College Football Straight Up Picks for Every Game in Week 0

Reed Wallach | Aug 22, 2024

Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell watches on as his players come off the field. The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 39-17 at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. / Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK

The college football season is finally here!

Week 0 is a condensed card, featuring only four games and two FBS vs. FBS matchups, but that's not stopping us from covering every angle to make sure we start the season off with some winners.

While there are four games with double digit point spreads, are there any outright upset picks on the card that features the likes of Florida State vs. Georgia Tech on a neutral field and FCS heavyweight Montana State taking on a rebuilding New Mexico team.

Here's how I see the four games shaking out in the opening weekend of the season.

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Florida State vs. Georgia Tech Prediction and Pick

Pick: Florida State (-465)

Florida State’s offensive line should be able to dictate the terms of engagement against a poor Georgia Tech defense that ranked bottom five in the country in terms of defensive line yards. 

So, the Yellow Jackets defense, which already is returning less than 55% of its production on that side of the ball, will be getting pushed back against a powerful, veteran Seminoles offensive line. 

FSU will look to lean on the ground game to set up deep passes downfield for transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and stay in a positive game script. 

With size advantages in the trenches, I like FSU to get its first win in Dublin, Ireland. 

Montana State vs. New Mexico Prediction and Pick

Pick: New Mexico (+385)

We are bordering on history in this matchup. 

No FCS foe has been a bigger favorite than Montana State is set to be against New Mexico on the road in Week 0. 

The Lobos hired Bronco Mendenhall to re-ignite the program, who will trust dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier to run the offense. 

Montana State boasts an elite offense around its dual threat quarterback Tommy Mellott, but the defense ranks outside the top 20 in SP+’s preseason projections. 

The Lobos are set to be among the worst FBS teams, but at a point I need to come back and bet the home underdog against an FCS foe that may be getting overrated in the market.

SMU vs. Nevada Prediction and Pick

Pick: SMU (-3500)

The Mustangs will be jumping to the ACC, and will look to build up a head of steam with a Week 0 win against Nevada. 

SMU will start its returning starting quarterback Preston Stone in the opener, who missed the end of 2023 due to a broken leg, but expect last season’s stand-in, Kevin Jennings, to see plenty of run in this expected blowout. 

The team had little issue running it up on inferior opponents last season, and for a team that returns north of 77% of its production, I expect it to keep up: 

In 2023, Rhett Lashlee’s bunch beat G5 teams in the FBS ranks by an average margin of more than 29 points while ranking 21st in EPA/Play and scoring more than three points per drive and 6th in EPA/Play on defense while racking up the fifth most sacks in the nation (40). 

Delaware State vs. Hawaii Prediction and Pick

Pick: Hawaii (N/A)

Delaware State went winless in its FCS conference last season, and start its season across the globe (which the team missed its initial flight for) against Hawaii. 

The Rainbow Warriors are listed as 38.5 point favorites against the Hornets, so the expectation is a blowout victory. 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33