College Football Picks Today: Best Bets for Week 0 CFB (Aug 29)
By Blair Johnson in College Football
Published:
- A fresh slate means fresh betting angles across the country
- I am targeting live road underdogs and high-powered offenses
- Read below for my top college football picks today
The 2026 NCAA football season kicks off with a clean slate and a board full of betting angles. With every program at 0-0, my early Week 0 approach leans on matchup edges, market perception, and preseason expectations rather than established momentum.
No. 14 USC headlines the slate as a massive home favorite against San Jose State, but the best value is not limited to the ranked teams. TCU, UNLV, and Virginia all received preseason AP votes, while live underdogs like Memphis and North Carolina have chances to challenge the market narrative.
Below, I break down my top CFB predictions today and the best value on the featured slate.
College Football Picks Today
My Saturday college football picks focus on situations where market perception has not quite caught up to on-field reality. I am backing an improving ground and pound attack in Dublin, anticipating an absolute offensive shootout in Los Angeles, and grabbing an elite red zone offense catching points in Las Vegas.
These CFB best bets offer excellent situational angles backed by concrete offensive metrics and strong turnover differentials.
College Football Pick Today #1: TCU -8.5
Now, let’s dive into the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. TCU features a potent air raid offense that averaged 30.7 points per game in 2025 with an excellent 47.4% third-down conversion rate. Of course, the Horned Frogs were led by quarterback Josh Hoover last season. He is now in Bloomington and takes over for Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and defending national champion Indiana.
Leading TCU this year will be Harvard transfer Jaden Craig, who set numerous records for the Crimson last season. North Carolina was the opposite of an offensive juggernaut in Year 1 of the Bill Belichick Era in Chapel Hill — scoring just 18.9 points per game in 2025 while converting only 36.9% of third downs. Enter new UNC Offensive Coordinator Bobby Petrino — who has built numerous high-octane offenses during his various stints at Louisville and Arkansas.
Even with Petrino’s addition, I love TCU’s improving offensive trend here, which fully justifies laying the points. The Tar Heels simply do not possess the firepower to keep pace in a true field position battle.
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- Pick: TCU -8.5 (-113 at BetMGM).
College Football Pick Today #2: San Jose State vs USC Over 61
Meantime, out in Los Angeles, USC boasts a Top-15 recruiting class featuring several true freshman at skill positions that could get be on the field a lot on Saturday. Head Coach Lincoln Riley is entering his fifth year leading the Trojans — and it’s put-up-or-shut-up time in the Big Ten for the once-hottest commodity in coaching.
USC featured a high-scoring offense in 2025 that averaged 35.0 points per game. The offense was backed by a dominant 90.3% red zone efficiency and incredible pocket presence from their signal-caller, redshirt senior Jayden Maiava. Meantime, San Jose State was highly turnover-prone last season, carrying a -14 turnover differential.
Potential extra possessions for the home team will allow the Trojans to run up the score. However, with the road offense capable of approaching its 21.4 points per game average achieved last season, this matchup is primed to eclipse the total. Another factor to consider is the weather. Southern California has been experiencing a heat wave over the last week and Saturday’s temperatures will be in 90s at the Coliseum — and even hotter on the field.
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- Pick: San Jose State vs USC Over 61 (-110 at bet365).
College Football Pick Today #3: Memphis +4.5
Finally, the Memphis-UNLV matchup features two programs that had elite, high-scoring offenses in 2025. UNLV averaged 33.9 points per game, while Memphis was right behind at 32.2 points per game with an incredible 93.8% red zone efficiency last season. The road squad also held a strong +7 turnover differential on its way to an 8-5 mark and Gasparilla Bowl appearance.
I believe Memphis offers incredible value to cover the number as a live underdog. With UNLV seeing a declining defensive trend, the visitors have the exact profile to secure an outright upset.
Start betting at Caesars now to grab these points.
- Pick: Memphis +4.5 (-114 at Caesars).
Sports Writer
Blair Johnson is a veteran journalist and seasoned sports content creator. He has been writing and producing content as long as he can remember, with such familiar names as CNN, NFL Media and Yahoo. Blair currently lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.
