If you love to get points, week 1 is the place to be in college football.
As is the case every year, the first week offers plenty of massive underdogs. That’s generally what happens when teams from small conferences go up against the power-five teams. Oftentimes, there will be upsets, so it’s a matter of finding those teams that are massive underdogs, that could at least keep it close.
I love getting points, so here’s three week 1 underdogs to bet.
SMU (+3) at Arkansas State
This may not be the most anticipated match-up from week 1 of the college football season, but I love this game.
The Mustangs are going to be better this season, especially on offense. Sonny Dykes knows how to coach offense, so I fully expect the Mustangs to be much better on that side of the ball. The offensive line should be better and the wide receivers will be above-average.
Arkansas State, meanwhile, will return just six starters from last year’s offense, which won’t be good enough to keep up with SMU. I’m putting my faith in Dykes, so I’ll go with the small underdog. — Go Against The Chalk with SMU
New Mexico State (+32) at Washington State
Like I said, I love getting points.
And while New Mexico State is terrible, they’re at least bringing back its quarterback and have a decent defensive line and secondary. Washington State is a much better team, but Mike Leach has struggled at times early in the season.
Despite having a solid record, Leach is 2-5 in opening games at the helm of Washington State and that includes some serious upsets. He’s had a little success in the last two years, but his teams still haven’t covered this big of a spread in those games. I’ll take the points. — Go Against The Chalk with New Mexico State
Ball State (+17.5) at Indiana
I’m a big fan of the road teams in week 1, and that will continue with my final pick of the week.
Ball State had success between the 20s last year, but just couldn’t score. Now, with eight starters returning on offense, I have confidence that Ball State will score, which should help keep this close enough to cover the more than two touchdowns. Most importantly, Ball State returns all five starters on the offensive line.
Meanwhile, Indiana will be decent, but not good enough to be considered that much of a favorite against a team returning that many starters. This has the potential of being a major upset, but I’ll skip the moneyline and settle for the cover. — Go Against The Chalk with Ball State
