Best College Football Picks & Parlays To Bet For Week 1
It’s the first full-slate weekend on the college football gridiron and the board looks glorious.
This is the best time of year for most fanbases. We don’t know anything for sure until they line ‘em up and snap the ball and there’s no telling what surprise teams and major disappointments are lurking for the 2023 season.
The Week 1 slate includes a huge Top-10 matchup, with No. 5 LSU taking on No. 8 Florida State Sunday night at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. We’ve also got No. 3 Ohio State kicking off Big Ten play right out of the gate at Indiana, as well as head coach Luke Fickell making his Wisconsin debut with the No. 19 Badgers hosting Buffalo.
We’ve included all three of those games and more in a pair of Week 1 parlays to get the juices flowing on opening weekend. Make sure to use a trusted !
Best College Football Parlays To Back Today For Week 1
Leg 1: Michigan State -14 over Central Michigan
The Spartans failed to make a bowl game in 2023 after going 11-2 in 2021. We don’t see them reaching those same heights, but this should be a competitive Big Ten team that wins at least six games and earns a postseason trip.
It starts with a blowout win over the Chippewas. Central Michigan should beat some solid MAC teams this year behind an experienced defense, but there’s not much clarity offensively with a unit that averaged just 24.8 points per game a year ago. Michigan State will be far bigger up front and challenge mobile quarterback Bert Emanuel to make plays with his arm, which we didn’t see a lot of last year.
Depth is still a big question for the Spartans, but they’ll be healthy Week 1 and ready to make a strong impression under the lights. We’re taking of our college football parlay - Big Ten edition.
Leg 2: Wisconsin -27.5 over Buffalo
The Luke Fickell era officially gets underway in Madison this weekend, and the Badgers should be celebrating all afternoon. Wisconsin returns eight starters defensively from a group that held opponents to just 303.5 yards per game a year ago.
The Badgers should look better on offense as well thanks to the addition of SMU transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai. Buffalo lost a ton of contributors from last season and this isn’t exactly an ideal environment for the Bulls to get it figured out. This should be a laugher at halftime.
Leg 3: Ohio State -30 over Indiana
We’ve got an early conference matchup in Bloomington and it might be one of the biggest mismatches we see in the Big Ten all season. Hoosiers coach Tom Allen is hanging on by a thread and might not survive the year if things don’t improve quickly.
Even if they get off to a hot start in this one behind a solid home crowd, the problem with playing the Buckeyes is they just never stop coming at you. There’s so much size, skill, and depth that they can rack up three consecutive stops and scores in no time.
Ohio State has won the last two matchups by a combined score of 110-21, and we expect a similar outcome on Saturday in the last leg of our best .
College Football Week 1 Parlay Bet No. 2
Leg 1: Georgia Tech +7.5 over Louisville
The Yellow Jackets appear to be heading in the right direction – or at least a better direction – under former interim coach Brent Key. He takes the full-time roll this year with a new QB under center in Texas A&M transfer Haynes King.
That’s a common theme throughout this game – new quarterbacks on both sides, a new coach at Louisville in Jeff Brohm, and uncertainty abound. We think Tech will exceed expectations this year while the Cardinals will disappoint, and this looks like a one-score game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. We’re taking the points to begin our featuring all home underdogs.
Leg 2: San Jose State +16.5 over Oregon State
It’s time for a fresh start for former Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, who was named starter for the Beavers this week. He’s got a lot of pieces to work with, but the pressure is on to live up to the loftiest of so-far unrealized expectations.
This could be a trickier matchup than expected in Week 1, on the road, against a San Jose State team coming off a 56-28 loss to USC. The Spartans did a lot of good things, including rushing for 200 yards, and holding one of the best offenses in the country to 501 yards. We expect another feisty effort and a home cover in the
Leg 3: Florida State +2.5 over LSU
We have to hold on until Sunday night for the best matchup of the week. It should be worth the wait. No. 5 LSU is a slight favorite over No. 8 Florida State at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. This game was in LSU’s backyard a year ago at the Super Dome in New Orleans and the Seminoles escaped with a 24-23 win.
We expect a similar result this year. Florida State looks ready to pick up right where it left off last season with a few improvements, while LSU still has a few things to sort out offensively. We like the Seminoles in a thriller.
