Dan Johnson has been an editor, writer, and analyst for DraftKings and DraftKings Network since 2024. He’s previously held editorial posts at The Paris Review, Macmillan Publishers, Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, ASSIGNMENT Magazine, and FantasySixPack. You can find his various editorial work & writing (sports-related and non-) at all of the above.
Mid-January Ivy games feel like pop quizzes that count twice. Both teams are 2–1 in league, but the paths here look nothing alike. Penn arrives with a faster pulse and a shot-making identity that can swing a gym in three minutes. Harvard sits at home with a steadier defensive spine and the kind of late-game […]
January 19, 2026
This one has real Ivy bite, even in a sleepy window, because the league doesn’t forgive slow starts. Cornell is 0–3 in conference, and every loss now feels like a weight tied to the ankle. Brown is 1–2, back home, and the first league win loosens the shoulders in a way numbers don’t always capture. […]
January 19, 2026
This is the kind of CAA game that feels quiet until it starts tightening the league table. Towson just dragged Charleston into a street fight and handed them their first conference loss. Drexel shows up riding three straight wins, and the last one was a clean road wave at Monmouth. CBSSN in the early window […]
January 19, 2026
This is a high-noon(ish!) bell that actually matters in America East. Vermont is 11–7, already 3–0 in league, and it plays like it knows January math. UAlbany is 6–12, but it’s 2–1 in conference and 4–1 at home. The building gets teeth today, because ESPNU turns this into a spotlight game. I treat that energy […]
January 19, 2026
UPDATE: The Texans have officially ruled Dalton Schultz out for the remainder of the game. The Houston offense will need to regain its footing without their anchor tight end: Before C.J. Stroud threw an interception to Carlton Davis toward the end of the first quarter, the Texans’ offense endured the drive without veteran stalwart TE […]
January 18, 2026
Soldier Field is set to be a cold brick, with wind, bite, and that light-snow threat that changes a football’s personality. This matchup also arrives with a second kind of weather, the coaching-tree chatter that never stops circulating. Chicago is coming off that Wild Card stunner, down 21–3 and still finding a way, hanging 25 […]
January 17, 2026
Iowa State rolls into Cincinnati at 16–1 with the Big 12 already feeling like a daily knife fight. Cincinnati sits 9–8, but the home floor has carried real weight at 9–2. This is the exact kind of Saturday test that decides whether a contender stays crisp on the road. The market has Iowa State laying […]
January 17, 2026
Florida walks into this one at 12–5 with the league already tightening around every possession. Vanderbilt is 16–1, and the first loss already put a target on its response. The standings are simple and sharp, with both teams sitting 3–1 in SEC play. It’s a clash of math, not myth, because both teams can score […]
January 17, 2026
Notre Dame is 10–7 and drifting in the ACC middle, and this road spot feels like a gut check. Virginia Tech is 13–5 and still chasing upward mobility in the league table. The building in Blacksburg can turn a noon tip into a pressure cooker fast. The Irish arrive searching for stability after a rough […]
January 17, 2026
Butler walks into Newark in a tricky spot, because the Big East standings already feel like a vise. The Bulldogs are 10–7 and 1–5 in league play, sitting ninth, and they’ve dropped four straight. Seton Hall is 14–3, fourth in the Big East, and ranked 25, so this is a “hold serve” game if it […]
January 17, 2026
Virginia walks into Dallas ranked 16, and this is the kind of ACC road spot that defines a month. SMU gets the noon stage at home, and it’s hunting another résumé win with the league watching. The line is tight enough to say “coin flip,” but the styles are loud. SMU wants the game to […]
January 17, 2026