Week 1 College Football Opening Odds and Spreads

• All the FBS teams are in action for the first time this week
• The marquee game of Week 1 is Clemson meeting Georgia
• The full list of Week 1 odds and lines can be found below

After a smattering of Week 0 games on Saturday, the college football season kicks off in full force this week with every FBS team in action.

Highlighting the schedule is a matchup of two top-five teams Saturday night when #3 Clemson meets #5 Georgia in Charlotte, N.C. Both teams have hopes of dethroning Alabama as the national champion.

Speaking of the Alabama, the Crimson Tide is ranked #1 again and tussles with #18 Miami in Atlanta.

There are also two intriguing openers in the Big Ten. #19 Penn State visits #12 Wisconsin and #18 Iowa hosts #17 Indiana.

Steve Sarkisian, most recently Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama, makes his much-anticipated debut as Texas’ head coach when the #21 Longhorns play at home against #23 UL-Lafayette.

Here is a look at all the Week 1 odds in college football:

Week 1 College Football Opening Odds and Spreads

Odds as of August 29th at DraftKings.

Uiagalelei Takes Clemson Reins

The D.J. Uiagalelei era officially begin at Clemson when the Tigers meet Georgia at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday in a neutral-site game at Bank of America Stadium. Clemson is a three-point favorite.

Uiagalelei has a big task in replacing Trevor Lawrence at quarterback. Lawrence had a 34-2 record in three seasons as the starter, led Clemson to the national title in 2018 and was the first overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

NIL has already been good to Uiagalelei

Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei becomes the first college football player shown in a commercial during a college football broadcast. pic.twitter.com/ODEpJOc6bv

— Steve Helwick (@s_helwick) August 28, 2021

However, Uiagalelei showed his ability when he made two starts last season while Lawrence was sidelined by COVID-19. In his starting debut, Uiagalelei rallied Clemson from 18 points down for a road win at Boston College and followed by throwing for 439 passing yards in a double-overtime loss at Notre Dame.

Georgia looks forward to a full season of JT Daniels at quarterback. The Bulldogs won their last four games of 2020 after Daniels took over as QB1 to finish with an 8-2 record.

One downside for the Georgia offense is star wide receiver George Pickens might miss the season because of a knee injury. However, the Bulldogs are deep at running back with starter Zamir White backed up by James Cook, Kendall Milton, Kenny McIntosh and Daijun Edwards.

Alabama Starts Repeat Bid

Alabama sustained some major losses on offense with the departures of wide receiver DeVonta Smith, quarterback Mac Jones and running back Najee Harris. Smith won the Heisman Trophy last season while Jones and Harris were finalists.

However, as everyone knows, Saban never lacks for talent in his program. Which is why Alabama is an 18.5-point over a good Miami team in their matchup at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Bryce Young takes over at QB and has more natural talent than Jones. John Metchie III is an outstanding receiver who could match or even surpass Smith’s gaudy production while the Crimson Tide has high hopes for Brian Robinson Jr.

Alabama QBs at practice with a deep ball from Bryce Young to Jameson Williams. pic.twitter.com/DP1MdIE9Em

— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) August 27, 2021

Miami quarterback D’Eriq King is coming back for an another season, taking advantage of the NCAA’s ruling that gave everyone an extra year of eligibility because 2020 was so impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

King isn’t the Hurricanes’ only “super senior.” Wide receiver Mike Harley, offensive lineman Jarrid Williams and defensive starters Zach McCloud, Jon Ford and Amari Carter all decided to return for a second senior season.

Is Texas Undervalued?

Tom Herman won bowl games in all four seasons as Texas’ coach. However, that could not save his job because Longhorns’ boosters want Big 12 titles and national championships, not Alamo Bowl trophies.

Enter Sarkisian, whose team hosts UL-Lafayette at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Texas is an eight-point pick against one of the best teams in the Group of Five.

Too bad Sark can’t name himself the starting quarterback.

On this day 25 years ago, Steve Sarkisian passed for 536 yards and six touchdowns, including the game-winner, to lead BYU past No. 13 Texas A&M in the Pigskin Classic, 41-37.https://t.co/gLYD8nvdiC pic.twitter.com/YHjnc9aRTq

— CFB Home (@CFBHome) August 24, 2021

While UL-Lafayette is very good, Texas is a brand name and now has a brand-name coach, which makes it attractive to bettors. So does having a potential All-America running back in Bijan Robinson.

Thus, it seems likely this line will go higher as the week goes on.