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Mike Marteny's DraftKings daily fantasy college football lineup picks for Saturday (8/23/25) in Week 0. His CFB DFS lineup picks and DFS sleepers will help you win.
We have waited over eight months for this! College football is finally back! I'll be with you every step of the way this season with DFS picks for every slate, ESPN College Pick 'Em picks, Top 25 rankings every week, and every game picked against the spread. That's right...every single one!
Our opening salvo of the 2025 college football season features three games. Farmageddon gets its own private showdown slate. We'll let them have it. The money is in the classic slates in college football.
In this article, I will provide you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/23/25, starting at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. 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.
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Quarterbacks
Jalon Daniels, Kansas ($7.8K)
A lot of you out there forget that Jalon Daniels was once being talked about as a Heisman candidate.#kufball pic.twitter.com/7LQxA085CJ
— Austin Eckert (@AustinCEckert) August 4, 2025
The talent is still there. The last half of 2023 and most of 2024 were ruined by injuries for Daniels. Kansas is playing a home game at The Booth for the first time in 20 months. The crowd is going to be fired up, and Daniels has looked like the early 2023 version so far this summer.
E.J. Warner, Fresno State ($6.2K)
Warner, the son of NFL Hall-of-Famer Kurt Warner, is on to his next -- and last -- school. He has a lot more weapons around him at Fresno than he did at Temple or Rice. Kansas has a tough defense, but I feel like this is baked into the price. Warner needs to keep the interceptions down, but he's almost a lock for 300 passing yards.
Also consider: Maverick McIvor, Western Kentucky ($8.5K); Ben Gulbranson, Stanford ($6.7K)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs
Daniel Hishaw Jr., Kansas ($5.3K)
Thank you Daniel Hishaw pic.twitter.com/AxaDeZbCNW
— Marx Mangino (@hawksby50) November 29, 2024
Remember all of those yards that Devin Neal chewed up for the Jayhawks last year (1,266 to be exact)? That's the spot that Hishaw is taking over in this offense. Hishaw has run for 1,490 yards in a Jayhawks uniform with 18 touchdowns while averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He backed up Neal that entire time.
Now we get to see what Hishaw can do as the lead back. That clip above shows how elusive that Hishaw can be. Fresno's run defense is solid, but the Kansas line was one of the better points on the team last year. The good news is that Hishaw is also a decent receiver. There's a lot to like at this price point.
Micah Ford, Stanford ($4.7K)
There's not much to like about the Stanford offense, but Hawaii's run defense wasn't very good last year and won't be again. The Warriors allowed 4.7 yards per carry and 20 touchdowns on the ground last year.
For ran for 122 yards on just 15 carries against Clemson last year. Sure, it was in garbage time, but Clemson's second-string defense still isn't garbage. Stanford returns most of their offensive line from last year, so the continuity should help. Stanford is going to run the ball here just because they can.
Landon Brown, Sam Houston ($3.2K)
The first week of DFS is always interesting because there is always value to be had. One of those places on this slate is the Sam Houston running back room. The Bearkats got transfers from Colorado (Alton McCaskill), Indiana (Elijah Green), Shane Porter (North Texas), and Jerrian Parker Jr. (Southern Illinois).
I don't trust this depth chart at all. Brown, who didn't take a snap last year for the Bearkats, is listed as RB1. I've heard that up to five backs will see time. Considering Western Kentucky gave up an astonishing 221.2 yards per game on the ground last year, that might be a great game plan.
That said, it is terrible for those of us playing DFS. McCaskill was the AAC freshman of the year back in 2022 before being buried on the Colorado depth chart the last two years. I tend to think he has the most talent, but he's not even on the two-deep. It's Brown and Parker on the two-deep, the lesser of the five prospects in the eyes of most.
We don't need a ton of value on this slate, but with WKU's astoundingly terrible run defense, picking the right back from Sam Houston could win us a GPP. I'm going heavier on Brown since he's atop the depth chart.
Also consider: Bryson Donelson, Fresno State ($6.7K); Landon Sims, Hawaii ($5.9K); George Hart III, Western Kentucky ($5.7K)
DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers
Pofele Ashlock, Hawaii ($6.9K)
Pofele Ashlock against P5 Schools:
UCLA: 9 rec, 112 yds, 1 TD
Vandy: 7 rec, 127 yds, 1 TD
Stanford: 8 rec, 114 yds, 2 TD
#13 Oregon: 8 rec, 47 ydsAverages: 8 rec, 100 yds, 1 TD pic.twitter.com/p9UHnM2lqN
— Trilly (@trillymoneyline) August 20, 2025
Ashlock has played two seasons at Hawaii. He has 225 targets in those two seasons. This team passed over 60% of the time last year and will again this year. Legacy QB Timmy Chang is the head coach. What did you expect?
Even though Hawaii has a new quarterback, the offensive philosophy won't change. Stanford allowed 281.6 passing yards per game in 2024 and 31 touchdowns through the air. The Hawaii passing game is a stack worth using. All of the affordable running backs make it possible.
Emmanuel Henderson Jr., Kansas ($6.1K)
Emmanuel Henderson is an intriguing mix of athletic talent — he was the No. 2 RB in his class — experience and upside. He arrived at Alabama as a RB and transitioned to WR as a true FR in 2022. And while he's played in big games (below clip came against GA), room to grow as a WR. pic.twitter.com/BeliCJKmf4
— Kevin Flaherty (@KFlahertyKCSN) December 24, 2024
Henderson transferred in from Alabama. His intrigue as a former RB means that Kansas could get creative with how they use him. Henderson will take over as the main receiver for Daniels. I see Kansas running more in this game, but they won't just run 100 times. Henderson will get his chances and should score a touchdown.
Nick Cenacle, Hawaii ($5.9K)
As I stated before, Hawaii is going to throw a lot, and perhaps more since Stanford's pass defense was so bad last year. Cenacle is more of a deep threat than Ashlock (Ashlock didn't have a reception over 30 yards in 2024), but he also led the team in receptions last year. I'm not sure why Cenacle is cheaper. If only using one Hawaii wideout, he's the one you want.
Qua'Vez Humphreys, Sam Houston ($5.4K)
Humphreys takes over as WR1 for the Bearkats. Not that that meant a lot last year, but Hunter Watson should be better this year with some experience under his belt. The Bearkats relied heavily on Simeon Evans and Noah Smith last year. Those 80 receptions are now up for grabs, with Humphreys expected to take at least half of those and stack on his 20 from last year.
Humphreys is the one known commodity for the Bearkats on the Week 0 depth chart.
Also consider: Matthew Henry, Western Kentucky ($6.4K); Cam Pickett, Kansas ($5.6K); Josiah Freeman, Fresno State ($4.8K)
DraftKings CFB Stacks
Hawaii
A Hawaii stack is expensive, but worth paying for. With the value at RB, it's easy to make this work despite the huge tag on Micah Alejado. Stack Alejado with Ashlock and Cenacle. With DraftKings using PPR scoring, Landon Sims is a solid addition, too, due to the receptions out of the backfield.
Kansas
Jalon Daniels is fine to run naked, but I definitely want Hishaw with him as well. WR is where it gets tricky. Kansas brought in three transfers to help with the losses of Luke Grimm, Lawrence Arnold, and Quentin Skinner. Henderson is my favorite, but Cam Pickett in the slot looks dangerous as well.
Also consider: Stanford, Western Kentucky
