College Football Picks Against the Spread Week 1
- Week 1 of College Football features a large slate on Saturday, September 3rd
- Notre Dame vs Ohio State and Oregon vs Georgia are among the marquee matchups
- Read below for the best ATS picks for Week 1 of the college football season
Week 1 of the 2022 College Football season features several matchups with possible College Football Playoff implications on Saturday, September 3rd. The game between No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 2 Ohio State is the clear headliner. Ohio online sports betting is set to go live this Jan. 1, with early pre-reg now available for FanDuel Ohio.
In addition to the showdown at the ‘Shoe’, Oregon — led by former Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning — takes on the defending national champs in a virtual home game for the Bulldogs in Atlanta. Meantime Cincinnati — which became the first G5 program to break into the CFP last season — travels to Arkansas.
Here are CFB betting odds and three ATS picks to consider for Week 1.
Notre Dame vs Ohio State Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | +17 (-108) | +525 | O 59 (-112) |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | -17 (-113) | -770 | U 59 (-108) |
All odds as of August 30th at Barstool Sportsbook.
ATS Pick #1: Notre Dame vs Ohio State (-17)
The Buckeyes figure to be an exceedingly unenviable team for opponents to face in 2022: a supremely talented team with a chip on its shoulder. OSU features three players (quarterback CJ Stroud, running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba) who may be the best at their respective position in the sport. And much has been made about how motivated this group of Bucks is after falling short of expectations last season.
Ryan Day knows Ohio State needs to respond with a strong season in 2022. That starts by beating Notre Dame on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/aD4ECvEKKH
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 30, 2022
Meantime, the Irish are tasked with being the first team this potentially-special Ohio State squad faces — with Marcus Freeman making his head coaching debut.
Marcus Freeman is keeping the receipts ahead of Notre Dame’s matchup with Ohio State ✍️ pic.twitter.com/veoZgi48uo
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 30, 2022
Freeman, a former Buckeye linebacker, will use being three-score underdogs as motivation for his group. But with OSU’s offense being so versatile, intangibles only go so far. The 35-year-old knows he has to slow down Henderson which, in turn, will help slow down Stroud and Co. But far easier said than done.
Oregon stunned Ohio State last year at the Horseshoe by putting the home team on its defensive heels early and forcing the Buckeyes into undesirable decisions on fourth downs. Don’t expect that same scenario in this one.
This is just the fourth time in the past 45 years a team has been favored by 17 or more points in an AP top-five matchup. The last time? When Alabama beat Notre Dame 31-14 in the 2021 CFP Semifinal. But, something tells me the only pushing will be the Buckeyes pushing the Irish around in Ohio.
- Pick: Ohio State -17 (-113)
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Oregon vs Georgia Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon Ducks | +17.5 (-114) | +575 | O 53 (-109) |
| Georgia Bulldogs | -17.5 (-107) | -910 | U 53 (-112) |
ATS Pick #2: Oregon (+17.5) vs Georgia
Another tantalizing matchup on Saturday kicks off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — about an hour-and-a-half away from Athens — with the Ducks trying to knock off the reigning champs. Oregon has lost three of its last four games against SEC opponents — but all three losses were within two scores. UO dropped the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game three years ago to Auburn 27-21. One of the team’s honorary captains for the game — former Duck Heisman Trophy winner and current Falcons starting quarterback Marcus Mariota — had thoughts about the contest.
Marcus Mariota was asked today about Oregon being 17 pt underdogs to Georgia and it was hilarious.
Says a radio show asked him a few weeks ago if he thought the Ducks would COVER.
Mariota's response: "That was the most disrespectful question I've gotten in the past few years." pic.twitter.com/xyo7jvo7BS
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) August 30, 2022
Auburn transfer quarterback Bo Nix is expected to start for Oregon, but Ty Thompson is also in the mix. Nix threw for over 2,000 yards in all of his three seasons with the Tigers, totaling 39 touchdowns and just 16 interceptions over that time.
Translation: “I’ve had an effective plan for Bo Nix for the last half decade” https://t.co/hdi2hYDVhP
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) August 29, 2022
Nix was 0-3 against Georgia as a member of the Tigers. UGA has advantages over UO in virtually every aspect — but one matchup could loom large.
Lanning’s front-seven on defense should be one of the best in the country in 2022, with Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe leading the way. When forced to pass on early downs out of necessity and abandon the play-action passing game, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is nowhere near as comfortable or familiar as when he is able to lean on his running backs.
- Pick: Oregon +17.5 (-114)
Cincinnati vs Arkansas Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bearcats | +6 (-109) | +210 | O 52 (-107) |
| Arkansas Razorbacks | -6 (-112) | -265 | U 52 (-114) |
ATS Pick #3: Cincinnati (+6) vs Arkansas
Following a 4-8 mark in his first season in the Queen City, all Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell has done is go 44-7 over the last four years. Now, the 49-year-old will try to build on the momentum created last season by the school’s historic appearance in college football’s final four.
"It's going to be a tough, nasty game. Just like the environment's going to be." – Cincinnati HC Luke Fickell on what he expects Saturday against Arkansas
— Ethan Westerman (@EthWestNWA) August 30, 2022
The Bearcats will either be led offensively by senior Ben Bryant or sophomore Evan Prater, with Fickell declining to publicly proclaim a starter.
"Some guys bring iced tea, and some guys bring liquor. You just gotta figure out what they’re bringing.”
Arkansas HC Sam Pittman on figuring out their game plan vs. Cincinnati 🤣 pic.twitter.com/jytzjnjupN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 29, 2022
Colorful quotes from Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman aside, the Hogs are 19-3 in season-opening games and have not lost a non-conference game in Week 1 since 2006. But UC is a higher caliber than previous early opponents. Expect this one to be close.
- Pick: Cincinnati +6 (-109)
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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.
