Folks, we have finally made it. After eight long months, college football is finally back! Week 0 provides us with a lot of intrigue with some interesting matchups across the landscape.
Our college football picks and predictions return with a look at the entire Week 0 slate from Dublin to San Jose.
Week 0 College Football Picks and Predictions
Last year, I was three games away from going 0.500, going 81-84-3 against the spread, including 27-15-1 against the spread during bowl season. We are ready to ride that heater going into the 2023 season and are prepared to take advantage of some interesting lines in Week 0.
For all current betting odds surrounding the college football season, check out our live betting odds and make your plays today!
All lines are via Draft Kings Sportsbook. You can find the best available odds from sportsbooks all over the country below as well.
Notre Dame -21 (-115) vs. Navy +21 (-105) in Dublin, Ireland
For the second consecutive season, college football kicks off in Dublin, Ireland. Last season, we had a really good contest between Northwestern and Nebraska, and this year’s contest is going to, at the very least, be interesting.
After running Navy for 15 years, the Midshipmen replaced Ken Niumatalolo with defensive coordinator Brian Newberry. The move was a long time coming, as Navy had won only 11 games in the previous three seasons.
What is intriguing is how the offense might shift. The new offensive coordinator, Grant Chesnut, is going to be running a modified version of the option. He plans on keeping the heart of what the option is, but will be incorporating more passing concepts.
Due to the nature of it being the first game under Chesnut, we don’t know how that is going to look, meaning the Notre Dame defense could have their hands full with looks they aren’t expecting.
For the Fighting Irish, it’s a season of intrigue. We are one full season removed from the Brian Kelly departure, and Marcus Freeman has them going in the right direction.
The start of last season was a struggle with losses at Ohio State and at home against Marshall. They ended up finishing under their win total last year with an 8-4 record but concluded with an impressive win against South Carolina, 45-38, in the Gator Bowl.
The offense is very intriguing as stud tight end Michael Mayer departed for the NFL and former OC Tommy Rees bolted to become Alabama’s offensive coordinator. They return two standout offensive tackles, Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, to protect incoming transfer Sam Hartman.
The addition of Hartman is the biggest wild card here. He has only played in the gimmicky slow mesh offense at Wake Forest. The system he will be playing at Notre Dame is a much more pro-style system, which will show what kind of quarterback he can be.
Will that be enough to take the Fighting Irish to another level? We will find out quickly, but this game has a lot of variables to consider.
The spread is 21 points, but Notre Dame only won by 3 points last season against Navy.
Are the Fighting Irish three touchdowns better than Navy right now, considering all the variables we discussed above with the Midshipmen? It’s a difficult proposition in a different country during Week 0.
With the odds at -105, Navy is the best bet here because of the unknown.
Bet: Navy +21 (-105)
UTEP -1 (-105) vs. Jacksonville State +1 (-105)
This unique matchup to kick off the Conference USA season has a ton of intrigue.
UTEP head coach Dana Dimel helped UTEP to 12 wins in the last two seasons after only registering five in the first three. They return quite a trio: Third-year starting quarterback Gavin Hardison, running back Deion Hankins, and wide receiver Tyrin Smith.
That trio, along with four returning starters on the offensive line, will help them get off to a good start.
Jacksonville State is a huge wild card. The infamous Rich Rodriguez is the head coach going into his second season. The Gamecocks finished 9-2 in their final season of FCS play, but their only game against an FBS opponent was against Tulsa, whom they lost to 54-17.
Zion Webb returns for a seventh season and was officially named the starting quarterback earlier this week. What makes things really intriguing for the Gamecocks is their head coach Rodriguez and the success of James Madison in making the transition up from the FCS last year.
The Dukes went 8-3 in their first season at the FBS level, proving that they belonged. They would have been in the Sun Belt Championship Game if the Dukes were postseason-eligible. The Gamecocks aren’t quite on the same level as the Dukes coming out of the FCS, but they aren’t too far behind.
What will they look like in the FBS? Will they be more competitive than they were against Tulsa? Playing their first game at home is a big advantage for them, but UTEP will be too much for them in Week 0, especially with the Miners’ ability to get off the field with a 33.8% three-and-out rate in 2022.
Bet: UTEP -1 (-105)
Ohio +2.5 (-110) vs. San Diego State -2.5 (-110)
The MAC doesn’t look to be a great conference in 2023 from top to bottom, but at the top, they do have a very intriguing team in the Bobcats.
Led by quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the Bobcats’ offense is primed to provide a lethal dose of fun to the MAC this season. Running back Sieh Bangura and Sam Wiglusz look to be monsters in the college fantasy football space this fall.
The issues the Bobcats will face are on the defensive side of the football. They finished 101st in SP+ last season and allowed at least 31 points in each of their first six games, including 52 points to FCS Fordham. That could spell trouble for the Bobcats.
Luckily for them, they face an Aztec team that was absolutely putrid on the offensive side of the football in 2022. Their starting quarterback to begin last season, Braxton Burmeister, is now a wide receiver with the Los Angeles Rams, and Jalen Mayden returns. Things were very inconsistent for him and the Aztecs, and they lost their best wide receiver, Jesse Marthews, to the NFL.
Last season, they ranked 112th in success rate and 123rd in plays per game, both of which don’t translate into points. They were 122nd in the nation with 3.36 points per scoring opportunity.
The Aztecs’ defense will need to carry them as they did to seven wins last season. It won’t be enough here, as the Bobcats’ offense will lead them to a victory to start the season.
Bet: Ohio +2.5 (-110)
UMass +6.5 (-110) vs. New Mexico State (-110)
What a time to be alive. The primetime ESPN game is the Minutemen vs. the Aggies: Don Brown vs. Jerry Kill.
UMass has seen better days, but with Don Brown back at the helm, they are trending in the right direction. The defense is going to be the calling card of this team, as you would expect with any Brown-led squad.
Last season, the defense ranked ninth in the nation in passing yards allowed (175 per game) and 12th in third-down percentage (30.9%). If this team is going to continue taking a step forward, the defense will continue to be the backbone for the Minutemen.
For the Aggies, Kill has them in the best spot they’ve been in since making the transition to the FBS. The seven wins they had last season matched the most they have had this decade (2017 and 2002). Just like with UMass, this team will rely on defense, but they have starting quarterback Diego Pavia returning, with a solid duo in the backfield: Jamoni Jones and Star Thomas.
In this game, I’m going with the Aggies. The Minutemen just don’t have enough on offense to offer a serious challenge, and the Aggies will keep riding the momentum started by the arrival of Kill.
Bet: Aggies -6.5 (-110)
Hawaii +17.5 (-110) vs. Vanderbilt -17.5 (-110)
Last season, this was an insane blowout in Week 0. Hawaii, a program in total disarray thanks to Todd Graham, jumped out to a 10-0 lead before Vanderbilt boat raced them 63-10, despite being only a nine-point underdog.
This season looks to be more of the same as Timmy Chang aims to rebuild the Warriors program in the image that he and June Jones had it in the 2000s. It’s an arduous process, given how bankrupt the program was.
Quarterback Brayden Schager is ready to take the reins for his second season as a starting quarterback after throwing 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during the Rainbow Warriors’ 3-10 campaign. What’s interesting is that Hawaii’s second-order wins were 1.5 higher at 4.5. They were in games at the end of last season, with four of their final six losses by seven points or less.
Vanderbilt, like they are most years, is a very interesting team. Quarterback A.J. Swann is better than any quarterback they have had in recent years, as he burst onto the scene last season with an impressive 5:1 TD:INT ratio. His dual-threat ability is impressive and the reason why the Commodores won five games last season.
Last year’s game, where Vanderbilt won 63-10, still weighs heavily on my mind. The teams aren’t much different, and the Commodores will be playing on their home field this time. Traveling across that many time zones can be a difficult task and it could play a factor in this game. 17.5 is a hefty spread, but the Commodores should easily cover.
Bet: Vanderbilt -17.5 (-110)
San Jose State +30.5 (-110) vs. USC -30.5 (-110)
The Trojans against the Spartans. It feels like the movie 300 but on the football field.
The Spartans are coming off a seven-win season and return their starting quarterback, Chevan Cordiero. He stepped in and played relatively well, coming from Hawaii, and this year looks to be even better.
The offense struggled with consistency, but the continuity along with Justin Lockhart prepared to step up has the Spartans in a good spot within the intriguing Mountain West.
Their defense could give the USC offense fits. They faced the 46th fewest plays (67) and 28th-fewest drives (11.8) in 2022, which will help them against the potent Trojans passing attack.
There are a lot of people who are really high on the Trojans this season, but I’m not riding that train. The Pac-12 is arguably at its most talented ever in its final season. Caleb Williams is coming off a Heisman Trophy campaign but lost multiple members of the offensive line along with Jordan Addison and Travis Dye.
What the offense does return is wide receiver Mario Williams along with Arizona transfer Dorian Singer. The offense could take a step back just due to natural regression, but my biggest concern is with the defense.
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has a very aggressive scheme that forced 29 turnovers in 2022. That is something he was trying to install throughout his time at Oklahoma, but they couldn’t implement it the way he wanted.
On the flip side, they allowed a paltry 29.2 points per game. That’s an astoundingly high number for a team wanting to compete for a national title.
They started off 3-0 ATS last season before Las Vegas figured them out, and they only won five of their final 11 games ATS. Some of their biggest spreads were very close calls, including losing ATS against Arizona and Arizona State, with a very close call against Colorado.
The wackiness that is Week 0, paired with a Spartans team that is solid, and a 30.5 point spread, gives me major pause about the Trojans covering.
Bet: San Jose State +30.5 (-110)
Florida International +11 (-110) vs. Louisiana Tech -11 (-110)
The final game on the schedule will last past midnight Eastern Time. That’s how you know college football is really back.
The Panthers of Florida International have been going through a transition. After Butch Davis left the program and unveiled some black clouds over their funding, Mike MacIntyre came in last season and led them to a 4-8 record. Things looked to be on the rise, but the transfer portal crushed their offensive line, and quarterback Grayson James will have his work cut out for him.
Louisiana Tech is in an interesting position. They have Boise State transfer quarterback Hank Bachmeier set to start for them this season. Under head coach Sonny Cumbie, Bachmeier will be running the Air Raid, and that could help his inconsistency in the passing game.
Cyrus Allen and Smoke Harris are primed to have huge years for the Bulldogs, and the offensive line is experienced to help keep him upright.
The two schools only combined for seven wins in 2022, with both having first-year head coaches at the program. FIU isn’t likely to take that leap they want, and Louisiana Tech looks to take one forward with Cumbie and Bachmeier. They will take this one at home while covering the spread.
Bet: Louisiana Tech -11 (-110)
