College Football DFS: Duke's Mayo Bowl/Cotton Bowl Slate

Welcome to another installment of the Bowl Season Wednesday Slate, a two-gamer featuring Wake Forest-Wisconsin in the appetizing game before the main course featuring Oklahoma-Florida, which is sure to be entertaining.

Below, you'll find our suite of DFS tools along with matchup info and a position-by-position breakdown of the best plays and values on the board for Wednesday's action.

DFS Tools

• DraftKings Lineup Optimizer
• NEW Matchups Page (Vegas odds, opponent averages, etc.)
• Advanced Lineups Page
• Stats
• Team Trends
• Targets
• Defense vs. Position
• Team Rankings
• Podcast

Slate Overview

Wake Forest vs. Wisconsin (-9) O/U: 52.5
Florida vs. Oklahoma (-2.5) O/U: 70.5

At first glance, it's pretty obvious that most DFS players will be heavy on stacks from the Florida and Oklahoma game as the expectation is that it will be more competitive and it has a couple of high-profile offenses. A less obvious strategy will be to utilize top projected players from the Cotton Bowl with Wisconsin playmakers, as the Badgers have a projected score of 30.75, which is not that far behind Florida (34.00) and Oklahoma (36.50). Wake Forest is projected at 21.75 and faces a Badgers defense yielding just 169.8 passing yards and 93.7 rushing yards per game, so it's likely a good idea to fade the Demon Deacons outside of GPP tournaments where you're looking for low ownership. 

Position-by-Position

Quarterback

Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma ($8,000 DK; $10,200 FD)

There's absolutely no reason to get cute at QB, as Rattler is the highest projected player on the board and his price isn't so steep that you will be strapped for the rest of your roster construction. He's a bit cheaper than Kyle Trask because he's averaging just 24.4 DK points compared to Trask's 31.7 DK points, but Oklahoma is playing its best football.

A redshirt freshman, Rattler has made huge strides in his development. He started the season with six turnovers in his first four games compared to just two in the Sooners' final six games. He has already racked up 30 total touchdowns in his first full season, 25 through the air and five on the ground. While it will be common for people to fit both Rattler and Trask in their lineups, and I will certainly lean that way, if I had to choose just one, I would go with Rattler.

Kyle Trask, Florida ($9,000 DK; $11,000 FD)

Trask's 2020 numbers are insane; 69.7 percent completion rate for 4,125 yards and 43 touchdowns against just five interceptions to go along with three rushing scores. The standout senior started the season by throwing at least four touchdowns in six consecutive games. There's no doubt that these numbers will lead to Trask being the highest-owned player on the slate.

However, it should be noted that Trask will be without Jacob Copeland (COVID-19) as well as Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes, who have opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft. That leaves some more inexperienced receivers, whom I will talk about later. The silver lining is those receivers will be relatively inexpensive and will allow you to stack from that game with Trask if desired.

Running Back

Jalen Berger (DK $4,900; FD $8,300) & Garrett Groshek (DK $5,800; FD $6,900), Wisconsin

Here's where some of the value can be obtained to fit the superstar quarterbacks from Oklahoma and Florida into your lineup. Berger has been the best back for the Badgers when on the field this season and should be fresh after an expected return from the COVID-19 protocol. If you need some extra dollars on FanDuel, Groshek is a bit cheaper and is coming off his first 100-yard rushing performance when he had 24.7 FD points vs. Minnesota. With both of Wisconsin's top wide receivers dinged up, there's good reason to believe the Badgers will lean heavily on their  running backs against a Wake Forest defense giving up 191.0 rushing yards and 1.9 rushing touchdowns per game (both most for the slate). It's possible Nakia Watson (DK $3,500; FD $7,200) gets some carries as well, but he has been less effective and didn't suit up against Minnesota with an undisclosed injury.

Rhamondre Stevenson, Oklahoma (DK $7,700; FD $9,500)

Although Oklahoma is in the Big 12 where defense is an afterthought,  it has been relatively good against the run this season while yielding just 90.6 rushing yards per game. For that reason, I'm avoiding the Florida run-game altogether and going with Stevenson, who likely has the highest floor for running backs regarding volume. Not only did T.J. Pledger decide to enter the transfer portal, Stevenson has dominated the touches in the Oklahoma backfield with double-digit carries in each of the Sooners' last five games. If you pay up for RB and the QBs above, it's time to find some value at WR.

Wide Receiver

Justin Shorter (DK $3,000; FD $5,300) & Xzavier Henderson (DK $3,000; FD $5,200), Florida

Assuming the game script goes as Vegas and the matchup statistics suggest, Trask and the Gators are going to need to throw the ball. Since they are missing all of their usual names as discussed above, it's time for Shorter and Henderson to step up as the team's new set of receivers. They are the safest bets since Trent Whittemore (DK $3,000; FD $4,500) has been dealing with chest injuries the majority of the season.

Marvin Mims, Oklahoma (DK $6,000; FD $8,100)

The beauty of those Florida receivers being so cheap is that you can afford Oklahoma's top receiving option in Mims. With Rattler, Stevenson and Mims in the lineup, there's a decent chance at locking up the majority of the Oklahoma production, which is slated to be the highest of any of the teams. Mims had a score in six of the Sooners' 10 games and was Rattler's most efficient receiver. Theo Wease (DK $5,300; FD $7,000) is also in play, however, has been less of a scoring threat with just three touchdowns this season.

GPP Bonus Stack

Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (DK $6,500; FD $8,200)
Donavon Greene, Wake Forest (DK $5,400; FD $7,000)
Jaquarii Roberson, Wake Forest (DK $7,200; FD $9,400)

If the Demon Deacons can maintain possession and get first downs against the Badgers, which has not been an easy task in 2020, they could rack up some yards through the air. I wouldn't count on this strategy in cash games, so I would only go here for GPPs as this could differentiate your line-up enough to climb the standings in bigger tournaments. I would match up these plays with the key Oklahoma playmakers, especially if you have some doubts that Florida can produce without many of its star position players.