Week Zero was fun and all, but now we get the real thing. Week 1 of the college football season. The first Saturday of September. Labor Day Weekend. 12-game main slate. We made it, y'all.
Before we dive into this week's slate, I want to introduce a new feature this year: a quick recap of last week's main slate results.
Week 0 DFS Recap
Looking at the top 1% performing lineups, here's what we learned.
Salary Allocation
| Position | Avg Salary | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | $8,032 | $6,500 | $9,000 |
| RB | $6,951 | $4,100 | $7,800 |
| WR | $4,531 | $3,000 | $7,000 |
- Average salary used: $49,250.
- Cheapest winning lineup: $44,300
- USC was the key
- 18 of the 19 top-cashing lineups in the Coffin Corner used at least one USC player.
- Perhaps I overthought things with the game theory on such a small slate. Hand up.
- 18 of the 19 top-cashing lineups in the Coffin Corner used at least one USC player.
- Paying up at quarterback and running back while hunting value at receiver was the winning lineup construction method
Best Week 0 Values
| Player | Team | Salary | Actual FPTS | Pts per $1000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Weaver | SJSU | $5,200 | 31.56 | 6.07 |
| Xavier Brown | UVA | $4,000 | 23.8 | 5.95 |
| Tama Uiliata | Hawaii | $3,900 | 22.2 | 5.69 |
| DeVon Rice | Hawaii | $4,500 | 22 | 4.89 |
| Trent Mosley | USC | $5,700 | 27.8 | 4.88 |
| Kayden McGee | UNLV | $3,200 | 15.6 | 4.88 |
| Benson Prosper | Eastern Michigan | $3,100 | 15.1 | 4.87 |
| Micah Ford | Stanford | $6,300 | 29 | 4.6 |
| Kayden Dixon-Wyatt | USC | $3,000 | 13.6 | 4.53 |
| Kainoa Carvalho | Hawaii | $3,000 | 12.2 | 4.07 |
| Samuel Singleton Jr. | Florida State | $3,000 | 25.6 | 8.53 |
| Jaylin Carter | Memphis | $3,000 | 15.7 | 5.23 |
| Nathan Hayes | North Dakota State | $3,000 | 14.8 | 4.93 |
DraftKings College Football Week 1 Matchup Heat Map
You can check out this data yourself on our college football daily matchups page. And you can download it as well to repurpose it for whatever fits your DFS needs.
Highest Team Totals
- Ohio State (53.5)
- Indiana (48)
- Texas (44.5)
- Alabama (40.5)
- West Virginia (38.75)
High Totals, Narrow Spreads
Only one (1) game this week is expected to be both competitive and high-scoring. I have my gripes about the Week 1 slate in general that go beyond DFS, but that's a whole other article.
Anyway, Auburn and Baylor are opening against each other for the second year in a row, this time in Atlanta at the Benz. We have a powerful total of 59.5 points, and the oddsmakers have this as about a ~1-possession game in favor of Auburn.
Both teams made some interesting changes this offseason. Auburn's were more wholesale, as it kicked Hugh Freeze to the curb and basically brought the USF staff and roster to The Plains. Byrum Brown, Jeremiah Koger, Chas Nimrod, and Keshaun Singleton all project to have big opportunities for Auburn this year.
Baylor is replacing Sawyer Robertson with DJ Lagway, a Texas native who was getting some Heisman hype at Florida this time last year. Are you following me?
I give Auburn the edge here. Baylor's defense can be considered a mess until they prove otherwise. Last year, in Waco, Jackson Arnold pieced them up and almost had me believing in Auburn for a hot second. That's bad.
Baylor should have the offensive firepower to keep pace for a bit, but if I'm stacking this one, I'm going 2-3 Auburn players and maybe one bringback from the Baylor receiving corps.
Quarterbacks
Byrum Brown, Auburn ($7,800) vs Baylor
I had to expand on this game a little more and dig into Brown's upside in this matchup. This will be his first game for Auburn, but he's plenty comfortable in Alex Golesh's system that helped him put up two ridiculous seasons at USF in 2023 and 2025.
He's stepping up a level in competition, but he also has a better supporting cast. According to 247, Auburn has a top-20 roster in the country. That could help keep Brown's production in line with the torrid pace he set in Tampa. Brown brings devastating rushing ability alongside highly efficient passing. He ran for 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns while also completing 66 percent of his passes at a 9.3 YPA clip for 3,158 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven picks. Whew.
And now he's sub $8K on this slate against Baylor's defense? Sign me up. Baylor ranks 89th in team defense according to the Preseason SP+ numbers, which is one of the worst marks not only on this slate, but in the Power 4. Only Arkansas is expected to have a worse defense.
Is it possible Brown gives us a 300-yard passing bonus and a 100-yard rushing bonus? I can't rule it out.
Brad Jackson, Texas State ($6,900) at Texas
This might be the only main slate with Texas State we get this year, so we have to cherish it. If you're reading this article, you probably know that Jackson and the Bobcats are electric. He threw for 3,224 yards on a 9.2 YPA last year and added a casual 17 rushing touchdowns. He's going to be busy in Austin on Saturday.
Texas' defense is going to be better than it was a year ago, but Jackson and Company should still be able to get us some decent fantasy production. Jackson can create through the air or on the ground and the Bobcats will likely be in a catch-up script from the jump.
I particularly like Jackson as a bringback option if you're loading up part of your lineup with Longhorns.
Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska ($8,300) vs Ohio
Colandrea is ready to make his Cornhusker debut after a stellar season at UNLV. He is a good fit for what Nebraska likes out of its quarterback who can make plays through the air and on the ground. He put up over 4,000 total yards and 33 total touchdowns with the Runnin' Rebs a year ago.
It's a soft landing for his first start. Ohio has a solid defense by MAC standards, but will be overmatched in this spot. The Huskers have a healthy implied total of 35.0 points and Colandrea should have his fingerprints on a lot of those scores.
Running Back
Jeremiah Cobb, Auburn ($6,000) vs Baylor
Sticking with the Auburn theme, Cobb is set to reprise his role as the lead running back for the Tigers this year. He came up just shy of 1,000 yards on 175 carries last year and is listed as the starter on the Week 1 depth chart.
It's a great matchup as Auburn is expected to put up a lot of points against this Baylor defense. The Bears will already have their hands full trying to keep contain on Byrum Brown. This Baylor defense allowed nearly 200 rushing yards per game last season; only Rutgers and Colorado were worse against the run among P4 schools.
Cobb could finish in the top five among RBs on this slate, but is rated 18th-best based on the salaries. Good value here.
Cam Cook, West Virginia ($8,700) vs Coastal Carolina
It's not often that the top-billed running back on the board is also one of the best point-per-dollar values. That's what we have with Cook though, who we project to crack the 20-point mark with ease and give us close to a 3x return.
Cook led the nation in rushing last season and reunites with his former offensive line coach from Jacksonville State, Rick Trickett, who was with Rich Rodriguez at that stop before heading back to Morgantown this year. The star running back is in a great setup not only for this week but this season. West Virginia has a run-heavy, up-tempo approach that can get video game production out of its stars.
Coastal Carolina gave up 209 rushing yards per game at a 5.1 YPC clip. Get off the tracks.
Turbo Richard, Indiana ($6,600) vs North Texas
Curt Cignetti's Indiana takes no prisoners. They love a blowout. Maybe last year's North Texas team could've done something about that in this spot. Not this one. UNT was famously gutted this offseason as Eric Morris took most of the Mean Green's star power with him to Oklahoma State.
Meanwhile, Indiana reloaded after its historic run to a national title. Part of that reload was bringing in Turbo Richard from Boston College. Richard was a huge bright spot for the Eagles, racking up 749 yards and nine touchdowns in addition to 30 catches for 213 and two scores.
Indiana is going to mix in several running backs, but Richard should be the tip of the spear. This might an Oprah style "You get a touchdown! You get a touchdown!" type of afternoon. Even 12-13 carries here should get the job done for us at $6,600.
Wide Receiver
Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State ($8,600) vs Ball State
This one doesn't need much explanation. Are you going to need a huge game from Smith to make him worth the 17% of your salary? Yes. Can Smith deliver that? Also yes.
Smith doesn't need a ton of explanation. I won't have him in every lineup. But I couldn't imagine going a full fade on the best player in college football on the first main slate of the year.
Arthur Smith better not make this offense boring.
Louis Brown, Baylor ($4,800) at Auburn
The Baylor pass game is something I'll be going after as a bring-back for my Auburn stacks. It's anyone's guess as to how DJ Lagway will perform in his first game with the Bears, but we can feel confident that he'll be putting it in the air plenty. I anticipate Auburn moving the ball and scoring almost at will, and Baylor will have to go score-for-score to stay in it.
Brown is a fifth-year senior in his second year with the program. Though his first season in Waco was quiet, he has a pair of highly productive seasons under his belt. He projects to be the starting X receiver here and should get the downfield targets.
Receiver is often the best spot to hunt value in CFB DFS. Put another way, you can go stars and scrubs easier with your WR group if you're playing someone like a Jeremiah Smith. A WR1 for a team with a decent team total under $5K should be on your radar.
Lotzeir Brooks, Alabama ($5,700) vs East Carolina
Alabama will be slinging it in Keelon Russell's debut against East Carolina. I'm very high on what Russell brings to the table, and when I look at what's at his disposal, I'm not convinced Ryan Coleman-Williams is the best wideout in Tuscaloosa. It might be Brooks, who impressed as a freshman with 32 grabs for 441 yards and two touchdowns.
Keep an eye on his status before locking him into your lineup, as he missed some time late in camp, but the latest reports are that he'll be good to go. However many targets he gets, there won't be much resistance.
