Best Week 1 CFB DFS Picks for PrizePicks – Thursday, September 3

With Week 0 in the books, it’s officially time for Week 1 of the 2026 college football season to be ushered in with an 11-game slate on Thursday night. 

Leading things off on Big Ten Network is a 6 p.m. ET clash between UMass and Rutgers at SHI Stadium, and closing out the night is a pair of games: Idaho vs. #21 Utah and UAB vs. Illinois at 9 p.m. Which players will manage to stand out under the bright lights as the weekend draws nearer?

Below, we'll break down our best CFB DFS picks for Thursday’s college football games, including CFB player projections for PrizePicks.

Make your college football picks and predictions on PrizePicks now.

{{cfb_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}

Week 1 CFB DFS Picks for PrizePicks – Thursday, September 3

Here are some of the top CFB DFS picks to consider on Thursday, September 3. Today’s CFB picks for PrizePicks are headlined by QB Gio Lopez, RB Justice Haynes, WR KJ Duff, and more.

Colorado QB Julian Lewis vs. Georgia Tech: 219.5 Pass Yards

• Lewis attempted just 94 passes in his true freshman season, completing only 52 of them (55.3%) while averaging 6.3 yards per attempt.
• Colorado’s passing offense struggled immensely a year ago, ranking in just the 13th percentile in success rate (via Game on Paper) and the 16th percentile in yards per dropback.
• Georgia Tech’s defense profiles as otherworldly against aerial attacks, coming off a year in which it sat in the 90th percentile in both EPA and yards per pass. 
• With a multitude of intriguing transfers, including two projected starters from Alabama (EDGE Noah Carter and CB Jaylen Mbakwe), the Yellow Jackets’ defense may not experience a precipitous decline. 

Add Julian Lewis to your PrizePicks lineup now.

Georgia Tech RB Justice Haynes vs. Colorado: 82.5 Rush Yards

• Across seven games last year, Haynes truly broke out by posting collegiate career highs in rushing yards per try (7.1), TDs (10) and yards per contest (122.4). 
• The former Alabama and Michigan standout netted 3.77 yards after contact per attempt and forced 23 missed tackles in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus.
• Last season’s Colorado defense was nothing special against the run, occupying the 30th percentile in rush explosive play rate and the 31st in EPA/play.
• The Buffs’ entire projected starting defense consists of transfers. That relative overkill could mean it’ll take some time for the pieces to jell. 

Add Justice Haynes to your PrizePicks lineup now.

Rutgers WR KJ Duff vs. UMass: 84.5 Rec Yards

• Duff had an excellent sophomore season with the Scarlet Knights, averaging 90.3 yards per game and hauling in 60 passes (7 TDs). 
• The New York native went for 90+ receiving yards on five separate occasions in 2025, including three games of at least 100 yards and one 241-yard explosion vs. Purdue.
• Rutgers’ big-bodied star wideout led the entire nation in total EPA a year ago at 78.58, finishing just above Ohio State superstar Jeremiah Smith’s 77.02 mark. 
• UMass fell flat on its face against the pass in its last campaign, surrendering 8.9 yards per pass and recording a sack on just 4.2% of its plays.  

Add KJ Duff to your PrizePicks lineup now.

{{cfb_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}

Wake Forest QB Gio Lopez vs. Akron: 243.5 Pass Yards

• Although Lopez threw for only 158.8 yards each time out in 2025, that number spiked to 191.7 across his final six games. In that stretch, his yards per attempt also increased from 5.9 to 7.2. 
• The transfer from UNC is joined by a multitude of veteran players, including the starting WR trio of Antonio Meeks, Carlos Hernandez, and Kam Shanks. 
• After ranking 17th in PFF team pass block grade last year, the Demon Deacons returned a pair of starters and landed former four-star tackle Ethan Calloway from LSU. 
• Akron was notably poor vs. opposing signal-callers last season, slotting into the 17th percentile in yards/dropback ceded. 

Add Gio Lopez to your PrizePicks lineup now.

Illinois RB Ca’Lil Valentine vs. UAB: 76.5 Rush Yards

• In his second year at Illinois, Valentine’s yards per tote improved from 4.0 to 4.7. He also forced 19 missed tackles and broke off 19 runs of 10+ yards. 
• The Illini were plenty comfortable keeping the football out of the air last year, evidenced by their 35.1 rushes on average and their 52.43% rush rate.
• On the other sideline, teams routinely tested UAB on the ground, running 41.1 times per game (89th percentile) to the tune of a 62.17% clip (99th percentile).
• The Blazers are an absolute non-threat when it comes to stopping runs before they manifest, having just ranked in the zeroth (yes, you read that right!) percentile in stuff rate in 2025. 

Add Ca’Lil Valentine to your PrizePicks lineup now.

{{cfb_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}

Make 2026 College Football Picks on PrizePicks

With Week 0 in the books, it’s time for seemingly countless other college football programs to get their respective seasons off the ground. Thursday night’s slate presents a multitude of intriguing matchups, including potentially favorable ones for some of the aforementioned players to take advantage of. 

Don’t wait until kickoff — make your college football DFS picks on PrizePicks now and earn real money if you’re right.

Pick college football players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in if you’re right. With Team Picks, you can make predictions on CFB game winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 36 states.

Stay locked in on Playbook for daily college football predictions, picks, and news every day all the way through the 2026 College Football Playoff.