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We now have college football nearly every day until January 2. Most wonderful time of the year, indeed! There are two games today to give us another classic college football slate sandwiched in between the showdown slates of yesterday and tomorrow. We really start picking up after the weekend, but there is still money to be made before that!
The matinee today features two polar opposites in the fast-moving Kent State Flashes and the pokey Wyoming Cowboys in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on the Smurf Turf. It can be obnoxious and fun at the same time just like your drunk uncle. We finish it off in a Dallas suburb with UTSA heading up I-35 to take on San Diego State. This is a great slate despite only two games. Both games feature contrasting styles.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 12/21/21 locking 3:30 pm 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 start with the betting picks! The Celebration Bowl is FCS vs. FCS so I wont officially pick it, but I like Jackson State even at -10.5.
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CFB Betting Picks 12/21 and 12/22:
Kent State vs. Wyoming(-3.5) at Boise, ID
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3
I flipped this in Bowl Mania and I think I'll take the Cowboys for over a field goal as well. There are a few reasons, but number one has to be what NIU did to them in the MAC Championship. Wyoming's backs are every bit as good, if not better, than those of Northern Illinois. Kent can't score if they don't have the ball. Another is the altitude. Wyoming plays in the highest FBS stadium. Kent plays in Ohio, which is about as curvy as I am. Boise is just over 4,000 feet above sea level. I'm feeling better and better about this Wyoming bet.
San Diego State(-2.5) vs. UTSA at Frisco, TX
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2
Even though Sincere McCormick has declared for the draft, I still like the Roadrunners outright. This is exciting for Roadrunner fans. They'll head up I-35 en masse to support their team. Honestly, I didn't think McCormick would be a huge factor in the game anyway due to San Diego State's top ten rush defense. This is on the shoulders of Frank Harris and Zakhari Franklin. I trust them a lot more than San Diego State's bumbling passing "attack."
Missouri vs. Army(-5.5) at Fort Worth, TX
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3
Missouri's run defense is one of the worst in FBS. Army's run offense is the best in FBS. Tyler Badie is still going to have a good day against Army, but he can't keep up with all of the points that Missouri's defense will allow. Give me Army.
DraftKings CFB DFS Quarterbacks
Dustin Crum, Kent State ($8,000)
The only team that doesn't have a pass defense in the top half of college football on this slate is Kent and Wyoming is allergic to throwing the football. We have to rely on talent against these good defenses. Crum has the talent and the offensive scheme to provide a big ceiling today. Crum has the potential to finish his college career in style here, but he'll have to avoid the interceptions that have hurt his bottom line over the last couple of games. Crum is also the best running quarterback on this slate, so his floor is adequate even at this price.
Lucas Johnson, San Diego State ($5,000)
The Aztecs named Johnson the starter again after Jordon Brookshire didn't look good in the Mountain West Championship. These two have been trying to give the QB job back to each other all season long. If Johnson struggles I wouldn't be shocked to see the Aztecs give Brookshire a look. This is a volatile situation, but Johnson is a solid runner and efficient passer. He has a great floor for a value play......if he can stay in the game. I prefer paying up for Frank Harris, but if you need to go cheap, Johnson's floor should keep you satisfied with the output.
Also consider: Frank Harris, UTSA ($7,300); Levi Williams, Wyoming ($6,100)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Running Backs
Xazavian Valladay, Wyoming ($6,300)
Titus Swen has poached a lot of carries lately, but I think both Wyoming backs can be effective here. Remember what Northern Illinois did to Kent in the MAC Championship game? They did almost all of that damage on the ground. Wyoming doesn't like to throw anyway, so this is right in their wheelhouse. Look for the Cowboys to control the game on the ground and keep the ball out of the hands of Kent's offense. Valladay's workload was heavier in the Hawaii game, and he's still the better runner. However, I wouldn't be shocked if both Wyoming backs were optimal here.
Brenden Brady, UTSA ($4,000)
Sincere McCormick opting out of the Frisco Bowl could be a devastating blow for the Roadrunners. San Diego State's run defense is top ten in the country. Brady had a solid season backing up McCormick, but it's going to be tough sledding here. I like the floor due to the perceived workload, but his ceiling might be ten DraftKings points here. Don't expect miracles, but Brady is a talented back with a guaranteed workload at a very low price.
B.J. Daniels, UTSA ($3,000)
Daniels is minimum price and should see a solid workload, especially if Brady struggles. If you use Daniels, you're basically betting on Brady struggling, so this is a value punt in GPP formats only. I can see both backs struggling to gain traction against the Aztecs defense and abandoning the run. In that case, Brady is the better receiver of the two and it would hurt the bottom line of Daniels.
Also consider: Marquez Cooper, Kent State ($6,500); Greg Bell, San Diego State ($4,900); Xavier Williams, Kent State ($4,500); Chance Bell, San Diego State ($3,000)
DraftKings CFB DFS Wide Receivers
Dante Cephas, Kent State ($7,200)
This is going to be another tough one for the Kent offense, but maybe not Cephas. NIU only completed 11 passes in the MAC Championship. Seven of those went to Cephas. His target share is even higher in games against better pass defenses, so there's no way I'm bailing on Cephas here. He might be the safest play on the entire board, even though his floor isn't all that high.
Isaiah Neyor, Wyoming ($6,900)
Neyor is a big play waiting to happen. Wyoming only has 14 passing touchdowns on the season. Neyor has 11 of them. His 791 receiving yards are 39.8% of the passing yards of the entire team. Yeah, Wyoming doesn't throw much, but when they do, it's going to Neyor. This is the kind of target share I want to see on my lead receiver.
Zakhari Franklin, UTSA ($5,500)
The Roadrunners are going to need big games out of Frank Harris and Franklin to make up for the loss of Sincere McCormick. Franklin doesn't have less than three receptions in any game this year and have five touchdowns in the last five games. Teams have tried to make it tougher on Franklin down the stretch, but he is talented enough to still come away with a strong game. We saw what Utah State and their wideouts did to this San Diego State defense. There is a path to success for the Roadrunners through the air in this one.
Daniel Bellinger, San Diego State ($3,600)
The safest piece in any offense that struggles to throw the ball is the tight end. Bellinger missed the Mountain West Championship for an undisclosed reason that still was never named, so keep an eye on his status. There's a chance that he misses this game as well. If Bellinger is in there though, I like the solid floor provided by his 16 receptions over the last four games. That's a lot for a team that doesn't pass much.
Also consider: Jesse Matthews, San Diego State ($6,300); Keshunn Abram, Kent State ($5,300); De'Corian Clark, UTSA ($4,600); Joshua Cobbs, Wyoming ($3,800)
