College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 12/17/21

The college football bowl season is here! FanDuel's college football main slate on Friday includes two games.

In case you're unfamiliar with how it works, you can check out the rules and scoring. You can check the lobby link above 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 goodness, and in true numberFire fashion, we'll use our in-house game projections as well as betting totals and advanced statistics to tackle as many slates as possible in the lead-up to the College Football Playoff. This week, we are only breaking down Friday's main slate, which locks at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Let's break down which star players are in great spots, as well as identify some players with lower salaries who will provide value to get to them.

Quarterbacks

Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina ($11,000) - The Coastal Carolina signal-caller accounted for 27 touchdowns despite only playing in 10 games this season. McCall averaged 255.8 passing yards per game. He only threw three total interceptions this season. The matchup with Northern Illinois Huskies is phenomenal. The Huskies have one of the nation's worst defenses. Northern Illinois allowed 447.7 yards per game to opposing offenses this season. Additionally, the defense surrendered 55 total touchdowns.

Dequan Finn, Toledo ($10,000) - Finn excelled once he became the Toledo Rockets starting quarterback. He was nearly unstoppable in MAC play. The freshman accounted for 19 total touchdowns in seven conference starts. He recorded at least two touchdown passes in five out of seven conference games. Finn's ability to extend plays should create fits for the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders' vulnerable pass defense. The Blue Raiders surrendered 21 touchdown passes in 12 games this season.

Rocky Lombardi, Northern Illinois ($8,800) - Lombardi is another dual-threat quarterback. He leads the quarterbacks on this slate with eight rushing touchdowns this season. The former Michigan State Spartans signal caller has also flashed upside in the passing game. Over his last five games, Lombardi had two games with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

Running Backs

Bryant Koback, Toledo ($11,200) - The Toledo running back had a phenomenal final five games to end the regular season. Koback tallied at least 100 rushing yards in all fives. Additionally, he found pay dirt at least two times in each of the last four games. He is also active in the passing game; Koback's 29 receptions ranked third amongst all Rockets' pass catchers. His 333 receiving yards ranked fourth amongst the Rockets' pass catchers.

Shermari Jones, Coastal Carolina ($9,500) - Jones received a large workload as the regular season drew to a close. The senior averaged 20.5 carries per game over the last four games. Additionally, he tallied 13 rushing touchdowns in 10 games this season. The matchup with Northern Illinois is pristine. The Huskies rank 120th in rushing yards allowed per game (215.6). Additionally, they were rocked for 31 rushing touchdowns in 13 games. Although, backfield mate Reese White is expected to play despite missing each of the last four games.

Brayden Bennett, Coastal Carolina ($5,800) - Reese White's return will certainly affect Bennett. However, it remains to be seen if White will be limited against Northern Illinois. I like taking a chance on Bennett at his current salary. If anything, White's return will help reduce Bennett's popularity. Bennett has had a strong freshman season. The bulky running back recorded 528 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns despite only receiving 68 carries this season. He also recorded 20 receptions, 248 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown in 2021.

Others to Consider: Jay Ducker ($8,000), Reese White ($7,700), Clint Ratkovich ($6,300), Antario Brown ($5,500), Micah Kelly ($5,300)

Wide Receivers

Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina ($8,500) - Likely and teammate Jaivon Heiligh ($9,000) will be very popular. Likely recorded 10 touchdown receptions this season to lead the Chanticleers. I like his chances of finding the end zone for the 11th time this season. Northern Illinois has surrendered 23 touchdown passes through 13 games.

Matt Landers, Toledo ($7,600) - Landers has emerged as playmaker late in the season. In his first six games, Landers only recorded two total receptions for 28 yards. Over the final four games, the former Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver posted 349 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Cole Tucker, Northern Illinois ($6,300) - Tucker's production was muted in the MAC Championship game (two receptions for 30 yards). However, Northern Illinois' game plan was clear. They relied on their strong running game in order to keep the Kent State Golden Flashes dynamic offense off the field. As 10.5 point underdogs, that game plan likely won't succeed against Coastal Carolina. They will need to make plays in the passing game. Prior to the MAC Championship game, Tucker had recorded 21 receptions, 252 receiving yards, and one touchdown on 32 targets over his previous three games. He will likely be popular but he makes for a fine source of salary relief at the wide receiver position.

Others to Consider: Jaivon Heiligh ($9,000), Trayvon Rudolph ($8,300), Kam Brown ($7,300), Jalin Marshall ($7,000), Jarrin Pearce ($6,800), Jaylin Lane ($6,200), Isaiah Winstead ($6,100)

Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.