Welcome to Bowl Season. It truly is the most wonderful time of year. Here at Fantasy Alarm, we’ve got you covered for all of the big slates to help make the holidays that much brighter for you.  Either way, you’ll be enjoying these college football games that much more and hopefully you’ll be able to take care of that vaunted Christmas shopping with your earnings.

Here’s the plan for Bowl Season:

Saturday, 12/15: DFS Playbook + Optimal Lineups -- 5 games -- that’s this one.  It’s a freebie to show you what we can do. If you want it all, we have a special running for just 19 dollars through New Years Day.  It’s a no brainer - you make that back in one double-up.

Saturday, 12/22: DFS Playbook + Optimal Lineups -- 4 games

Wednesday, 12/26: DFS Playbook -- 3 games

Thursday, 12/27: DFS Playbook-- 3 games

Friday, 12/28: DFS Playbook -- 3 games

Saturday, 12/29: DFS Playbook -- 3 games

Monday, 12/31: DFS Playbook -- 6 games

Tuesday, 12/1: DFS Playbook -- 5 games

 

In addition, we’ll provide a quick write-up and picks over on every bowl game at WagerAlarm if you are so inclined to win money that way.

Also, compete for FREE in our College Bowl Pick ‘Em Challenge for the chance to win $200!  A lot going on here at FA for Bowl Season. We’ve got you covered.

 

DFS PLAYBOOK: Saturday, 12/15

This first slate of action features five games, spread throughout the day.  We’ll get off to a good start here:

1:30 PM - Tulane vs. UL-Lafayette - AutoNation Cure Bowl (Orlando, FL)

2:00 PM - Utah State vs. North Texas - New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM)

3:30 PM - Arizona State vs. Fresno State - Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV)

5:30 PM - Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan - Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, AL)

9:00 PM - Middle Tennessee vs. Appalachian State - New Orleans Bowl (Superdome)

Out of these ten teams, here is how we rank them in terms of anticipated points scored:

  1. Utah State - 35.7

  2. Tulane - 30.5

  3. North Texas - 29.5

  4. Louisiana-Lafayette - 28.9

  5. Appalachian State - 28.6

  6. Georgia Southern - 25.8

  7. Fresno State - 26.3

  8. Arizona State - 25.7

  9. Eastern Michigan - 23.4

  10. Middle Tennessee - 21.6

 

It’s a little strange to see recent perennial offensive power, MTSU so low in these rankings, but the fact is that App State has a legit defense and they can slow down Brent Stockstill and company.

Using these as a guide - the clear favorite for a back-and-forth shootout would be between the Aggies of Utah State and North Texas.  So, we’ll provide a lineup with a game stack there.

QUARTERBACKS

Going with the top two in this case may not be a bad idea. Utah State’s Jordan Love and North Texas’ Mason Fine could easily get into a back-and-forth shootout in Albuquerque and rack up the points. App State’s Zac Thomas comes in as the favorite for us.  His dual-threat capabilities help in this regard.  He’s also not the highest priced - that distinction goes to Arizona State’s Manny Wilkins, who gets a tough draw against a stout Fresno State defense.  We are going to fade Wilkins in what could turn into a bit of a defensive battle in Las Vegas. Georgia Southern’s Shai Werts is a run-first (only?) guy and could certainly rack up the points against a good - not great - EMU defense.  The closest thing the Eagles saw to this GA Southern offensive style was in the Army game. A game they lost 37-22.  Focused on the run, they allowed Army QB Kelvin Hopkins Jr. to complete 7-of-8 passes for 126 and two scores. Hopkins ran for 100 on 23 carries. I think that’s a good floor for Werts in this one. He’s also just $5,000. I like Fresno State’s Marcus McMaryion as well and his price is reduced a bit and is certainly in play.

RUNNING BACKS

In terms of projected ownership, you’ll see a lot of Arizona State’s Eno Benjamin and North Texas’ DeAndre Torrey. And for good reason. Benjamin is the bellcow in the Sun Devils backfield with 277 carries this year for over 1,500 yards and 15 scores. Granted, he may have some tough sledding against a really good Fresno defense. Benjamin feasted on some of the floormats of the Pac-12 this year - including a 312 yard, three score performance against Oregon State and 182 and a score against UCLA.  He didn’t fare too well against the top defenses on the schedule with a combined 26 carries for just 48 yards in back-to-back weeks against Michigan State and San Diego State earlier this year. We are fading Benjamin for that reason and will spend elsewhere. Torrey’s late-season push has his price skyrocketing as he’s topped 130 yards in each of his last four games and scored seven times. He’ll throw in a couple of catches per game just for good measure.  We really like the home run hitting abilities of UL-Lafayette’s Trey Ragas at just $5,400, though Tulane can stop the run - if anything. The double-headed monster for Utah State with Darwin Thompson and Gerold Bright are both options in the higher-scoring game.  Which one to go with is your best guess and they are priced similarly. Bright has come on of late, but we’ll take the $300 savings with Thompson if anything.  Though, having them both may work in a certain type of lineup. GA Southern’s Wesley Fields has been a nice compliment to Shai Werts and while Werts does find paydirt more often, Fields takes advantage of the other end of the option. He finished strong with 299 yards and three scores in his final two games. Certainly worth a look at a decent price. The Fresno backs, both Ronnie Rivers - who suddenly appears to be the top option -  and Jordan Mims may cut into each other’s production but Arizona State has struggled against the run all season and both should have plenty of opportunities. We love us some Elijah Mitchell at ULL at his price of just $4,900 despite a tougher matchup on the ground - a nice GPP play. Eastern Michigan’s Ian Eriksen was absent most of the fantasy season but has garnered 15- and 17-carry games the past two and picked up 214 yards and four scores. At $3,900 - he’s worth a look. App State’s Darrynton Evans has done an admirable job filling in for the injured star Jalin Moore, but Marcus Williams Jr. and quarterback Zac Thomas cut into his carries. There is still profit to be had if a big game occurs, which is very possible so keep him in mind if you have around $7,500 to spend in the flex.

WIDE RECEIVERS

This is tough.  We have quite a few teams who spread the ball around to multiple receivers and in those matchups, we are seeing some solid opposition to the pass. The one name that shows up as a stand-alone is Fresno State’s KeeSean Johnson. The problem there is that Fresno should key on the run as the Sun Devils secondary is solid and could develop a plan to keep Johnson contained.  That said, if the Bulldogs commit to the run early and Herm Edwards and crew have to adjust - Johnson can burn them. Speaking of Arizona State, their top WR N’Keal Harry is sitting this out to focus on the NFL Draft, thus weakening this positional strength a bit. North Texas has a trio of options, but you just don’t know which one will be the go-to (if any). In these circumstances, I tend to lean towards the one that will provide the most salary breathing room. Rico Bussey Jr. ($6,800) // Michael Lawrence ($3,900) and Jalen Guyton ($5,300)...Bussey is the go-to but a bit banged up. Lawrence had a really disappointing season overall but has come on a bit more of late and is clearly the cheapest option. Utah State should get something done through the air so we have the top option of Ron’Quavion Tarver at $7,400 or much cheaper Aaren Vaughns at $4,300. Depending on where you are in your lineup construction, either can be a solid option for you.  Tulane struggles against the pass, so we could see some ULL receivers make noise. The best options there is Ja’Marcus Bradley ($4,500) or Raheem Malone ($3,800).  Don’t forget about Tulane’s Darnell Mooney, who is a big-play threat with his 21 yards per catch on the season.  The Green Wave lull opponents to sleep and hit them with a deep pass. Know that with Mooney or his teammate Terren Encalade, you could also get a one-catch, 25-yard performance. That’s the risk-reward there.

 

Time for some lineups!

GPP/Tourney Example:

QB: Jordan Love (UTST vs. UNT) - $10,200

RB: Ronnie Rivers (FRES vs. ASU) - $6,200

RB: Darwin Thompson (UTST vs. UNT) - $7,300

WR: Aaren Vaughns (UTST vs. UNT) - $4,300

WR: Michael Lawrence (UNT vs. UTST) - $3,900

WR: Terren Encalade (TUL vs ULL) - $4,500

Flex: Ian Eriksen (EMU vs. GSU) - $3,900

S-Flex: Mason Fine (UNT vs. UTST) - $9,600

 

CASH Example:

QB: Shai Werts (GSU vs. EMU) - $5,000

RB: Wesley Fields (GSU vs. EMU) - $7,100

RB: DeAndre Torrey (UNT vs. UTST) - $9,300

WR: JaMarcus Bradley (ULL vs. TUL) - $4,500

WR: KeeSean Johnson (FRES vs. ASU) - $7,500

WR: Raheem Malone (ULL vs. TUL) - $3,800

Flex: Jalen Guyton (UNT vs UTST) - $5,300

S-Flex: Marcus McMaryion (FRES vs. ASU) - $7,400