New Year's Eve, and also New Year's Day, remain big days of college football. Of course, before you get to the latter, you have to go through the former. Wednesday closes out 2025 with five bowl games, the first starting at 12 p.m. ET. Before I get to the FanDuel DFS recommendations, here's a rundown of Wednesday's bowl slate.
CFB DFS Slate Overview for Wednesday, December 31
Reliaquest Bowl: Iowa vs. Vanderbilt (12 p.m. ET)
Sun Bowl: Arizona State vs. Duke (2 p.m. ET)
Citrus Bowl: Michigan vs. Texas (3:00 p.m. ET)
Las Vegas Bowl: Nebraska vs. Utah (3:30 p.m. ET)
Cotton Bowl: Miami vs. Ohio State (7:30 p.m. ET)
We have ourselves a playoff game! Of course, this is the second round, which means neutral-site matchups. The Buckeyes' reward for their season is having to go down to Dallas to play the Hurricanes. We have a classic "helmet game" between Michigan and Texas, and we'll see if Biff Poggi pouts his way through it since he didn't get the head coaching job for Michigan. Speaking of Michigan's head coach, Utah sees the Kyle Wittingham era end a game early.
While nobody is going to miss the Cotton Bowl for transfer portal reasons – because Beau Pribula doesn't play for either team – the other games have the new norm of questions about who will surprisingly play (Drew Mestemaker) or sit out (Cam Cook). Stay vigilant. On to the recommendations.
Quarterback DFS Plays for Wednesday, December 31
Arch Manning, Texas vs. Michigan ($10,300): Manning started the season as the Heisman favorite and was considered a potential first-overall pick. He struggled early, and some wrote him off, or at least stopped paying as much attention to Arch. Over the last five games of the season, though, Manning threw for 12 touchdowns against two picks, and he added three rushing scores with no lost fumbles. Michigan's passing defense was okay, as it has allowed 210.6 passing yards per game. The Wolverines head into this game with as much tumult as any bowl team, though, so I'm willing to bet on them not being up to those standards.
Julian Sayin, Ohio State vs. Miami ($9,500): The matchup isn't great, but I am a believer in Games That Count this time of the year. There is zero question about Sayin's compete level for this one. I also am a believer in a guy who gets to throw the ball to Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith. Those two helped Sayin complete 78.4 percent of his passes for 3,323 yards, 31 touchdowns, and six interceptions heading into the playoffs.
Mark Gronowski, Iowa vs. Vanderbilt ($9,200): I'm recommending a quarterback from Iowa!? Has the world gone mad? Well, his salary plays a role, but the Commodores also have given up 252.6 passing yards per contest. To put that into context, that puts Vanderbilt between Oklahoma State and Syracuse. I will grant you that Gronowski did as much damage on the ground as through the air, as his 15 rushing touchdowns show, but there is an argument to roster the quarterback facing one of the worst pass defenses in action on New Year's Eve.
Running Back DFS Plays for Wednesday, December 31
Wayshawn Parker, Utah vs. Nebraska ($8,800): Parker really delivered bang for Utah's buck during the regular season. He averaged 7.0 yards per carry en route to 931 yards and six touchdowns. He also added 10 catches for 132 yards and three scores. Nebraska has allowed 171.3 rushing yards per game, and Parker has shown he doesn't need many touches to make a splash. If the Cornhuskers, playing a bowl game in Las Vegas, lose focus for even a couple of plays, that could be all it takes.
Bo Jackson, Ohio State vs. Miami ($8,500): Jackson ran for over 100 yards against Grambling and Ohio with only nine carries in each game. That read as impressive work against lower-level competition that may not matter when the schedule got tougher, but as the year went on the freshman emerged as Ohio State's lead back. Over his last six games, he has 602 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The Hurricanes are no slouches against the run, but if Jackson can run for over 100 yards at Michigan and have over 90 total yards against Indiana, he is viable in any matchup.
Mekhi Nelson, Nebraska vs. Utah ($5,900): I have a couple of lower-salary rolls of the dice at running back as well. You may think of Utah being formidable defensively, and in terms of pass defense and scoring defense, it is. However, the Utes have also allowed 182.8 rushing yards per game. Emmett Johnson was the star back for Nebraska this season, but he is preparing for the NFL Draft. It's probably between Nelson and Isaiah Mozee for carries in this one, and I'm taking a shot on Nelson.
Jason Brown, Arizona State vs. Duke ($5,000): At this salary, almost anything Brown does will pay off for your roster, and it is entirely possible he will be the lead back for the Sun Devils in the Sun Bowl. Raleek Brown is in Draft prep, Kyson Brown has yet to be cleared from the foot injury he suffered in Week 5, and Kanye Udoh hasn't been practicing due to an undisclosed injury and is questionable. Brown has been practicing with the starters, and at worst it would appear he'll be sharing carries with a banged-up Udoh. Even as little as 12 carries for 50 yards would feel pretty good at this salary level, and if he manages to find the end zone…
Wide Receiver DFS plays for Wednesday, December 31
Carnell Tate, Ohio State vs. Miami ($9,400): I wanted one of Ohio State's two star receivers, and the difference in salary made it more comfortable for me to opt for Tate. He has 48 catches for 838 yards and nine touchdowns, but he has also done that in essentially nine games owing to injury. Miami is excellent against the run, but its pass defense is Oklahoma good, not Ohio State good. Tate is a first-round talent who is no stranger to big games, so I feel like he is trustworthy.
Andrew Marsh, Michigan vs. Texas ($7,900): Michigan's coaching staff will be hoping to hold onto Marsh. The true freshman wasn't reliable this season, but when he flashed, he flashed. He's averaged 11.9 yards per target and has had over 75 yards in four games this year. The Longhorns have been unexpectedly questionable against the pass, having given up 237.6 passing yards per contest. That's not bad, but it's worse than, say, Michigan State.
Junior Sherrill, Vanderbilt vs. Iowa ($7,500): You know Diego Pavia isn't messing around, and you know he's going to ask the same of his receivers. Sherrill has tallied 46 catches for 661 yards and seven touchdowns this year. That's while serving as essentially option 1A alongside tight end Eli Stowers. Stowers is, yes, another guy preparing for the NFL Draft, so Sherrill will have less competition for targets from Pavia in this one.
Malik McClain, Arizona vs. Duke ($5,700): Everything is set up for McClain to step up in the bowl game. He's a redshirt senior, and with Jordyn Tyson prepping for the NFL Draft, he could be the lead receiver and go out in a big way in his last college football game. I haven't gotten to Duke's pass defense yet, but it's bad. By that, I mean it has allowed 269.2 passing yards per contest. That's bottom 10 in the FBS.
