RADIO
We now have college football nearly every day until January 2. Most wonderful time of the year, indeed! There are two games today to give us another classic college football slate sandwiched in between the showdown slates for Christmas Eve and Christmas. We really start picking up after the weekend, but there is still money to be made before that!
The matinee today features North Texas basically playing a home game against Miami of Ohio. The nightcap features two teams that accuse each other of dodging the other in non-conference games. UCF finally gets their shot at Florida – in Tampa, no less. It's a perfect Floridian tale of David and Goliath. Hell of a nightcap, yeah?
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 12/23/21 locking 3:30 pm eastern. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers. But first, we start with the betting picks! I'll cover everything through the rest of the week right here since there are only four games.
CFB Betting Picks 12/21 through 12-25:
Miami(OH)(-2.5) vs. North Texas at Frisco, TX
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3
The Mean Green could walk to the game if they really wanted to. The North Texas defense looked awful for the first month or so, but they have been outstanding of late. If they can wallop UTSA like they did, I don't see the Redhawks being much of a problem is what is essentially a road game. Give me the quasi-home team.
Central Florida vs. Florida(-6.5) at Tampa, FL
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2
The Gators have been accused of Dodging UCF in recent years, a claim which they vehemently deny. The Gators already smacked an in-state rival at Raymond James Stadium this year when they beat USF by 22 back in September. Don't expect a repeat performance here. Anthony Richardson is out and the UCF fans are going to head down I-4 to Tampa turn turn Raymond James Stadium into the Bounce House west. I'll take UCF.
Memphis(-8.5) at Hawaii
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2
This isn't a de facto home game for the Warriors. It is an actual home game. The good news ends there. There's no home field advantage if they can't have fans in the stadium and starting QB Chevan Cordeiro and RB Dae Dae Hunter have left the program to enter the transfer portal. This could get ugly. Give me Memphis.
Ball State vs. Georgia State(-5.5) at Montgomery, AL
Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 1
I love the Ball State offense, but I also have the right not to let them hurt me anymore (or lose any more of my money). Give me the Panthers.
DraftKings CFB DFS Quarterbacks
Brett Gabbert, Miami(OH) ($8,800)
Gabbert is one of the better dual threat quarterbacks in college. Even though the North Texas defense has been markedly better over the last two months or so, this is still a tall order to keep Gabbert under wraps. He has accounted for 16 touchdowns over the last four games with only four turnovers. Three of those games had over 350 yards passing. The Redhawks are still going to sling it around again here. I don't mind paying up for Gabbert with as hot as this offense has been lately.
Emory Jones, Florida ($6,400)
Jones has announced that he is leaving Florida after this game. He has shown some bright spots this year, but the consistency of Anthony Richardson won out. I would have liked to see what Billy Napier could do with Jones, but Richardson will have to do. I have a feeling Jones might go out with a bang, so I will have some exposure to him. The UCF defense is better than last year, but I'm still not scared of them. I like the rushing upside of having both Jones and Gabbert in the same lineup.
Also consider: Mikey Keene, Central Florida ($7,800); Austin Aune, North Texas ($6,800)
Want some more CFB DFS tools? If you like what you see here, don't forget to sign up for your RotoBaller CFB DFS Premium Pass. Use code MARTENY and receive 10% off your purchase! You'll love the College Football DFS Lineup Optimizer, DFS Cheat Sheets Premium Slack Chatrooms to help you out in real-time.
DraftKings CFB DFS Running Backs
Deandre Torrey, North Texas ($6,800)
The Redhawks had the look of a solid run defense on the surface, but the home/road splits are staggering. They allowed 14 of their 16 rushing touchdowns on the season in road games or neutral site games. On top of that, they allowed 113 more rushing yards per game on the road than at home. That adds up to a monster for Torrey, and a nice bargain for those of us that bothered to dig deeper than the surface stats.
Johnny Richardson, Central Florida ($5,900)
Bowser is back, but Richardson performed very well in his absence. If Bowser isn't quite back to normal, it could equal more carries for Richardson. I'll say Richardson will be more effective against the Gators because of his running style and the fact that he is very active in the passing game, which Bowser is not. Against a defense like this, there's nothing wrong with taking the strong floor.
Malik Davis, Florida ($4,500)
It's the same as the UCF situation here, just a little different logic. Both Davis and Peirce have split carries all season and both will likely be featured in this game. It's impossible to tell who will be more effective, but I'm giving my edge to Davis because of his 15 receptions in the last five games and the fact that he has cleared 40 receiving yards in three straight games.
Also consider: Isaiah Bowser, Central Florida ($6,100); Dameon Pierce, Florida ($5,300); Keyon Mozee, Miami(OH) ($3,900)
DraftKings CFB DFS Wide Receivers
Jack Sorenson, Miami (OH) ($8,700)
The only team to hold Sorenson under 18 DraftKings points in a game on the season was Army. Lock and load!
Mac Hippenhammer, Miami (OH) ($5,200)
Unfortunately, we don't get extra points for the cool name. However, Hippenhammer closed the season with five consecutive games over 10 DraftKings points. North Texas still allowed 230 passing yards per game this year and 23 touchdowns to only six interceptions. I don't mind a Miami passing game stack because of the clearly defined roles of the QB and top two receivers.
Jaylon Robinson, Central Florida ($4,800)
Robinson nearly had 1,000 receiving yards last season, but injuries both to himself and Dillon Gabriel have taken a toll on his numbers. However, I still believe Robinson to have the most raw talent of the UCF receiving corps and getting him at this discount is a risk worth taking. O'Keefe is still going to get the volume, but Robinson is a big play waiting to happen.
Kemore Gamble, Florida ($3,800)
20 of Gamble's 30 receptions on the year are in the last five games, along with three of his four touchdowns. In a receiving corps that is missing Jacob Copeland and suffered from ineffectiveness all season, I'll take a shot on the target share of Gamble for this price.
Also consider: Ryan O'Keefe, Central Florida ($6,500); Roderic Burns, North Texas ($5,800); Justin Shorter, Florida ($5,100); Jason Pirtle, North Texas ($3,500)
