This article is part of our College Football DFS: Weekday Slate series.
Tuesday's Frisco Bowl (which takes place in Frisco, Texas for those unaware) is a throwback in a way. It features two former denizens of Conference USA squaring off like in the olden days…of like three years ago. Now, the UTSA Roadrunners are in the AAC, and the Marshall Thundering Herd calls the Sun Belt home. At 9 p.m. ET, they reunite for the Frisco Bowl, Tuesday's sole bowl game.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel are offering single-game DFS contests for this bowl. They operate under similar but different rules. On both sites, you build your lineup with a salary cap, of course. At DraftKings, you pick a six-player lineup with a salary cap of $50,000. For FanDuel, your roster is five players, and your salary cap is $60,000. Both sites have you designate one player to earn 1.5 times the points, with DK calling them your Captain and FD your MVP. The biggest difference between these two contest styles is that your Captain at DraftKings has an elevated salary. Your FanDuel MVP's salary is unchanged.
With all that in mind, here are the five players I like best from this bowl matchup, with the salaries at both sites cited for all five guys.
Frisco Bowl DFS Picks
Rasheen Ali, RB, Marshall ($11,200 DK, $14,000 FD): If the Thundering Herd do anything offensively, it will be Ali that does it. The quarterback situation for Marshall is pretty dire, and UTSA's pass defense (25th in yards allowed per pass attempt) is fairly
Tuesday's Frisco Bowl (which takes place in Frisco, Texas for those unaware) is a throwback in a way. It features two former denizens of Conference USA squaring off like in the olden days…of like three years ago. Now, the UTSA Roadrunners are in the AAC, and the Marshall Thundering Herd calls the Sun Belt home. At 9 p.m. ET, they reunite for the Frisco Bowl, Tuesday's sole bowl game.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel are offering single-game DFS contests for this bowl. They operate under similar but different rules. On both sites, you build your lineup with a salary cap, of course. At DraftKings, you pick a six-player lineup with a salary cap of $50,000. For FanDuel, your roster is five players, and your salary cap is $60,000. Both sites have you designate one player to earn 1.5 times the points, with DK calling them your Captain and FD your MVP. The biggest difference between these two contest styles is that your Captain at DraftKings has an elevated salary. Your FanDuel MVP's salary is unchanged.
With all that in mind, here are the five players I like best from this bowl matchup, with the salaries at both sites cited for all five guys.
Frisco Bowl DFS Picks
Rasheen Ali, RB, Marshall ($11,200 DK, $14,000 FD): If the Thundering Herd do anything offensively, it will be Ali that does it. The quarterback situation for Marshall is pretty dire, and UTSA's pass defense (25th in yards allowed per pass attempt) is fairly imposing. Now, the Roadrunners were only slightly worse against the run, but at least Ali is viable from a talent perspective, especially if he can tap into that early-season form. Over his first six games, he ran for 641 yards and 11 touchdowns. Then, he missed the James Madison tilt with an injury, and he never quite regained that form. Maybe a brief respite before the bowl game is what Ali needed.
Joshua Cephus, WR, UTSA ($11,000 DK, $15,000 FD): There was much rejoicing when the Roadrunners didn't lose Cephus to the portal, as he is unquestionably their top receiver. He had fewer than five receptions once, and that day, he had four catches that went for 183 yards and a touchdown against East Carolina. Cephus is a target machine but still managed to average 9.2 yards per target. If UTSA is cooking offensively at all, Cephus will have a good game.
Robert Henry, RB, UTSA ($7,200 DK, $11,000 FD): If you are going to put together a single-game roster, it can't all be stars. Otherwise, the last two or three guys on your squad are going to be fourth-stringers who may not see the field. As such, I am eschewing Kevorian Barnes and going with his backup, Henry. Now, Henry is more of a touchdown vulture than a big-play back. He only topped 60 yards on the ground thrice but scored nine touchdowns. The weakest defensive element in this game is the Marshall run defense, so taking a shot with UTSA's secondary back makes sense to me.
Charles Montgomery, WR, Marshall ($4,800 DK, $7,500 FD): The Herd weren't exactly laden with receiving talent to begin with, but the top two producers from this season are no longer with the team. Somebody is going to have a chance to step up. Multiple players, actually. I'm taking a shot on Montgomery. The redshirt sophomore had three touchdowns on 18 catches this year. Two of those scores came in the season finale for Marshall. He's got as good of a chance as anybody.
Oscar Cardenas, TE, UTSA ($2,400 DK, $8,000 FD): Clearly, FanDuel shows more love to tight ends than DraftKings does, particularly Cardenas. He's spent four seasons with the Roadrunners and two seasons as the top tight end. Now, in the modern college football offense, tight ends don't always get terribly involved. Cardenas has 64 catches over the last two seasons. On occasion, though, a tight end gets a look in the red zone. One opportune catch and Cardenas will give you real bang for your buck. Hey, this is a guy atop the depth chart at his position. That's worth something.
