Finally, we get a full slate of College Football action as matchups between Group of 5 conferences and Power 5 leagues generally have a lockdown on Week 1 play.
Inside of this weekend’s slate of contests, sits several interesting games where even if there are no Group of 5 winners, the matchups are solid and the games should come down to the fourth quarter to find winners.
College Football betting sites once again favor the Power Five teams, but the point spreads are generally closer than maybe expected on those matchups.
As you look at the New Year’s 6 Bowls of the nine seasons since the NCAA instituted its Playoff system, the Group of 5 has a 4-5 record with the American Athletic Conference taking three of those four wins.
Now, Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF move into the Big 12, the slate of those winners could change as the Cougars, Bearcats, and Knights own three of those four victories.
Of course, there are currently nine Power 5 teams that have (+30) or more as the favorites in those games with Alabama (+38) having the biggest line over Middle Tennessee State.
Last week, we went 2-1 with our Week 0 Underdogs. We hope to continue that winning trend into this weekend’s games.
Without any further delay, let’s get into our picks for the top College Football Underdogs of Week 1. All odds are courtesy of Bovada.
Week 1 College Football Underdog Bets
- Duke Blue Devils (+13)
- Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (+14.5)
- Boise State Broncos (+14.5)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (+2.5)
- Toledo Rockets (+9.5)
Clemson Tigers at Duke Blue Devils (+13)
Coach Dabo Swinney has never lost to Duke in this series, and, in fact, the last Blue Devils win came in a 16-13 upset in 2004 in Durham.
This is probably the best chance for Duke to subdue the Tigers since 2004 as the oddsmakers still have the Blue Devils (+13) listed as a double-digit underdog.
Clemson sophomore Kurt Klubnik picks up his second start as he started the Tigers’ 31-14 loss in the Capital One Bowl against Tennessee last December. Klubnik was sacked four times and threw three interceptions.
Once again, Duke doesn’t have the speed of overall size and speed that you find across the ACC, but the Blue Devils showed last year that they are totally capable of winning football games where they are considered a challenger.
Can’t wait to be back 😈@Allstate pic.twitter.com/QC6icrekAU
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) August 28, 2023
Look at Duke’s 9-4 record last season. Their four losses were by a combined total of 16 points with the largest loss coming at Kansas, 35-27.
The Blue Devils return a solid quarterback in Riley Leonard, as well as a key wide receiver in Jalen Calhoun. Running back Jordan Waters, who rushed for a team-high 566 yards and eight touchdowns on 123 carries, is also back to lead the charge.
As Duke returns 17 starters, the biggest challenge could be in the defensive matchups where they have to contend with a one-two punch of running back Will Shipley and receiver Antonio Williams.
Clemson had double-digit wins last season with 11, but the loss to Tennessee showed that the Tigers weren’t ready to be a true College Football Playoff contender.
This game is Monday evening at 8 p.m. in Durham in which the improving Blue Devils (+13) will put up a fight and keep this game within reach.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (+14.5) at UCLA Bruins
The Bruins will win, but football betting sites know that the Chanticleers have the confidence and talent to put up a fight in the Rose Bowl.
UCLA loses consistency and experience at quarterback in Dorian Thompson-Robinson after five years as an efficient signal-caller.
Coach Chip Kelly brings in a five-star talent at quarterback in Dante Moore, who many think will wind up as the starter this season. Ethan Garbers and Collin Schlee are also in the mix as Saturday’s starting QB.
UCLA will have a running back committee with TJ Harden, Keegan Jones and Ball State transfer Carson Steele, who rushed for 1,556 yards last year.
IT’S GAME WEEK! #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ZIrcwrz3sp
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) August 28, 2023
The Chanticleers are looking for improvement on defense as they only had nine interceptions last season. They need more on Saturday evening, as UCLA quarterbacks could be in for a prolific start to the post-DTR era.
Coastal Carolina is picked to win the Easter Division of the Sun Belt, but they could get a stable challenge from both James Madison and Marshall.
Jamey Chadwell moved to Liberty as head coach and former NC State offensive coordinator Tim Beck is now the head coach.
Grayson McCall is a solid quarterback who completed 69.7 percent of his passes last season and will have leading receiver Sam Pinkney, who had 996 yards on 71 catches.
The Bruins will have depth in the secondary with Bowling Green transfer Jordan Anderson taking over at one of the safety positions.
UCLA playing at home should win despite breaking in lots of new players, but Coastal Carolina (+14.5) keeps it close in a competitive game.
Boise State Broncos (+14.5) @Washington Huskies
Boise State will put the Washington defense on notice as the Broncos boast a tough one-two punch at running back and Ashton Jeanty as the QB. He was last season’s second-leading rusher and Taylor Green completed 61.3 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions as his dual-threat abilities can be a major problem.
The X Factor in the Boise State vs Washington game is whether or not UW can contain QB Taylen Green
— WestCoastCFB (@WestCoastCFB) August 28, 2023
Bralen Trice is one of the top defensive ends in the nation and can push Green out of the pocket. This would turn the matchup into Green’s ability to run against an athletic Washington defense.
The Huskies will once again feature former Indiana quarterback Michael Penix, Jr., who threw for 4,631 yards with 31 touchdowns and only eight interceptions last season.
Penix will have a pair of stalwarts at wide receiver in Rome Odunze (75-1145-7) and Jalen McMillan (79-1098-9), who return as one of the top receiving duos in college football.
The Broncos will look to a new group of defenders in the secondary as Safety Rodney Robinson was Boise State’s fifth-leading tackler with 48 and he is the leading returnee in picks three interceptions.
Jaylen Clark and Markel Reed will be tested immediately as the cornerbacks in the Broncos’ secondary.
Sports betting sites generally list the Huskies with the second-best odds (+280) to win the Pac-12 behind top-rated USC (+210).
Washington has too many weapons to lose this one, especially at home.
South Carolina Gamecocks (+2.5) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer has turned around the Gamecocks’ approach and their overall talent in his two seasons at the helm.
After consecutive wins over Tennessee and Clemson to end last season, and a near miss vs. Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, South Carolina could still be in position to play at a high level and surprise anyone who dismisses them.
This is an outstanding matchup as North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye faces South Carolina signal-caller Spencer Rattler.
The brother of former Carolina basketball star Luke Maye, Drake has created his own niche as he completed 342-of-517 passes (66.2 percent), had 38 TDs and only seven interceptions. He also rushed 184 times for 698 yards and seven touchdowns.
Time to handle business 🤙 pic.twitter.com/fEYoyL13ec
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) July 20, 2023
If you check the end of last season for the Tar Heels, they were 9-1 before dropping three nail-biters: two in ACC play as Georgia Tech and NC State posted wins in Chapel Hill.
Oregon took a 28-27 decision in the Holiday Bowl after the Tar Heels were destroyed by Clemson, 39-10, in the ACC Championship game.
A major motive for UNC is to get Elijah Green the football, which will also give Maye more time as a passer. Defensively, South Carolina runs a 4-2-5 defense, which will automatically commit five defensive backs at Maye. South Carolina must find a more prevalent pass rush as the Gamecocks orchestrated only 19 sacks last season, while the defense allowed opponents to convert 43 percent of their third downs.
Starting safety Nick Emmanwori led South Carolina with 85 tackles. But the defense needs to stop the run as opponents ran the ball 40 times for 198 yards on average.
The lack of a run defense was huge in the Gamecocks losing their four SEC outings by an average of 25 points per game.
On the other side of the ball, Spencer Rattler was the Heisman favorite in 2020 when he came into Oklahoma as the Sooners’ quarterback. He wasn’t a prodigy as many pundits thought with odds at (+900) to win the Heisman Trophy.
Rattler has to make better decisions in the passing game as he threw 12 picks last season. However, he did connect on 66.2 percent of his passes for 3,026 yards.
Antwane Wells was the leading receiver with 928 yards on 66 catches. Wells will be a tough matchup for North Carolina.
The Tar Heels’ defense was atrocious last season as it gave up 30.8 points per game and 437 total yards per outing. UNC’s defense was also responsible for 271.3 passing yards per game where they allowed 27 touchdown passes.
North Carolina only could post 17 sacks, 128th in College Football, and they also allowed 4.5 yards per rush.
We know Maye will be a strong force for the Heels in each game once again. Will North Carolina’s defense have improved enough this offseason to stop Rattler and his dual-threat play?
Toledo Rockets (+9.5) at Illinois Fighting Illini
Toledo returns 16 starters from last year’s MAC championship team and the Rockets will have an opportunity to make a statement early against defensive-minded Illinois.
The Illini had the ferocity on defense as they dominated statistically. Illinois held opponents to only 12.8 points and 24 interceptions. Both numbers led the nation.
Week 1⃣ is here! Preview of Saturday’s game at Illinois. Let’s goooo! #TeamToledo https://t.co/vqva3A708L
— Toledo Football (@ToledoFB) August 28, 2023
The return of quarterback Dequan Finn gives the Rockets a consistent dual-threat quarterback who can find Jerjuan Newton and Devin Maddox on the outside.
Jacquez Stewart makes Finn better off the run as Stewart led Toledo with 770 yards on his 5.7 carries.
For Illinois, defensive coordinator Rod Walters left for Purdue when Jeff Brohm moved to Louisville. Secondary coach Aaron Henry takes over as the defensive coordinator and has to replace a multitude of talent on the backend of that Illini defense.
Illinois lost four starters in their defensive backfield to the NFL. Jer’zhan Newton is back on the defensive line where he will be a key leader of this aggressive defense.
Offensively, the Illini brought in USC transfer Jaxson Dart to try and upgrade the passing attack. Illinois will also try to work in a new offensive line combination and last season’s backup running back, Reggie Love.
Toledo led the MAC in total defense last season and returns four all-MAC players among their seven starters on defense. The Rockets will take this game deep into the fourth quarter and potentially win.
College Football Parlay For Week 1
Not only is there plenty of opportunities to take an Underdog for victory this weekend, but you can also use all five of these Underdog picks for a College Football parlay card this week.
If you were to bet on this five-leg parlay, you would receive +2493 odds. For every $100 wagered, you would win $2,493 dollars. As always, Bovada is the best site for parlays. So, we recommend a small flier on this College Football Underdogs parlay ticket.
