DraftKings CFB DFS Lineup Picks: Daily College Fantasy Football (1/8-9/26)

January 8, 2026

Mike Marteny's DraftKings daily fantasy college football lineup picks for the College Football Playoff Semifinals (Thursday, January 8 and Friday, January 9, 2026).

We have one more classic DraftKings college football tournament for the 2025 season. It's the Final Four in college football. Are these the best four teams in college football? Probably not, but one of the teams is the one that was ranked at the top of my rankings for most of the season. Bias in rankings gets you nowhere.

Tonight, the team that almost didn't make it in with face the team whose coach bailed on them in a title race to go to LSU. You seriously can't make this up anymore. Tomorrow night, we get the best team against a team that it already beat ON THE ROAD earlier this season. For those of you keeping score at home, that's four rematches in 10 games. Aren't the expanded playoffs great?

In this article, I will provide you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 1/8/26 and 1/9/26, starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern tonight. I’ll give multiple player suggestions for players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, aiming to highlight one option at the salary scale's high, middle, and lower end. Good luck, RotoBallers.

College Football Picks Against The Spread: CFP Semifinals

I'm not going to do an article for two picks, and I'm not going to bail on picking games. The two games will be picked here because sometimes DFS just isn't enough.

(10) Miami (FL) (-3.5) vs. (6) Mississippi at Glendale, AZ

Betting Confidence Factor: 4

I know that Miami has shocked the world by beating Ohio State, but isn't Ole Miss beating Georgia in the Peach Bowl close to as impressive? We all saw what the Bulldogs did to the mighty Alabama, right?

Mark Fletcher Jr. has carried Miami in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Lane Kiffin continues to take coaches to Baton Rouge with him, reneging on his promise to let them coach in the bowl game. He clearly didn't believe in this team, which is why I do.

Kiffin thought that Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy would follow him to Red Stick without question. Instead, people are leaving LSU for Oxford. Honestly, Kiffin deserves it.

Pick: Mississippi +3.5

(5) Oregon vs. (1) Indiana (-3.5)

Betting Confidence Factor: 5

Indiana beat the Ducks in Eugene by 10 points back in September. Have things changed since then? Sure. Indiana has been better, and Oregon is missing Jordon Davison, Jayden Limar, and Jay Harris from the backfield. Ouch.

Pick: Indiana -3.5

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Quarterbacks

Trinidad Chambliss, Mississippi ($7.6K)

Ole Miss Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is so underrated. He is a 1st round NFL draft pick. Mobile with a great deep ball.
pic.twitter.com/CymipDl1yc

— Andy froemel (@FroemelAndy) January 2, 2026

Fernando Mendoza has had a good season, but he didn't play that well against Oregon in the first meeting, and he hasn't improved every game. We can make a strong case that Chambliss has.

Look, Oregon's defense was outstanding against Texas Tech. I'm not running Mendoza as the highest-priced quarterback against that (great leverage in large field GPPs if you can stomach it) defense. I'd rather use a guy who picked apart a Kirby Smart defense in the second half of the Sugar Bowl.

Chambliss hasn't been held under 20 DraftKings points in any of his 12 starts. Mendoza has been under that mark six times in 14 games.

Carson Beck, Miami (FL) ($7.1K)

Once again, we can get Beck at a decent discount. There's a reason for that. Beck only has 19.3 DK points in two CFP games. At this point, we would be better off running another RB or WR at superflex.

This is a solid matchup for Beck, but if he's not going to get anywhere near 20 DK points, we're limiting the potential of our lineups.

Also consider these QBs

• Fernando Mendoza, Indiana ($8K)
• Dante Moore, Oregon ($7.4K)

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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs

Mark Fletcher Jr., Miami (FL) ($6.6K)

Mark Fletcher Jr. just TRUCKED Sonny Styles, who hadn’t missed a tackle this entire season…. 🤕 pic.twitter.com/3nB0LVs54i

— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 1, 2026

Not only does Fletcher have the best matchup on paper of the four starting running backs, but he is clearly the alpha in the Miami backfield. Fletcher has 36 carries for 262 yards in the first two games of the CFP against rush defenses that are markedly better than Mississippi's. The other backs have nine carries combined. 

Fletcher's only touchdown of the CFP has come through the air, but Ole Miss has allowed at least 80 rushing yards to the starting running back in each of the last three games. Fletcher is headed for triple digits again.

Roman Hemby, Indiana ($5.3K)

One of Hemby's best games of the season came against Oregon in Eugene. He picked up 23.5 DK points in that one, scoring two touchdowns. It's hard to figure out the Indiana RB rotation at times, but Hemby gets first crack at the opposing defense.

Also consider these RBs

• Kewan Lacy, Mississippi ($7.2K)
• Dierre Hill Jr., Oregon ($4.3K) 

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers

Malachi Toney, Miami (FL) ($6.4K)

Malachi Toney is a playmaker

SHEESH 🤧 pic.twitter.com/3VHVd2hMY0

— Ohio Divided (@BuckeyeNatty) December 26, 2025

The struggles of Beck have limited Toney so far in the CFP. He has caught 10 passes in the two games, but has just 38 yards. The touchdown is saving DFS players who used him.

We were expecting more after Toney hauled in 25 passes over the last two regular-season games. The defenses have been better in the CFP, but I'll pay this for Toney. He is the most explosive player at any position on this slate, with the possible exception of Chambliss.

He has an ample floor with 10 free points on receptions alone. This is the game where he could break out.

Elijah Sarratt, Indiana ($6K)

Oregon decided to blanket Omar Cooper Jr. in the first meeting. Sarratt torched them for 121 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. Teams have concentrated on Sarratt in the postseason, but he has scored a touchdown in each of the last three games. He's still the guy Mendoza looks for in the red zone.

De'Zhaun Stribling, Mississippi ($4.9K)

Harrison Wallace III is the guy playing in his second straight CFP semifinals, but Stribling has been the difference maker for the Rebels through the air so far in the CFP. He has 41.1 DK points in two games.

If you add in the final two regular-season games, Stribling has 81.3 DK points in those four games. Wallace has higher upside, but it likely won't be realized against that Miami secondary. I'm using Stribling if only using one Mississippi receiver.

Also consider these WRs:

• Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana ($5.5K)
• Harrison Wallace III, Mississippi ($5.1K)
• Malik Benson, Oregon ($4.8K)
• Charlie Becker, Indiana ($4.2K)

DraftKings CFB Stacks

Mississippi vs. Miami (FL)

Keep in mind that all four of these defenses are in the top third of FBS. They didn't get this far by being ransacked by opponents. On paper, Miami's defense is slightly weaker than the other three.

It's not just that. Ole Miss is more dynamic offensively than any other team on the slate. I'll be running a few instances of Chambliss and Stribling in a mini stack, but I will have one full stack including Lacy and Wallace. I wouldn't go over four players from any team, but there are a couple of interesting stack options.

Also consider these stacks: 

• Miami (FL)
• Indiana (GPP only)

More College Football Analysis

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