College Football Underdog Picks for Week 0 – Northwestern, Charlotte & Wyoming Are Live Plays

• Northwestern, Charlotte and Wyoming are live underdogs in the first week of the college football season
• The Wildcats and 49ers are well-positioned to avenge 2021 losses
• Read below for betting odds, analysis and upset picks for college football Week 0

The opening weekend of the college football season Saturday (Aug 27) is relatively light, with only 11 games on the board in Week 0, but there are still opportunities to get off to a quick start.

Northwestern, Charlotte and Wyoming are prime underdog candidates to cover the number in a week where upsets are common. The Wildcats and 49ers can get right to the business of avenging 2021 defeats as they both open conference play.

Nebraska vs Northwestern Odds

All odds from BetMGM Sportsbook on Aug 25.

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Upset Pick No. 1: Irish Eyes Smile on Northwestern

This is a good spot for Northwestern, and not just because a coach named Fitzgerald and a quarterback named Sullivan will line up in the Big Ten opener for both in Dublin, Ireland, even though the Wildcats are +375 on the moneyline, which means they have a 21.1% implied probability to beat Nebraska.

Northwestern was drubbed on the road at Nebraska last season, 59-7, but that result was the most extreme outlier in a series that has been played every year since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten in 2011. Nebraska took out the frustration of close losses to Oklahoma and Michigan State in the previous two games against a Northwestern team that had lost its starting quarterback two weeks before.

Coming 🔜 to a stadium near you: #B1GFootball!

Here's some preseason predictions, thanks to USA Today/AFCA (@usatodaysports) and the Associated Press (@AP). pic.twitter.com/6zBEqCro79

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) August 15, 2022

Series trends favor the Wildcats, who are 5-6 SU and 7-4 ATS in the series. They have won four of the last seven, and eight of the 10 games before 2021 were decided by eight points or fewer. The Wildcats bounced back from a 3-9 season in 2019 to win the Big Ten West in 2020. They were 3-9 a year ago, which kept their conference title odds low this time around.

The Huskers are trending down. They have had five straight losing seasons for the first time since 1956-61 and are 15-29 under fifth-year coach Scott Frost, whose 15 victories are fifth-fewest in the Power Five. Their 16 road losses are tied for third-most. A new quarterback (Casey Thompson) and offensive coordinator (Mark Whipple) may need time to adjust.

Charlotte vs Florida Atlantic Odds

Upset Pick No. 2: Charlotte Like This Spot

Charlotte returns one of the top quarterbacks in Conference USA in fifth-year senior starter Chris Reynolds, who threw for 2,680 of his school-record 7,726 passing yards last season as the 49ers averaged 29.3 points in league play. Reynolds had 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions a year ago.

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 👀

🏈 Chris Reynolds – @CharlotteFTBL
🏈 Frank Harris – @UTSAFTBL #CUSAFB | https://t.co/7ATK4qp5BV pic.twitter.com/D9psM3XTKU

— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) August 22, 2022

Charlotte is 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS in the three games played in Florida since Florida Atlantic joined CUSA in 2013. Both teams ended 2021 on a down note — Florida Atlantic lost its last four and Charlotte lost five of its last six. Underdog Charlotte is +220 on the moneyline, which means it has a 31.3% implied probability to beat the Owls.

Florida Atlantic coach Willie Taggart is 6-11 in his last 17 games here, and although the Owls are considered a stronger contender in the conference title odds, there is some work to do as Taggart again reorganized his staff this spring in an attempt to jump start the program around quarterback N’Kosi Perry in the CUSA opener for both.

Wyoming vs Illinois Odds

Upset Pick No. 3: Mountain West Rises

These teams play defense. Illinois finished 46th in the NCAA in total defense (365.6 yards per game) a year ago, a number tempered slightly because the Illini missed Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State in the unbalanced Big Ten schedule. Wyoming ranked 55th (370.4), and it has ranked in the top 50 in advanced metrics in the last five seasons.

The Best Mountain West Football Programs | 2015-2021 pic.twitter.com/oPEzFUHMym

— parker fleming (@statsowar) August 18, 2022

And not much offense … Illinois ranked in the bottom 20 in total offense in 2021 and both ranked in the bottom 15 in passing offense, making the double-digit spread even more appealing despite the fact that the Cowboys have only a 23.5% implied probability of winning. This is their first meeting.

Wyoming is counting Utah State transfer quarterback Andrew Peasley and returning halfback Titus Swen. Swen rushed for 785 yards (5.95 per carry) and seven touchdowns as a backup in 2021. Illinois has a new offensive coordinator and a new quarterback in Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito.