Draftkings NCAA Football Picks: Utah vs. UCLA 8/30/25
Utah Utes vs. UCLA Bruins
August 30, 2025 11:00 pm EDT
The NCAA presents Draftkings football fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Utah Utes and the UCLA Bruins. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Utah Utes vs. UCLA Bruins game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for this evening’s Utah Utes vs. UCLA Bruins matchup.
Draftkings NCAA Football Showdown Picks
Captain-Devon Dampier, Quarterback, Utah Utes $12,000
Junior quarterback Devon Dampier was a standout performer for the Utah Utes last season. Having stated that, how did Dampier perform from a statistical standpoint? Let’s review Dampier’s relevant key player game data from the 2024 NCAA season to answer that question.
In the 12 games that quarterback Devon Dampier played for the Utah Utes in the 2024 NCAA season, Dampier amassed 2,768 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, 1,166 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 12 games that quarterback Devon Dampier played for the Utah Utes in 2024, Dampier averaged a robust 33.2 Draftkings points a game.
As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings NCAA Football showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest. Keep that in mind as you construct your lineups.
In my view, Devon Dampier is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NCAA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am backing Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier at the captain position for this one game NCAA Football DFS slate.
Flex Plays
Wayshawn Parker, Running Back, Utah Utes $8,800
Sophomore Wayshawn Parker was a key contributor for the Washington State Cougars offense in 2024. Parker played so well that the Utah Utes obtained his services in 2025. Let’s take a look at Parker’s statistics from last season.
In the 12 games that Wayshawn Parker played for the Washington State Cougars in the 2024 NCAA season, Parker compiled 735 rushing yards, four receiving touchdowns, 11 receptions, 108 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. What did we learn from the data just presented? Clearly, Wayshawn Parker played outstanding football for the Washington State Cougars in 2024.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 12 games that running back Wayshawn Parker played for the Washington State Cougars last season, Parker averaged a respectable 10.7 Draftkings points a contest.
Flex plays I like to play well in this evening’s NCAA regular season contest (Draftkings price noted): Nico Iamaleava, Starting Quarterback (UCLA Bruins) $10,600: Jaivian Thomas, Running Back (UCLA Bruins) $7,800.
