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A Look at the Best Bets for College Football Week 1
By Joe Tansey
Published:
College football gets its annual weekend in the spotlight before the NFL overwhelms our lives.
We actually have three really good top-10 matchups to kick off the season. That’s Texas/Ohio State, Clemson/LSU, and Notre Dame/Miami. There’s also the Bill Belichick circus at UNC starting on Monday. There are two really fascinating Friday night games that could go off the rails as well.
Here’s a look at the best bets and odds for the big games in CFB Week 1:
Friday
Auburn (-2) at Baylor (Over/Under: 57.5)
I think there’s a ton of potential for bonkers-ness (that’s not a word but you get where I’m coming from) in this game.
Auburn loaded up on its receiver corps to run in Hugh Freeze’s offense and has a half-decent QB in Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold.
Baylor returns a 3,000-yard passer in Sawyer Robertson and is coming off an awful defensive season. The defense won’t be fixed in one week, so I think there’s some vulnerability in the secondary.
The Auburn/Baylor Under is the third-most-bet total at BetMGM, but I’d actually go the other direction. The winner of this game is easily getting into the 30s.
Pick: Over 57.5
Georgia Tech (-4) at Colorado (O/U: 51.5)
Georgia Tech is one of the mid-tier ACC teams that could take a step into the No. 2 role behind Clemson because they have one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in the college game in Haynes King.
A road game at altitude in Week 1 is never fun, but Colorado lost Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter to the NFL and now has to replenish the top-tier talent, which might take a year or two.
I’ll always lean toward the more experienced team in this spot, so the Yellow Jackets are a good bet. I’d actually combine GT -4 and the Auburn-Baylor o57.5 for BetMGM’s CFB No Sweat Parlay Token.
Pick: Georgia Tech (-4)
Saturday
Texas at Ohio State (-1) (O/U: 47)
Ohio State is barely hanging on as the favorite over at bet365.
The number keeps going down in favor of Arch Manning and Texas with kickoff less than 24 hours away.
Arch is going to get all the pregame hype, but OSU might have the best player in CFB in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who broke onto the scene as a freshman last season.
If you’re in New Jersey and can bet CFB player props on NJ betting apps, I would look at Smith’s receiving-yards to use as part of bet365’s $10 Safety Net Bet for CFB Same Game Parlays.
This is an even matchup on paper, and with more line movement expected, I’d take the money line for whichever side you like. I like the Buckeyes a bit more at home, but this is a legit toss-up.
Pick: Ohio State ML
LSU at Clemson (-4) (O/U: 57.5)
There are very few returning star quarterbacks in CFB in 2025, but two of them will play in Clemson on Saturday night.
Garrett Nussmeier of LSU and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik are among the veteran Heisman contenders, along with Penn State’s Drew Allar.
Brian Kelly hasn’t won a Week 1 game at LSU (you’ll hear that stat many times during the broadcast) and I can’t get that trend out of my head, plus Clemson is very good.
Pick: Clemson (-4)
Other bets to make
Southern Miss (+14) vs. Mississippi State: Mississippi State might be the worst power-four team. Southern Miss basically implanted Marshall’s team that had success last year. The game is in Hattiesburg and I think the Southern Miss money line is even in play if Mississippi State is as bad as I think.
Florida Atlantic (+14) at Maryland: FAU brought in the latest hot-shot Air Raid disciple, Zach Kittley, as its head coach. The Owls will at least put up numbers on offense. Maryland is starting a freshman QB, so that could get dicey in Week 1.
Nevada at Penn State (-43.5): Penn State returns a ton of talent, and most importantly, James Franklin always knows the number. Penn State -27.5 in the first half is also a play to lock in. Nevada is coming off a 10-loss season and is not very good.
Cal at Oregon State (-1.5): Cal lost its quarterback, running back and a few pass-catchers to the transfer portal. This is more of a fade of Cal on the road with a brand-new offense than anything.
Utah (-5.5) at UCLA: It’s a shame this isn’t a Pac-12 After Dark game anymore, just like Cal/Oregon State. Anyway, Utah is due for a bounce-back season. Devon Dampier, a transfer from New Mexico, is getting a good amount of preseason hype out west. UCLA feels like it made a mistake with Deshaun Foster at head coach and not even the arrival of Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee will help the Bruins rebound.
Joe Tansey writes sports betting posts for Crossing Broad and also covers the Philadelphia Union for his Substack site, Union Soccer Blog.