College Football DFS: Thursday Week 1 Picks and Strategy for DraftKings and FanDuel

College Football DFS: Thursday Picks

The 2025-26 college football season kicks off Thursday! As your trusty DFS guide, I'll be leading you down the profitable path for Thursday and Saturday evening contests running on DraftKings and FanDuel.  Before we look at the games, let's go through a quick review of the subtle differences between the two sites as they relate to construction and salary cap.

DraftKings: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 RB/WR/TE(FLEX), 1 QB/RB/WR/TE (S-FLEX)

Salary Cap: $50,000, $6,250 per player

FanDuel: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 QB/RB/WR/TE (Super-FLEX)

Salary Cap: $60,000, $8,571 per player

FanDuel has seven slots to fill, whereas DraftKings offers eight slots. DraftKings offsets this by setting salaries lower than its counterpart.  Elite players will often be found for $10,000-plus on FanDuel, but the same pool of players rarely goes above $9,000 on DraftKings. DraftKings' money allotment is lower, but it is slightly more flexible with the additional FLEX spot.  FanDuel tends to inflate the most prominent stars for one-sixth or more of its cap, but the smaller roster requirement helps to curb the potential roster insufficiencies.

Throughout the season, we will regularly experience slight deviations between slates, and Thursday's offering is no exception. The Boise State-South Florida and Ohio-Rutgers matchups are exclusive to FanDuel, and the Wyoming-Akron game is exclusive to DraftKings. Our remedy is to focus on the shared games and include game-specific summaries of DFS targets for the outlier contests.

DraftKings and FanDuel CFB Week 1 Thursday Slate Overview

Blowout risk is common in Week 1 as many teams kick off their seasons against inferior opponents, and our biggest example of that comes for UCF at home, where they are 20.5-point favorites against Jacksonville State. Although it is often too early to make a sound judgment call on an unproven septh chart, drilling down the favorite's backups can uncover a goldmine of opportunity. Minnesota is also a huge favorite against Buffalo, but they have a Heisman contender at running back and will likely keep him in for the duration.

Vegas is telling us that the mismatch between N.C. State and East Carolina will yield a lot of production (O/U: 60.5), and we have selected a few worthy players from that contest.

CFB DFS Week 1 Weather

Jacksonville State vs. Central Florida (UCF) -  64 percent chance of rain

Thursday DraftKings and FanDuel College Football Picks for Week 1

Quarterback

CJ Bailey, N.C. State (DK $9,500, FD $9,800) vs. ECU

I'll be heading back to this game often and locking in the Wolfpack against a weak opponent. At 6-7, Bailey towers over the field and is also quick with his feet, racking up five touchdowns on the ground. In his rookie year. He also excelled as a passer, with 2.143 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions over 12 games. With a year under his belt, Bailey worked hard to add to his spindly frame and is 15 pounds heavier at 215.  New OC Kurt Roper has moved over from quarterback coach, so Bailey is quite familiar with the scheme and what's expected of him this season

Dylan Raiola, Nebraska (DK $7,500, FD $8,500) @ Cincinnati

I went with another sophomore, who had a spectacular freshman season and led the Cornhuskers to their first bowl game win since 2015. Although he suffered through some stints of inconsistency, he finished the season with 2,819 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions through the air. Nebraska still likes to run the ball, and while Riaola isn't a speedster himself, his stable of backs should open things up against the Bearcats, who struggled in all facets on defense last season.

Also consider: Cam Fancher, UCF (DK $8,300), FD $10,000)

Running Back

Hollywood Smothers, N.C. State (DK $7,000, FD $8,700) vs. East Carolina

With Jordan Waters gone, Smothers will be the unquestioned top back in a thin room filled with freshmen. There's little doubt that the 5-11 dynamo will improve on his 571-yard, six-touchdown season, and he'll get the lion's share of carries with the system. He's also good for a couple of catches per game, a total that should also increase with Waters out of the picture.

Darius Taylor, Minnesota (DK $9,000, FD $12,500) vs. Buffalo

Although the Gophers are heavily favored, we should get at least three decent quarters out of Taylor, who is the best running back in the player pool. I don't hate the idea of exploring Marshall transfer A.J. Turner (DK $4,500, FD $6,300) in the blowout scenario, and I think the split here may be a recurring theme throughout the campaign. Still, Taylor is the source of some Heisman buzz and should be the top back despite Turner's earlier successes with the Thundering Herd.

 Jaden Nixon, UCF (DK $5,500, FD $8,300)  vs. Jacksonville State

Myles Montgomery is the top back for the Knights, but the Western Michigan transfer is ready to compete for carries after a dynamic freshman season where he flirted with a 1,000-yard campaign. If the game gets out of hand as expected, we should expect to see more and more of Nixon, who possesses a great salary on DraftKings. I'm a bit shy on him at FanDuel's price, but his contrarian value may still be worth it.

Wide Receiver

Jacory Barney, Nebraska (DK $6,400, FD $7,100) @ Cincinnati

If you're slotting Raiola, Barney should serve as a decent stack. He's had a great camp and has a bit more upside than teammate Dane Key (DK $7,800, FD $7,700), who joins the Cornhuskers after three solid seasons with Kentucky. I wouldn't fault anyone for considering Key or Cal transfer Nyziah Hunter (DK $5,000, FD $6,800) as well, but Barney seems to be coming in with a lot of momentum and is drawing comparisons to Tank Dell from the coaching staff.

Justin Joly, N.C. State (DK $6,300, FD $6,600) vs. East Carolina

I usually try to avoid tight ends unless they are elite, but Joly fits the narrative, especially if you're using Bailey at quarterback. He's arguably the best tight end in the ACC and one of the best in the country. Although Bailey will probably be more comfortable going vertical this year, Joly was a favorite target in his progressions. Joly went for 661 yards and four touchdowns this season, and I expect him to be less popular than the team's wideout options.

Logan Loya, Minnesota (DK $5,900, FD $7,900) vs. Buffalo

I'm surprised that we aren't hearing more about Loya, who was a great possession receiver at UCLA. Javon Treacy and Le'Meke Brockington may get more DFS attention, but I think Loya is a sneaky way to get a piece of Minnesota's offense, and I believe he'll make a solid contribution throughout the season.

Single-Slate Game Targets

FanDuel

Boise State vs.  South Florida

Maddux Madsen ($10,200) is an experienced quarterback who has returned to the Broncos, and he will also have a capable back in Sire Gaines ($9,000), who will share duties as the team moves on from Ashton Jeanty. Matt Lauter ($7,500) is Madsen's dependable tight end and is also worth a look. I'm not seeing much for the Bulls, as QB Byrum Brown ($9,400) is a little overpriced. Keshaun Singleton ($6,600) surged at the end of last season, so he's reasonable as one of Brown's favorite targets.

 Ohio vs.  Rutgers

I like Parker Navarro ($10,500) in this contest, and wideout Chase Hendricks ($5,900) is a decent wideout option for Ohio. For Rutgers, I am only looking at wideout Ian Strong ($8,500).

DraftKings

 Wyoming vs.  Akron

I see nothing worth noting for this game, so it's probably safe to stay away from this matchup.