College football is only just a few short weeks away and it’s never too early to get ready for the season with some best bets.
With Betfred Sportsbook recently releasing Week 0 and Week 1 odds, it's never too early to get some skin in the game.
Here are our thoughts on all the early big games.
Notre Dame (-20) vs Navy (Week 0)
This is the marquee game of Week 0 with the Fighting Irish playing a game in Ireland against the Midshipmen. Notre Dame is starting their new quarterback in Sam Hartman, who came over from Wake Forest and immediately becomes the best quarterback Notre Dame’s had under center in a while. He threw for 38 touchdowns a season ago, after tossing 39 in the 2021 season. The Notre Dame defense and running game will be very good as well and should cover in Ireland against a Navy team that has a lot of questions this season, and also playing under new head coach Brian Newberry. Notre Dame could stake their claim on a potential playoff spot with a massive win here.
The early pick: Notre Dame (-20)
San Jose State at USC (-30) (Week 0)
Nevada at USC (-38) (Week 1):
This is a bit of a cheat, but the Trojans are facing overmatched opponents in both Week 0 and Week 1. You can pick your poison, or you can bet both games, but USC should cover both games relatively easily. The USC offense is a machine and brings back the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Caleb Williams, for one last year. They lost Jordan Addison as a receiver, but still have Brenden Rice and brought Dorian Singer in from the transfer portal too. San Jose State and Nevada have a case to at least be decent teams this year, but the issue is that they are traveling to the Coliseum to face a buzzsaw. It’ll be interesting to see how the USC defense performs in these two games because they added some talent this past offseason in the portal like Bear Alexander (Georgia) and Anthony Lucas (Texas A&M) to beef up the defensive line.
The early pick: USC to cover both
Colorado at TCU (-20)
Deion Sanders has completely revamped the Colorado Buffaloes in just one offseason. They needed it and added playmakers on offense and some key pieces on defense as well. Colorado is almost a completely different team from last year and that’s a good thing. Shedeur Sanders is a very good quarterback and Travis Hunter might be the best athlete in college football and could play on both sides of the ball. TCU is going to still be a very good team, but they lost Max Duggan and Quentin Johnston to name a few of the playmakers that made a difference last year. Look for the Buffaloes to cover, but TCU wins at home.
I'm not alone here either, as Torres labeled this as his best Week 1 bet on his latest podcast.
The early pick: Colorado (+20)
North Carolina (-1.5) vs South Carolina (Charlotte)
This battle of the Carolinas should be one of the most entertaining games of the opening weekend with North Carolina having one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Drake Maye and South Carolina having one of the more improved quarterbacks in Spencer Rattler. The difference in this game is going to be the defenses. Both defenses aren’t great, but South Carolina’s is the better unit, even though it’s only slightly better. North Carolina also doesn’t have much around Drake Maye to help him. South Carolina should ride the momentum from the end of last year and cover and win this very entertaining game.
The early pick: South Carolina (+1.5)
LSU (-2.5) vs Florida State:
This is the game of the weekend in Orlando on Sunday night. Both teams have College Football Playoff aspirations, and a win here would boost that or hurt it. LSU brings back Jayden Daniels under center after he helped LSU to a 10-win season in his first in Baton Rouge. The Tigers also boast explosiveness at the skill positions, with leading receiver Malik Nabers and versatile tight end Mason Taylor both returning. The defense of course will be led by arguably (or maybe it's not arguable) the best linebacker in college football in Harold Perkins.
The issue though, is that Florida State is the better team in this game. The Seminoles have Jordan Travis back at quarterback and he’ll be throwing to a receiving corps that has an average height of some basketball teams with Johnny Wilson leading the way at 6’7. Florida State also added Michigan State leading receiver Keon Coleman in the portal this spring.
The Seminoles also boast some great talent on defense, with Jared Verse being the headliner off the edge as a rusher. Florida State should win the best game of the weekend.
The early pick: Florida State (+2.5)
Follow Jake Faigus on Twitter - @Jake_Faigus
For full Week 1 college football odds - visit the Betfred Sportsbook
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