College Football Parlay Picks, Predictions Week 0: Two Team Total Unders Lead the Way
Traditional point spread, moneyline, and O/U wagers can be very profitable, but parlays can be a great way to make a big score quickly. Read on for our three-leg college football parlay that pays out more than 8:1 odds for Week 0 based on the best NCAAF odds.
DraftKings is an excellent sportsbook for college football betting, as it often has some of the most unique offerings of any shop. One of those plays is involved in our three-leg parlay, which covers nearly half of the seven-game Week 0 college football slate.
I addition to our college football best bets and upset picks, here are our best college football parlay picks for Week 0 (odds via our best college football betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
College football parlay picks: Week 0
- Navy team total Under 14.5 (-120) vs. Notre Dame ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- San Jose State vs. USC - 2nd half highest scoring half (+160) ⭐⭐⭐
- San Diego State team total Under 25.5 (-110) vs. Ohio ⭐⭐⭐⭐
College football parlay predictions
Navy team total Under 14.5 vs. Notre Dame (-120) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The first college football game of the 2023 season is our first glimpse at a rule change that has largely gone under the radar but should have massive implications on how the game is played, and I have expect it to make an impact with my Navy vs. Notre Dame prediction.
While other rule changes, like banning consecutive timeouts to ice kickers were instilled, no rule change will have a more significant impact than the clock not stopping after a first down outside of the last two minutes. Thus, if you thought Navy’s triple-option attack made games lightning fast compared to the rest of the country, such a rule change will speed the game up even quicker and limit possessions both ways, which Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy was very vocal about.
While this rule change would figure to impact Notre Dame more than Navy, given their traditional styles of play, the Midshipmen have vowed to pass more under new offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut. That unique style of offense will not gel well in Week 0, given that so many veteran players have played under the triple-option-dominated system.
This is a three-star play in our parlay, as the O/U has moved from 50.5 to 49 with the heavy threat of rain in Dublin on Saturday. In addition, we find value with the Under 14.5, considering DraftKings also has set the O/U for the Navy’s total team touchdowns at 1.5.
San Jose State vs. USC - 2nd half highest scoring half (+160) ⭐⭐⭐
This is a tricky leg of our parlay given that it is the only one that involves a three-way moneyline, as “draw” is an option at +1600 odds for the same amount of points to be scored in each half. But given the unlikelihood of that happening, we are more focused on the difference between the -200 odds for the first half to be higher scoring and are more allured by the +155 odds for the final 30 minutes to have more points scored than the first 30.
USC played four non-conference opponents last year and allowed a total of seven points in the first quarter, even shutting out Tulane in the Cotton Bowl in a game they went on to allow 46 points. That was a microcosm of the Trojans defense, as USC allowed 35.7% of its points in the fourth quarter alone.
The Trojans may again allow the bulk of their points in the second half in this contest, especially if they race out to a sizeable lead behind Caleb Williams. Granted, that may mean the reigning Heisman Trophy winner does not play much of the fourth quarter, but a Lincoln Riley offense that finished third in the country in scoring last year is also not known for taking its foot off the gas even when its backups are playing.
My San Jose State vs. USC prediction offers an alternative look at this game.
San Diego State team total Under 25.5 vs. Ohio (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Ohio-San Diego State matchup is tied for the second-lowest O/U of any game on the Week 0 slate at most sportsbooks, and oddsmakers may be tipping their hand that an upset is likely, as the Aztecs are the only home favorite laying fewer than a field goal. That combination has us expecting San Diego State to struggle offensively.
Aztecs quarterback Jalen Mayden is a converted safety, and he did not look entirely comfortable at the position last year with a 12-10 TD-INT ratio.
Defense has been San Diego State’s calling card for much of the previous decade, with an average defensive SP+ ranking of 20.3 from 2015-21, per ESPN’s Bill Connelly. However, the defense that routinely got off the field for its offense (the Aztecs finished eighth in third-down defense last year) lost a ton of production in the front seven (just one of their top seven DL/LB in snaps played returns), which will impact the offense this year.
Our Shane Jackson has different expectations for San Diego State with his Ohio vs. San Diego State prediction.
College football parlay picks made 8/25/2023 at 7:17 a.m. ET.
College football betting odds pages
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