College football is finally here. The opening week only has seven games on tap, but there are plenty of picks to look at.
The marquee game of Saturday will be the Navy Midshipmen vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Dublin, Ireland. As the countdown begins, all eyes are on this matchup, with Notre Dame opening as 21.5-point favorites.
Odds for Week 0 Games
Notre Dame +21 vs. Navy O/U 51.5
UTEP -1 at Jacksonville State O/U 54
Ohio +2.5 at San Diego State O/U 49
UMass +6.5 at New Mexico State O/U 45.5
San Jose State +30.5 at USC O/U 66
Florida International +10.5 at Louisiana Tech O/U 59
Hawaii +17 at Vanderbilt O/U 55.5
Odds Courtesy of Unibet
The game will be broadcasted on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET with Jac Collinsworth, Jason Garrett and Zora Stephenson on the call in front of a sold-out crowd containing a projected 40,000 international fans.
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Double Down on Vanderbilt
Let’s start off with Vandy! The Vanderbilt Commodores host the Hawaii Rainbows and are 17-point favorites.
Last season, Vanderbilt dominated Hawaii in this exact matchup with a resounding 63-10 victory, showcasing their ability to overpower their opponents.
Despite finishing the season with a 5-7 record, Vanderbilt proved their mettle with impressive wins over the Florida Gators (31-24) and Kentucky Wildcats (24-21) in the latter part of the year. Their quarterback, AJ Swann, returns after a freshman season that saw him throw for 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions, further bolstering their offensive capabilities. Overall, I see this being another blowout win for the Commodores, who have superior talent all over the field.
Secondly, I expect this Florida International Panthers at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs game to feature a ton of points. Last season, these teams could not defend anyone and enter this year with tons of question marks on that side of the ball. Florida International surrendered an average of 452 yards and 37 points per game last season while Louisiana Tech allowed an average of 469 yards and 38 points per game.
It’s also worth mentioning that former Boise State Broncos QB Hank Bachmeier transferred to LA Tech and should be at the helm of a rejuvenated offensive attack that has upperclassmen contributors. I think this game easily goes over the total of 59.
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Could Navy Sink Notre Dame?
I’m a fan of Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman, which is unfortunate because I would have loved to instantly put Notre Dame on upset alert. I don’t necessarily trust this Notre Dame squad and think it’s worth noting that both teams need to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to play this game, so I’m on Navy to cover +21 for four reasons.
First, they went 6-0 against the spread as a road underdog last season. I’m treating this as a road game.
Second, they cracked the code and nearly upset Notre Dame last season by putting pressure on their QB. In fact, they blitzed on 17 of ND’s 18 plays before their kneel-downs in the second half of that game and had five sacks in that part of the game. I think they’ll use what they learned in that second half and apply it earlier in this contest.
Third, Navy’s offensive playing style should prevent a blowout from happening. They’re going to run the ball in their triple-option and keep the clock moving, eat up as much time as possible and try to keep the Fighting Irish offense off the field for as long as possible.
Finally, BetQL is projecting Navy to cover. The model has gone 28-14 ATS (66.7%) on Navy ATS bets all-time and $100 bets have returned $1,151!
