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The Week 1 college football schedule will culminate with a meeting between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday night. Notre Dame might be ranked inside the top five, but the Fighting Irish are 17.5-point underdogs in the latest Week 1 college football odds at Caesars Sportsbook. Ohio State is considered one of the top College Football Playoff contenders this season, led by quarterback C.J. Stroud. He threw for more than 300 yards in six consecutive games to close the 2021 season, including a 573-yard, six-touchdown outing against Utah in the Rose Bowl.
Some of the other Week 1 college football lines include No. 3 Georgia as a 17-point favorite against No. 11 Oregon, along with No. 19 Arkansas as a 6-point favorite against No. 23 Cincinnati. Before locking in any Week 1 college football picks, be sure to see the latest college football predictions from SportsLine’s advanced computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past six-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It enters Week 1 of the 2022 college football season on a 45-32 run on all top-rated college football spread and money-line picks that dates back to 2021. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, it has turned its attention to the latest Week 1 college football odds from Caesars and locked in picks for every FBS matchup. Head here to see every pick.
Top college football predictions for Week 1
One of the college picks the model is high on in Week 1: Florida (+3) stays within the spread in its showdown against No. 7 Utah in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday. The Gators have the pieces in place offensively to be dynamic right away, as quarterback Anthony Richardson could wind up being one of the best signal callers in the country. He threw for 529 yards and rushed for an additional 401 yards last season, scoring nine total touchdowns.
Florida’s attack is now going to be tailored to Richardson’s strengths, making life difficult for Utah in Week 1. The Gators have also been outstanding playing at home in recent years, going 16-2 in their last 18 games. Utah has only covered the spread once in its last 11 games played in September, so SportsLine’s model is confidently backing Florida as a home underdog on Saturday night.
Another prediction: Louisville goes on the road and easily covers as a 4-point favorite against Syracuse in an 8 p.m. ET matchup on Saturday. The Cardinals went 6-6 in the regular season last year before dropping their bowl game against Air Force. But they return a ton of talent on offense, headlined by quarterback Malik Cunningham. They also added transfer running back Tiyon Evans, who was effective in his first season at Tennessee in 2021.
Syracuse, meanwhile, went 5-7 last year and ended the season on a three-game slide. That stretch included a 41-3 blowout loss to Louisville. The Orange will be breaking in a new starting quarterback after losing Tommy DeVito to the transfer portal. SportsLine’s model is calling for around 250 passing yards and two touchdowns for Cunningham, who also adds 76 yards on the ground. Louisville covers well over 60% of the time, while the Under (56.5) hits almost 60% of the time. See which other teams the model likes here.
How to make college football picks for Week 1
The model has also made the call on who wins and covers in every other FBS matchup in Week 1, and it’s calling for a big favorite to go down hard in a shocking upset. You can only get every pick for every game at SportsLine.
So what college football picks can you make with confidence? And which heavy favorite goes down hard? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams win and cover the spread, all from a proven computer model that has returned almost $3,600 in profit over the past six-plus seasons, and find out.
College football odds for Week 1 (via Caesars)
See full Week 1 college football picks, odds, predictions here
Thursday, Sept. 1
Ball State at Tennessee (-35, 68)
West Virginia at Pittsburgh (-7.5, 52)
Featured Game | Pittsburgh Panthers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers
Penn State at Purdue (+3.5, 53.5)
Featured Game | Purdue Boilermakers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
Friday, Sept. 2
Illinois at Indiana (-3, 45.5)
Featured Game | Indiana Hoosiers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini
Featured Game | Colorado Buffaloes vs. TCU Horned Frogs
Saturday, Sept. 3
Colorado State at Michigan (-27.5, 58.5)
Featured Game | Michigan Wolverines vs. Colorado State Rams
Cincinnati at Arkansas (-6, 51.5)
Featured Game | Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
Featured Game | Georgia Bulldogs vs. Oregon Ducks
Utah at Florida (+3, 51)
Featured Game | Florida Gators vs. Utah Utes
Utah State at Alabama (-41.5, 62.5)
Notre Dame at Ohio State (-17.5, 58.5)
Featured Game | Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Sunday, Sept. 4
Florida State at LSU (-3, 51.5)
Featured Game | LSU Tigers vs. Florida State Seminoles
Monday, Sept. 5
Clemson at Georgia Tech (+21.5, 49)
Featured Game | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Clemson Tigers
