College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 12/16/22

College football's bowl season kicks off this week, and FanDuel's college football DFS main slate on Friday includes two games.

In case you're unfamiliar with how it works, you can check out the rules and scoring on FanDuel, where you can hit the lobby each week to see the full array of slates and contests being offered.

As for the basics, your roster consists of a quarterback slot, two running backs, three wide receivers (which also includes tight ends), and one "Super FLEX". In the Super FLEX spot, 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 DFS projections and game projections to tackle as many slates as possible in the lead-up to the College Football Playoff. In this piece, we are breaking down Friday's main slate, which locks at 11:30 a.m. EST.

Let's look at which star players are in great spots as well as identify value plays who will allow you to roster them. All stats come from PFF unless otherwise noted.

Quarterbacks

Frank Harris, Texas-San Antonio ($11,500) - The Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners' signal-caller has an incredibly high ceiling due to his dual-threat ability. Harris accounted for 40 touchdowns this season. Harris could separate in a big way from the other three quarterbacks on Friday, as he is averaging 28.88 FanDuel points this season. Harris and Alabama-Birmingham Blazer DeWayne McBride will be the most popular players on the slate.

Aveon Smith, Miami-Ohio ($9,000) – The redshirt freshman will draw the start for the Miami (OH) RedHawks on Friday. While Smith's passing game is a work-in-progress (completed less than 50% of his passes over the last two games), he is dynamic in the rushing game. Smith has recorded at least 69 rushing yards in each of the last five games that he's played. Additionally, he has six rushing touchdowns over his last six games.

Gunnar Watson, Troy ($8,400) - Watson was hyper-efficient in the Troy Trojans' Sun Belt championship win over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Watson threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns on an eye-opening 17 pass attempts. The Trojans' signal-caller is in an advantageous spot against Texas-San Antonio. The Roadrunners rank 101st nationally in passing yards allowed (253.5).

Running Backs

DeWayne McBride, UAB ($11,000) – McBride led the country in rushing yards (1,713) this season. The junior found paydirt 19 times in only 11 games. He will almost certainly be the most popular player on the slate. McBride's workload is elite, as he averaged 21.2 carries per game during the regular season. Editor's Note: McBride's status for this game is uncertain.

Kimani Vidal, Troy ($8,300) – Vidal was nearly unstoppable over the final month of the regular season. He recorded 20, 33, and 29 carries over the last three games. Additionally, Vidal tallied 493 rushing yards and six touchdowns during that stretch. The matchup with the Roadrunners is phenomenal. They are allowing 151.2 rushing yards per game (70th nationally), including 4.24 yards per carry.

Jermaine Brown Jr., UAB ($7,000) - Brown Jr. is also a solid play despite sharing running back duties with DeWayne McBride. Brown Jr. recorded 50 rushing attempts over the last three games. The junior found paydirt six times in 12 games. Brown Jr. is also effective in the passing game. The Blazers' running back recorded 16 receptions and 115 receiving yards on 19 targets.

Wide Receivers

Zahkari Franklin, Texas-San Antonio ($10,000) – Franklin's 14 touchdown receptions ranked third nationally during the regular season. The senior was targeting 119 times in 13 games (leads slate). The matchup with Troy will be difficult, as the defense is limiting opponents to 6.10 yards per pass attempt. Franklin recorded at least six receptions in 10 out of 13 games.

Mac Hippenhammer, Miami-Ohio ($7,100) - The Red Hawks' leading pass catcher had 29 receptions over his final five regular games. He seems to have a solid rapport with his young quarterback. Over Aveon Smith's last two starts, Hippenhammer has drawn 24 total targets. On volume alone, Hippenhammer is under-salaried. The senior is averaging 2.04 yards per route run, and he also has an appetizing 16.7 aDOT.

Tykee Ogle-Kellogg, Texas-San Antonio ($5,400) - Ogle-Kellogg is simply under-salaried for his role. The senior has been De'Corian Clark's direct replacement at wide receiver. Ogle-Kellogg has run a route on 63 dropbacks over the last two games, trailing Joshua Cephus by 11 and Zahkari Franklin by 10.

General Notes

Trea Shropshire ($8,400) is averaging an absurd 3.46 yards per route run. He is also being targeted deep down the field (19.1 aDOT). If UAB is forced to go to the air, Shropshire does have slate-breaking ability. Quarterback Dylan Hopkins ($7,600) has dual-threat upside. He is a volatile DFS player, though, because the UAB passing game usually takes a back seat to their dynamic running game. He'll likely be the least popular of the four quarterbacks on Friday.

Newly minted Conference USA Freshman of the Year Kevorian Barnes ($9,100) could fly under the radar due to the difficult matchup with Troy. Barnes will operate as a workhorse with Brenden Brady sidelined. Joshua Cephus ($8,800) is a fine high-end wide receiver investment. He has drawn 112 targets this season.

DK Billingsley ($7,500) has nine-plus carries in three straight games and is a contrarian running back option. He scored three touchdowns in Troy's Sun Belt title game victory.

Troy pass catchers Tez Johnson ($8,000), RaJae Johnson ($7,700), and Deshon Stoudemire ($6,400) are all solid contrarian options. Their individual statistics do not stand out because Troy operates a run-heavy offense. Tez Johnson is averaging an incredible 3.61 yards per route run. RaJae Johnson has three touchdown receptions over the last two games. Finally, Stoudemire is coming off his best game of the season (three receptions, 99 receiving yards, and one touchdown).

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.