NCAAF

College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 12/27/22

With Grayson McCall back under center, Sam Pinckney returned to top-shelf production in the Sun Belt title game. Which other stars should you roster on FanDuel for Tuesday's bowl games?

With daily fantasy football so popular, it was only a matter of time before it translated to the college level.

FanDuel offers college football daily fantasy contests now in most states, and there's a twist on the NFL ruleset. You select a quarterback, two running backs, three wideouts (which can include tight ends), and a "SuperFLEX" that can be any of those positions.

Finding target data for pass-catchers in college can be difficult, so finding out which players are on the field and getting work can make all the difference. Naturally, there are also more lopsided outcomes in college, so balance game scripts appropriately! Your running back's monstrous first half could lead to a bagel in the second.

Tuesday's four-game slate features some of the worst defenses you'll see in bowl games this year -- obviously carried by prolific offenses. The cash line should be sky-high, and we'll need points to win anything of note today.

Note: All stats are from PFF.com. All tables are sortable by any category.

The Slate

Away
Team
Home
Team
Home
Spread
Total Road
Total
Home
Total
GA Southern Buffalo +5.5 66.5 36 30.5
Memphis Utah St +7.5 58.5 33 25.5
Coastal Carolina E Carolina -7.5 64.5 28.5 36
Wisconsin Oklahoma St +3.5 45.5 24.5 21


It appears to be a cross-off game between Wisconsin and Oklahoma State, but there's one big, fat exception in the Badgers' backfield.

Other than that, we've got totals at or around 60.0 points -- and plenty of offense on deck. While the largest spread (7.5 points) isn't too much of a concern, it may be a decent indication of how the scripts play out.

Defensive Matchups and Rankings

Note: Higher numbers are easier matchups for the opposing team. Lower numbers are better rankings and tougher matchups.

Team Defensive Passing Yards
Per Attempt Rank (FBS)
Defensive Rushing Yards
Per Attempt Rank (FBS)
GA Southern 114 127
Buffalo 48 117
Memphis 70 24
Utah St 39 120
Coastal Carolina 129 53
E Carolina 127 25
Wisconsin 53 3
Oklahoma St 61 102


Georgia Southern's defense is a tire fire. Other than that, we're targeting phase-specific elements.

Against the pass, no one is especially stingy on this slate, but Utah State, Buffalo, and Wisconsin aren't pushovers. Coastal Carolina and East Carolina, two of the bottom-10 pass defenses in terms of yards per attempt (YPA) allowed, face off in today's Birmingham Bowl. Hot dog.

On the ground, the Pokes have been pretty weak -- hence the aforementioned exception. Buffalo and Utah State -- both just mentioned solid against the pass -- are also bottom-30 rush defenses (in YPA) when defending the ground. Wisconsin and Memphis have been tough to run on this season.

Quarterbacks

With bottom-10 pass defenses on each side, Coastal and ECU are primed for a no-holds-barred shootout with two veteran quarterbacks.

Holton Ahlers ($11,200) is the Pirates' signal-caller, but surprisingly for one final time, it'll still be Grayson McCall ($10,600) for the Chanticleers despite McCall entering the transfer portal last week. I guess it's like heading to your girlfriend's house one last holiday before the breakup.

Against a stiffer matchup, Seth Henigan ($11,000) will be contrarian, but I just don't see the need to prioritize him given the other two are a 40-burger waiting to happen.

There's not really a dual threat on this slate, but Cooper Legas ($9,000) is probably the closest thing opposite Heingan, surging past 50 rushing yards three times this year. I also can't really say no to Cole Snyder ($8,000) given GA Southern's defense will allow yards and points to all comers.

As a reminder, Spencer Sanders ($4,000) is no discount. The prolific Oklahoma State quarterback all throughout the year in DFS won't play due to his pending transfer.

Running Backs

We've got some lead tailbacks on this slate, too.

That large exception mentioned earlier is Braelon Allen ($9,500), who is back healthy for Sconnie's bowl game after averaging 19.0 carries a game this year despite leaving multiple with injuries.

That's second on this slate to only Calvin Tyler Jr. ($8,400), who averaged 19.7 and is still viable in a tough matchup with Memphis.

We'll see tons of points in Birmingham, and the Pirates have a guy who's a good bet to account for some in Keaton Mitchell ($10,500). The other back who averaged more than 50.0% of his team's carries this year is Jalen White ($9,000) from Georgia Southern.

White missed Georgia Southern's last game, though. AJ Brown ($6,000) is an amazing dart if -- somehow -- we get confirmation that White won't play. He handled 60.0% of the Eagles' carries back on November 26th.

In terms of value, Asa Martin ($8,100) has four touchdowns in his last four games against a porous Aggies rush defense. He's a good fit for a build without Henigan, too. Ollie Gordon ($5,700) is also likely a touchdown-or-bust bet against Wisconsin's strong front seven, but he got 17 carries in the Pokes' last game.

Wide Receivers

When you've got two top wideouts in college football DFS, it's almost like having none.

Still, give me Isaiah Winstead ($8,700) over C.J. Johnson ($9,200) -- especially at salary -- as a stacking partner with Ahlers. Winstead's 28.9% target share this year is that of a true top guy, yet Johnson's (19.2%) is barely one I'd consider on a full main slate.

With McCall under center, we can turn back to Sam Pinckney ($8,000). He struggled in McCall's absence but rose to life with 15 targets (and a 38.5% share) in McCall's return against Troy. His 32.5% target share overall leads the slate.

He's trailed closely by Utah State's Brian Cobbs ($7,800). Cobbs has filled right into Deven Thompkins' shoes with a 30.3% target share.

Quian Williams ($6,800) actually has a higher target share (24.0%) this year than Justin Marshall ($8,300). Marshall is just at 23.5%. If the two were closer in salary, I'd likely avoid the situation altogether, but I think you can reasonably get to both in tournaments given the Eagles' dreadful D.

As a final consideration, those same Eagles have thinned out their target tree a bit -- but not by choice. Derwin Burgess Jr. ($4,000) won't play with a leg injury, so Khaleb Hood ($8,200) and Jeremy Singleton ($8,100) should now be a two-man band for Georgia Southern outside.