theCFFsite • DFS
CFB DFS: Week 5 – Saturday Main Slate
Matchup-by-matchup analysis with top plays, fades, pivots, bargain options, injury notes, and Mike’s Core Four.
★ Top Play
↓ Fade
↔ Pivot
$ Bargain Bin
+ Best of the Rest
! Injury Notes
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IMPLIED SCORE
Ala 33 – Miss St 27.5
WEATHER
79 degrees / 36% rain / 5 mph winds
Alabama
★Top Play(s) – WR Ryan Coleman-Williams ($7,400) or WR Lotzeir Brooks ($6,600)
We’re content getting exposure to either of Alabama’s top two receivers, with Coleman-Williams offering the higher ceiling and Brooks arguably the better point-per-dollar play. Coleman-Williams showed the ceiling last week against South Carolina, catching two of Keelon Russell’s four touchdown passes in a 49-18 win. Meanwhile, Brooks is probably salivating at watching film of fellow slot receiver Cayden Lee (Missouri) cook this MSU secondary last week. Between the two receivers, they account for over half of Alabama’s receiving production this season.
↓Fade – RB Daniel Hill ($6,700)
This is a difficult backfield to trust at $6.7K because the workload is spread among four different players – including the quarterback. Hill is averaging just 11.5 carries per game, while the Tide coaching staff continues to incorporate the underclassmen running backs each week. That’s far too much competition for carries at nearly $7k.
↔Pivot Play – QB Keelon Russell ($8,800)
Russell is expensive, but he’s shown his ceiling the last two weeks with a combined 82 fantasy points in wins vs. South Carolina and Florida State. The $8.8K salary keeps him from being a core play with cheaper quarterback options available, but Russell is an excellent GPP pivot that is stackable with either Coleman-Williams or Brooks or potentially played solo as he’s second on the team with 218 rushing yards and three TDs. The Bulldogs are giving up just 17.7 FPPG to quarterbacks but allowed a season-high 295 passing yards to Missouri’s Austin Simmons and gave up 28 fantasy points to LaNorris Sellers two weeks ago.
$Bargain Bin – WR Rico Scott ($3,900)
Scott is the cheap route to get exposure to an Alabama offense that has scored 45 or more points in every game this season. Clearly the third option in the passing game, Scott still has 12 receptions on 17 targets and is on the field 86% of the time.
+Best of the Rest – RB EJ Crowell ($5,000) or RB Trae’shawn Brown ($5,400)
If we’re taking a shot on the Alabama backfield, we’d rather save salary and look at Crowell or Brown instead of paying up to $6.7K for Hill. Crowell has been the most efficient of the group, rushing for 155 yards and three touchdowns on just 23 carries (6.7 YPC) while Brown has 145 yards and three scores on 28 attempts. For reference, the red zone carries for the Tide are as follows: Hill (12), Russell (7), Crowell (7), Brown (5).
Mississippi State
★Top Play(s) – QB KaMario Taylor ($8,100)
Normally, Taylor would be a lock as the quarterback with the seventh highest salary on the slate (discounting backup QBs). We’ll still list Taylor as the top play given the upside and salary, but here’s why we’re somewhat hesitant. Taylor is dealing with a hamstring injury suffered against South Carolina and clearly impacted his rushing abilities last week with just seven yards on the ground. Now, Taylor is not a wuss like Caleb Williams, and can play through the injury, doesn’t present the same upside if he cannot move like normal. Alabama is giving up just 14.9 FPPG to quarterbacks this season but also allowed 30+ to FSU’s Ashton Daniels.
↓Fade – RB Kolin Wilson ($4,600)
Wilson only comes into play here if we get word pregame that Taylor is severely limited running the football or Fluff Bothwell is out. That backfield duo combines for 70% of the team’s rushing attempts this season.
↔Pivot Play – WR Sanfrisco Magee ($5,000) or WR Zion Ragins ($4,800)
With the matchup against a strong Alabama run D, and Taylor’s potential hamstring issues, we see the Bulldogs taking to the air a bit more than normal Saturday. Ragins and Magee have each been targeted 18 times and combined for 8 of the team’s 15 receiving touchdowns this season. Both Nyck Harbor and Duce Robinson found the endzone against this Tide secondary the last two weeks, both of which play the outside position like the Mississippi State duo.
$Bargain Bin – WR Marquis Johnson ($4,300)
Johnson is WR4 but is heavily involved in the offense with 11 receptions and two touchdowns on 16 targets. Johnson does not need volume to hit value either, averaging 17.8 YPC – best on the team – and a 16.7 average depth of target.
+Best of the Rest – WR Anthony Evans III ($6,800) or RB Fluff Bothwell ($7,100)
The season-long numbers for Bothwell are awesome – 402 yards and three touchdowns on 18 attempts per game. The matchup isn’t the best as Alabama is limiting opposing backfields to only 17 combined fantasy points per week. That said, Ousmane Kromah and Matt Fuller scored 16+ fantasy points on this defense. Bothwell is probable on the injury report but did come up lame last week vs. Missouri. Evans is a possibility every week with 30% of the team’s target share (elite).
!Injury Notes –
WR Ayden Williams (Out)
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theCFFsite’s Heisman Members can view the full article, and Heisman/All-American Members can access the Weekly Player Projections. Become an All-American or Heisman Member for our exclusive members-only content and access to theCFFsite Discord, or access this week’s DFS write-up and Player Projections with a one-week membership pass. See 2026 membership options here.
