Ivan Herrera 
Welcome back to another exciting season of CFB! We are starting the conference championship weekend with the Conference USA and PAC12 title games. Both games are rematches of regular-season games.
The purpose of this article is to break down the college football main slates, both on the DFS and betting sites. The article includes my favorite plays at every position as well as honorable mentions. You can also find my favorite bets under my Dragos Best Bets section.
Conference USA: New Mexico State vs. Liberty (-11) (O/U 56.5)
The first game on Friday’s two-game slate is the battle for Conference USA supremacy, featuring 24th-ranked Liberty against New Mexico State. This is a rematch from Week Two of the season, in which Liberty beat NMST 33-17 at home. Liberty will once again have the pleasure of hosting NMST, but this time with much higher stakes.
Favorite Plays:
NMST: Diego Pavia (QB, $6600) is the best play on the NMST side. He has put up consistent numbers every game, including their upset win over Auburn two weeks ago. The only game he struggled in was the first matchup against Liberty, where he had a season low of 13.3 points on DraftKings. He offers rushing upside, which is always good for DFS. This season, he ranks as the QB with the fifth most rushing yards at 806 yards. Liberty gives up 345.5 yards per game, so expect Pavia to have the chance to succeed on both fronts. Jonathan Brady (WR, $4900) is my favorite WR to pair with him, although I do think Pavia can be played solo. Brady has been the best WR for NMST; he leads the team in receptions (33) and yards (518). He is also tied for second on the team for receiving touchdowns with three.
Liberty: Kaidon Salter (QB, $8200) is my favorite of the two QBs in this game. Like his counterpart, Salter has great rushing abilities and ranks 3rd for QB rushing yards with 899. NMST had no answers for Salter in their first matchup, as he threw for 276 yards and ran for another 43. He also managed to score four times in that game, two through the air and the other two on the ground. Unlike NMST, I think you can use a RB from Liberty. Quinton Cooley (RB, $6300) is Liberty’s main back and has rushed for 1251 yards and 13 touchdowns in 12 games. Cooley finished the regular season 11th in rushing yards and T15th in rushing touchdowns. The Aggies have a solid rush defense, but in their first game, Cooley managed to run for 106 yards. With Sibley being questionable, CJ Daniels (WR, $5100) is a much better play. He leads Liberty in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.
Value Plays: Bentley Henshaw (WR, $3400). Star Thomas (RB, $4700)
PAC12: Oregon (-9.5) vs. Washington (O/U 66)
The second game on the slate is the much-anticipated rematch between Oregon and Washington. In their first game at Washington, the Huskies managed to survive a back-and-forth slugfest with a 36-33 victory over the Ducks. This time, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will have the pleasure of hosting these two in a neutral-site game in what is a bittersweet final PAC12 title game.
Favorite Plays:
Oregon: Bo Nix (QB, $9500) is the Heisman favorite and the highest priced QB on the slate. Nix comes into the slate ranked first in passing yards (3906) and second in both passing efficiency (189.8) and passing touchdowns (37). The Huskies are the worst-ranked pass defense of the four on the slate. They are ranked 122nd, allowing 265.2 yards and 1.6 touchdowns per game. In his Week Seven game against Washington, Nix had 337 yards, two touchdowns, and ran for 14 yards. The game is going to be a shootout like the first game, so Nix is going to have plenty of opportunities to showcase his skillset. Bucky Irving (RB, $6900) was unstoppable the first time they met, finishing the game with 161 total yards and a touchdown. While Oregon is more of a passing team, Irving has been able to make do with the touches he gets, and against a team that gives up over four yards a carry, he should continue his solid season. The best WR for the Ducks is hard to pick. Troy Franklin ($7300) and Tez Johnson ($6600) have been great over the past three games, as Franklin has 19 receptions and Johnson has 24 receptions in the last three weeks.
Washington: Michael Penix Jr. (QB, $9100) is currently third in Heisman odds and has a huge opportunity to jump Nix and Daniels with a win on Friday. Penix is second in yards, just seven yards behind Nix, and sits fourth in touchdowns (32) and 11th in efficiency (163.3). Like his counterpart Nix in the first meeting, he also threw for over 300 yards but did score two more touchdowns than Nix. While Washington does have great WR options like Oregon, I think there is a clear cut-top guy, and that is Rome Odunze. Odunze (WR, $7400) has the fourth most receiving yards this season with 1326 yards and sits 20th in receptions with 73. He was one of the biggest reasons why Washington is the one coming into this game undefeated, as he finished that game with eight receptions, 128 yards, and two touchdowns. Oregon does have a good pass defense, but they have not been able to stop top-tier talent all year.
Value Plays: Terrance Ferguson (WR, $3600). Jack Westover (WR, $3300) Dillon Johnson (RB, $6000): He is not technically valuable, but he is a solid play at 6K.
Drago’s Best Bets:
- Washington +9.5
- Liberty -11
- Odunze Over 98.5 Receiving Yards
- Franklin Over 106.5 Receiving Yards
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