College Football Games of the Week: Week 1

After an offseason that seemed like it lasted an eternity, college football is finally back. Week 1 offers a ton of enticing matchups that give us a lot of opportunities to profit.

This week we are looking at the biggest matchups that provide us with the best moneymaking opportunities across college football. After breaking down this week’s best games, these are the lines where I see the largest edges in the market.

Oregon vs. Georgia

(Georgia -16.5, O/U 53.5, Fanduel Sportsbook)

Georgia will take on Oregon in Atlanta in what will be their first game as defending National Champions. A familiar foe will be on the other sideline as Dan Lanning left his post as the Bulldogs’ DC to become the head coach at Oregon.

A massive amount of defense talent departs Athens this season with their historic defense mostly leaving for the NFL. This doesn’t mean that the defense will be weak though. 

Jalen Carter may have been the best defensive player on the team last year and he will return in the middle of the defensive line. Notably, former No. 1 recruit in the country Nolan Smith and number one CB recruit Kelee Ringo are both back on this side of the ball as well. Despite losing a lot of experience, this is not a unit devoid of talent.

Offensively, Georgia returns much of last year’s team. Stetson Bennett is back at quarterback, along with six of their top eight receivers from last season and three offensive linemen. This offensive unit ranked 10th in the country in success rate last year and should be just as good this season.

Oregon brings back seven starters on offense and adds in quarterback Bo Nix from Auburn. The offensive line returning in full is a good sign but with only one of their top four rushers and two of their top seven receivers coming back, the Duck offense may struggle to begin the season. 

Dan Lanning is a great defensive coach but will be dealing with a lot of turnover. Seven starters return on the defense, but they lose six of their top eight tacklers. Noah Sewell will anchor the defense again from LB as he did last year when he led the team with 114 tackles.

There’s a reason this spread is so high, and I actually think that it should be even higher. Georgia just has much more talent than Oregon. With a new head coach and a transfer QB, Georgia’s defense will be just fine.

Pick: Georgia -16.5 (-110). Take to -19.5

Utah at Florida

(Utah -3, O/U 50.5, BetMGM)

Something is just super fun about a major Power 5 matchup on campus instead of at a neutral site. The atmosphere should be insane at The Swamp Saturday as the defending Pac 12 Champions come to town.

Leading Utah is Cam Rising, who was a revelation at quarterback last season. After starting the year on the bench, Rising took over and threw for 2,493 yards and 20 touchdowns while leading the Utes to a 10-4 season. This offense was great in 2021, ranking 17th in overall success rate and 10th when passing. The passing attack for this team should remain potent with Rising under center this year.

Six starters return to the Utah defense, along with Mohamoud Diabate, who led Florida in tackles last season. Last year’s Utah defense was OK, but a far cry from what they have been known for in the past. The Utes ranked 44th in success rate on defense, including a rank of 60th against the run. 

Anthony Richardson returns under center for Florida. In a similar way to Rising, Richardson came off the bench last year and showed that he was the best quarterback on the team. Florida’s season didn’t go quite the same way though as they finished 6-7 and Dan Mullen was fired.

Billy Napier will come in as the new head coach this season, joining from Louisiana, where he built the Ragin’ Cajuns into one of the best teams in a G5 conference. Along with Richardson, Florida returns six starters on offense, including two receivers and four offensive linemen. Unfortunately, we only saw a small sample from Richardson, but it looks as if Florida will have an electric offense this season. 

The Gator defense returns seven players to a unit that underperformed in 2021, ranking 54th in success rate. Their strength was against the pass, where they ranked 28th in success rate.

With two quarterbacks this talented and two defenses that are likely just okay, I think that this game could have some shootout potential. Rising and Richardson will both have a chance to show out on the national stage and start potential Heisman campaigns with a win.

Using our FTN Bets Odds Page, I was able to find that BetMGM is lowest on the market for this game, with the total at 50.5. 

The pick: Over 50.5 Points (Take to 54.5)

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State

(Ohio State -17, O/U 59, DraftKings Sportsbook)

Tyler Buchner is the new man under center this season for the Irish. Buchner will add a rushing element to Notre Dame’s offense that they haven’t had in a few years. Seven starters return on offense, including four offensive lineman and Michael Mayer, who could be debated as the best TE in college football.

Defensively, eight starters are back in South Bend this season for a unit that ranked 30th in the nation in success rate a season ago. This team will be in their second year of new head coach Marcus Freeman’s defensive scheme. Isaiah Foskey will be the player to watch for this defense as he accumulated 11 sacks in 2021.

Ohio State’s offense is on a whole other level. Last year’s No. 1 offense in success rate will return quarterback C.J. Stroud, running back Treveyon Henderson, and wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba, who are all three Heisman contenders. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson will be missed, but between JSN, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Julian Fleming, the Buckeyes will have more than enough firepower to keep this as a top five offense in the country, at minimum.

The downfall of Ohio State is typically their defense. Last season it ranked 67th in success rate and was worst against the pass, ranking 86th. Plenty of experience returns this year though as they keep nine of their top ten tackles from a season ago. Jim Knowles comes over as the new defensive coordinator from Oklahoma State, where he completely overhauled their defense into one of the top units in the Big 12.

Notre Dame’s defense is talented, but I don’t know that anyone will be able to slow down Ohio State this season. Notre Dame should be able to score against the Ohio State defense as well, leading us to a potential shootout situation.

Pick: Over 59 Points (Bet to 62.5)