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Long time, no see! Unless you have been participating in the college basketball contests. We are bringing you more NCAA content than ever at RotoBaller this year, so make sure that you take advantage of all that we have to offer! It has been a productive early season on the hardwood. Now back to the gridiron for the first time in two weeks. I'm ready! Are you? Let's do this!
We have seven bowl games today, but the Celebration Bowl was left off. So was the Myrtle Beach Bowl that had the audacity to start before noon. That still leaves us with five games. We start off with Jacksonville State facing Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl. Next up is Miami of Ohio taking on Appalachian State in the Cure Bowl (not The Cure Bowl...I was confused too). Next we have New Mexico State taking on Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl in the first of two quasi-home games. The other one is UCLA greeting Boise State in the L.A. Bowl. We end this in Shreveport with Cal taking on Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl.
In this article, I will provide you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 12/16/23, locking at 2:15 PM Eastern. I’ll provide multiple player suggestions for players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, aiming to highlight one option at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Quarterbacks
Diego Pavia, New Mexico State ($8,600)
Pavia put up big numbers in the loss to Liberty and still has strong games against Auburn and Jacksonville State before that. All three of those teams are in bowl games, so I'm not really scared of the Fresno defense. Pavia's running ability gives him a higher floor than most. On a slate with inconsistent or unproven quarterbacks, I'll pay a little extra for a reliable guy like Pavia.
Zion Webb, Jacksonville State ($7,000)
The Louisiana defense was solid this year, but solid might not cut it against a guy like Webb. He's a good runner, having topped 100 rushing yards four times this season. He is a capable passer, but that isn't his strength. We're playing Webb in hopes that he gets loose a couple of times down the field.
Fernando Mendoza, California ($6,200)
This would be the second coming of Fernando-mania if Mendoza were playing a couple of hours south. He puts the suburbanites of LA on notice when Cal went in and smacked the Bruins to finish the regular season. The freshman made his share of errors this year, but the rest of the offense around him made things easier. This is one of the few offenses that is going to be fully intact for the bowl game. We should see another strong showing for Mendoza.
Also consider: Behren Morton, Texas Tech ($8,000); Chandler Fields, Louisiana ($7,500); Henry Hesson, Miami (OH) ($6,700)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs
Jaydn Ott, California ($8,400)
Ott gave the Cal fans a different kind of heart attack here. It's nice to have him staying at Cal. This team is good enough to win the ACC. That doesn't mean much to the CFP, but it does in these parts. This is a springboard game for Cal. I expect them to come out and play as well as they did down the stretch to propel them into next season.
Tahj Brooks, Texas Tech ($7,500)
I know there is no other player between Ott and Brooks, but in my mind, they're the best two back on the slate by a long shot. We can pay down at QB and there are decent options in the low-rent district at WR to make this happen. This will be the build in most cash games.
Texas was the only team to hold Brooks under 100 rushing yards (he had 95) since Kansas State held him to 98 in Week 7. Tech isn't a true air-raid offense anymore. They run the ball and run it well with Brooks.
Anderson Castle, Appalachian State ($3,300)
Kanye Roberts is listed atop the depth chart with the transfer of Nate Noel, but Castle was getting around 10 touches per game down the stretch with the full running back room healthy. Most of the time, Castle's performances were on par or better than Roberts. Castle is a great way to save money. He should have a big part in this game with Noel out of the picture regardless of if he starts or not.
Also consider: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State ($8,500); Rashad Amos, Miami (OH) ($6,500); T.J. Harden, UCLA ($5,500)
DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers
Jeremiah Hunter, California ($6,100)
Mendoza-to-Hunter was on full display against UCLA in the season finale. Hunter is a bit of a risk because Mendoza is a freshman and sometimes still plays like it. That said, these two have had almost a month to fine-tune their rapport in preparation for this game. I wouldn't be surprised to see him close the season with back-to-back 100-yard games.
Kaedin Robinson, Appalachian State ($5,600)
The emergence of Jesus Aguilar as a capable quarterback for the Mountaineers really changed the trajectory of the season. It took a couple of games for Robinson and Aguilar to get comfortable, but Robinson closed the season with at least 13 DraftKings points in each of the last five games. Robinson scored two touchdowns in the upset of James Madison and two more against Georgia Southern to propel the Mountaineers into the Fun Belt Championship. Expect another strong game out of Robinson here.
Xavier White, Texas Tech ($4,800)
The Red Raiders had a mass exodus of receivers out of Lubbock, including yardage leader Myles Price. Coy Eakin and White are projected to start, but I'll go with the experience of White. This is his fifth year in Lubbock and Behren Morton has been with him in four of those years. I love Drae McCray as a GPP dart, but White feels like the safest play.
Eli Wilson, Appalachian State ($3,800)
I don't know that we'll need to go this deep at receiver, but if you find yourself in this position, Wilson has scored a touchdown in each of the last three games. He caught 11 of his 31 passes on the season over the last three games, so his usage is trending in the right direction.
Also consider: Erik Brooks, Fresno State ($5,800); Logan Loya, UCLA ($5,500); Perry Carter, Jacksonville State ($5,400); Jonathan Brady, New Mexico State ($5,100); Gage Larvadain, Miami (Ohio) ($4,900); J. Michael Sturdivant, UCLA ($4,500)
DraftKings CFB Stacks:
California
The Texas Tech defense isn't bad. This is more a case of the Cal offense having some of the best plays on the entire slate. The great part is that Fernando Mendoza is so affordable that we can easily fit him with Jaydn Ott and Jeremiah Hunter. I don't feel a need to go any deeper than that, but Trond Grizzell is worth a look in large-field GPPs
Texas Tech
Don't be totally fooled by Cal's success against UCLA. That's more a product of the UCLA offense being neutered by quarterback play and the coaching staff (come on...there is no reason for a guy as talented as Sturdivant to have that miserable of a season). I still expect Tech to score some points despite all of the missing receivers. Morton and Tahj Brooks are great plays and you could leave it there. I still feel you need at least one of White/Eakin/McCray. I might use all three just to see what happens.
Also consider: Louisiana, New Mexico State
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