Bowl Slate Preview (Jan. 1)

We begin 2025 the same way we ended 2024, with football. Lots and lots of football. It was a great day of college football, with the quarterfinals of the playoffs kicking off between Penn State and Boise State. The Nittany Lions were the first team to punch their ticket into the semifinals, and three more teams will be joining them by the end of the day.

In this breakdown, we will highlight the top fantasy options and best bets for each matchup. Let’s get into it.

Peach Bowl (CFB Playoffs Quarterfinals)

Texas vs. Arizona State

Texas -12.5, O/U 52

Texas outlasted Clemson by a score of 38-24 in the first round on the strength of their running game, with Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner eclipsing 100 yards. The Sun Devils have been strong against the run, and it’s inevitable that Quinn Ewers will have to make far more throws here. 

Underneath throws will be key, which means a lot of TE Gunnar Helm and PPR work for the RBs. DeAndre Moore and Matthew Golden will have to make plays as well, but ASU isn’t the business of giving up big plays very often.

For the Sun Devils, it’s all about Cam Skattebo, and there is zero chance I’m ever fading him on a three-game slate regardless of opponent. He has rushed for over 1,500 yards and racked up over 500 receiving yards. The Longhorns are similar to ASU in that they limit the big play, so Skatt should be busy on short-yardage receptions.

Sam Leavitt won’t have to be perfect, but he will have to limit his mistakes while involving Xavier Guillory, Melquan Stovall and Chamon Metayer in the passing game. They could certainly use Jordyn Tyson for this game, but it’s far less of a death sentence than most people think. Don’t forget that they buried Iowa State without Tyson.

DFS Targets

Cam Skattebo
Xavier Guillory
Chamon Metayer
Quintrevion Wisner
Jaydon Blue
Matthew Golden
DeAndre Moore
Gunnar Helm

Best Bets

Arizona State +12.5 (-108, DraftKings)

Rose Bowl (CFB Playoffs Quarterfinals)

Ohio State vs. Oregon

Ohio State -2.5, O/U 56

This is a rematch of an instant classic from earlier this year that Oregon won 32-31 due to some clock-management issues by the Buckeyes. Will Howard and the offense were surgical in their demolition of the Tennessee Vols in the first round, and when they’re playing that way there are few programs out there that can beat them. They haven’t always played with consistency, but I am certain they are at their best here. 

TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins are a formidable duo that the defense has to account for even if they’ve put up far less sexy stats than we all expected. The receiving room is as devastating as always, with freshman Jeremiah Smith being borderline unguardable. He went 6-103-2 last week and will have to do it again against the Ducks secondary. He went for 9-100-1 in the close loss to Oregon earlier this season. Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate would be WR1s on most rosters, so Howard has no shortage of weapons to target here.

Dillon Gabriel was a Heisman finalist and lives for these moments. Jordan James and Noah Whittington have combined for over 1,700 rushing yards this season and form a symbiotic backfield together. There have been injuries to the receiver room all year, but Gabriel will have his favorite weapons available in Tez Johnson, Trae Holden, Terrance Ferguson and Evan Stewart.

Expect another thrilling shootout, but this time the Buckeyes come out on top and advance to the semifinals.

DFS Targets

Will Howard
TreVeyon Henderson
Jeremiah Smith
Dillon Gabriel
Tez Johnson
Jordan James
Noah Whittington
Terrance Ferguson

Best Bets

Ohio State ML (-142, DraftKings)
Will Howard Over 247.5 Passing Yards (-114, FanDuel)
Tre Henderson Over 23.5 Receiving Yards (-114, FanDuel)

Sugar Bowl (CFB Playoffs Quarterfinals)

Notre Dame vs. Georgia

Georgia -1.5, O/U 45.5

The Bulldogs are favorites, but we are seeing movement on multiple books — Caesars has moved it to a pick’em and DraftKings has moved between the two teams as the favorite. We can expect a ton of additional movement before the game begins.

As I mentioned on my guest appearance on the FTN SiriusXM show, I am backing Notre Dame confidently here, and I have never wavered on that. They’re starting to feel like a team of destiny somewhat, and they match up extremely well with a typically tough Georgia squad. We have seen the Bulldogs struggle with mobile QBs, as Jalen Milroe and Haynes King went fully nuclear against them this season. Leonard is one of the best and most experienced dual-threat QBs in all of college football, so that’s a major advantage for the Irish.

They’ve also got one of the more efficient backs in the country in Jeremiyah Love, who that has scored a TD in every single game and maintains a YPC of 7.4. We all wish he got major volume, but health issues have popped up recently that has the team treating him with kid gloves a bit. Leonard’s pass-catching weapons have been underwhelming but there is no denying the talent with names like Kris Mitchell, Beaux Collins and Mitchell Evans around. However, it’s Jordan Faison that emerged against Indiana last week. He was targeted 10 times and turned that into 7 receptions for 89 yards. There has been a lot of coachspeak regarding how good he can be, and he finally showed it at the right time.

Georgia will be without Carson Beck, which you know by now, as he deals with an injury and has also declared for the draft. With Gunner Stockton under center, the Bulldogs will obviously lean on the running game, which is now healthy with Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier. The Irish are used to dominating line play but UGA is just as tough, so it’ll be fascinating to see that chess match play out in real time. The Bulldogs receivers have been nearly impossible to peg on a week-to-week basis, and they’ll likely be ignored by the masses, which puts them in a position of leverage for those playing large-field DFS contests.

Give me Notre Dame and a legacy performance from Riley Leonard.

DFS Targets

Riley Leonard
Jordan Faison
Jeremiyah Love
Trevor Etienne
Nate Frazier

Best Bets

Notre Dame ML (-110, FanDuel)
Riley Leonard Over 40.5 Rushing Yards (-114, FanDuel)
Jordan Faison Over 31.5 Receiving Yards (-114, FanDuel)