We're almost to college football season and it's never too early to start betting it. Jumping on some lines now will give you the opportunity to capture some all too important closing line value. CLV may not pay the bills, but it's a good predictor of future success.
Here are 4 College Football Best Bets for Friday, September 1. Good luck with all of your Week 0 and Week 1 wagers!
Best Bet: Louisville Cardinals -8
The Cardinals will have a new face under center as Jack Plummer came over in the offseason from Cal. Plummer is likely to connect with tight end, Jamari Johnson a bunch of times per game.
The offensive line is filled with veterans and will look to create gaps for Jawhar Jordan who averaged over 5.5 yards per carry last season. The defense has a bunch of question marks on the line and linebacker levels but the secondary should be the strong point due to a slew of transfers.
Georgia Tech completely overhauled their offense during the offseason and not by design but by necessity. The scheme has changed from an option style to a more pro-style offense. Zach Pyron and Haynes King have been battling for the starting QB spot but it will be on the offensive line to hold the offense together.
They were terrible at the pass block last year and there is no early sign this has changed. On defense, the Yellow Jackets were just as bad as the offense last season. Linebackers will need to help with the pass rush and the secondary will look to make the most of their opportunities.
Road favs of 6-7 typically pique our interest and that is exactly the case here. With GT overhauling their offense and running a new scheme, it should take at least a couple of weeks of live action for the group to get comfortable. With the Cardinals having a more established offense, we believe they are going to be able to cover this number on the road.
Key Betting Trends for Louisville at Georgia Tech:
- Louisville is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against an opponent in the ACC.
- Louisville is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games.
- GT is 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games in September.
- GT is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games played in week 1.
Best Bet: Hawaii Rainbow Warriors +9
The Cardinal has had a handful of rough seasons lately that ultimately led to David Shaw being replaced by Troy Taylor. Coach Taylor has some talent in the backfield, but he needs the offensive line to step up and create some holes for them. Last year, that was far from the case as the line was the worst in the Pac 12.
Ashton Daniels and Ari Patu have been battling for the starting QB job with Patu looking to have a bit of the edge. The Cardinal defense was bad, if not worse, than the offense last season. If that was not bad enough, they were then decimated by the transfer portal. It could be a long 1st season for Troy Taylor.
Former Hawaii QB, Timmy Chang enters his 2nd season as the head coach of the Rainbow Warriors. His squad finished 3-10 last season, but the expectations were not very high to begin with. While Chang wants the offense to excel in the passing game, he may need to settle for the running game to lead the way early on.
Tylan Hines is back at running back and only needs some small creases to bust some big runs. The other side of the ball will be led by a good linebacking corps and a revamped secondary that landed a top tier corner from the transfer portal in Cam Stone from Wyoming.
Stanford always seems to play down the level of their competition as of the last few seasons. In this case, that could potentially spoil their season opener.
The Hawaii ground attack should be able to produce enough for them to stay within striking distance of Stanford. That said, we are likely to sprinkle a small amount on the Hawaii money line here as well.
Key Betting Trends for Stanford at Hawaii
- Stanford is 1-8 ATS in their last 9 road games.
- Stanford is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games in September.
- Hawaii is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
- Hawaii is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 home games.
Best Bet: Miami Ohio Redhawks +18
Brett Gabbert returns after being knocked out early in 2022. He was coming off an extremely productive season in 2021 and was poised to continue last season. He loses Mac Hippenhammer but does have Miles Marshall back to give him a deep threat.
Unfortunately, the line is mixed matched, and the running backs do not strike fear into any defenses. While the offense does not look great, the defense is loaded once again. After finishing as the top defense in the conference, the Redhawks will have a top tier linebacking corps and a couple of defensive backs that have potential to be all-conference.
Mario Cristobal led the Canes to a 5-7 mark in his 1st season at the helm. The team dealt with injuries and inconsistency all season last year and hope to avoid the same pitfalls in 2023-2024. Tyler Van Dyke is back and looks to lead the Canes offense and get NFL scouts interested in his stock.
His line is improved after some additions from the transfer portal and that should also help the ground game. Henry Parrish and Mark Fletcher stand to benefit in the backfield. On defense, Cristobal hopes that the 4-2-5 scheme of new coordinator Lance Guidry will pay dividends.
The Redhawks have a talented defense that should cause some issues for the Canes here in the opening game. The offensive line for Miami is better but will be tested in this one throughout the contest. The Redhawks should have enough here to stay within the 17.5-point window we have been given.
Key Betting Trends for Miami-Ohio at Miami
- Miami Ohio is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games on grass.
- Miami is 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games.
- Miami is 0-6 ATS in their last 6 home games.
Best Bet: Central Michigan Chippewas +14.5
CMU was atrocious on offense last season but have hopes to get things turned around with Jase Bauer under center. He may be looking over his shoulder a bit with Bert Emanuel Jr waiting in the wings. Jalen McGaughy will be the top target for whoever is under center.
Lew Nichols is now in the NFL and that leaves Marion Lukes and Myles Bailey in the backfield for head coach Jim McElwain. The defense for the Chippewas looks to be talented. Kyle Moretti will lead a good group of linebackers while Donte Kent and his 50+ tackles from last season should anchor the secondary.
Mel Tucker enters his 4th year and could find himself in the hot seat if the Spartans stumble out of the gate this season. Payton Thorne and Keon Coleman, the top QB-WR connection for Tucker left for Auburn and FSU respectively. Noah Kim is slated to take over the offense and he will have a depleted receiving corp.
However, it may be the run game that steps up for Tucker with that mainly relying on the back of junior, Jalen Berger. The defense is a bit of a mystery as Tucker is a defensive minded coach, yet they struggled on that side of the ball during his tenure.
This is way too many points to be handing to any team right now for the Spartans. With the ability of CMU to shut down passing attacks and the Spartans having a weak one to begin with, we could see the box getting stacked against the running attack of the Spartans.
Overall, this should be a lower scoring game, and, in that scenario, we want to have the points on our side.
Key Betting Trends for Central Michigan at Michigan State
- CMU is 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
- CMU is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games against Michigan State.
- MSU is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
- MSU is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games.
