Best bets for Week 0 of college football

We have finally made it. Real, live, meaningful football will be back in our lives this weekend. Sure, it’s not a full slate of games and they might not be the sexiest matchups, but college football is back. Most importantly, we can watch and bet on these games.

With football season now upon us, make sure to read up on all of the sportsbooks available to you in Pennsylvania. We’ve taken the time to read, analyze and review all of the top sportsbooks for your college football needs.

The Bet: Over 51.5 (-108, BetRivers)

For the 96th time, Navy and Notre Dame will meet on the football field this weekend. Notre Dame has won 81 of their 95 meetings, and oddsmakers are expecting that trend to continue as the Fighting Irish are laying three touchdowns in most sportsbooks ahead of kick-off. However, we’re taking a look at the total.

These two teams met last season, and Navy gave Notre Dame a scare. The Fighting Irish pulled out the victory by a final score of 35-32. It was obvious Notre Dame struggled with the triple-option, and that’s a trademark of Navy football.

I don’t expect things to get any easier this time around. These players will be playing their first competitive games of the season, and Notre Dame defenders will have to deal with chop-blocks and players diving at their legs all game. The triple option takes full-on commitment to defend. Some mistakes in execution are to be expected in Week 1. If this game was taking place in November like it usually does, I would be less worried about the Fighting Irish defense. However, the fact that they’ll be ironing out the kinks against such a unique offense gives me pause.

On the other side of the football, former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman has transferred to South Bend. Hartman has thrown for nearly 8,000 yards in the past two seasons and is a sizable upgrade from the duo of Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner that played quarterback for Notre Dame last season. Navy gave up 35 points to this Notre Dame team last season and their passing attack is much improved this season.

Overall, since 2010, this game has seen an average of over 62 points scored. The teams have gone over 50.5 points in ten of those twelve games. The Navy triple option has given Notre Dame some problems. On the other side, the Fighting Irish usually have no issues putting up points. I’m rooting for points in the first college football game of the season.

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The Bet: Ohio +3.5 (-120, DraftKings)

On paper, the Ohio vs. San Diego State matchup might be the best of Week 0.

San Diego State is known for its ability to play defense. They ranked in the top-20 last season in terms of points allowed per game, with their opponents scoring just 20.5 points on average. Unfortunately, they ranked in the bottom-25 in the country in points per game which led to them finishing 7-6 last season.

As far as Ohio, they might have one of the more exciting under-the-radar quarterbacks in the country in Kurtis Rourke. He took over the quarterback position from his older brother Nathan, who is dazzling fans in NFL preseason action, and he might just be better than his brother. Last season, he completed over 69% of his passes which was good for a 25-4 TD-INT ratio. He added 249 yards and four touchdowns with his legs. At 6′5, 231 pounds, he has the prototypical quarterback size.

This spread has come down from 5.5 points over the course of the offseason. In a lot of places, it’s already down to three points. In fact, there’s even some books where the line on this game is down to just 2.5 points. DraftKings still has the 3.5 number available, and I’m acting quickly to grab that hook. I don’t think San Diego State has the offense to pull away in this game, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Ohio win the game outright.

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