Opening NCAAF Week 1 Odds and Picks

• The early NCAAF Week Zero and Week 1 lines are up
• Some marquee matchups are on the early schedule
• What are the best bets from the huge slate of games?

Oddsmakers recently posted odds on almost every Week Zero and Week 1 game in the 2019 college football season.

Among the early slate of games — which start on Aug. 24th and conclude on Sep. 2nd — are an in-state rivalry game between the Florida Gators vs Miami Hurricanes, a Pac-12/SEC clash between the Oregon Ducks vs Auburn Tigers, and a fascinating Power 5/Group of 5 tilt between the Florida St. Seminoles vs Boise St. Broncos.

The (massive) table below sets out all the games and opening point spreads. Below the table, find our best bets among the early lines.

2019 NCAAF Week 1 Opening Odds

Expect Alabama To Pummel Duke

Alabama is coming off a tough loss in the National Championship Game but many people forget just how good they were in the regular season. This is a team that won their opener 51-14 last year and then went on to score at least 39 points in eight straight weeks. Their average margin of victory was 38.5.

Now they’re coming into their opener with an offseason worth of pent up frustration. And they get to take it out on a Duke side that not only is mediocre but also has to replace starting quarterback Daniel Jones. It’s a huge line here and a lot of squares will be betting it, but I’m on board too. Take Alabama.

Roll With The Pokes

The Oklahoma State Cowboys look like one of the most undervalued teams on the market right now. We’ve already seen their regular season win total jump from 6 to 6.5 and I expect that to continue to rise.

They’ll start the season with a very winnable game and I like this as long as we’re under three scores (17 points). This team returns the receiving corps intact, has a couple of quality quarterbacks and a new offensive coordinator – Sean Gleeson – that should give this unit a shot in the arm.

On the other side we have Oregon State, who gets to host this game, but that’s not saying much. This team won two games last season and is an absolute mess. When they stepped up in competition – against teams like Oregon, Washington, Stanford, USC and Washington State – they gave up at least 38 points every time.

This looks like the perfect game for Oklahoma State to ease into the season with. Any other week I might be worried about a long road trip for them but they should be fine for Week 1. Lay the points.

Take Boston College To Upset Virginia Tech

There’s no question that this will be a tough spot for the Hokies, who are fresh off a disappointing 6-6 campaign. Bud Foster’s defense gave up the most points per game (31.0) and yards (438.7) that he’s ever allowed in 23 years. Sure, there were plenty of injuries and roster turnover, but I’m not sold that they’re back.

There are question marks surrounding their defensive line and Boston College is not the team you want to face when that’s the case. They always have a strong front five and running back A.J. Dillon is among the preseason Heisman Trophy candidates. The Eagles also return a quality quarterback Anthony Brown and some good receivers.

Had this game been at a neutral site, I’d probably stay away but it’s at Chestnut Hill and we’re getting the Eagles as a dog in this spot. They were 5-2 at home last season with the two losses coming to Top 25 teams. Take the points here.