College Football DFS: Tuesday Bowl Picks
Bowl Season rolls on Tuesday, and though the New Year's slate is right around the corner, the penultimate day of 2025 gives us three exciting matchups as well. After Coastal Carolina and Louisiana Tech do battle in the Independence Bowl, four Power Four programs are set to square off with Tennessee-Illinois and USC-TCU rounding out the slate.
DraftKings and FanDuel are both up and running Tuesday, and below we break down some of the best plays on each slate.
Tuesday College Football DFS Slate Overview
Illinois and Tennessee in the Music City Bowl is the only game Vegas projects with a point total of over 60. And with this matchup expected to be the narrowest, with the Volunteers slim 3.5-point favorites, this game looks like one to circle from a DFS perspective, especially considering neither defense has been particularly strong in any one category.
You'll have to be a little more selective when perusing players from the TCU-USC matchup in the Alamo Bowl. While the Horned Frogs' pass defense has been nothing to write home about, allowing 242.8 yards per game, its run defense has been tighter. Meanwhile, the Trojans boast their strongest secondary in years, surrendering just 203.3 passing yards per game, but their run defense still looks permeable.
In the early game, Coastal Carolina's defense looks like the unit to exploit — the Chanticleers give up over 240 passing yards per game and 210 rushing yards per game. Still, on the flip
College Football DFS: Tuesday Bowl Picks
Bowl Season rolls on Tuesday, and though the New Year's slate is right around the corner, the penultimate day of 2025 gives us three exciting matchups as well. After Coastal Carolina and Louisiana Tech do battle in the Independence Bowl, four Power Four programs are set to square off with Tennessee-Illinois and USC-TCU rounding out the slate.
DraftKings and FanDuel are both up and running Tuesday, and below we break down some of the best plays on each slate.
Tuesday College Football DFS Slate Overview
Illinois and Tennessee in the Music City Bowl is the only game Vegas projects with a point total of over 60. And with this matchup expected to be the narrowest, with the Volunteers slim 3.5-point favorites, this game looks like one to circle from a DFS perspective, especially considering neither defense has been particularly strong in any one category.
You'll have to be a little more selective when perusing players from the TCU-USC matchup in the Alamo Bowl. While the Horned Frogs' pass defense has been nothing to write home about, allowing 242.8 yards per game, its run defense has been tighter. Meanwhile, the Trojans boast their strongest secondary in years, surrendering just 203.3 passing yards per game, but their run defense still looks permeable.
In the early game, Coastal Carolina's defense looks like the unit to exploit — the Chanticleers give up over 240 passing yards per game and 210 rushing yards per game. Still, on the flip side, the Bulldogs don't have a terrifying defensive unit either, especially given its secondary surrenders 234.2 passing yards per game.
College Football DFS Tools
- College Football DFS Lineup Optimizer
- Matchups Page (Vegas odds, opponent averages, etc.)
- Advanced Lineups Page
- Stats
- Team Trends
- Targets
- Defense vs. Position
- Team Rankings
DFS Plays on DraftKings and FanDuel for Tuesday, December 30
QB Luke Altmyer, Illinois vs. Tennessee ($7,700 on DraftKings, $10,000 on FanDuel)
Altmyer is the third-most expensive quarterback on DraftKings and the fourth-most expensive on FanDuel, which should have your attention on both slates. The senior gunslinger is coming off a very solid 2025 campaign in which he tossed for 2,811 yards, 21 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 68.1 percent of his passes. He also ran for 188 yards and four scores on the ground. In what will be his sendoff game, Altmyer now gets to face a Tennessee secondary that allows 248.8 passing yards per game, checking in at 115th nationally in that department. The Volunteers also surrender 23.5 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, one of the worst marks in the SEC. With Altmyer, you can avoid paying top dollar while still getting a productive quarterback against a weak secondary. What's not to like?
RB Clay Thevenin, Louisiana Tech vs. Coastal Carolina ($6,200 on DraftKings, $7,700 on FanDuel)
Thevenin has easily the most advantageous matchup for running backs on the slate, as the Bulldogs' starting ballcarrier gets to face a Coastal Carolina defense that surrenders 212.2 rushing yards per game, the sixth-worst mark in the entire country. What's more, he's just the fourth-priciest halfback on both slates, making him a solid play for both DraftKings and FanDuel. Since Week 5, Thevenin has averaged 11.3 carries per game and 3.1 receptions per game, a steady ingredient in Louisiana Tech's offense. If the Bulldogs, who are 10-point favorites, open up a commanding lead, they should lean on the ground game even more, which would obviously aid Thevenin's production as well.
WR Hank Beatty, Illinois vs. Tennessee ($5,700 on DraftKings, $8,300 on FanDuel)
Beatty is the third-priciest wideout on both slates, but you should be getting pretty solid value on each. The Illini wideout easily led his team in receiving with 64 grabs for 826 yards and three touchdowns, and he now gets to face one of the worst secondaries in the country in terms of air yards per game surrendered in Tennessee (248.8). This should be Beatty's final collegiate game, and the senior wideout should see plenty of targets against a Volunteers' secondary that allows an average of 25.0 fantasy points per game to opposing receivers.
DraftKings College Football DFS Picks for Tuesday, December 30
QB Trey Kukuk, Louisiana Tech ($7,300 on DraftKings) vs. Coastal Carolina ($11,200 on FanDuel)
Kukuk is once again primed for all the reps he can handle with Evan Bullock and Blake Baker shut down for the season. The California native started the last two games of the campaign, and while his passing numbers won't wow you (526 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions on the year), he made up for it with his legs (315 rushing yards and five touchdowns over the last two games alone). He's unproven as a passer, but his dangerous mobility makes him intriguing against the Chanticleers, who allow 244.5 passing yards per game and 212.2 rushing yards per game. This is an extremely porous Coastal Carolina defense, one that's allowed a whopping 28.7 fantasy points per game to opposing gunslingers. And considering Kukuk is just the fifth-priciest quarterback on DraftKings while FanDuel has him as the most expensive by a wide margin, he looks like a no-brainer here.
RB Jeremy Payne, TCU ($5,600 on DraftKings) vs. USC ($8,000 on FanDuel)
Payne has been the Horned Frogs' lead back since Week 12 when Kevorian Barnes (undisclosed) went down with an injury. The latter hasn't played since, and while he remains a question mark for the Alamo Bowl, Payne should assume lead back duties if he's out and still get a sizable workload if he in fact plays. In Barnes' absence, Payne tallied 286 total yards and two touchdowns across Weeks 13 and 14. The Trojans' defense, meanwhile, allows 145.4 rushing yards per game and 20.0 fantasy points per game to running backs. Payne, being the just sixth-most expensive halfback on the DraftKings slate, is simply icing on the cake.
WR Tanook Hines, USC ($5,200 on DraftKings) vs. TCU ($8,000 on FanDuel)
Hines is one of the most intriguing players who will suit up across all three games. He should get the biggest workload of his career with the Trojans' two star wideouts Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane both opting out of the Alamo Bowl. Hines was no slouch himself in his true freshman season, reeling in 28 catches for 398 yards and two scores. He should now be the focal point of USC's passing game, and he gets to face a TCU defense that has been very kind to opposing receivers, allowing an average of 24.7 fantasy points to opposing wideouts. Considering its pass defense is also ranked 108th in the country, this looks like an extremely favorable matchup for Hines.
FanDuel College Football DFS Picks for Tuesday, December 23
QB Joey Aguilar, Tennessee ($10,300 on FanDuel) vs. Illinois ($8,200 on DraftKings)
In what should be his final collegiate game, Aguilar is a great play on the FanDuel side of things, where he's just the third-priciest quarterback as opposed to DraftKings, where he's the most expensive option. The gunslinger tossed for 3,444 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 66.8 percent of his passes this season, adding three rushing touchdowns as well. He has yet to throw for fewer than 200 yards in this high-powered Tennessee passing game that ranks No. 5 nationally, and he has multiple touchdowns in eight of 12 games this fall as well. Illinois' pass defense, meanwhile, ranks just 80th in the country, allowing 226.5 passing yards per game. This isn't exactly a difficult matchup and at his discounted rate on FanDuel, he should be well worth it.
RB King Miller, USC ($9,100 on FanDuel) vs. TCU ($6,700 on DraftKings)
Miller is the second-priciest tailback on both slates, but he should be worth the pretty penny. Miller has been the Trojans' lead back since Week 7, and is averaging 17.1 carries per game in that span. He's been an absolute workhorse, racking up 969 total yards and seven touchdowns on 6.7 yards per carry. The redshirt freshman is bound to get touches, and they'll come against a TCU defense giving up 134.8 rushing yards per game, a solid but far from dominant mark. Another reason to like Miller and the USC ground game in this one? The Trojans' two star wideouts, Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane, are both out for the bowl game — expect the ground game to be a critical component of USC's offensive game plan.
WR Devin Gandy, Louisiana Tech ($6,800 on FanDuel) vs. Coastal Carolina ($4,800 on DraftKings)
Gandy is a bit slept on by both FanDuel and DraftKings, who have him as just the seventh and ninth-priciest wideout, respectively. Nonetheless, he appears well-positioned for a chance at a great game against Coastal Carolina, which deploys one of the worst pass defenses in America (ranked 114th nationally at 244.5 passing yards per game). He's been Louisiana Tech's top wide receiver this season, and though he has yet to truly post a breakout performance, he should get every opportunity against a Chanticleers defense that allows 29.9 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, the worst mark in the Sun Belt. Gandy is a bit of a leap of faith because he lacks the production that other names on this slate have, but he's got one of the most favorable matchups of the day.
