What is the story about?
College
football is back and so are my more frequented trips to the sportsbooks to sometimes be irresponsible with my hard-earned money betting on the outcomes of a sport played by 18 to 24 year olds.
Week zero doesn’t offer many games, but there is a lot of value and money to be made with some of these games.
First off, lets look at some locks and then we’ll get to the games to stay far away from this week.
WEEK ZERO LOCKS
- North Carolina vs. TCU – Absolutely hammer the under at 46.5 in this game that is being played in Dublin, Ireland to kick off the season. The last three games played in Ireland would have hit the under, and I think its due to early season jitters and the travel involved. Whether the players have the jet lag completely dealt with or just being in a very different place I don’t think these offenses will be clicking at a high rate.
- San Jose St. at USC (-38.5) – Early morning for the Spartans and Trojans and I could see SJSU despite their 3-9 record last year making this a tough cover for USC. Throw a hundred on SJSU to cover the 38.5 points on the road.
- Memphis at UNLV (-4.5) – First year head coach Charles Huff had a miracle turnaround of Southern Miss last season before taking over the Tigers in 2026. I think he is going to be a great coach in time for Memphis, but Dan Mullen has got UNLV looking damn good. Late night kickoff in Vegas and while I know many who are making the trip I think the Runnin’ Rebels cover the 4.5 points to start the season.
POISON OF THE WEEK
- NC State at Virginia (-4) – This is a game I could see going either way. Dave Doeren and Tony Elliott have both had some nice success at these programs, and it could come down to a field goal either way. I wouldn’t touch this game with a ten foot pole.
