DraftKings CFB DFS Lineup Picks: Daily College Fantasy Football (1/1/25)

December 31, 2024

Mike Marteny's DraftKings daily fantasy college football lineup picks for Wednesday (1/1/25). His CFB DFS lineup picks and DFS sleepers will help you win.

While we are all nursing our hangovers (all football-related, of course) from the end of 2024, we have the final three games of the college football playoff on tap for New Year's Day. Gone are the days of a dozen bowl games happening on New Year's Day. College football is opting for quality (they hope) over quantity.

We start with the Peach Bowl in Atlanta between Texas and Arizona State. Ohio State and Oregon meet in the Rose Bowl for the next game. We end the night in New Orleans with Notre Dame taking on Georgia. You know, an eight-team playoff may not have been so bad after all...

In this article, I will provide you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 1/1/25, starting at 1 p.m. Eastern. I’ll give multiple player suggestions for players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, aiming to highlight one option at the salary scale's high, middle, and lower end. Good luck, RotoBallers.

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Quarterbacks

Dillon Gabriel, Oregon ($8.2K)

Can Ohio St. shut down Oregon Ducks QB Dillion Gabriel in the rematch? Since Gabriel torched them for 341, 2 touchdowns (32 rush yards/1 1 TD) they have shut down QB's through the air allowing 0 passing TD's. This could be the key Jan 1... pic.twitter.com/ymqmBpWpdu

— The Voice of Reason (@SportsAndStock1) December 29, 2024

The question on everyone's mind is whether Gabriel can pull off another big performance against Ohio State. The answer is yes. The only Big Ten team that really limited Gabriel was Wisconsin. This is not a road game. It's, at worst, a neutral field. Win or lose, Gabriel is going to be somewhere near those numbers. That's good enough for me.

Gunner Stockton, Georgia ($6.8K)

Stockton entered the SEC Championship game trailing Texas and came out with a win. We aren't talking enough about that achievement. Stockton was solid against the Longhorns. He did throw an interception but was on target on 12 of 16 pass attempts.

It won't be easy against Notre Dame, but I expect Stockton to hold his own. If Stockton can swing 200 yards and a couple of touchdowns, he'll be worth this price.

Also consider: Will Howard, Ohio State ($8.1K); Sam Leavitt, Arizona State ($7.5K)

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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs

Cam Skattebo, Arizona State ($9.4K)

This season, Cam Skattebo has rushed for 1568 yards while also having 506 receiving yards.

He's the first FBS player to hit both those marks in the same season since Christian McCaffrey in 2015. pic.twitter.com/4fny39VX5d

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) December 7, 2024

Skattebo has given Texas some bulletin board material, so I'm not as high on this as I was...say, two days ago. I know that Skattebo is tough to tackle, and the Texas defense isn't quite as good as last year, but we're splitting hairs now. Texas is the best defense Skattebo has faced, and this is one of the matchups I was looking forward to most in the bowl games.

Skattebo's power against the speed of the Texas defense. Skattebo's elusiveness against the gap integrity of the Texas defense. Texas is one of the more sound defensive teams out there. Sam Leavitt will have to rip off a couple of passes to keep the defense honest, or Skattebo is cooked.

If Arizona State successfully moves the ball early, this is a 200 total yards type of game for Skattebo. Scoring won't come easy, and at this price, we need a visit to the end zone. I prefer Skattebo more in GPPs because everyone knows this is a tough matchup. If he goes off, it should be under 10% rostered.

Quintrevion Wisner, Texas ($7K)

Arizona State's run defense didn't allow more than 200 yards in any game. That's the magic number here. If Texas can run on them, it's over. Challenging Quinn Ewers to make the plays was a solid strategy by Georgia, but can Arizona State pull it off?

Texas has the line, and Wisner has the talent to dominate this game. We could see a lot more running in this game than many expect. I won't game stack this one, but I might stack the RBs.

Trevor Etienne, Georgia ($6K)

Surprisingly, Notre Dame's run defense wasn't as stingy as many think. They locked down the run games of Purdue, Georgia Tech, and Indiana, but they allowed 190 to Northern Illinois, 222 to Navy, 207 to Army, and 197 to USC. Georgia's line (and backs, for that matter) is significantly better than all of them.

Georgia will be looking to lean on Etienne and company, thanks to the inexperience at quarterback. It worked against Texas and can work here as well. This price is right for a breakout!

Also consider: Jordan James, Oregon ($7.5K); Jaydon Blue, Texas ($5.9K); Nate Frazier, Georgia ($4.5K)

DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers

Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State ($6.2K)

Jabbar Muhammad vs Jeremiah Smith on Wednesday is going to be must watch TV ??

Muhammad (per @PFF_College):

? 1 TD Allowed
? 45% Allowed Completion Rate
? 9 Pass Breakups
? 78.2 Coverage Grade

Smith:

? 12 TDs
? 63 REC
? 1,037 YDS
pic.twitter.com/OyYygTT8IF

— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) December 30, 2024

Out of all of the players on either team, Smith is the guy who may have grown more than anyone else since that first matchup...and he still had a 100-yard game in that game. Part of the reason is youth. The guy is 18 years old. Another is the rapport between him and Will Howard. We've all seen a difference, particularly in the Tennessee game.

Oregon will try to keep Muhammad on him as much as possible, but Ohio State will have its own plans to get him away from Muhammad. Smith won't go off, but if he gets 100 yards and a touchdown at this price, we'll be happy.

Arian Smith, Georgia ($5.1K)

Stockton looked to Smith more than any other receiver in his Georgia debut. I would expect Notre Dame to see that on tape and try to take Smith out of the equation. If the Irish are unsuccessful, we could see a solid game out of Smith. I still think this game gets decided in the trenches, but one big play to Smith is all it would take in this price range.

Jordan Faison, Notre Dame ($3.8K)

The Irish jumped out to a big lead on Indiana, but we saw a change in the Notre Dame offense. Riley Leonard leaned on Faison. It was the first time this season in which Leonard keyed in on one receiver. This hints to me that the Irish are going to go to Faison when they need a big play. He has the potential to break the slate at this price.

Also consider: Tez Johnson, Oregon ($7.5K); Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State ($5.8K); Gunnar Helm, Texas ($4.1K); Xavier Guillory, Arizona State ($3.1K)

DraftKings CFB Stacks

Texas

I like both backs for the Longhorns, but I would pair them with Helm and Isaiah Bond in a stack instead of Ewers. It's a lot harder for a quarterback to post a difference-making stat line. Go for the skill players, and don't worry about the QB. This game should be decided mostly on the ground.

Also consider: Oregon, Ohio State

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