This article is part of our DFS College Football 101 series.
Here we go with a three-game bowl slate on Friday, December 28. If we learned anything from the past two days of College Football DFS, it's the importance of scanning injury reports prior to kickoff. Temple star RB Ryquell Armstead was the latest player to decide against participating in a bowl contest, and the news came surprisingly close to game time. Definitely utilize the Rotowire CFB Injury Feed as a powerful ally when filling out daily fantasy lineups this bowl season.
We are aware of some injury news heading into Friday's games, as West Virginia star QB Will Grier and WR Gary Jennings Jr will not play. We'll cover that situation and others in full detail with the following write-ups. In the meantime, here is the cheat sheet for this three-game bowl slate:
Looking within that, I'll highlight the best fantasy selections on FanDuel & DraftKings while also touching on some situations to monitor for your DFS squads.
QUARTERBACK
Eric Dungey - Syracuse (FanDuel $10,200 / DraftKings $8,100)
We have two of the best fantasy quarterbacks participating in this slate. I'm talking about Dungey and Gardner Minshew II of Washington State. I believe you can stack both into your Friday lineups and feel good about it. Dungey is the epitome of a dual-threat quarterback, racking up 2,347 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air to go along with 15 rushing touchdowns on 688 ground yards this season. As you can see, this is the highest over/under of the day, and we could see plenty of fireworks from both sides. Dungey has legitimate five touchdown upside, and it helps that West Virginia ranks 112th against the pass.
Also Consider: I already mentioned Gardner Minshew II (WSU), as he's the "1b" fantasy option behind Dungey. The Washington State QB had some trouble in his last regular season game against a tough Washington defense in the snow, but he topped 30 fantasy points in five of his last seven leading up to that. Iowa State represents a non-imposing matchup while ranking 63rd in pass defense and 66th in opponent passer rating … Brock Purdy (ISU) is an interesting tournament option while saving some salary and/or looking to differentiate from Minshew or Dungey. He has been a solid fantasy asset with 21+ fantasy points in six of seven starts this year … Jack Allison (WVU) will fill in for West Virginia star QB Will Grier. I would ordinarily consider him as a tournament option in the Mountaineers' pass-happy scheme, but reports indicate that he will split time with freshman QB Trey Lowe III. The certainly curbs his fantasy upside.
RUNNING BACK
David Montgomery – Iowa State (FanDuel $9,300 / DraftKings $7,100)
Montgomery is a volume-drive running back that makes for a confident DFS options on both sites. He's coming off a remarkable 19-149-3 line for 36.4 fantasy points in the regular season finale vs. Kansas State. Wazzu has been somewhat generous to opposing rushers this season, allowing a mediocre 4.0 yards per carry while ranking 46th in the nation for that category. They let Washington RB Myles Gaskin rack up 170 yards and three scores on 27 carries in their last game, and Montgomery could follow that model on Friday evening.
JaTarvious Whitlow - Auburn (FanDuel $8,200 / DraftKings $4,700)
One glance at Whitlow's game log suggests that he's an inconsistent fantasy option. However, we need to remember that he was banged-up at several points this season, leading to occasionally lower workloads. The fact that he saw 21 touches in the Iron Bowl at Alabama is a good sign for the freshman. He has had over a month to fully heal, and I'm expecting a strong performance against a subpar Purdue defense that has allowed 4.4 yards per carry this year. Consider Whitlow an intriguing DFS value play to help you allocate enough salary to the expensive quarterbacks.
Also Consider: James Williams (WSU) is expensive, but he's certainly worth a look in Washington State's high-powered offense. His opponent, Iowa State, has been stout against the run (24th in rush defense), but Williams sees enough receptions to be considered a stacking extension of QB Minshew. Teammate Max Borghi (WSU) is essentially a cheaper version of him with a lower floor and ceiling … Kennedy McKoy (WVU) and Dontae Strickland (SYR) are tournament options on this slate. McKoy has emerged as a solid back down the stretch for the Mountaineers, and there's a chance West Virginia could lean on him more than usual while breaking in a new quarterback. You never really know how the carries will be allocated among Syracuse running backs, but Strickland is cheap on both sites after leading the way with 21 touches and 140 total yards in the season finale at Boston College.
WIDE RECEIVER
David Sills V – West Virginia (FanDuel $9,600 / DraftKings $7,200)
Sills ranks second in the nation with 15 touchdowns this season. He's looking at a fantastic matchup in a high-scoring game against a Syracuse team that ranks 113th in pass defense. On one hand, I'm concerned he may not live up to expectations with star QB Will Grier sitting this one out. On the other hand, he could see even more volume than usual with fellow stud WR Gary Jennings Jr sidelined. The matchup is tough to ignore as well. I'm expecting whoever is playing quarterback for the Mountaineers to pepper Sills with plenty of targets and jump balls in an effort to expose the terrible pass defense of Syracuse.
Calvin Jackson Jr. – Washington State (FanDuel $6,100 / DraftKings $3,700)
I believe Calvin Jackson Jr is a sneaky-good value extension of Minshew on both sites. It's difficult to predict who will benefit most in this wide-open Washington State pass offense, but Jackson is dirt-cheap while checking in with some steady production as of late. He has seen 17 targets over his past three games, which is tied for first on the team with Davontavean Martin over that span. Dezmon Patmon saw 16 targets in that timeframe and Easop Winston Jr checks in with 14. You'll notice that Jackson is substantially cheaper than all of those guys on both sites as well, leading me to look his way for salary relief.
Also Consider: Rondale Moore (PUR) leads the country with 103 receptions on the season. He also ranks 11th in yards (1,164), seventh in touchdowns (12) and fifth in targets per game (12.3). Not bad for a 5' 9" freshman! However, I'm siding with Sills of West Virginia as my preferred wide receiver expenditure with a much better matchup. Moore faces a tough Auburn defense that has had a month to prepare for him. He'll undoubtedly get his targets, but I'm worried about Moore paying off the cumbersome salary … Looking elsewhere, Ryan Davis (AUB) is a fine mid-range pick while facing a Purdue defense that ranks 127th against the pass … Hakeem Butler (ISU) is firmly in consideration as a volume-driven receiver in a potential shootout at Washington State. Consider him along the same lines as Moore and Sills. His $6,500 salary on DraftKings is much friendlier than those other elite pass catchers … Davontavean Martin (WSU) is too cheap on DraftKings at $4,900 – but the $8,600 mark on FanDuel seems too lofty … Sean Riley (SYR) and Taj Harris (SYR) are tournament options as stacking extensions of QB Dungey. They would benefit if the Orange fall behind early in this game, otherwise, there's probably not enough targets for either of them to retain much value. That's the risk/reward proposition attached to these Syracuse receivers.
