If you’re hoping to make the best college football bets for Week 1, our friends at FanDuel ran all the numbers and are coming in hot with predictions for the weekend’s biggest games.
“Week 0” has become a bit of a cheeky brand in and of itself, but let’s be honest — college football actually starts this weekend. Beginning with a packed Thursday slate and pushing straight on through Monday night, the pageantry is back in its fullest force, from Ohio State-Notre Dame to Georgia-Oregon to LSU-Florida State and beyond.
With that in mind, this is the perfect time for you to get sorted on the very best college football bets for Week 1, so we called on our friends at FanDuel to provide a full rundown on the latest odds and projections.
Check out Boardroom’s curated compilation of the weekend’s most important games with our college football Week 1 predictions below.
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Week 1 College Football Predictions
Pitt vs. West Virginia (Thursday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m. ET)
The Backyard Brawl is back! A Rust Belt delight is on tap for Thursday evening to help kick off a thrilling weekend of college football. As Adam Taylor McKillop writes for TheDuel:
Pittsburgh enters this matchup as a solid 7.5-point favorite over the Mountaineers, according to NCAAF Odds on FanDuel Sportsbook. Pittsburgh holds +100 odds to cover this spread, while West Virginia has -122 odds as a 7.5-point underdog. The Mountaineers are +235 on the moneyline compared to Pittsburgh’s -295 moneyline odds and an over/under has been set at 51.5 points, with -110 odds on both the over and under.
2022 Backyard Brawl predictions from numberFire’s projection model give Pittsburgh a 83.4% chance of winning the game. That leaves West Virginia with a 16.6% chance of pulling off an upset.
Click here to read the full story at FanDuel.
Western Michigan vs. Michigan State (Friday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m. ET)
All eyes will be on Mel Tucker and Sparty in a special Friday night engagement against the Western Michigan Broncos, who are fresh off an eight-win season and a bowl victory. As Tyler Maher writes for TheDuel:
Michigan State is the much stronger football program and plays in a superior conference, hence their No. 15 AP ranking. The Spartans also have home-field advantage, so Mel Tucker’s squad should run away with this one.
Western Michigan will be playing for pride against a state rival, but the Broncos’ roster is clearly overmatched here. Their defense will have be hard-pressed to stop Payton Thorne, who’s back under center for Michigan State after passing for 3,232 yards and a 27:10 TD/INT ratio last year.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Michigan State: 38, Western Michigan 21.
Oregon vs. Georgia (Saturday, Sept. 3, 3:30 p.m. ET)
The Ducks’ first test in the Dan Lanning Era? None other than the defending national champions from Athens. As Devon Platana writes for TheDuel:
Georgia enters this matchup as a major 16.5-point favorite over the Ducks, according to NCAAF Odds on FanDuel Sportsbook. Georgia holds -115 odds to cover this spread, Oregon has -105 odds as a 16.5-point underdog. The Ducks are +570 on the moneyline compared to Georgia’s -850 moneyline odds and an over/under has been set at 53.5 points, with -110 odds on both the over and under.
2022 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game predictions from numberFire’s projection model give Georgia an 89.8% chance of winning the game. That leaves Oregon with a 10.2% chance of pulling off an upset.
Click here to read the full story at FanDuel.
Notre Dame vs. Ohio State (Saturday, Sept 3, 7:30 p.m. ET)
In the most-hyped matchup of the weekend, Ryan Day’s Buckeyes are 17.5-point favorites as things currently stand — that means there is an implied winning percentage chance of 93.7% for Ohio State.
According to numberFire’s projection model, OSU has an 88% chance to win against the Fighting Irish.
Florida State vs. LSU (Sunday, Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m. ET)
One week before the start of the 2022 NFL season, fans of the college game get a rare Sunday night special featuring Brian Kelly’s debut at the LSU helm in a home tilt against the Seminoles of Florida State. As Larry Rupp writes at TheDuel:
LSU enters this matchup as a small 3.5-point favorite over Florida State, according to NCAAF Odds on FanDuel Sportsbook. The Tigers hold +102 odds to cover this spread, while the Seminoles have -124 odds as a 3.5-point underdog. Florida State is +138 on the moneyline compared to LSU’s -166 moneyline odds and an over/under has been set at 51.5 points, with -115 odds on the over and -105 odds on the under.
2022 Louisiana Kickoff predictions from numberFire’s projection model give Florida State a 51.4% chance of winning the game. That leaves LSU with a 48.6% chance of avoiding an upset loss.
Click here to read the full story at FanDuel.
Georgia Tech vs. Clemson (Monday, Sept. 5, 8 p.m. ET)
To cap off the weekend, the high-flying Clemson Tigers kick off their 2022 campaign in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game, an ACC matchup against the Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech. As Devon Platana writes on TheDuel:
Clemson enters this matchup as a major 22.5-point favorite over the Yellow Jackets, according to NCAAF Odds on FanDuel Sportsbook. Clemson holds -110 odds to cover this spread, while Georgia Tech also has -110 odds as a 22.5-point underdog. The Yellow Jackets are +890 on the moneyline compared to Clemson’s -1700 moneyline odds and an over/under has been set at 48.5 points, with -110 odds on both the over and under.
FanDuel Sportsbook is projecting for Clemson to defeat Georgia Tech, with the Tigers’ -1700 moneyline odds translating to an implied probability of 94.4%.
Click here to read the full story at FanDuel.
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