The march to the 2023-2024 FBS National Championship begins on Saturday, Aug. 26, with seven college football games on the slate.
I will be here each week throughout the college football season to hopefully help you increase your bankroll by offering a pair of college football parlays and one Same Game Parlay (SGP) card.
Parlays can be risky, so we will only wager 10% of my normal unit price of $100, and I advise you to risk 10% of your normal unit price. This way, we can have some fun while not exposing our bankroll to unnecessary risks.
Here’s what I have for Week 0 of the college football season.
Best CFB Parlay This Week
Note: Lines for NCAAF parlay bets this week were current as of Thursday, Aug. 24.
CFB Week 0 Parlay (+589)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.10 units
- New Mexico State -6.5 (-110)
- Louisiana Tech -11.5 (-110)
- Notre Dame: Under 49 (-112)
We’ll get this one started with a three-leg parlay. Each leg is -110, and these CFB odds are +589, which has a 14.51% chance of winning (implied probability). Usually, I wouldn’t lay this many points, but it’s Week 0, and these non-conference point spreads are beatable.
New Mexico State -6.5
I like this one because UMass is 0-23 as the away team over their past four seasons. Meanwhile, the Aggies are 8-2 when favored at home over their last four campaigns. The Aggies return eight on offense, and I expect New Mexico State to outscore the Minutemen and cover the -6.5.
Louisiana Tech -11.5
Louisiana Tech quarterback transfer Hank Bachmeier should feast on an FIU defense that was 127th in points allowed in 2022, and that defense didn’t get much better this summer.
FIU lost their final four games of the season, scored 18.7 points per game, and lost too many skilled players to the transfer portal. Look for Louisana Tech to roll the Panthers and cover the -11.5 points on Saturday night.
Notre Dame Under 49
This one will be played in Dublin, Ireland, and the weather forecast calls for rain during the day, with skies clearing for their Saturday night contest.
Navy returns nine starters from last season’s third-best rushing defense and will make life difficult for the Fighting Irish offense and Wake Forest transfer quarterback Sam Hartman.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish defense will benefit from a Navy offense averaging 23 points per game with a new offensive scheme that will take time to adjust. Look for a low-scoring affair on Saturday night in Dublin to complete this CFB bet of the week.
CFB Week 0 Long Shot Parlay Bet
CFB Week 0 Risk-Reward Parlay (+1507)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.10 units
- New Mexico State -6.5
- Ohio +124
- Jacksonville State -105
- San Jose State +30.5 -110
This card has much higher odds, with a 6.22% chance of landing, but I like this card, and a $150 profit will be an excellent way of starting off the college football season.
New Mexico State -6.5: New Mexico State laying -6.5 at home is my favorite pick. UMass is not a good football team, especially not on the road, and the Aggies will outscore the Minutemen and cover the spread.
Ohio (+125): This game is a toss-up because both defenses will be outstanding this season. I like the Bobcats offense more than the San Diego State offense.
Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke can sling it, and if he gets comfortable in the pocket and Bobcats 1000+ leading rusher Sieh Bangura gets going, they’ll be tough to beat. Aztecs QB Jalen Mayden is a good one, but I think the Ohio defense will get enough stops to pull off an upset in San Diego on Saturday night to land this CFB Week 0 best bet.
Jacksonville State (-105)
Jacksonville State is a short home underdog, and they have a good enough offense to score with seventh-year senior QB Zion Webb under center.
Webb has his leading rusher and receiver returning and faces a defense returning just five starters. Meanwhile, UTEP has a solid offense that can score the football, but this game is likely a toss-up, and we’ll roll with the home side on Saturday.
San Jose State +30.5 (-108)
The Spartans have a better-than-advertised offense and face a USC defense that probably isn’t any better than the 6.5 yards per play they allowed last season.
2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams will be difficult for San Jose to stop, but San Jose State can score with USC, and the Trojans will have a hard time limiting the Spartans offense.
This game will likely eclipse the 66-point total, and if San Jose State scores three TDs, and I believe they will, they will cover the +30.5.
CFB Same Game Parlay Week 0 Pick
CFB Week 0 SGP (+400)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.10 unit
- San Jose State Over 20.5
- San Jose State 1H +14.5
- San Jose State Over 66.5
Finally, we have our SGP offering for Saturday. This card has a 20% chance of hitting, and the San Jose State Spartans-USC Trojans game is the one we hopefully end the day winning.
San Jose State TT Over 20.5
The Spartans’ offense is pass-heavy, and sixth-year senior QB Chevan Cordeiro has a cannon. USC doesn’t have the best defensive backfield in the game, and the Spartans should reach this number by the first half.
San Jose State 1H +14.5
There are some big expectations of Williams and the Trojans, and the offense could have some nerves trying to live up to the hype and may get off to a slow start.
Williams is known to throw an errant ball, and San Jose State has an offense that can put the ball in the end zone enough to cover the +14.5.
San Jose State Over 66.5
This game could end in a shootout, and two QBs are running two offenses that can get the job done. Neither defense is expected to be stout, and I expect this game to eclipse the 66.5-point total easily.
