DraftKings College Football: Friday December 30th Bowl Game Slate Breakdown

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Published on December 30, 2022

College Football DFS Picks: December 30th Full 5-Game Slate

Slate Overview

The five bowls on Friday, December 30th marks the second biggest slate of any day during bowl season aside from the big December 17th docket. That provides a nice change from events like the December 19th Myrtle Beach Bowl single-gamer or finding value in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl for the only game on December 21st but that also means a lot more to sift through with opt-outs and injuries. Let's get to it:

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Position-by-Position Breakdown

Quarterback

Friday is a tough slate because we've got great offenses like Maryland and UCLA in action, but also against slower pace teams like NC State and Pittsburgh, respectively dropping totals to the mid-40s to low 50s. That easily makes the belle of the ball the #6 Tennessee vs the #7 Clemson game with an O/U of 63.5.

Opt outs are also a very important factor on Friday, with the likes of Notre Dame and NC State possibly being down to QB3 or even QB4 which opens up some GPP options. Opt outs at other positions are also key as somebody like Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa has upside but is also losing three of his top five WR targets with Dontay Demus, Jr., Rakim Jarrett, and Jacob Copeland deciding not to play in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

Cade Klubnik ($6,900) Clemson vs Tennessee

The Cade Klubnik era officially - officially begins in Clemson at the Orange Bowl even though he filled in for DJ Uiagalelei in the ACC Championship Game and showed a command of this offense going 20/24 for 279 yards and a TD. We've got the biggest total of the night (63.5) and a Tennessee team giving up 255.3 yards and 2.8 TD passes per game to QBs over their last four putting Klubnik in a great spot.

Spencer Rattler ($7,100) South Carolina vs Notre Dame

We don't know what the future brings for Spencer Rattler, but we do know he is playing in the Gator Bowl and coming off two huge outings to close out the regular season. Rattler threw for 438 and 6 TDs (49 fp) to lead the 63-38 win over Tennessee and then added 360 and 2 TDs in the 31-30 victory over Clemson. Notre Dame missing 2-3 starters on defense including All-American Isaiah Foskey doesn't hurt Rattler's chances at all here.

Running Back

Zach Charbonnet ($8,600) gets top billing here trying to add on to his 1,359 yard season but against a Pitt defense that allowed just 95.5 rush yards/game. Wyoming is an interesting team to watch at the RB spot in the Arizona Bowl as they are run heavy but also down their top three backs including Titus Swen (1,039 yards) who was dismissed from the team after the regular season finale.

Rodney Hammond, Jr. ($5,700) Pitt vs UCLA

Late Thursday night Israel Abanikanda was still on the DK board at RB even though it seems common knowledge that the 1,400+ yard, 20 TD runner is opting out to prep for the NFL draft. If we're going next man up, it's Rodney Hammond, Jr.'s time to shine and see if Abanikanda was nothing more than a system back. Hammond didn't get many opportunities this year with Abanikanda being the featured RB, but he did have 28 carries for 124 yards against a decent Syracuse defense in week 10.

Roman Hemby ($6,900) Maryland vs NC State

The matchup isn't the greatest for Roman Hemby up against the #11 rush defense in the FBS, NC State on Friday, but let's see what he can do when the Terrapins are a running team. Maryland is down three huge targets at WR for this game to opt outs, and the only time Hemby got 20+ carries this season he went for 179 yards and 3 TDs (42 fp).

Wide Receiver

It's an interesting WR slate Friday as the top two priced players really don't move the needle. Ohio's Sam Wiglusz almost seems like a typo at $7.1k as his production has dropped to a 9.5 fp average the last two games after star QB Kurtis Rourke got hurt.

Pitt's Jared Wayne ($7k) is a 1,000 yard receiver who had 11 targets in the season finale against Miami, but that was also with Kedon Slovis at QB and he's not playing after transferring to BYU.

Tennessee having Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman opt out of their game for NFL prep adds to the chaos at the WR spot on Friday.

Jeshaun Jones (5,700) Maryland vs NC State

It's a slippery slope with Maryland losing a trio of WRs for this game, because on one hand that's just more that Taulia Tagovailoa focuses on Jeshaun Jones - which also means CBs could get more help against him because he is the focal point. Either way, the price is right, and Jones is coming off a 9 catch, 152-yard performance against Rutgers in the finale.

Antwane Wells, Jr. (6,300) South Carolina vs Notre Dame

Gamecocks QB Spencer Rattler was on fire the last two weeks of the regular season and the biggest benefactor of that was Antwane Wells, Jr. who has 23 targets, 20 catches, 308 yards, and 3 TDs over that span. Might as well ride the hot hand.

College Football DFS GPP Plays

QB - Nick Patti ($5,400) Pitt vs UCLA

Nothing is promised - or even predicted - from Nick Patti who is on the injury report but is in line to start on Friday with Kedon Slovis off to BYU. Patti never really got a chance in any of his five years at Pitt, but he filled in during the 2nd half against Tennessee and threw a late TD to force OT before a 24-17 loss. That was back in Week 2 before we knew just how good the Vols were going to be this year.

RB - Logan Diggs ($5,400) Notre Dame vs South Carolina

Welcome back to one more round of Notre Dame Running Back Roulette, where Logan Diggs, Chris Tyree, and Audric Estime have all gone for a 25+ fp game this season. With QB Drew Pyne opting out the Irish are down to either Tyler Buchner (shoulder) playing for the first time since September 10th or Steve Angeli whose next pass will be his first of the year. ND will be very run heavy and Diggs has had the bigger workload of the three - but people still lay off because there are three mouths to feed.

WR - Cole Turner ($3,800) Clemson vs Tennessee

Cole Turner spent a majority of the year on the bench as a redshirt freshman, but he had a breakout in the ACC title game hauling in a 68-yard catch and finishing with 101 yards, the first Clemson 100+ yard receiving game of the season. The speedster has a great matchup with a Tennessee defense giving up 286 ypg through the air so this could be the hidden gem of the night.

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