Happy New Year! What better way to cap off the holiday weekend and start off 2023 than with a full day of college football bowl games? The early action includes a pair of matchups between Big Ten and SEC foes as well as the annual Cotton Bowl Classic. A great day of games will fittingly conclude with “The Granddaddy of Them All” at the Rose Bowl. For fans looking to ring in the new year by winning some money on college football DFS picks, the extensive menu of player props available on PrizePicks is the way to go!
The following article provides a brief overview of the fantastic PrizePicks platform before highlighting the best player props and college football DFS picks spanning across the New Year’s Day bowl games.
PrizePicks Payout Breakdown
At PrizePicks, users string together college football DFS player props into a parlay ranging between three and five legs. PrizePicks offers college football player props from a whole host of categories. Among them are yardage props, scoring props, receptions, completions and even fantasy points! After forming a parlay, users can select to play it using Flex Play or Power Play.
Flex Play Payout
For Flex Play, users can build a parlay up to five legs and still be paid out if one or more of their picks is incorrect. Of course, less risk means less reward, so the payout is lower:
- 3 Leg Parlay: 3 Correct = 2.25x, 2 Correct = 1.25x
- 4 Leg Parlay: 4 Correct = 5x, 3 Correct = 1.5x
- 5 Leg Parlay: 5 Correct = 10x, 4 Correct = 2x, 3 Correct = 0.4x
Power Play Payout
Power Play is much like a parlay at a sportsbook, where it is all or nothing. Since the risk is higher, the payout is as well.
- 2 Leg Parlay: 3x Entry Fee
- 3 Leg Parlay: 5x Entry Fee
- 4 Leg Parlay: 10x Entry Fee
Claim a $100 bonus when you sign up through our PrizePicks promo link!
Best College Football DFS Picks and Player Props for New Year’s Day Bowl Games
Much like betting odds at a sportsbook move and update over the course of a day or week leading up to a game, the same is true of prop lines at PrizePicks. Case in point, the lines for some of the featured college football DFS picks below are prone to moving between now and kickoff. Thus, it’s important to act quickly when you find a prop you like.
Will Rogers UNDER 298.5 Passing Yards
On the surface, going against the second-leading passer in the mighty SEC is certainly a contrarian play. This is especially true given that Will Rogers is the quarterback slinging passes in Mississippi State’s Air Raid offense. Rogers attempted at least 37 passes in every game this season. Despite this high volume of attempts, he failed to consistently eclipse the college football player props line of 298.5 yards.
In Monday’s ReliaQuest Bowl, the Bulldogs will have to contend with an Illinois defense that allowed the ninth-fewest passing yards per game (176.0) of any team in the country. Although the Fighting Illini will be without two of their top defensive backs, it remains difficult to trust Rogers in this spot, especially given that the game isn’t taking place in Starkville. Rogers has failed to surpass 240 yards passing in all but one game away from home this season.
Michael Pratt OVER 1.5 Passing Touchdowns
Coming into Monday’s Cotton Bowl matchup against USC, Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt has thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game this season. The Green Wave only got better offensively as the year went on, and Pratt closed with a flourish. He set a season-high with four TD passes in the AAC Championship Game and has now thrown for at least three scores in three of the last four games.
Given how many of Tulane’s games against high-powered offenses have gone this year, it seems reasonable to expect a shootout in this game. Pratt will have the opportunity to work against a USC defense that ranked 99th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency and 105th against the pass. Assuming that the Trojans pay extra attention to tailback Tyjae Spears down in the red zone, the door will swing wide open for Pratt to throw for multiple scores and usurp the college football DFS picks line.
Mario Williams OVER 4.5 Receptions
On the other side of the ball in the Cotton Bowl Classic, USC will need to overcome the loss of leading receiver Jordan Addison. As such, one has to believe that speedster Mario Williams will be in line for an uptick in targets. After all, Williams transferred to Southern Cal from Oklahoma and thus has extended history playing for Lincoln Riley and with quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams made an impact on several occasions during the regular season even with Addison in the lineup. Of the ten games in which he has played to date, Williams has eclipsed the PrizePicks college football DFS total of 4.5 receptions only twice. However, he has also finished with exactly four receptions in four additional games. Given his route tree, big-gainers aren’t always a sure thing. That said, short and intermediate throws will only increase the likelihood of him reaching the five-reception threshold.
Kaytron Allen UNDER 75.5 Rushing Yards
Penn State running back Kaytron Allen has gone over the college football player props line of 75.5 in seven of the last nine games. The freshman had some of his best statistical games in the final month as the Nittany Lions won four consecutive games over lesser Big Ten teams by 21+ points. The stretch included a season-high 117 yards rushing in a dominant win over Rutgers. Unfortunately, there are a couple of concerns when it comes to his late-season form carrying over into Monday’s Rose Bowl Game.
First and foremost is the fact that he is hardly a bell cow back. Allen worked in an even split with fellow freshman Nicholas Singleton late in the year. However, if sophomore Keyvone Lee is able to return from injury, his volume of carries could actually be reduced in the bowl game. A divided workload in a matchup against a Utah defense that only allows 112.3 rushing yards per game (59.0 in the last three) is hardly an ideal combination for Allen to surpass the college football DFS yardage total of 75.5.
Micah Bernard UNDER 60.5 Rushing Yards
We will now pivot to the other backfield involved in the Rose Bowl Game for the last of New Year’s Day our college football player props. Sophomore back Micah Bernard saw his role expand significantly when Utah starter Tavion Thomas suffered a season-ending injury in mid-November. In the two games since, Bernard finished with 91 and 86 rushing yards, respectively. That said, he has still yet to see more than 12 carries in any game this season.
It seems safe to assume that fellow back Ja’Quinden Jackson will remain in the mix on Monday after outgaining Bernard in the last two games. It’s also worth noting that the Utes’ last two games have come against terrible defensive opponents in Colorado and USC. Bernard will be hard-pressed to average more than 7.5 yards per carry for a third straight game in a matchup against a Penn State defense that has only allowed 106.2 rushing yards per contest.
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