College Football Playoff: Orange Bowl Showdown DFS Picks for DraftKings and FanDuel

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Published on January 8, 2025

College Football Playoff Orange Bowl DFS Breakdown

While DraftKings is running a slate that covers both semifinal games, the biggest slate is the showdown, and it's also the only one FanDuel offers for Thursday's contest. Notre Dame is a slight favorite in the contest, sporting a 1.5-point spread in its favor. The total for the contest sits at 44.5, so it's not expected to be a particularly high-scoring affair.

College Football Injuries/Absences for Orange Bowl

None

Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame - Head coach Marcus Freeman indicated Wednesday he'll be good to go.

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College Football DFS Tools

Orange Bowl CFB DFS Plays on DraftKings and FanDuel

Captain/MVP Picks

Note: Being a captain pick doesn't preclude players from being a worthwhile look as a UTIL pick as well

Riley Leonard, Notre Dame ($19,200 DraftKings, $16,000 FanDuel)

Leonard has tallied 15 rushing scores and 831 yards on the ground this season, accounting for a combined 33 touchdowns as a runner and passer through 14 games. To include Leonard on DraftKings would require 38.4 percent of the budget, while he only requires 26.67 percent on FanDuel. That percentage difference is the greatest on the slate at 11.73 percent of the budget added, making him a much more manageable option to include on FanDuel. That said, there are still some options on DK to utilize to help include Leonard here.

Tyler Warren, Penn State ($16,200) DraftKings, $14,000 FanDuel)

Warren is the centerpiece of the Penn State offense, and I wouldn't put it past offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to devise ways to get the star tight end involved. Like Leonard for the Irish, Warren is the most versatile player on the Nittany Lions. In addition to his 96 grabs for 1,158 yards and eight touchdowns, he's rushed 24 times and 197 yards and four scores and thrown the ball six times, completing three for 35 yards and a score. A former quarterback, it wouldn't shock me if we see something from the bag of tricks, even though Warren doesn't necessarily need that to be worthy of the Captain/MVP spot. However, like Leonard, he's a bit more stomachable on FanDuel in that spot.

Kaytron Allen, Penn State ($12,600 DraftKings, $11,500 FanDuel)

Allen is one of the more affordable options on DK with a chance of delivering top-notch production, sitting at $8,400 on the slate without the Captain boost. While the argument could be made that teammate Nicholas Singleton ($14,400 captain salary on DK) is a potential vulture and Jeremiyah Love ($15,000 CPT salary DK) doesn't have that as much on the Fighting Irish side, Love is coming off of an injury, and I view Leonard as that same sort of goal-line vulture rather than a running back filling that role. Allen sees similar volume to the pair and has 10 touchdowns to his name so far this year, but he's also scored three times in the last three games.

UTIL Options

Drew Allar, Penn State ($11,800 DraftKings, $15,000 FanDuel)

While I'm not sure I'd want to invest in Allar at the Captain/MVP spot, I think including him in a utility spot is certainly a feasible and affordable option for my taste. That said, he's certainly more affordable as a utility option on DraftKings when you back off the Captain status and Allar has been a reliable option under center for most of the season. This game isn't expected to be a high-scoring affair, so connecting Allar with a touchdown-scoring receiver could be key to separating yourself. I would probably not recommend including Allar on the FanDuel side.

Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame ($10,000 DraftKings, $13,000 FanDuel)

For those interested in the Fighting Irish backfield, look no further than Love. Jadarian Price saw some additional run in the CFP Quarterfinal after Love left due to injury, but it sounds like Love will be a go for this one. Assuming he's healthy, Love should handle the bulk of the carries not divvied up to quarterback Riley Leonard, and it wouldn't be off the table to pair the two together despite Love catching more than two passes in a game just twice all season. There should be enough carries to go around between the two.

Nicholas Singleton, Penn State ($9,600 DraftKings, $12,000 FanDuel)

In terms of salary discrepancies, Singleton's is the most favorable in terms of his FanDuel salary of all players on the slate, costing just 20.0 percent of the budget versus DK's 19.2 percent for a difference of 0.8 percent overall. Next is Riley Leonard at 1.07 percent difference and Drew Allar at 1.4 percent, so there is certainly a bit of an edge to utilizing him on FD. Singleton is also a guy who could

Beaux Collins, Notre Dame ($3,400 DraftKings, $9,000 FanDuel)

While Collins hasn't been a game-breaker this year, his usual alignment on the left side of the offense should benefit him in this matchup. He'll largely avoid A.J. Harris, the Nittany Lions' best cover corner, who will instead be lining up against Jordan Faison most frequently, Collins should instead receive a more manageable matchup versus Jalen Kimber, which could lead to a few more targets than he's seen of late. Collins logged just as many snaps as Faison against Georgia, so he is certainly an option to see plenty of looks.

DK Bargain Candidates

Kickers for both Penn State and Notre Dame on DraftKings

In a game not expected to feature a ton of scoring and, presumably, not a ton of offense either, keeping the kickers in mind as an option is certainly something to consider. Only DraftKings offers this option, with Mitch Jeter ($4,600) and Ryan Barker ($4,400) representing the respective options for each team.

Omari Evans, Penn State ($3,800 DraftKings, $8,500 FanDuel)

Evans finished out the regular season a distant third on Penn State for target share behind Tyler Warren and Harrison Wallace, but he tallied a season-high five targets against Boise State, turning in two grabs for 55 yards and a touchdown. With not a ton of offense expected, Evans is a guy who can do a lot with a little, tallying 8.9 fantasy points in four of the last five games on DK despite garnering just 17 targets, so he's certainly a player who can deliver on minimal volume.

Mitchell Evans, Notre Dame ($2,800 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel)

Evans is a talented tight end who suffered a torn ACL at the end of October last year. He clearly wasn't fully healthy coming out of the gate and didn't produce a ton in the first half of the season, but we've seen flashes of his ability down the stretch, notching three touchdowns in a four-game span to close out the regular season, and he also saw four targets last week against Boise State. Penn State has a tough secondary but has had a little trouble covering tight ends of late. This could be a spot to target.

Jaden Greathouse, Notre Dame ($2,400 DraftKings, $7,000 FanDuel)

Greathouse finished with the third-most routes run last week among wideouts for the Fighting Irish behind Jordan Faison and Beaux Collins, and he's a player with potential to put up the occasional big game, topping nine DK points on three different occasions. He's affordably priced on both DraftKings and FanDuel as an option to fill out the bottom of a roster, allowing you to include more of the premium options at the top.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Benzine plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Crispy272001, DraftKings: Crispy27.