Bogman’s Best College Football Bets for Week 1 (2021)
Check out my best bets for Week 1 of the college football season.
Check out all of our college football game previews and picks of the week >>
App State -9.5 vs. ECU
I think this line should be a little bit bigger. App State does have a new QB in Duke transfer Chase Brice who had a rough year last year (10 TD to 15 INT), but he will have improved weapons in WRs Corey Sutton, Thomas Hennigan, and Malik Williams. The focus of App State’s attack will be with All-Conference RB Camerun Peoples. ECU gave up over 200 rushing yards per game last season, and App State should run the ball down their throat. The strength of ECU is their offense, and App State will match them with 8 returning starters on a defense that allowed over 30 points only once last season to Coastal Carolina. I think App State will dominate this game!
BYU -12.5 vs. Arizona AND Over 54
Arizona does return a lot of starters on defense, but their defense was awful last year. U of A gave up 273 yards per game on the ground last year, and with QB Zach Wilson gone, BYU should run the ball constantly with returning starter Tyler Allgeier. New QB Jaren Hall should get some reps after BYU gets up early, which is why I like the over here too. I expect Arizona to improve with new HC Jedd Fisch and 17 transfers, but asking them to turn it around in Week 1 is a bit much. The best part is this line is so low it will afford a few mistakes from BYU, and if Arizona does make it a game, the over should hit easily.
UTSA +5.5 @ Illinois
Illinois looked pretty good against Nebraska, or did Nebraska look terrible? Credit where it’s due for sure. Illinois made the heavily favored Huskers look silly, but I feel like UTSA might be a trap game for them. UTSA returns 87% of their offense, including huge pieces QB Frank Harris and one of the best RBs in the country, Sincere McCormick. Stopping the Illinois run game will be tough, but the Roadrunners bring back 11 players on defense with over 400 snaps from last season. Illinois might win, but UTSA will keep this close, similar to the 27-20 loss to a much better BYU team last season. One or two bounces go the right way, and UTSA can win this one straight up!
Marshall -2.5 @ Navy
I don’t expect Navy to get embarrassed like they did Week 1 last season to BYU 55-3, but they aren’t a good team. The only advantage they might have in this game is that when Navy gets in a rhythm, they can sneak up on some teams. They played hard against Louisiana Tech (19-6 Loss) and scored 37 points against SMU (51-37 loss). The problem with that is this is the first game of the season for Marshall, and they should have been preparing for this game all offseason. Marshall brings back 7 starters on offense (4 All-Conference) and 8 on defense (3 All-Conference). I think this game will get away early, and Marshall will run away with it!
Other Bets I Like
- Notre Dame -7.5 @ Florida State
- Fresno State +20.5 @ Oregon
- Under 67 Western Michigan @ Michigan
- Ohio State -14 @ Minnesota
- Over 52 FAU @ Florida
No Juice on Week 1 College Football Games Featuring Top-25 Teams >>
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Scott Bogman is a featured writer for BettingPros. For more from Bogman, check out his archive and follow him @BogmanSports.