Marking the beginning of the most anticipated four months in daily fantasy sports’ brief history, football season kicks off this week.
Though dwarfed by the popularity of the NFL—which opens on Sept. 10—college football could be in for a big year. FanDuel says that college football brought in six times the revenue in 2014 as it did in the previous season.
Is a similar boom possible this fall?
We should get our first indication over the next few days, as Thursday’s contests continue to fill and more are added for the weekend games.
Unsurprisingly, DraftKings and FanDuel are offering the most contests and the largest guaranteed pools, but DraftDay, FantasyAces and FantasyFeud each have live contests as well.
Below are the specifics we’ve collected on the contests currently available on these five sites, each offering some level of differentiation. Chances are, if there’s a game or player that interests you, you’ll be able to find it offered somewhere—FantasyFeud’s massive 41-game Saturday slate might be a good place to start.
For breakdowns of the scoring and roster variations at each site, see the table below.
| Underdog | Opening Line | Favorites |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 6.5 | Louisiana Tech |
| Rutgers | 3.5 | North Carolina |
| Penn State | 2.5 | Boston College |
| Nebraska | 7 | USC |
| Maryland | 14 | Stanford |
| Wisconsin | 6.5 | Auburn |
| Michigan State | 2.5 | Baylor |
| Minnesota | 5 | Missouri |
| Ohio State | 9 | Alabama |
| Iowa | 3.5 | Tennessee |
DraftKings
Guaranteed contests
- Three qualifiers for its Fantasy College Football World Championship. Entry fee: $20 or $300.
- Saturday: One $300,000 prize pool with a $3 entry and $100,000 to the winner
- Thursday: Two $100,000 prize pools ($300 entry with $20,000 to the winner; $20 entry with $100,000 to the winner); one $50,000 prize pool ($3 entry, $4,000 to the winner)
Thursday slate: Florida International at Central Florida; North Carolina vs. South Carolina; Oklahoma State at Central Michigan; Wetern Kentucky at Vanderbilt; Michigan at Utah; Ohio at Idaho; Texas Christian at Minnesota; Duke at Tulane; Texas-San Antonio at Arizona
Saturday slate (early): Illinois State at Iowa; Richmond at Maryland; Stanford at Northwestern; Tennessee-Martin at Ole Miss; Louisiana-Monroe at Georgia; Wofford at Clemson; Maine at Boston College; Youngstown State at Pitt; Portland State at Washington State; BYU at Nebraska; Florida Atlantic at Tulsa; Penn State at Temple; Sam Houston State at Texas Tech; Louisville vs. Auburn; UTEP at Arkansas; Virginia at UCLA; Bowling Green vs. Tennessee; Southeast Missouri State at Missouri; Southern Illinois at Indiana
FanDuel
Guaranteed contests
- Thursday: 13 tournaments, including one qualifier for the CFB Playboy Mansion Final, ranging from $2,000-$100,000
- Saturday: Seven tournaments, including two qualifiers for the CFB Playboy Mansion Final, ranging from $8,000-$200,000.
Thursday slate: Same nine games as above.
Saturday slate (early): BYU at Nebraska; Stanford at Northwestern; Bowling Green vs. Tennessee; Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan; Virginia at UCLA; Louisiana-Monroe at Georgia; Louisville vs. Auburn; Florida Atlantic at Tulsa; Penn State at Temple; UTEP at Arkansas.
DraftDay
Numerous guaranteed contests types (largest prize pool $1,000). Also offers two- and three-team live draft contests, ranging from $4-$400 entry.
Thursday slate: Florida International at Central Florida; North Carolina vs. South Carolina; Oklahoma State at Central Michigan; Wetern Kentucky at Vanderbilt; Michigan at Utah; Texas Christian at Minnesota; Duke at Tulane; Texas-San Antonio at Arizona; Elon at Wake Forest; Alcorn State at Georgia Tech; Villanova at UConn
Saturday slates: TBA
FantasyAces
Numerous guaranteed contests types. Tournament pools range from $250-$20,000, including qualifiers for the FantasyAces College Football Championship.
Thursday-Friday slate: Same nine Thursday games as DK and FD, plus the following Friday games: Colorado at Hawaii; Charlotte at Georgia State; Baylor at SMU; Michigan State at Western Michigan; Kent State at Illinois; Washington at Boise State
Saturday slate (all day): Stanford at Northwestern; Louisiana-Monroe at Georgia; BYU at Nebraska; Florida Atlantic at Tulsa; Penn State at Temple; Louisville vs. Auburn; UTEP at Arkansas; Virginia at UCLA; Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan; Bowling Green vs. Tennessee; Troy at North Carolina State; Louisiana-Lafayette at Kentucky; Akron at Oklahoma; Arizona State vs. Texas A&M; UNLV at Northern Illinois; Texas at Notre Dame; Georgia Southern at West Virginia; New Mexico State at Florida; Texas State at Florida State; Wisconsin vs. Alabama; Mississippi State at Southern Miss; Arkansas State at USC
FantasyFeud
Numerous guaranteed contests types. Tournament pools range from $1,000-$5,000.
Thursday-Friday: North Carolina vs. South Carolina; Florida International at Central Florida; Oklahoma State at Central Michigan; Elon at Wake Forest; Alcorn State at Georgia Tech; Villanova at UConn; Western Kentucky at Vanderbilt; Michigan at Utah; TCU at Minnesota; Duke at Tulane; UTSA at Arizona; Colorado at Hawaii; Michigan State at Western Michigan; Rhode Island at Syracuse; Baylor at SMU; Weber State at Oregon State; Kent State at Illinois; Washington at Boise State
Saturday: Stanford at Northwestern; Tennessee-Martin at Ole Miss; Illinois State at Iowa; Richmond at Maryland; Norfolk State at Rutgers; South Dakota State at Kansas; Louisiana-Monroe at Georgia; Wofford at Clemson; Youngstown State at Pitt; Maine at Boston College; Portland State at Washington State; Virginia at UCLA; UTEP at Arkansas; Louisville vs. Auburn; Penn State at Temple; Sam Houston State at Texas Tech; BYU at Nebraska; Southeast Missouri State at Missouri; Bowling Green vs. Tennessee; Southern Illinois at Indiana; Grambling State at Cal; Bethune Cookman at Miami; Troy at North Carolina State; Arizona State vs. Texas A&M; Akron at Oklahoma; Florida A&M at USF; Missouri State at Memphis; Alabama A&M at Cincinnati; Louisiana-Lafayette at Kentucky; South Dakota at Kansas State; New Mexico State at Florida; McNeese State at LSU; Texas at Notre Dame; Georgia Southern at West Virginia; Northern Iowa at Iowa State; Tennessee Tech at Houston; Texas State at Florida State; Wisconsin vs. Alabama; Eastern Washington at Oregon; Mississippi State at Southern Miss; Arkansas State at USC
Freerolls
DraftKings, FantasyFeud and DraftDay are offering freerolls that reward free entry into other contests.
FantasyAces is offering a freeoll that pays out $1,500 total to the top 250 finishers.
Also available
Head-to-head, draft-only games on the Draft app. See playdraft.com for details