College Football DFS Picks: DraftKings Main Slate Breakdown and Lineup Strategy for December 29 Bowls

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Published on December 28, 2022

CFB DFS Picks, Plays and Lineup Strategy for Thursday, Dec. 29

We have another multi-game slate, including Florida State-Oklahoma (66.0) and Washington-Texas (67.0) where defense is optional and both teams are likely to light up the scoreboard. The first game of the day, Minnesota-Syracuse (42.0), will be more of a contrarian play for GPP formats.

Bowl season DFS can be a tricky beast with all the opt-outs and absences that don't get announced until close to kickoff (or sometimes after) so be sure to follow our college football news and follow our RotoWire College Football Twitter account to stay in the loop.

Matchup Info

College Football DFS TOOLS

CFB DFS Picks: Quarterback

Washington's Michael Penix ($8,400) and Oklahoma's Dillon Gabriel ($7,800) are at the top of the board from a price standpoint and are attractive options if you can fit them in your line-up. There's certainly a lot of value at the skilled positions, so they can fit in some interesting stacks. You can't really go wrong with either option as they both are likely to play in high-scoring games. It is worth noting that Gabriel will be without his top two tackles in Wanya Morris and Anton Harrison who have both opted out of the Cheez-It Bowl.

Jordan Travis, ($7,400) Florida State vs. Oklahoma

If you want to save $1,000 and have the same upside as Penix, the top quarterback on the board, go with Travis with the Seminoles. He's already announced he'll be back for Florida State in 2023 and has posted seven rushing touchdowns in each of the last three seasons. He's accounted for the bulk of Florida State's scoring in the last six games with 13 touchdown passes and six scores on the ground. More incredible has been his ability to avoid the errant throw with just one interception over that span which is a development from his play early in his collegiate career.

Quinn Ewers, ($6,100) Texas vs. Washington

The young Ewers is coming off a rocky freshman campaign. You have the opportunity to get him a discount after he sputtered down the final three games of the regular season while completing just 53.9 percent of his passes for a single touchdown and interception. It is noteworthy that these games were against TCU, Kansas and Baylor who were the class of the conference with Kansas State this past season. Nonetheless, with Texas' top two running backs opting out of the bowl game, Ewers will have his chance to end the year on a more positive note and go in to 2023 with some confidence.

CFB DFS Picks: Running Back

This could have been quite the collection of runners involved in a bowl main slate if Texas' Bijan Robinson, Oklahoma's Eric Gray and Syracuse's Sean Tucker hadn't declared for the NFL Draft. Without locking Robinson in to your line-ups, this is an area where you're going to have to make some tough decisions involving volume and/or better match-ups.

Mohamed Ibrahim, ($7,600) Minnesota vs. Syracuse

This is a pure volume play as Ibrahim averaged 33.3 rushing attempts in the Gophers' last six games. Although they're projected at just 26.0 points, the amount of opportunities Ibrahim will see in this game should be maximized as they are expected to handle a depleted Syracuse squad fairly easily. On the other side, Sean Tucker ($6,300) would have been a strong value play, however, he has opted out the bowl game, so I would mostly fade the Orangemen offense. Ibrahim was the nation's fourth-leading rusher (1,549 yards) while also totaling the second-most rushing touchdowns (19) in the FBS.

Keilan Robinson, ($3,900) Texas vs. Washington

With both Bijan and Roschon Johnson opting out of the bowl game, Keilan is one of my favorite plays because he has the potential to be a slate-breaker at this price. Robinson appeared in all 12 games this season, so he's very familiar with the offense. Moreover, he's a great pass-catching back as he racked up 14 catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns on 17 targets despite playing behind two of the most experienced running backs in the country. It's now his time to have a breakout game with the other Robinson and Johnson moving on to the professional ranks.

Jovantae Barnes, ($4,500) Oklahoma vs. Florida State

With Gray on his way to the pro ranks, Barnes is the next man up for the Sooners as Marcus Major ($4,300) missed the last regular season game against Texas Tech with an undisclosed injury. The true freshman is an important piece to the future for the Sooners and has an opportunity to shine against a Florida State rush defense that can be vulnerable. I love Florida State's match-up against Oklahoma even more, but it's tough to decide between their three-headed rushing attack, so go with the more sure thing in Barnes.

Others to Consider: Washington Wayne Taulapapa ($6,100), Florida State Treshaun Ward ($5,100)

CFB DFS Picks: Wide Receiver

The wideout position is where you can differentiate your line-ups as there are many more big names and good value plays to choose from here. For consideration on these spots, I would avoid the Minnesota and Syracuse game unless you are trying to get some low-owned players.

Johnny Wilson, ($5,800) Florida State vs. Oklahoma

This is my favorite stack with QB Jordan Travis as Florida State has scored at least 38 points in it's last five games and ranks near the top of the nation in total offense. Wilson has a big frame which will be tough for Oklahoma to match-up with. Many ACC defenses experienced this nightmare when Wilson racked up 29 catches (on 54 targets) for 538 yards and five touchdowns during conference play. In those eight conference games, he averaged 14.8 DK points.

Xavier Worthy, ($6,300) Texas vs. Washington

This is a steal for Worthy who is one of the top value plays on the entire slate. He's arguably the best wide receiver available from a talent standpoint, however, ranks fourth in price. This has a lot to do with Washington and their highly potent passing game. On that side though, you have to make a tough decision between Rome Odunze ($7,300) and Jalen McMillan ($7,100). I say why not go on the other side of the game and save some money in the process. Worthy averaged 8.5 targets per game and that's considering that Texas had the best running back in the nation in Bijan Robinson. With Robinson opting out of the game, I expect Worthy to exceed his average targets per game.

Ja'Lynn Polk, ($5,300) Washington vs. Texas

I actually prefer to fade Odunze and McMillan in line-ups to go with Polk who is quite a bit cheaper. This will allow for more flexibility in your line-up and Polk has been solid this season. In his last four games, he averaged 14.0 DK points on 4.3 catches and 63.8 receiving yards per game. Washington is going to fling the ball around and this allows you to have a more comfortable stack with Penix at QB.

Others to Consider: Oklahoma Brayden Willis ($5,200), Florida State Ontaria Wilson ($4,900), Washington Giles Jackson ($3,800)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Nick Grays plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: nollienick44, DraftKings: nollienick44.