From Saturday, however, a new era begins. Players and coaches from all 131 FBS programs may not know it, but they will unwittingly endear themselves to hundreds of thousands of college football fanatics. There’s no better time to start the process than Week 0. From the United States to Ireland, our staff has provided 11 best bets for five of Saturday’s college football openers. So buckle up, grab your beverage of choice and place some bets. We have work to do.
Week 0 The best college football bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups our college football staff is targeting from the games on Saturday, August 27th. Click on the team logos for one of the matches below to go to a specific bet discussed in this article.
Nebraska vs. Northwestern
By BJ Cunningham A lot of changes have taken place at Nebraska this offseason. First, former Texas point guard Casey Thompson is now under center for the Huskers, with long-term starter Adrian Martinez transferring to Kansas State. Second, Mark Whipple now serves as the offensive coordinator after turning Kenny Pickett into a first-round draft pick at Pitt last season. In terms of pace, Nebraska came in with 2.40 plays per minute last season, which ranked in the top 40. At Pitt, Whipple played even faster at 2.48 plays per minute. Add in the fact that Thompson comes from Steve Sarkisian’s Texas offense (also top-50 in plays per minute), and it’s clear that Nebraska’s offense will be fast. Northwestern’s defense was awful last season, ranking outside the top 100 in both Passing and Rushing Success Rate. The Wildcats allowed 6.3 yards per play a season ago to rank 111th in college football. Even worse, the Wildcats have only five returning starters on defense – their TARP rating sits at 0. Leading tackler Chris Bergin, who had 141 tackles and 52 more than anyone else on defense, is gone. Northwestern did not employ a slow, methodical offense last season. He actually had the same pace as Nebraska at 2.40 plays per minute, which ranked in the top-40 in the country. This means that I think the pace of this game will be faster than most people expect. Nebraska also ranked outside the top 70 in both Defensive Rushing and Passing Success Rate Allowed. The Blackshirts also return just five starters from last season. I’m predicted 61.5 points for this game, so I think there’s a lot of value in over 50.5 points. Also, winds are supposed to be around five miles per hour, so they shouldn’t be a factor.
Option: Over 49.5 (Play to 55.5)
Nebraska vs. Northwestern
By Patrick Strollo After what seems like an eternity, the Adrian Martinez era is officially over in Lincoln. As Martinez moves to Kansas State, the Huskers inherit former Texas quarterback Casey Thompson. A former four-star recruit, Thompson will look to make a statement in his opening game as a Husker while also doing his best to help coach Scott Frost salvage what has been a troubled tenure at Nebraska. Last season, Thompson passed for 2,113 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a starter. Plagued by a thumb injury that limited his productivity, he decided to part ways for greener pastures — or pastures full of corn — after Texas landed Quinn Ewers via the transfer gate. This season, Thompson will work under the tutelage of quarterback whisperer and new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. Whipple was instrumental in Ben Roethlisberger’s development when he was with the Steelers as quarterbacks coach from 2004-06. Most recently, Whipple was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Pitt and worked very closely with first-round draft pick and Heisman finalist Kenny Pickett. In addition to new looks at quarterback and offensive coordinator, the Huskers bring back a veteran stable of running backs. Rahmir Johnson returns after rushing for 495 yards last season, and Anthony Grant — a former Florida State product and JUCO standout — impressed in his spring debut for the Huskers. Thompson and the Huskers will face a Northwestern team that stunk on defense last year. Second-year coordinator Jim O’Neil led a unit that finished 119th in the nation in passing and 89th in scoring defense, giving up 29.0 points per game. Northwestern averaged just 16.6 points per game last season, ranking 125th in the FBS last season. In his final two seasons at Pitt, Whipple averaged 35.2 points per game. Based on last season’s stats and the new look on offense this season, I project Nebraska as a 17-point favorite in Dublin. Given the changes made to the offense in the offseason, a veteran running back corps and returning defensive productivity, I like the Huskers on the road in Week 0.
Pick: Nebraska -11.5 (Play to -12.5)
Nebraska vs. Northwestern
North West Group Total Under 18.5 By Thomas Schlarp After navigating the nearly nine-month college football wilderness that is the offseason, the gods rewarded our patience with the international blockbuster we’ve all been rooting for: a meeting of two three-win teams in 2021 that have both lost their last six games. season. Northwestern took a huge step back last season from 2020, but the offensive stats were more offensive. The Wildcats ranked last in the Big Ten in scoring — averaging just 16.6 points per game — and were 128th of 130 teams in red-zone scoring, converting on just 67.7 percent of trips inside the opponent’s 20. All signs point to quarterback Ryan Hilinski starting in Dublin, but Pat Fitzgerald playing coy about who his starting quarterback will be doesn’t exactly portend a breakout season at the position. The 2021 five-game starter completed just 54% of his passes at a rate of 5.6 yards per throw, with a 3:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. And his leading man, Stephon Robinson Jr., has since graduated. Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian is back for his third season, so don’t expect any groundbreaking changes to the scheme for the Wildcats. The only thing going for Northwestern’s offense is its ground game behind All-American left tackle Peter Skoronski. Evan Hull, a 1,000-yard rusher last season, returns with 2020 leading rusher Cam Porter. But the more the Wildcats lean on their running game, the more they play into a favorable game scenario for downs as the clock ticks down. And the strength of the Cornhuskers’ defense is their front seven. There are too many new variables on the offensive side of the ball for Nebraska – including a new OC and a quarterback – for me to comfortably entertain one game at a stretch. Instead, I’m going to bank on the known commodity that is Northwestern’s anemic offense, and continue to fade it until proven otherwise this season.
Pick: Northwestern Team Total Under 18.5 (Play to 17.5)
Joe Robbins/Getty Images. Photo: Pat Fitzgerald.
Wyoming vs. Illinois
By Cody Goggin Wyoming has to replace an absurd amount of production this season. The Cowboys are without last year’s quarterback, their 1,000-yard rusher, their top two receivers, their entire offensive line interior and 11 of their top 15 tacklers from a season ago. All that turnover going into a game against a physical Big Ten team led by Bret Bielema? No thanks. Incoming quarterback Tommy Devito showed capable play at Syracuse and will likely stabilize an Illinois offense that has struggled to pass in years past. Bielema’s teams are known for their power-run style, which is not a good matchup for a five-team squad with little experience and less talent. The Illini ran the ball 57 percent of the time last season, which was 25th-highest in the nation. Illinois returns both of its tackles from last year as well as its top three rushers. If Wyoming falls behind in this game, I don’t think they will be able to pass the ball effectively to keep up with the Illini. Last season, the Cowboys ranked 106th in the nation in Passing Success Rate. In 2021, Illinois’ defense ranked second in the nation in Explosiveness and allowed just 18.8 points per game in Big Ten play. Six starters return to that unit, including five of the Illini’s top seven tacklers from a year ago. Unfortunately, we’ve already lost a lot of line movement with this one, as it was at -10.5 in some books on Thursday. I still think the sharp money on this one is correct, and that Illinois should be able to win this game easily.
Pick: Illinois -13 (Game to -13.5)
Charlotte vs. Florida Atlantic
By Doug Ziefel Our action predictions have the Owls as 10.3-point favorites in their season opener, and for good reason. Florida Atlantic returns 87 percent of its offense, which includes quarterback N’Kosi Perry and leading rusher Johnny Ford. These two have a great matchup as the 49ers only return 55% of their production from a defense that was unimpressive last year. Perry should be able to ignite an inexperienced Charlotte secondary that ranked 113th in opponent completion percentage and 130th in passing yards allowed last season. That last stat is key, as Perry led a fairly explosive passing game that included the Owls ranking 45th in yards per carry last year. However, FAU has a balanced offensive attack, which means we will see a lot of Ford. The Ford is fun to watch since it’s only 5 feet away. His short stature makes him agile and gives him a lower center of balance, which helped him average 6.8 yards per carry. The 49ers weren’t much better on the road last season, either. They allowed opposing backs to rush for 5.5 yards per carry,…
