San Jose State vs. USC: College Football Week 0 Odds & Picks (2023)

College football is back! The 2023 college football season kicks off Saturday with Week 0 action. While the rest of the teams will begin next weekend, there is plenty of action in what will be the first real football in quite some time. We’ll have you covered with all of our top picks for Week 0 along with our projected spreads to help guide your college football bets. Here are our top picks and predicitons for each Week 0 game. And below we take a closer look at San Jose State vs. USC.

Top College Football Week 0 Odds & Picks: San Jose State vs. USC

San Jose State vs. USC

This game features an enormous difference in returning production, with USC bringing back 70% of their offensive production, while San Jose State returns just 35% of their defensive production. The Spartans have some massive holes to fill on that side of the ball but do return quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, who threw for 3,250 yards and 23 touchdowns a season ago. The Trojans should have no issues moving the ball against the decimated SJST defense, but Cordeiro could find some success against a USC defense that struggled last year aside from having great takeaway luck. Motivation will likely decide who covers, and I’m guessing USC won’t keep its foot on the gas if it builds an early cushion. But my favorite play in this game is the over.

Pick: Over 66.5 (-105)

-Matt Barbato

Best Ways to Bet College Football for Beginners

Game Total

Bettors new to the hobby can be confused by spreads, but game totals are simple. Every football game has a total posted for the combined final score between the two teams. Bettors have the option to choose the OVER or UNDER, generally at -110 odds (risk: $110; win: $100). So if the total is 42 and you take the OVER, you need 43 points to win the bet. If you put a bet down on the over to win $100 and it goes over, you get back the money you initially risked, plus $100. If it stayed under, you would have lost your $110 and that's it. If by chance the game ended with 42 total points, it's called a push; when a game pushes, you get the money you risked back but nothing more.

ie: California vs. Illinois, Over 42 or Under 42

tip: Over bets can be a really fun social event with your buddies. Have everyone throw in a few bucks, then take the over together. Instead of getting pumped when one side scores, everyone is pumped for ANY score, all game.

Moneyline

The moneyline is the easiest way to test your college football knowledge: who will win the game? That's it. The moneyline doesn't use favorites or underdogs, it's totally straight up. That said, the risk-reward can be challenging because they're weighted. Instead of every game being around -110, like game totals and spreads, moneylines vary depending on the matchup.

For our example, California was favored by seven points over Illinois, meaning oddsmakers think the Golden Bears are a touchdown better than the Fighting Illini. If you took Cal on the moneyline, points don't matter, they just need to win the game. But because it's safer to take them straight-up without points, you'll have to risk more when you make the bet - remember, they're seven points better than Illinois in the eyes of the oddsmakers. In this case, Cal is -280 on the moneyline, so if you want to win $100, you have to risk $280. On the flip side, moneyline bets can be valuable when taking the underdog because it's a riskier bet - they're seven points worse than their opponent. In this case, Illinois is the underdog - +220 on the moneyline. You'd win $220 on a $100 bet if you picked Illinois on the moneyline and they pulled off the upset.

ie: California (ML -280) vs. Illinois (ML +220)

tip: Check their history against one another. Keep an eye on the injury report and the weather.

Player Props

Player props are some of the most exhilarating bets you can place during a college football game, but they're also easy to understand. For major conferences, you'll have a wide array of options to choose from. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and sometimes tight ends will have props to choose from. It's simple, fun and easy to follow, and odds on player props don't vary as much as moneylines. Generally, prop bets are in the -110 range like generic spread and total bets.

ie: How many passing yards will Brandon Peters have against California? Over 250 or Under 250

tip: Check how players have performed in the situation they're going to be in. Use split stats on any reliable site to see their numbers at home, on a neutral-site, in December, etc.