Bowl Slate Preview (Dec. 17)

College football’s bowl season has kicked off, and it was a wild weekend as expected. These games tend to lead to plenty of chaos, as we have to deal with opt-outs and late news surrounding the transfer portal. The Frisco Bowl takes place Tuesday between the Memphis Tigers and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

We will help you with all of your bowl game preparations by providing a breakdown for each matchup with a focus on DFS as well as a betting perspective. Let’s get into it.

Frisco Bowl

Memphis/West Virginia

You have to be even more vigilant than usual when it comes to tracking news, and it’s quite common for players to be announced as out mere minutes before the game kicks off. It’s prudent to start this breakdown off with relevant player news that we have available to us.

Memphis has lost a few depth pieces so far, but nobody who has been an important part of their offense. On the West Virginia side, they’ve got injuries to Jaden Bray and Traylon Ray, which aren’t new, and a flurry of defensive players who have hit the portal. Additionally, head coach Neil Brown was fired, so the team will be looking to the future for sure. On the bright side, Rich Rodriguez is back in Morgantown, so there will be plenty of excitement for that.

Longtime Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan’s career will be coming to a close, and he has been one of the most consistent players at the position over the last few years. He will get a chance to go out with a bang facing a West Virginia defense that has given up over 30 PPG to opponents and nearly 270 YPG through the air. They’ve been somewhat decent against the run but have very little chance of keeping Henigan under 300 yards in this game.

Roc Taylor (62-838-2, 97 targets) should feastm while DeMeer Blankumsee (41-557-5, 67 targets) and Koby Drake (39-484-1, 65 targets) will be heavily involved as well. Tight end Anthony Landphere (33-379-4, 44 targets) operates as a safety valve in this dynamic offense.

Mario Anderson is a stud running back who has rushed for over 1,200 yards and has to be respected even by the best of defenses. The most intriguing option, though is backup RB Greg Desrosiers. He flourished in their last game, which was a win over Tulane. He rushed for 41 yards/1 TD while catching 8 passes on 9 targets for 84 yards/2 TDs. He will be a problem for the Mountaineers depleted defense.

The Tigers defense has struggled most of the season as well so I’m expecting a plethora of points to be scored by the Mountaineers as well. They’re led by dual-threat QB Garrett Greene. He dealt with injuries at times but ended the year with just under 2,000 passing yards and 13 TDs while rushing for 638 yards/5 TDs.

They have an effective 1-2 punch at running back with Jahiem White (817 yards) and CJ Donaldson (651 yards). Both have flashed home run potential and will be an important part of the game plan to keep things competitive. The remaining healthy receivers include Hudson Clement (40-575-3), Rodney Gallagher (21-229-3), Justin Robinson (16-244-3) and tight end Kole Taylor (39-404-3). 

DFS Targets

For the showdown slate you’ll want to consider Seth Henigan, Greg Desrosiers, Roc Taylor and Garrett Greene as captains. Building out your lineup in a traditional “4-2” manner makes the most sense but “3-3” is actually my preferred strategy here, as I’m expecting a lot of points on both sides.

Best Bets

Over 60.5 Total Points (-108, DraftKings)
Seth Henigan Over 263.5 Passing Yards (-125, Caesars)
Roc Taylor Over 71.5 Receiving Yards (-113, Caesars)