Almost every team in the top 25 will be in action during the Week 1 college football schedule, including a matchup between No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Florida State on Sunday night. The Tigers and Seminoles are both considered College Football Playoff contenders, but one of them will suffer a major blow on Sunday. LSU is a 2.5-point favorite in the latest Week 1 college football odds, as elite quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (LSU) and Jordan Travis (Florida State) square off in Orlando. Which heavyweight should you include in your Week 1 college football bets?
Another prominent game features No. 21 North Carolina favored by 2.5 points against South Carolina in the Week 1 college football spreads. No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Alabama are all in action on Saturday as well, giving bettors plenty of Week 1 college football lines to choose from. Before locking in any college football picks for Week 1 of the 2023 season, be sure to see the latest college football predictions from SportsLine’s proven model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $2,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, it has turned its attention to the latest college football odds for Week 1 and locked in picks for every FBS matchup. Head here to see every pick.
Top college football predictions for Week 1
One of the top college football picks the model is recommending for Saturday, Sept. 2: Colorado stays within the spread as a 21-point underdog at TCU on Saturday at noon ET. The Buffaloes went 1-11 last season, but first-year head coach Deion Sanders engineered a drastic roster overhaul this summer. He brought in 50 new players from the transfer portal, including quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who put up huge numbers under his father at Jackson State.
The Buffaloes also have five-star true freshman cornerback Cormani McClain to go along with former No. 1 recruit Travis Hunter, giving them a dynamic duo in the secondary. TCU is replacing its starting quarterback and running back from last year’s College Football Playoff run, so the Horned Frogs will need time to find a rhythm. There are more unknowns in this game than any other game on the Week 1 schedule, which is one reason why the model has Colorado covering the spread well over 50% of the time.
Another prediction: Western Kentucky cruises to a blowout win as an 11.5-point home favorite against South Florida on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. South Florida did not win a game against an FBS opponent last season, closing the year on a 10-game losing streak. The Bulls lost seven starters on offense and are going to have trouble keeping pace with a high-powered offense in Week 1.
Western Kentucky returns quarterback Austin Reed, who racked up 4,744 passing yards and 40 touchdowns last season. Reed led the Hilltoppers to a 44-23 win over South Alabama in the New Orleans Bowl, throwing for 497 yards and four touchdowns. He gives Western Kentucky too much firepower for a struggling South Florida program to match, which is why the Hilltoppers are covering the spread in well over 70% of simulations. See which other teams the model likes here.
How to make college football picks for Week 1
The model has also made the call on who wins and covers in every other FBS matchup in Week 1, and it’s calling for several underdogs to win outright. You can only get every pick for every game at SportsLine.
So what college football picks can you make with confidence, and which underdogs win outright? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams win and cover the spread, all from a proven computer model that has returned almost $2,500 in profit over the past seven seasons, and find out.
College football odds for Week 1
See full Week 1 college football picks, odds, predictions here
Thursday, Aug. 31
Kent State at UCF (-37, 57.5)
NC State at UConn (+15, 46.5)
Nebraska at Minnesota (-7.5, 43.5)
Florida at Utah (-6.5, 45.5)
Friday, Sept. 1
Miami (OH) at Miami (-17, 45)
Central Michigan at Michigan State (-14.5, 47.5)
Louisville at Georgia Tech (+8, 49.5)
Stanford at Hawaii (+3.5, 60.5)
Saturday, Sept. 2
East Carolina at Michigan (-17.5, 56)
Arkansas State at Oklahoma (-35, 58)
Colorado at TCU (-20.5, 60.5)
Virginia vs. Tennessee (-28, 57.5)
Ohio State at Indiana (+30, 60)
Boise State at Washington (-14.5, 58.5)
Washington State at Colorado State (+12, 54.5)
North Carolina vs. South Carolina (+2.5, 64.5)
MTSU at Alabama (-39, 51.5)
Texas Tech at Wyoming (+14, 52)
West Virginia at Penn State (-20.5, 50.5)
Coastal Carolina at UCLA (-14.5, 65)
Sunday, Sept. 3
Northwestern at Rutgers (-6.5, 40.5)
Oregon State at San Jose State (+16.5, 54.5)
LSU vs. Florida State (+2.5, 58)
Monday, Sept. 4
Clemson at Duke (+12.5, 55.5)
