This article is part of our DraftKings College Football series.
This is a bittersweet writeup as we have a great four-game slate that features both playoff semifinals, but it also signals the final college football Saturday of the season. Well, we're going out with a bang at least with plenty of strong building blocks and value plays from which to choose. Listed below are our tools to help you build your best lineups, along with the cheat sheet and my position-by-position breakdowns. Happy playoff, everyone!
Lineup Optimizer
Weekly Rankings by Position
Target Share
Team Trends
Odds
Defense vs. Position
Quarterback
Jake Bentley, South Carolina ($6,900) vs. Virginia
It's tough to name a quarterback that got hotter than Bentley down the stretch this season, and yet he checks in at a head-scratching price tag relative to other signal-callers on this slate. Seven quarterbacks are priced ahead of him and he is the second-lowest priced starter ahead of only Florida's Feleipe Franks. Bentley's November consisted of 1,451 yards (2nd in FBS), 13 touchdowns (1st), and a 185.45 rating (3rd). He's facing a Virginia defense that's actually respectable against the pass (27th in S&P+) but I'm not sure the Cavaliers have faced a quarterback of Bentley's caliber. Bentley works as either a quarterback or superflex option in this slate.
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama ($8,500) vs. Oklahoma
The ankle injury is a concern as Tagovailoa himself has said that he wasn't 100 percent healthy earlier this week. Still, an 85 percent Tagovailoa is more than enough to get the Alabama offense in gear against a weak Oklahoma defense. The Sooners check in with the 91st-ranked pass defense in S&P+ -- by far the worst mark of any team playing on this slate. If Tagovailoa was known to be fully healthy for this game, his price tag would be north of $10,000 based on his talent and the plus-matchup. Like I said, 85 percent Tagovailoa can dice this Oklahoma defense better than most quarterbacks at 100 percent. Tagovailoa's weapons, coupled with a game script that could call for plenty of passing if Oklahoma's offense has success, only add to his projection for this contest. I'll be using this duo of quarterbacks in the bulk of my lineups for this slate.
Others to consider: Bryce Perkins, Virginia ($7,700)
Running Back
Joshua Jacobs, Alabama ($5,900) vs. Oklahoma
If I'm wrong about the earlier supposition regarding Alabama's run/pass split, then that'll mean the Tide's running backs are ticketed for plenty of work. Alabama's unpredictable usage pattern among its backs makes using any of Jacobs, Damien Harris, or Najee Harris somewhat risky, but the payoff could be huge if you guess right. Jacobs doesn't see as much volume as either of the Harrises but it's where he gets his usage that makes him my favorite play among this trio. All 11 of his rushing touchdowns came in the red zone and he had 28 RZ carries overall. Alabama will be able to push the ball deep into Oklahoma territory and go the bully ball route with Jacobs once it gets in close. Oklahoma, while better against the run than the pass, won't be able to hold Alabama's run game in check for 60 minutes.
Chris Evans, Michigan ($5,800) vs. Florida
Karan Higdon's absence opens up a lot of carries for the Michigan running backs, and Evans stands to be the biggest beneficiary. Evans had a rather muted season with just 403 yards -- a career low -- on 74 rushes, but some of that can be attributed to Higdon absorbing such a large portion of the team's carries (43 percent). Now that he's the projected starter, Evans should be in line for a season-high in carries against a Gator defense that tends to struggle against the run (169 rush yards allowed per game).
Evans is cash viable, and if you want to go off the beaten path a bit, freshman Christian Turner is expected to see some work and is minimum-priced at $3,000.
Olamide Zaccheaus, Virginia ($6,200) vs. South Carolina
As long as Zaccheaus is listed as a running back on DraftKings, he needs consideration in nearly any lineup. He is an absolute target monster with 122 in 12 games this season, and he has a catch rate of 66 percent. That level of volume coupled with that type of efficiency makes Zaccheaus a highly valuable asset in a full-point PPR format.
Wide Receiver
Bryan Edwards, South Carolina ($6,700) vs. Virginia
Edwards already would have been a viable play here considering the matchup and the way his quarterback is playing, but Deebo Samuel's absence opens up even more targets for this talented junior. He already sees heavy target volume -- including 20 in his last two games -- and now gets to be the unquestioned WR1 for the Gamecocks. Edwards does a lot with his opportunities, too; he averaged 9.4 yards per target this season and turned seven of his 52 catches into touchdowns. Again, Virginia is respectable against the pass, but not enough to where I'm inclined to avoid using Edwards when he projects for double-digit targets.
Jaylen Waddle, Alabama ($5,600) vs. Oklahoma
We don't get the discounted price on Waddle anymore after he led the Tide in receiving yards (346) over the last five games. Still, $5,600 for a player of Waddle's talent and upside is tough to ignore. Waddle brings game-breaking speed to go with excellent hands, which resulted in him averaging a preposterous 14.3 YPT this season. Facing Oklahoma only helps Waddle's projection, even if his volume will be capped due to the likes of Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs.
Chase Claypool, Notre Dame ($5,400) vs. Clemson
This is a tournament-only consideration, but one worth examining with so much of the public interest on the Clemson side of this matchup. Clemson's defensive front can still take this game over even without Dexter Lawrence, but let's assume for a second that it doesn't. If Ian Book has a clean pocket, he'll be looking in Claypool's direction. Claypool had 33 targets over the last five games and converted that into 25 catches for 370 yards and a touchdown. At 6-foot-4 and 227 pounds with plenty of speed, Claypool will present a significant matchup challenge for the Clemson secondary if Book has a clean pocket.
