College Football CFB DFS Playbook Saturday December 31 Bowl Games: Top DraftKings & FanDuel Picks
The College Football Playoff is finally here and it's time to get those CFB DFS lineups in before Saturday's games kick off. The college football DFS slate first gets underway at 12 pm ET on New Year's Eve with Alabama vs Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl and Kentucky vs Iowa in the Music City Bowl. Then it's on to the CFP semifinal matchups with Michigan vs TCU in the Fiesta Bowl and Ohio State vs Georgia in the Peach Bowl. Check out all the CFB DFS top picks, lineup strategies, teams to target, and value plays to lock in for these college football bowl games. Remember, you can access all of our College Football DFS coverage with a Fantasy Alarm All-Pro Subscription. If you have any questions about CFB daily fantasy lineup strategy, ask away in the Fantasy Alarm Discord chat. Plus, check out our college football daily projections and the CFB DFS lineup generator for more winning picks. Now, let's jump into the CFB DFS top plays and lineup picks for the College Football bowls on Saturday, December 31st.
College Football Bowl Game Betting Odds – Saturday, December 31
(via DraftKings Sportsbook)
- 12 pm ET – Alabama (-7) vs Kansas State – 56 O/U (in New Orleans, LA)
- 12 pm ET – Iowa (-2.5) vs Kentucky – 31 O/U (in Nashville, TN)
- 4 pm ET – TCU vs Michigan (-7.5) – 58 O/U (in Glendale, AZ)
- 8 pm ET – Ohio State vs Georgia (-6) – 62.5 O/U (in Atlanta, GA)
College Football CFB DFS Picks – Friday 12/31 Bowl Games
CFB DFS Quarterbacks
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Bryce Young | BAMA | KSU | 8500 | 25.8 | 10600 | 24.43 |
| All indications are that Bryce Young will indeed play in this bowl despite him being a top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. As always with this stuff, who knows how much Young plays and/or how motivated he’ll be. Still, Young has to be considered a top QB option if he’s out there because of his elite talent and 30-40 DFS point upside. There’s risk, but Young should be popular in cash lineups. | ||||||
| C.J. Stroud | OSU | UGA | 8200 | 24.75 | 10300 | 23.42 |
| A matchup against Georgia isn’t ideal, but at least we know Stroud will be throwing it a ton to keep Ohio State in it. Whether the Buckeyes win or lose, there are multiple scenarios for Stroud to put up numbers either based on sheer passing volume or TD upside. A good example is his 349 passing yards and two TDs on 48 pass attempts in the loss to Michigan. | ||||||
| Max Duggan | TCU | MICH | 7900 | 26.8 | 9500 | 24.16 |
| Based on the spread and likely game script, Duggan could be throwing and running it a ton while TCU is trailing Michigan. If it’s anything like the Big 12 title game when he ran for 113 yards and put up 35 DK, then Duggan is a great upside GPP play on this slate. There’s definitely risk if he has a floor performance against a tough defense. Still, the ceiling is there if you want to roll with Duggan and fade Young and Stroud. | ||||||
| Will Howard | KSU | BAMA | 6600 | 22.74 | 8400 | 22.57 |
| Even though Adrian Martinez is healthy, Will Howard should get the start again for Kansas State considering he just led the squad to a Big 12 title. Still, there’s risk because both guys could end up playing in this Sugar Bowl. As for Howard, the upside is there to put up 20+ DFS points like he’s done in five of six games since taking over for Martinez. He can be a great Super-Flex QB in cash or GPP. | ||||||
| J.J. McCarthy | MICH | TCU | 5900 | 17.57 | 9000 | 17.34 |
| In the two games since Blake Corum went out, McCarthy is responsible for seven total TDs with three passing scores in both contests. He’s been given more responsibility in the red zone and as a thrower overall with Corum out. TCU will likely struggle to stop Michigan’s rushing attack, but McCarthy has plenty of upside if he performs like the last two outings. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Stetson Bennett – Georgia (GPP)
CFB DFS Running Backs
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Deuce Vaughn | KSU | BAMA | 7000 | 23.95 | 8800 | 20.50 |
| Vaughn could be off to the NFL, but he’s expected to play in the Sugar Bowl either way. The K-State workhorse was a stud for us all season and he should see his normal 20-25 touches, 100+ total yards and 25-30 DFS points. Alabama’s defense was worse against the run than the pass and Vaughn’s volume should make him perfectly fine in cash or GPP. | ||||||
| Donovan Edwards | MICH | TCU | 6600 | 18.94 | 10000 | 16.89 |
| Edwards has stepped right into a bell-cow RB role for Michigan with Blake Corum out for the year. He’s logged 22 and 25 carries in the two games since, with 216 yards and two TDs in one contest and then 185 yards and a score in the other. We can expect him to maintain this heavy workload and production in a run-heavy Michigan offense against a below-average TCU rush defense that struggled against good running attacks this year. Edwards is a top RB play and should be close to 100% rostered on DK with that price differential compared to other backs. | ||||||
| Jase McClellan | BAMA | KSU | 5100 | 12.22 | 6500 | 11.35 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs is expected to play in this bowl, but it’s tough to pay up for him compared to McClellan. First off, who knows how much Gibbs plays because he’s bound to be one of the top RBs taken in the Draft and likely won’t get a huge workload. Plus, Alabama has already been splitting work pretty evenly between Gibbs and McClellan down the final stretch of the regular season, with the latter getting 20, 17, and 12 touches in the past three games. Outside of TCU, this matchup vs Kansas State is the best for RBs on the slate. | ||||||
| Kaleb Johnson | IOWA | UK | 4400 | 10.58 | 6300 | 9.58 |
| We don’t want to roster many guys from this Iowa/Kentucky matchup, but Kaleb Johnson is actually in play for cash as a cheap RB. He took over Iowa’s lead back role in the latter part of the regular season and saw 22, 22, and 16 carries in three of the last four games with a TD in each. With a backup QB under center, Iowa will likely lean on Johnson and the ground game here and could be playing with a lead for most of the day. | ||||||
| Kendall Milton | UGA | IOWA | 4300 | 9.88 | 5200 | 9.29 |
| Georgia’s three RBs are always in play for GPP lineups, but the workload is usually split up too much to trust either Kenny McIntosh or Daijuan Edwards in cash. If you want cheap exposure to the UGA offense, Milton is a pretty good value for the potential double-digit DFS points. The Bulldogs’ third back actually had 10+ DK in eight of 11 games played this season, including three of the last four to end the season. He’s worth a dart throw in GPP. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Jahmyr Gibbs – Alabama (GPP)
- Kenny McIntosh – Georgia (GPP)
- JuTahn McClain – Kentucky (GPP)
CFB DFS Wide Receivers
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Marvin Harrison Jr. | OSU | UGA | 8100 | 23.41 | 9100 | 18.91 |
| If there’s any way to beat Georgia’s defense, it’s through the air. So, expect Stroud to look Harrison’s way often to allow the elite WR to make plays. The freshman has been doing it all season and he just had seven catches for 120 yards and a TD in the last game vs Michigan where OSU was throwing it more. He’s expensive, but Harrison is the clear top receiver on the slate. | ||||||
| Brock Bowers | UGA | OSU | 6300 | 14.92 | 8000 | 12.45 |
| We haven’t targeted Bowers much this season at his elevated price tags, but now is the time to roster him in a Playoff matchup. He should be a main part of Georgia’s offensive gameplan, especially with Ladd McConkey questionable after getting hurt last game. Last year, the UGA tight end caught a TD in both CFP games and he’s coming off a 20 DK performance vs LSU in the conference championship. | ||||||
| Ja'Corey Brooks | BAMA | KSU | 6100 | 13.3 | 7400 | 11.35 |
| Brooks was a favorite target for Bryce Young in the latter part of this season, especially in the red zone. He had a TD in three of the last four games and saw more targets than most of the Bama receiving corps. Brooks will get more looks and a larger snap share with Traeshon Holden and JoJo Earle transferring out ahead of this bowl. He could go overlooked compared to Marvin Harrison, Brock Bowers, and Quentin Johnston. | ||||||
| Malik Knowles | KSU | BAMA | 5900 | 13.35 | 6600 | 10.30 |
| Knowles is expected back after leaving the Big 12 title game early with an injury. When healthy, he’s one of Kansas State’s top offensive weapons behind Deuce Vaughn. If K-State is trailing against Bama in this game, expect Knowles to be plenty involved as a receiver and rusher with a solid cash floor. | ||||||
| Taye Barber | TCU | MICH | 5400 | 10.32 | 6200 | 8.43 |
| Considering how the game script for TCU could go, the offense will likely be throwing it more often while trailing Michigan. We could see a number of Horned Frogs receivers be decent values if they get the reception and target volume. Barber should be involved plenty with his game-breaking speed – especially if Michigan is shutting down Quentin Johnston at all. | ||||||
| Sam LaPorta | IOWA | UK | 4400 | 11.1 | 5900 | 8.42 |
| After missing the last game of the regular season, LaPorta is expected back for this bowl as he’s been practicing in full. The tight end is Iowa’s best pass-catcher and he provided a fairly consistent double-digit PPR floor this season despite the Hawkeyes’ offense (and games) being low-scoring. That’ll be the case vs Kentucky, but LaPorta can still be a decent cash value even with a backup QB for Iowa. | ||||||
| Luke Schoonmaker | MICH | TCU | 4200 | 9.26 | 5500 | 7.56 |
| The Michigan tight end emerged as a value for us earlier this season and he’s still a cheap option for this CFP semifinal. Schoonmaker caught a TD with 56 yards and 16 DK in the Big Ten title game. He’s been a favorite target for J.J. McCarthy more often than other Michigan receivers in the second half of this season. | ||||||
| Isaiah Bond | BAMA | KSU | 3500 | 4.55 | 4800 | 3.42 |
| If you’re looking for a GPP dart throw at WR, one of the Bama receivers can easily smash value. Since Traeshon Holden and JoJo Earle are transferring away and out for this bowl, we may have Isaiah Bond move into a starting role. The freshman only has 16 catches for 214 yards this season, but there will be more opportunities in a starting role now. He’s one of the Tide’s top receivers for next season and they’ll be looking to get him involved for this bowl. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Emeka Egbuka – Ohio State (GPP)
- Quentin Johnson – TCU (Cash/GPP)
- Ronnie Bell – Michigan (GPP)
- Ben Sinnott – Kansas (Cash/GPP)
CFB DFS Core Plays
DraftKings Cash:
- Donovan Edwards – Michigan
- Brock Bowers – Georgia
- Kaleb Johnson – Iowa
DraftKings GPP:
- C.J. Stroud – Ohio State
- Ja'Corey Brooks – Alabama
- Kendall Milton – Georgia
FanDuel Cash:
- Deuce Vaughn – Kansas State
- Marvin Harrison Jr. – Ohio State
- Donovan Edwards – Michigan
FanDuel GPP:
- Bryce Young – Alabama
- Max Duggan – TCU
- Luke Schoonmaker – Michigan
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