Best Friday College Football Picks Tonight: Tre Richardson, Demond Williams Jr.

A five-game college football schedule headlines Friday, October 9, and three Power Four matchups are on deck for tonight. The slate begins with Florida State vs. Louisville at 7:00 p.m. ET, followed by #20 Iowa vs. Washington (9:00 p.m. ET) and Iowa State vs. #8 BYU (10:15 p.m. ET).

Louisville QB Lincoln Kienholz and Washington Demond Williams Jr. are in the top 21 for total passing yards, while Iowa State RB Aiden Flora’s 594 rushing yards sit eighth nationally. BYU leans on a strong defense alongside an efficient run game, providing yet another potential angle for college football DFS picks tonight. 

Below, we’ll highlight our best Friday college football picks for DFS, featuring player projections on PrizePicks.

Make your college football predictions and picks on PrizePicks now! 

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Friday College Football Picks for DFS, PrizePicks – Friday, October 9

Washington State vs. Utah State (9:00 p.m. ET) and Wyoming vs. San Jose State (9:00 p.m. ET) round out tonight’s five-game schedule, but all four teams are in the bottom 45 nationally for points per game. That could limit opportunities to target player projections on PrizePicks, so we’ll focus on the three Power Four clashes.

For Florida State vs. Louisville, both teams are totaling over 30.0 PPG, contributing to tonight’s healthy 59.5 over/under on PrizePicks. That sets the stage for several intriguing player projections, including Florida State QB Ashton Daniels and Louisville WR Tre Richardson for our college football picks on PrizePicks.

Elsewhere, Washington QB Demond Williams Jr. and BYU QB Bear Bachmeier grab our attention for player projections on Friday night.

Let’s dive into our best Friday college football picks for DFS on Friday, October 9.

PrizePicks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change. 

Florida State QB Ashton Daniels vs. Louisville: 209.5 Pass Yards

• Tonight’s Florida State vs. Louisville game is setting up to be a track meet, as the Seminoles total 9.1 yards per passing attempt (88th percentile) compared to the Cardinals’ 9.0 (88th percentile). 
• Further, FSU allows 8.4 yards per passing attempt on defense (20th percentile), slightly better than Louisville’s 8.8 (13th percentile). 
• The Seminoles have a dangerous run game with RB Ousmane Kromah (95.4 rushing yards per game) and QB Ashton Daniels (55.6 rushing yards per game), but the Cards allow -0.08 EPA per rushing attempt (75th percentile), per Game on Paper.
• That could force FSU to throw more often, especially with U of L allowing 0.29 EPA per passing attempt (16th percentile) and a 45.7% pass success rate (40th percentile).
• Thanks to 9.6 yards per passing attempt, Daniels is regularly hitting big plays downfield, and he’s totaled 222.2 passing yards per game.
• When Florida State faced a quality run defense in Alabama, that led to a season-high 29 passing attempts and 377 passing yards for Daniels.

Add Ashton Daniels to your PrizePicks lineup now.

Louisville WR Tre Richardson vs. Florida State: 77.5 Receiving Yards

• Tre Richardson’s 445 receiving yards is tied for the 20th-highest total across college football, good for 89.0 receiving yards per game. 
• He’s cleared this projection in four of five games and now faces a defense yielding 0.21 EPA per pass (28th percentile) compared to -0.03 EPA per rush (64th percentile). 
• Opponents total 3.7 yards per carry (68th percentile) vs. Florida State, perhaps forcing Louisville to also throw the ball. Cardinals RB Keyjuan Brown (73.4 rushing yards per game & 9.7 YPC) is also questionable tonight. 
• The Seminoles give up a 1.61 explosiveness rating vs. the pass (33rd percentile), which is measured by predicted points added per successful passing attempt, via Fourth and Short.
• Richardson is a constant big-play threat with 15.9 yards per catch, and that’s further backed by an absurd 9.1 yards after the catch per reception, ranking fifth nationally among Power Four WRs with at least 20 targets, per Pro Football Focus. 

Pick Tre Richardson + Louisville to win on PrizePicks.

Washington QB Demond Williams Jr. vs. Iowa: 229.5 Pass Yards

• Last week, Iowa was shredded for 484 yards, 324 passing yards, and 12.0 yards per passing attempt in a 31-14 loss vs. Ohio State.
• Washington doesn’t carry the same threat, like Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith, but the Huskies like to throw it often with a 54.31% pass-play rate (86th percentile).
• Demond Williams Jr. totals 32.6 passing attempts per contest, and that fuels 265.4 passing yards per game. He’s surpassed this projection in four of five matchups this season.
• According to Game on Paper, the secondary remains the weak point of this Hawkeye defense, with Iowa conceding 0.15 EPA/pass (34th percentile) compared to -0.22 EPA/rush (96th percentile). 
• Washington’s main concern could be giving Williams enough time in the pocket, as Iowa has a 16.7% havoc rate (59th percentile) and 10.09% sack rate (91st percentile). The Huskies’ offense gives up a respectable 13.5% havoc rate (62nd percentile).
• With the Hawkeyes surrendering 8.5 yards per passing attempt (19th percentile), Williams may cook with his gas after seeing his 8.1 average depth of target increase to 10.0 and 10.2 over his previous two games. Further, PFF credited Washington’s QB with exceptional 10.0% and 7.4% big-time throw rates in his last two.

Add Demond Williams Jr. to your PrizePicks lineup now.

BYU QB Bear Bachmeier vs. Iowa State: 46.5 Rush Yards

• BYU is a clear 10.5-point favorite for the spread, via PrizePicks, and its potential advantage on the ground is likely a major factor in this lopsided spread. 
• Iowa State allows 5.1 yards per carry (14th percentile) and a 45.2% rush success rate (44th percentile). More advanced metrics circle this as a flaw, including the Cyclones’ 18.7% stuff rate (43rd percentile) and 1.03 big-play rate allowed on the ground (28th percentile). 
• The Cougars will be without lead RB LJ Martin for a few games due to a lower body injury, but BYU has dependable backups in RBs Journee Tonga (8.3 YPC) and Preston Rex (5.2 YPC).  
• Further, the Cougs have a quality offensive line that’s generating 3.7 line yards per carry (95th percentile) — average yards per rush gained at the line of scrimmage — and 1.5 second-level yards per attempt (99th percentile). 
• With Martin out, the running back split is unknown, as Tonga has 19 carries compared to Rex’s 18 this season. QB Bear Bachmeier is likely the most trustworthy target, tallying 6.8 rushing attempts per game.
• Bachmeier has been efficient on the ground with 4.8 YPC and 4.24 yards after contact per rushing attempt. 
• Remember, sacks count toward a QB’s rushing yard total for college football. BYU has a low 38.76% pass-play rate (12th percentile) and allows a 2.90% sack rate (89th percentile). Iowa State carries a bottom-tier 2.86% sack rate (13th percentile). 

Pick Bear Bachmeier + BYU to win on PrizePicks.

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Make Friday College Football Picks on PrizePicks

For Friday night’s five-game schedule, Ashton Daniels and Tre Richardson in the passing game for Florida State vs. Louisville grab our attention. Plus, Demond Williams Jr. and Bear Bachmeier are two more signal-callers who could shine with favorable matchups for tonight’s best college football picks.

Don’t wait until kickoff — make college football picks on PrizePicks now. Just pick your players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in on your predictions if you’re right. With Team Picks, you can make predictions on game winners, spreads, and over/unders — now available in 36 states!

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