it's never a bad idea to attack USC's defense. Beyond that, JMU has a surprisingly shaky pass defense combined with a dominant run defense that could shape App State's offensive approach. Oklahoma State and Houston play each other and both have leaky pass defenses. App State, USC, BYU, Oklahoma State and Houston comprise the five worst run defenses on the slate as well. Let's dive into some individual plays to target this week.
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Quarterback
Jordan McCloud ($8,300) James Madison 
vs. Appalachian State 
This might end up being a chalky play considering the price and McCloud's insane run of production since Week 2 (the last time I wrote about him and he was kind of a dud). Over McCloud's last seven games, he is completing 71 percent of his passes at 9.7 YPA with 22 touchdowns and seven picks. On the ground, he's churned out 60 rushes for 289 yards and six touchdowns. If you filter to quarterbacks on this slate over the last four weeks, McCloud is the top scoring quarterback in that span. Better than Bo Nix, better than Caleb Williams, better than Drake Maye.
Now he gets App State at home. App State is having a down year and is shockingly bad on defense (98th in SP+). With a narrow spread (8.5 points) expect the full McCloud experience on Saturday. And it'll be a good'n.
App State quarterback Joey Aguilar ($7,500) is an interesting game-stacking option for those rostering McCloud. He has also been playing at a high level over the last month, averaging 30 DK points per game with a 12:2 TD:INT. The matchup is tough, of course, but he could find his way to 3X value nonetheless given that JMU's defensive strength is against the run, which should create a pass funnel.
J.J. McCarthy ($9,100) Michigan 
at Maryland 
I know, I know. $9,100 is a lot for a guy that threw all of eight passes last week over four quarters. That was an entirely different setup, though. Michigan was in a tough setup. It was its first game without America's Coach, Jim Harbaugh, and just needed to get out of Happy Valley with a win no matter how ugly it looked.
Playing on the road at Maryland this week will be akin to taking off a 100-pound weight vest. This game is going to be extremely lopsided and if Michigan might want to have McCarthy pad some stats one more time before taking on Ohio State. In the three games preceding the Penn State game, McCarthy averaged 21.7 DK points with a 7:0 TD:INT and 844 yards. The outlier was the Purdue game in which he threw for 335 yards but no touchdowns, which drags down the average in that sample. I'm highly skeptical that McCarthy throws fewer than two touchdowns Saturday.
The game might not be competitive enough for him to challenge for 300 passing yards, but McCarthy should be able to get over 250 yards and two passing touchdowns. His rostership will be low after last week and this may be the spot for him to have his most productive fantasy day of the season. Michigan wins this one in a romp and McCarthy will have himself a day.
Ethan Garbers ($6,400) UCLA 
at USC 
Keep an eye on the pregame warmups for this one as all of Garbers (foot), Dante Moore (head) and Collin Schlee (undisclosed) are on the injury report. Schlee seems like the least likely candidate to play at this stage after missing practice this week while Garbers has been running with the 1's this week. Luckily, as long as we're paying attention in warmups, we should get an answer on the starter and in the event that it's not Garbers, it's easy to pivot to Moore at $6,200.
The bottom line here is that whoever the starter is will be getting a crack at USC's abysmal defense. Alex Grinch's firing can only provide so much of a spark, and UCLA's physical style matches up extremely well against a defense that doesn't seem to be overly interested in tackling.
Garbers has posted good numbers when given a shot this year with performances north of 20 DK points against Stanford and Colorado in recent weeks. On the year, he has completed 68 percent of his passes with a 6:3 TDINT and an 8.4 YPA. Those per-pass numbers could look even better against a USC defense that ranks in the bottom 10 in yards per game and 130th in passing touchdowns allowed.
Again, keep tabs on the pregame warmup developments with our college football news to make sure you have the right player in your lineup. You can turn on player notifications via text or email with our player reports feature. Look at that. Company man.
Running Back
Ollie Gordon ($8,800) Oklahoma State 
at Houston 
Last week was, admittedly, the dud of all duds. Everything pointed to Gordon smashing against UCF. Going in, I wouldn't have been shocked if he challenged for Samaje Perine's single-game rushing record. But alas, Gordon had 12 carries for 25 yards and two grabs for 27 yards. No touchdowns, either. It was rough.
Redemption is always just a week away in this game, though, and Gordon is primed to get back in gear. He had run for over 121 yards in each of his prior six games going into last week to go with 11 total touchdowns. Strong defenses like Kansas State and Oklahoma are in that sample.
We'll chalk last week up to being a fluke and resume our regularly scheduled programming of Gordon torching the opposing defense this week.
Carson Steele ($6,400) UCLA at USC
Going back the the well on UCLA, Steele is an interesting factor on this slate. His recent production has been underwhelming with 19 carries for 71 yards over his last two games, and he hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 8 against Stanford when he punched it in three times. The recent performance along with the not-so-cheap salary are fair enough reasons to look elsewhere on this slate.
However, USC's defense tips the scales back in Steele's favor. The Trojans get gashed on the ground to the tune of a 4.82 YPC allowed and 182 rushing yards allowed per game. Those numbers balloon to 5.07 YPC allowed and 204 rushing yards allowed in conference play, too.
Steele and TJ Harden have had an even carry split over the last month with Steele outpacing Harden by just two carries, but for as rough as it's been for Steele, Harden has also struggled. If you're betting on the split continuing this week, taking the discount on Harden ($4,900) is understandable. That said, Harden hasn't had many spike weeks this season while Steele has gone for at least 18 points on five occasions. Steele has the upside and the slight edge in workload projection.
Gavin Sawchuk ($5,500) Oklahoma 
at BYU 
Targeting another mid-tier running back with a soft matchup, Sawchuk has plenty of appeal this week. Oklahoma's backfield was muddled to begin the year with inexperienced options and injuries abound, but Sawchuk has started to take hold as Oklahoma's top back.
Sawchuk has logged back-to-back 100-yard games and has three rushing touchdowns in his last four games. Zooming out, it's interesting to note quarterback Dillon Gabriel's rather extreme home/road splits. He averages over 300 passing yards in both setups, but his touchdown production goes from 3.4 per game in Norman to 1.6 on the road. Oklahoma tends to lean on the ground game more when it's on the road and this also plays into Sawchuk's hands.
Backfield mate Marcus Major (shoulder) has missed three straight and there's no guarantee he makes the trip to Provo this week. Another high-volume game for Sawchuk against a BYU defense that surrenders 180 rushing yards per game is plenty enough to deploy him at $5,500.
Others to Consider
Ja'Quinden Jackson, Utah ($5,400); Audric Estime ($8,000), Notre Dame; Blake Corum ($8,400), Michigan; Parker Jenkins ($4,900), Houston
Wide Receiver
Devontez Walker ($8,100) North Carolina 
at Clemson 
This one doesn't need much explanation. Ever since the NCAA came to its senses and cleared Walker to play, he's been one of the best receivers in college football. 35 catches for 600 yards and six touchdowns on 50 targets over six games is pretty remarkable stuff.
Now, the matchup here gives some concern. Clemson has a lockdown pass defense that holds opponents to 163 passing yards per game on 5.4 YPA. It's also worth noting that Clemson hasn't played a quarterback quite like Drake Maye this season; the closest thing to Maye would be the Florida State game and Jordan Travis still managed to throw for 289 yards and two touchdowns and added another on the ground while playing with a bum shoulder. So while this isn't an ideal matchup, it's not one that makes me fade off the UNC passing game, let alone Walker.
Reggie Brown ($5,600) James Madison vs. Appalachian State
If we like McCloud, we have to like his top target, too, right? Well, there's a lot to like about Brown going into Saturday beyond just being the stacking option for the JMU offense.
You could argue we're buying high with Brown coming off a 202-yard outing against UConn, but that's not the first time he's crushed it this season. He's up to eight touchdowns on the year on just 71 targets -- an extremely impressive rate -- and has four games with at least 100 receiving yards. And yet he's still just $5,600 in a game where JMU has an implied total of 32.25.
His target volume is solid at 7.1 per game and the efficiency is strong at 12.7 YPT on the year. That YPT figure sits at 15.0 over the last four games, too. Look for another strong outing from Brown, and even if it's not the 44.2-point evisceration he put on UConn, it should still be more than enough for him to return value on a generous price tag.
Ladd McConkey ($6,500) Georgia 
at Tennessee
Even with Brock Bowers returning last week, McConkey is plenty viable on this slate. Yes, Tennessee has one of the nation's best defenses, but it's a bit of a pass funnel given how strong the Vols are against the run. It also helps that Carson Beck is looking more and more comfortable at the helm of this offense with each passing week.
McConkey missed the first month of the season with a back injury and was slow out of the gate once he returned. However, he looks back to 100 percent with 17 catches for 311 yards and two touchdowns over his last three games.
McConkey leads the Bulldogs in targets in that span (thanks in part to Bowers missing two of those games, but still) and last week proved that both players can put up numbers when sharing the field.
Kaedin Robinson ($4,900) Appalachian State at James Madison
This play dovetails with the Joey Aguilar play from the quarterback section. Robinson has taken over as the top dog in the App State passing attack of late with Christian Horn nicked up. Horn has technically been active the last two weeks and drew a target against Georgia State, but that doesn't scream that he's 100 percent. Even if Horn plays, Robinson projects as the No.1 wideout for the 'Neers this week.
Again, James Madison is going to shut down the App State run game so the passing game will have to be featured if the Mountaineers are going to have any shot Saturday. Robinson has gone over 12 DK points in three of his last four games, catching 16 of 22 targets for 214 yards and three touchdowns. It's not difficult to see Robinson tying or besting his season-high in targets (10) this week with the expected game script and Horn not fully healthy from what we can deduce.
Others to Consider
Tez Johnson ($7,300) Oregon; Logan Loya ($4,500) UCLA; Joseph Manjack ($5,600) Houston; Elijah Badger ($5,700) Arizona State
