College Football CFB DFS Playbook Thursday December 29 Bowl Games: Top DraftKings & FanDuel Picks
Who else is enjoying all the college football bowl craziness we've seen this week?! Well, let's keep it going with more college football bowl matchups on Thursday for our CFB DFS lineups. The Pinstripe Bowl between Syracuse and Minnesota kicks us off at 2 pm ET from Yankee Stadium. Then we have the Cheez-It Bowl featuring Oklahoma vs Florida State and the Alamo Bowl featuring Texas vs Washington. 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 Thursday, December 29th.
College Football Bowl Game Betting Odds – Thursday, December 29
(via DraftKings Sportsbook)
- 2 pm ET – Syracuse vs Minnesota (-11) – 44 O/U (in Bronx, NY)
- 5:30 pm ET – Oklahoma vs Florida State (-9.5) – 65 O/U (in Orlando, FL)
- 9 pm ET – Texas (-3) vs Washington – 67.5 O/U (in San Antonio, TX)
College Football CFB DFS Picks – Friday 12/29 Bowl Games
CFB DFS Quarterbacks
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Michael Penix Jr. | UW | UT | 8400 | 29.15 | 11200 | 26.65 |
| Penix announced he’s returning to Washington next season instead of heading into the NFL Draft. That bodes well for his motivation to show out in this bowl matchup vs Texas. He’s the top QB on this slate for GPP lineups with the potential for 400+ yards and 3-4 TDs at his best in a pass-heavy offense. Texas’ defense is much worse against the pass than the run and this game could turn into a shootout. | ||||||
| Jordan Travis | FSU | OU | 7400 | 24.14 | 10600 | 23.10 |
| We’ve picked on the terrible Oklahoma defense all season and now we get to do it with Jordan Travis. The Florida State dual-threat will provide a great cash floor like he’s done all year due to the rushing ability and talent to beat defenses through the air or on the ground. Since he’s cheaper than Penix on both sites, expect Travis to be more popular in cash – especially since he gets a great matchup with OU being poor against the run and the pass this season. | ||||||
| Quinn Ewers | UT | UW | 6100 | 13.84 | 7800 | 13.39 |
| Ewers did not play well and was a terrible DFS play in the final few games of the regular season. Still, the talent is there and he’s had time to reset and get a bit more healthy. Ewers will face a below-average Washington pass defense that’s struggled against good QBs this season. At his best, Ewers can exploit the secondary and this matchup vs Washington sets up as an offensive shootout. Texas will likely be throwing it more with Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson out. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Dillon Gabriel – Oklahoma (GPP)
CFB DFS Running Backs
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | MINN | SYR | 7600 | 28.49 | 10500 | 25.19 |
| Due to a slew of opt outs to top RBs on this slate, Ibrahim is left as the clear-cut guy to roster in cash. The Minnesota workhorse should see his normal 25-40 carries in a run-heavy offense and the floor/ceiling combo is definitely the highest of any RB for Thursday. Even against a stout Syracuse run defense, Ibrahim’s large workload and consistent production this seson is impossible to ignore. | ||||||
| Trey Benson | FSU | OU | 5400 | 16.22 | 9000 | 14.47 |
| Florida State rotates three running backs, but Benson was the guy getting bellcow-level carries in the latter part of the season. He saw 15+ carries in five straight games to end the season and racked up 100+ rushing yards in four of those. Meanwhile, Ward and Toafili sometimes struggled to combine for 10+ touches in those contests. Now Benson gets to face a poor Oklahoma rush defense that gave up 189 rushing yards per game this season (107th in FBS). He's a fantastic value on DK and the top RB2 on both sites. | ||||||
| Jonathon Brooks | UT | UW | 4900 | 14.97 | 7000 | 13.97 |
| Both Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson are off to the NFL and have opted out of this bowl game. Brooks is expected to step into the lead RB role as he’s been getting the starter snaps in bowl practices. Brooks has shined when given limited opportunities this season, averaging 7.5 ypc on just 24 attempts and rushing for 108 yards and two TDs vs Kansas earlier this year. Keilan Robinson and Jaydon Blue are GPP darts to consider from the Texas backfield too. | ||||||
| Jovantae Barnes | OU | FSU | 4500 | 8.41 | 5900 | 7.80 |
| Barnes is in line to be Oklahoma’s lead RB for this bowl game. Eric Gray has declared for the NFL Draft and will sit this contest out. Marcus Major will also reportedly be unavailable while dealing with a leg injury. So, it looks like the Barnes show without many proven ball-carriers behind him on OU’s depth chart. He showed flashes earlier this season when given double-digit carries and he can easily return value in a lead back role at his cheap price tags. | ||||||
| LeQuint Allen | SYR | MINN | 4100 | 5.56 | 6000 | 3.35 |
| Sean Tucker has opted out while preparing for the NFL Draft, so Allen should step into the lead back role for Syracuse. It’s a tough matchup against a good Minnesota rush defense, but the potential volume in a starting RB role gives Allen upside to smash value. He’s only rushed for 180 yards this season, but that’s because Tucker has been operating in a workhorse role. At least Allen averaged 6.9 ypc on his limited touches. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Wayne Taulapapa – Washington (GPP)
- Keilan Robinson – Texas (GPP)
CFB DFS Wide Receivers
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Jalen McMillan | UW | UT | 7100 | 19.52 | 8800 | 15.81 |
| Both Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan are top WR plays on this slate, especially if you want to pair one with Michael Penix. You can stack all three in the same lineup, but McMillan gets the slight nod over Odunze if choosing between them. His receptions floor was a tad safer than Odunze towards the end of the regular season. Still, both can put up 20-30 DFS points against a below-average Texas pass defense. | ||||||
| Xavier Worthy | UT | UW | 6300 | 15.28 | 8300 | 12.74 |
| With Texas likely leaning on the pass more in this bowl, it sets up for Worthy to have a big game against a shaky Washington secondary and an offensive shootout possibly coming. We know he’s been Quinn Ewers’ favorite target and the duo should be motivated to put on a show in this bowl to take into next season. It’s been a while since Worthy put up 20+ DK points, but this could be it. | ||||||
| Oronde Gadsden II | SYR | MINN | 6000 | 17.37 | 7600 | 14.35 |
| Gadsden was already a top target in the Syracuse offense, but he should see a ton of targets from QB Garrett Shrader in this bowl with Sean Tucker opting out. Cuse simply doesn’t have many other proven offensive playmakers outside of Gadsden now, so his target and reception volume should be there. You can roster in cash because of the floor, though keep the low total and tough matchup vs Minnesota in mind. | ||||||
| Ja'Tavion Sanders | UT | UW | 5500 | 11.39 | 6700 | 9.35 |
| We mentioned targeting Ewers and Worthy from the Texas passing attack, but Sanders is worth a hard look too. The tight end has been one of the Longhorns’ top receiving weapons this season and his cash floor has usually been safe for double-digit DK points. If you want cheaper exposure to this Texas-Washington matchup, Sanders is a good way to get there. | ||||||
| Drake Stoops | OU | FSU | 4700 | 8.81 | 6100 | 7.13 |
| Stoops should get more targets and play a bigger role in the Oklahoma offense with Theo Wease transferring away and out for this bowl. Stoops was quiet for most of this season, but he stepped up in the final chunk of games. He had six catches in both of the final two contests and was one of Dillon Gabriel’s top targets from the OU receiving corps. | ||||||
| Kentron Poitier | FSU | OU | 4300 | 9.47 | 6200 | 8.47 |
| Florida State’s passing attack spreads the ball around so much that it’s tough to trust any of the Seminole receivers. They’re all in play for GPPs, but hard to roster in cash lineups. Still, the matchup is a great one against a weak Oklahoma pass defense. One cheap FSU receiver to consider is Kentron Poitier, who caught a TD in the regular-season finale and could pop off to return value. | ||||||
| Brevyn Spann-Ford | MINN | SYR | 4200 | 8.34 | 5700 | 6.02 |
| Targeting the Minnesota passing game isn’t something we should prioritize on this slate. With that said, Spann-Ford is a potential dart throw on the cheap. The tight end went off for seven receptions, 95 yards, and 16 DK in the regular-season finale and his 40 catches this season ended up leading the team. Spann-Ford recently announced he’s returning to Minnesota next season, so we know he’s committed to the squad. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Rome Odunze – Washington (Cash/GPP)
- Ja'Lynn Polk – Washington (GPP)
- Brayden Willis – Oklahoma (GPP)
- Any Florida State WR GPP
CFB DFS Core Plays
DraftKings Cash:
- Jordan Travis – Florida State
- Mohamed Ibrahim – Minnesota
- Trey Benson – Florida State
DraftKings GPP:
- Quinn Ewers – Texas
- Jovantae Barnes – Oklahoma
- Xavier Worthy – Texas
FanDuel Cash:
- Jordan Travis – Florida State
- Mohamed Ibrahim – Minnesota
- Drake Stoops – Oklahoma
FanDuel GPP:
- Michael Penix – Washington
- Jonathan Brooks – Texas
- LeQuint Allen – Syracuse
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