RADIO
This is the last DraftKings slate of the 2021 season. It has been a fun ride this season and I'm already looking forward to next August. The eight month layoff is what makes college football so special when it finally comes back. We have five bowl games on the first day of 2022 and there are some good ones out there!
We kick of 2022 with Arkansas and Penn State in Tampa for the Outback Bowl. An hour later we have the Fiesta Bowl between Notre Dame and Oklahoma State in the Phoenix suburbs. Iowa and Kentucky also tangle in Orlando in the Citrus Bowl. Then we head out to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl between Ohio State and Utah. We finish off the last classic DFS slate with Ole Miss and Baylor in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Let's make the most of this!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 1/1/22 locking at noon eastern. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers. But first, we tackle the rest of the betting picks for the year. I'll do one last rundown article for my last college football piece in about ten days.
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CFB Betting Picks 1/1 Through 1/10:
Penn State vs. (21)Arkansas(-2.5) at Tampa, FL
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3
This game opened with Penn State favored, but with the news that Jahan Dotson was sitting out, it flipped back to Arkansas. Both teams are without their best receivers, so it falls to the quarterback and the run game. Arkansas has the advantage in both. Give me the Piggies.
(9)Oklahoma State vs. (5)Notre Dame(EVEN) at Glendale, AZ
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 4
Kyren Williams is forgoing the game to prepare for the draft and Jaylen Warren is back at full strength for the Pokes. This line is even and shouldn't be. Give me Oklahoma State.
(15)Iowa vs. (22)Kentucky(-2.5) at Orlando, FL
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 5
Iowa opened as the favorite, then Tyler Goodson opted out. That works well for me. I liked Kentucky anyway. This feels way too low. Give me Kentucky.
(11)Utah vs. (6)Ohio State(-4.5) at Pasadena, CA
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3
Ohio State is down both Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. Oregon and Michigan beat the Buckeyes by lighting them up on the ground. Tavion Thomas is about as good as Hassan Haskins and C.J. Verdell. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, Utah is a team that is well equipped to beat them. I still like the Utes outright.
(7)Baylor vs. (8)Mississippi(-1.5) at New Orleans, LA
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2
This is going to be a really good one. The Ole Miss defense has struggled at times, but Matt Corral didn't come back to lose this game. I'm not worried about the motivation for Ole Miss here. I'll take the Rebels.
LSU vs. Kansas State(-3.5) at Houston, TX
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3
Well.....this is interesting. I was thinking I was going to get K-State on a bit of an island considering LSU is a much bigger name and basically playing a home game. No such luck. This line is all over the place. I've still seen it at -2.5 and as high as -6 in one spot. No one thinks LSU can win this with basically no quarterback. They're right. Give me K-State in what might be Skylar Thompson's last start for a while since Adrian Martinez transferred into Manhattan.
(3)Georgia(-2.5) vs. (1)Alabama at Indianapolis, IN
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 5
Yeah, the game isn't in Tuscaloosa east, but Athens is closer to Atlanta than Tuscaloosa is. It wasn't a partisan Alabama crowd and Georgia still got smoked. The loss of John Metchie hurts, but not enough for me to think that Georgia suddenly beats Aladamnbama after losing to them by 20+. Give me Bama......again.
With so many COVID goings-on, we were rather fortunate to still get 42 games between Army-Navy and bowl season. I only ended up with four one-point bets. I didn't take the easy way out. I had 12 twos and 14 threes, which is about in line with my season averages. I went heavier with seven four-point bets and five max bets. Stay tuned for one last college football article in mid January so you can see how I did!
DraftKings CFB DFS Quarterbacks
Matt Corral, Mississippi ($9,100)
This Baylor defense is really good, but I still think Utah's is better. If you're going to spend top dollar on a quarterback, Corral is the safer pick. Stroud might have the higher upside, but I'm not sure that I trust that either with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave both sitting out. Corral has that nice floor and his full compliment of receivers. That counts for something.
K.J. Jefferson, Arkansas ($7,700)
This wont be a ceiling game for Jefferson – especially with Treylon Burks heading to the NFL – but his floor is as good as anyone on this slate thanks to his rushing ability and his ability to limit mistakes. Jefferson ran for 554 yards and five touchdowns to go with his 21 passing touchdowns and just three interceptions. Jefferson's ability to limit mistakes might be his greatest strength against a stout Penn State defense.
Cameron Rising, Utah ($6,700)
The Utes offense took off when Rising took over as the starter. He has had some pedestrian games over the last month or so but that is mostly because the Utes won four of their last five games by two touchdowns or more. If you look at Rising's work in games where he was needed to pass, he put up some solid stat lines. He's not going to break any slates, but he really shouldn't hurt our lineups either. Rising should be good for 20 DraftKings points or so. I'll take that in this range.
Also consider: C.J. Stroud, Ohio State ($9,900); Will Levis, Kentucky ($7,100); Gerry Bohanon, Baylor ($6,300); Sean Clifford, Penn State ($6,000)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Running Backs
Tavion Thomas, Utah ($7,500)
Hassan Haskins rewrote some of the maize and blue record book against the Buckeyes during rivalry week. Some of that had to do with Michigan's offensive line, but Utah's is pretty good in their own right. The Buckeyes gave up more than 200 rushing yards three times this season, once to an Oregon team that Utah completely locked down.....twice. Utah's ground game is going to have everything to do with their success (or lack thereof) in this game. There is a pretty high ceiling for Thomas here, but the floor is pretty low for the price.
Chris Rodriguez, Kentucky ($6,600)
Iowa's defensive reputation was more potent than the actual product on the field this year. This was apparent down the stretch when Iowa allowed 852 rushing yards over the last half of the season. They also allowed half of their 14 touchdowns on the ground in the last two games alone! Rodriguez comes into this one with four straight games over 100 rushing yards after the debacle against Mississippi State. Advantage: Rodriguez.
Jaylen Warren, Oklahoma State ($6,100)
Warren was limited against Oklahoma and didn't play at all against Baylor. That possibly cost the Cowboys a shot at getting blown off the field by Alabama. Warren declared himself 100% healthy for this game. If that is the truth, Warren is capable of putting up big numbers. The Irish were better against the pass than the run this year. That's just fine with the Cowboys. Spencer Sanders is more of a game manager anyway and the Cowboys are capable of grinding the game out on the ground. Warren topped 27 carries in four straight games earlier this year when he was needed and fully healthy. There is nice upside for the price.
Trestan Ebner, Baylor ($4,900)
The way to get to Ole Miss is on the ground. The Rebels allowed 183 rushing yards per game this season and 24 rushing touchdowns. Six different teams ran for more than 200 yards on them with Arkansas going for a staggering 350. Baylor has two good backs and a quarterback that can run. That's going to be a big problem for Ole Miss. Ebner will see about a dozen touches here, which is more than enough for him to put up numbers to pay off this price.
Also consider: TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State ($8,200); Abram Smith, Baylor ($6,800); Snoop Conner, Mississippi ($4,500); Gavin Williams, Iowa ($3,600)
DraftKings CFB DFS Wide Receivers
Wan'Dale Robinson, Kentucky ($8,200)
Robinson is no stranger to Iowa. He hauled in nine passes for 75 yards and ran for 42 more on the Hawkeyes last year with a questionable quarterback throwing to him. His 94 receptions on the season showed how much Nebraska's offense and the pieces in it held back Robinson last year. I expect another big game for Robinson against Iowa here, even if he doesn't pick up many yards on the ground. He's going to get more receptions with Josh Ali out and Robinson is a threat to score every time he touches the ball.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State ($7,700)
Smith-Njigba was arguably the best receiver for the Buckeyes down the stretch even when Wilson and Olave were healthy. Now he has all of those targets to himself. Someone will step up beside JSN, but I would still think Smith-Njigba is in for a nice target boost. Utah is going to give him problems, but he is far too talented to be shut down in this game or any other. There is a very high ceiling here.
Parker Washington, Penn State ($5,300)
Jahan Dotson is out for the bowl game which is going to mean a lot more targets for Washington. He closed the season with 25 receptions over the last four games of the season anyway. Add in Dotson's usual targets to Washington's workload and we have a nice floor for him here. Arkansas has a solid defense, but they were had a few times this year. Penn State needs to stretch the field to really get the Hogs on their heels. If they can do that, Washington could be in for a huge game.
Jeremy Ruckert, Ohio State ($3,400)
Julian Fleming is going to be in the mix as well, but Ruckert sits with 23 receptions and three touchdowns on the season already. He seems like a bit more of a sure thing for Stroud right now. Any receiver behind Smith-Njigba carries inherent risk, but Ruckert's track record so far should give him at least a few more snaps than Fleming. I definitely want whoever starts opposite Smith-Njigba. Both come at a nice discount.
Also consider: Tay Martin, Oklahoma State ($7,300); Dontario Drummond, Mississippi ($6,800); Tyquan Thornton, Baylor ($5,800); Britain Covey, Utah ($4,900); Sam LaPorta, Iowa ($3,700)
