Bowl season is here! Three bowl games are on tap for Wednesday, and the nightcap could be a fantasy football fireworks show.
In case you're unfamiliar with how daily fantasy college football works, you can check out the rules and scoring on FanDuel, where you can hit the lobby each week to see the full array of slates and contests being offered. As for the basics, your roster consists of a quarterback slot, two running back slots, three wide receiver slots (tight ends are included in this group), and one "Super FLEX" slot. In the "Super FLEX," you can insert one player from any position, including quarterbacks.
Here, our goal is to help you field a roster full of fantasy points, and we'll use numberFire's in-house projections, betting totals, and advanced statistics to tackle main slates all the way to the College Football Playoff. Because of limited information, college football can feel like a throwback to before advanced statistics become more widely available in the NFL, but there is still value in finding the volume to target on a given slate.
Let's break down which star players are in great spots and identify some players with lower salaries who will provide value to get to them.
Quarterbacks
Caleb Williams ($12,000): On a larger slate, the inconsistent Williams may not be worth this salary. However, with plenty of value and no clear spot to spend elsewhere, it's hard not to take the floor of the Oklahoma quarterback in a game with a 60-point total. Williams' greatest asset is his work on the ground. He's added 59 yards per game rushing this season with an absurd four separate touchdown runs of at least 50 yards. If he breaks one in the Alamo Bowl, he'll be a must-have due to his popularity.
Connor Blumrick ($7,500): Blumrick has the best matchup of the day. The Maryland pass defense is 109th in the country in yards allowed per pass attempt (8.4), and Blumrick is the clear starter for the Hokies with the ability to take aim. The Texas A&M transfer hasn't seen much field time in two years, but 132 rushing yards in his lone start this year against Miami (FL) insists he's got tremendous dual-threat upside against a softer Terps' secondary.
Others to Consider: Anthony Brown ($9,400), Taulia Tagovailoa ($10,200)
Running Backs
Travis Dye ($10,500): Oklahoma was stout on the ground this season in terms of yards allowed per attempt (3.8), but they did surrender at least one rushing score in each of their last five games. Dye could very well make it six. The Oregon tailback has a featured role in this high-totaled game. He posted 17.4 carries per game in the last five weeks of the season, and don't discount his work in the passing game as well (14.7% target share this season).
Tayon Fleet-Davis ($8,700): The Virginia Tech-Maryland affair appears to be the most forgiving set of defenses amongst Wednesday's trio of games. Fleet-Davis gets to attack a Virginia Tech defense that was 78th in the country in terms of rushing yards per attempt allowed (4.4), and a season-high 18 carries in his last game of the regular season indicates the back is separating from what largely was a committee in Maryland's pass-happy offense.
Others to Consider: Kennedy Brooks ($9,400), Will Shipley ($8,400), Jirehl Brock ($7,000)
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Rakim Jarrett ($8,000): Unless testing the Clemson secondary is your prerogative, Jarrett is the clear, stand-out play at receiver. The dynamic athlete finally translated his profile to actual receiving work in his last five games of the regular season. He averaged 8.5 targets in that span -- good for a 23.3% share from Taulia Tagovailoa ($10,200). Though he'll be popular, he has the speed to pay off in one play with a forgiving matchup, so this seems like a place to swallow the chalk.
Charlie Kolar ($7,000): Both Kolar and Xavier Hutchinson ($8,500) enjoyed about the same market share down the stretch for Iowa State. The wideout Hutchinson saw fewer targets per game (9.8) than his tight end teammate Kolar (10.8), but Hutchinson's yardage share was greater. Their matchup with Clemson is a real issue; the Tigers were ninth in the country in passing yards per attempt allowed this season (6.1). In that event, the tight end Kolar sees less work down the field and could still see work closer to the line of scrimmage.
Beaux Collins ($6,400): With star wideout Justyn Ross not expected to play, Beaux Collins appears to be the Clemson Tigers' new top guy. Collins had 12 targets in their season finale with South Carolina. That -- plus the four-star skillset on the freshman -- should have him in play at this low salary. Worth noting, the Cyclones weren't exactly a pushover through the air, either. Iowa State was 52nd in FBS in passing yards per attempt (7.2), and DJ Uiagalelei ($6,400) struggled against most secondaries in 2021. Still, the volume is worth a spot in a tournament lineup.
Others to Consider: Xavier Hutchinson ($8,500), Marvin Mims ($7,400), Chigoziem Okonkwo ($6,600)