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Mike Marteny's DraftKings daily fantasy college football lineup picks for the Saturday (10/18/25) evening slate in Week 8. His CFB DFS lineup picks and DFS sleepers will help you win.
We have a big Saturday evening slate with eight games on tap. We start with Texas heading to Lexington to take on an unusual Stoops brother. They're used to Bob. Penn State, sans James Franklin for the first time in over a decade, heads to Iowa to wave at some kids. Maryland is out in the Rose Bowl to take on a surging UCLA team.
The Third Saturday in October from Tuscaloosa takes center stage. Pitt heads to the Loud House to take on the Orange after a much-needed bye week. USC heads to South Bend to play for the coveted Jeweled Shillelagh. Missouri heads to Auburn for a Tiger battle. What better way to end this than with the Holy War in Provo? College football is the best sport on earth, and it's not close.
In this article, I will provide you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for the evening DraftKings slate on 10/18/25, starting at 7 pm Eastern. I’ll give multiple player suggestions for quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers, aiming to highlight one option at each end of the salary scale, from the highest to the lowest. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Quarterbacks
Ty Simpson, Alabama ($8.7K)
Ty Simpson This, Ty Simpson That
Let’s Settle This Debate On Saturday 🤝 pic.twitter.com/3uHMuw1lLz
— RJ Ellison (@Romellz) October 14, 2025
Simpson's "worst" game of the season was 19.7 DraftKings points against Missouri. That's the kind of floor I want when paying this much. The floor shouldn't be anywhere in sight against a Tennessee team that can't close opponents out.
Simpson's ceiling isn't extraordinarily high, but I would say that his floor is around 25 DK points. If we get around 30, that's money well spent.
Nico Iamaleava, UCLA ($7.8K)
Iamaleava's output was a bit disappointing last week because Michigan State excelled at shutting down Iamaleava's running. He ran for 128 yards on Penn State. Maryland is solid against rushing quarterbacks since they face one in practice every day.
The bottom line is that Iamaleava's rushing upside gives him the potential to outscore everyone. The price hike feels a bit much, but with the way UCLA is playing and how Jerry Neuheisel has revamped the offense, I wouldn't rule anything out.
Devon Dampier, Utah ($6.8K)
This is a tough matchup, especially considering we saw how Dampier struggled against Texas Tech. This BYU defense is not Texas Tech. Arizona poked a few holes in them last week. Dampier should be able to carve out a solid game. Just don't expect miracles.
Also consider these QBs:
- Mason Heintschel, Pittsburgh ($9.1K)
- Jayden Maiava, USC ($8.5K)
- Malik Washington, Maryland ($7.3K)
- Bear Bachmeier, BYU ($6.3K)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs
Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh ($6.6K)
Led FBS running backs in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in Week 7.@Pitt_FB Desmond Reid put on a show 🤯 pic.twitter.com/PLhwpGOpqm
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 16, 2025
This is another cake matchup for Reid, especially if Mason Heintschel treats him as a wide receiver again. Considering Reid's huge game against a similarly overmatched Boston College team last week, I would expect Reid to play and play well before this gets out of hand.
DeSean Bishop, Tennessee ($5.7K)
I know, I know. Alabama locked up Ahmad Hardy last week, arguably the best back in the SEC. How? They weren't afraid of Beau Pribula and played defense accordingly. Bama will have to be worried about Joey Aguilar.
Bishop has scored four touchdowns in the last three games with 277 yards in that span. I do think that the Alabama defense figured something out with the run defense, but this price feels low on Bishop for how involved he is in the offense.
Jaivian Thomas, UCLA ($5.1K)
One of the reasons for the UCLA offense taking off is that Jerry Neuheisel has turned Thomas loose. He has 29 touches in the last two games for 122 yards and a touchdown. It's still going to be slower going against Maryland, but the talent is there, and he's getting touches. The success is coming soon.
King Miller, USC ($3K)
You know, DraftKings has done some really dumb pricing over the years, but this is by far the worst one I've seen. Miller is the starter for USC now. The freshman dominated against Michigan for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He should be in every lineup you make. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Also consider these RBs:
- Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame ($9K)
- Kamari Moulton, Iowa ($6.9K)
- Jadarian Price, Notre Dame ($5.4K)
- DeJuan Williams, Maryland ($4.7K)
DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers
Makai Lemon, USC ($7.4K)
ND- #125 in slot coverage
Makai Lemon- #1 slot WR and #1 overall WR
Biletnikoff Frontrunner(PFF Grades) pic.twitter.com/xYEzZlx0xR
— Nico (@USC_Nico) October 15, 2025
Ryan Williams is still the most talented receiver on this slate, but Lemon is hands down the best DFS play. Lemon has 28 receptions for 371 yards and four touchdowns in the last three games. One of those was against Illinois. With Notre Dame's issues against slot receivers, Lemon will destroy them.
Johntay Cook II, Syracuse ($6.1K)
The Orange have been awful since losing Steve Angeli, but Rickie Collins has a thing for Cook. Cook has 14 receptions for 158 yards and a touchdown in the two games Collins has started. Syracuse has to throw to have any chance at a win, and you can bet that Cook will be the favorite target.
Parker Kingston, BYU ($5.3K)
The Bear is making friends, with Kingston front and center on the list. Kingston has at least four receptions in four straight games and has gone over 100 receiving yards in back-to-back games while scoring a touchdown in each. Expect the friendship to keep blossoming against Utah.
Isaiah Horton, Alabama ($4.5K)
The Alabama transfer is often forgotten with the two famous receivers on the field with him, but Horton has scored in double figures in DK points in every game but the Florida State game. Ty Simpson throws to whoever is open, and Horton is still good at getting open.
He doesn't have much of a ceiling as the third option in this offense, but he's a cheap punt who gets us consistent points.
Devonte Ross, Penn State ($3.8K)
Ross was having a career game against Northwestern when Drew Allar went down. He's a huge risk now with Ethan Grunkemeyer under center, but he's cheap enough to offset that.
Also consider these WRs:
- Ryan Williams, Alabama ($7.2K)
- Kwazi Gilmer, UCLA ($6.2K)
- Ryan Davis, Utah ($5.8K)
- Chase Roberts, BYU ($4.9K)
- Miles Kitselman, Tennessee ($4.7K)
- Eli Raridon, Notre Dame ($4.4K)
- Brett Norfleet, Missouri ($3.5K)
DraftKings CFB Stacks
Pittsburgh vs. Syracuse
Syracuse was bad even before losing the starting QB. It has only been worse since. The issue here is the price of Pitt players. Heintschel and Reid alone set you back $15.7K. Let's figure out a way to still make this work while getting a couple of other players that we really want.
Ja'Kyrian Turner has 14 touches in each of the last two games and has racked up 41.7 DK points in that time. If Reid misses this game, Turner is a must-play. Even if Reid plays, I love the upside and the price on Turner.
Heintschel has shown a penchant for using his backs more than his receivers. While annoying, we have to adjust. Raphael Williams Jr. is still the receiver to use, but I'll add Kenny Johnson to make a couple of five-man stacks.
Alabama vs. Tennessee
If you thought Pitt was expensive, get a load of these guys! Simpson, along with Williams, Bernard, and Horton, is already $26.3K. If you add Jam Miller to that, it's $34.9K. That doesn't leave much room for anything else.
On one hand, an Alabama five-man that goes off will take down a GPP because of low ownership, but you have to hit on value plays. On the other hand, if you replace Miller with the much cheaper Kevin Riley, who still gets 10 touches a game, you can still use a couple of other stars.
Also consider these stacks:
- Texas
- USC (GPP only)
- UCLA (GPP only)
