College Football Picks & Predictions: Week 1 (Thursday)
The 2026 college football regular season gave us a soft open last weekend, with several “Week 0” games. We have a total of 11 games on Thursday night, including two games featuring teams ranked in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll. With so many changes across the college football landscape, let’s pump the brakes and go a little conservatively in the first weekend until some trends develop. Let’s build our bankroll with our best college football picks & predictions for Thursday’s Week 1 action.
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Thursday’s Best College Football Picks & Predictions (Week 1)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Eastern Illinois Panthers (+8000) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (OFF) | O/U 52.5 (-110/-110)
The Panthers of the FCS pull into the Twin Cities to tangle with the Golden Gophers of the Big Ten.
Head coach Chris Wilkerson leads Eastern Illinois into battle on Thursday night. The Panthers are expected to be a middle-of-the-road team in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). Eastern Illinois won just three games last season in FCS play and dropped its final seven games, so there is plenty of work to be done.
Eastern Illinois got off to a good start last week, though, doubling up Murray State 28-14 on the road. Running Back Charles Kellom was a beast, racking up three touchdown runs, including an 88-yard scoring scamper late in the second quarter. He ended up with 171 yards and nine yards per carry (YPC), making it easier for quarterback Cole LaCrue and the rest of the offense. Running back Jacarre Fleming-Page was a nice complementary option with 81 yards on 13 totes (6.2 YPC).
Meanwhile, the Golden Gophers are picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten. Running back Darius Taylor has the potential to be the next great Minnesota back, though, so watch him closely, especially against an FCS defense. EDGE rusher Anthony Smith returns on defense. He had 12.5 sacks in 2025. The run defense needs to be much better, though, as it allowed 148.2 yards per game in conference play last season. That’s a concern with what Kellom and Fleming-Page did last week, albeit against Murray State - not a Big Ten defense. Still, we’ll take the points and go high on the total.
Picks: Eastern Illinois +42.5 (-112) & Over 52.5 Points (-110)
Idaho Vandals (+7000) at No. 21 Utah Utes (OFF) | O/U 58.5 (-115/-105)
The Utah Utes begin a new era of football, as Kyle Whittingham is at Michigan now. New head coach Morgan Scalley looks to put his stamp on the team, but not much is expected to change. However, be mindful that Utah has just three returning starters on defense, so we might see some struggles that the Utes generally do not have on that side of the ball. It’s not Scalley’s fault; it’s because of the transfer portal and the loss of Whittingham. Expect Utah to get better sooner rather than later.
Quarterback Devon Dampier stuck around in Salt Lake City, though, and the offense should be fine, although replacing Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu on the offensive line will be a giant task.
Since bumping down to the FCS a few years ago, Idaho has been much more competitive. However, it lost 38-34 at Cal Poly last week. Quarterback Joshua Wood (363 passing yards and two touchdowns) played well, and while he ran for 42 yards, the run game struggled. Idaho’s defense also had a ton of trouble trying to contain Cal Poly dual-threat quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr. (319 passing yards and four passing touchdowns; 62 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown). Expect Dampier to have similar success.
We’re going to get a lot of points in this game, mostly by the Utes. Let’s lay the big points and take Utah to grab the cover. We’ll also go high on the total.
Picks: Utah -36.5 (-115) & Over 58.5 Points (-115)
UAB Blazers (+1600) at Illinois Fighting Illini (-4500) | O/U 54.5 (-110/-110)
Illinois is expected to be a middle-of-the-road team in the Big Ten, but quarterback Katin Houser comes from East Carolina to fill the shoes of Luke Altmyer. The running game will be the best part of this offense, however, at least early on, as ball-carriers Aidan Laughery and Ca’Lil Valentine are back to star.
On defense, Illinois has a lot of key personnel to replace, but at least the defensive backs will be good and have some decent experience. That’s something Alex Mortensen doesn’t have at UAB. Quarterback Ryder Burton is solid, but there are no starters back on defense. That’s tough when facing a power conference foe on the road in Week 1. Expect a big hole early on.
Let’s back Illinois to lay the points, as Houser is an experienced quarterback capable of picking apart an undermanned defense. And we’ll go high on the total. While UAB might struggle to move the ball, and Illinois has a lot of new pieces, some late second-half points should get us across the over finish line.
Picks: Illinois -27.5 (-108) & Over 54.5 Points (-110)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe