Week 1 College Football Off the Radar Best Bets

It was just a few years ago people were predicting the demise of the sport of football with injuries and long-term damage the leading contributors. Well, that hasn’t quite worked out for the detractors and the game is more popular than ever, both at the NFL and collegiate level. And also at sportsbooks. With a few more schools joining the FBS for the 2023 college football season, the number of programs increased to 133 at the highest level. We also get a taste of what’s ahead with a number of teams switching leagues during the latest round of realignment.

What does it all mean? Well, from a betting perspective there are a boatload of games to pick from every week. And with so many confrontations oddsmakers tend to overlook certain ones, which is kind of the purpose of this article. We’ll search for under the radar picks on the college football betting lines or games that get overlooked because the teams competing don’t generate a big handle at shops. It’s time to dive into Week 1 of the college football season to see where we can make some money by going under the radar.

South Alabama Jaguars ( +7 ) at Tulane Green Wave

A Group of Five program sustaining success is difficult to do. Heck, even Boise State has joined the ranks of mediocre programs after several stunning years of success. That being said, the Tulane Green Wave may have had their 15 minutes of fame last season going 12-2 with a win over the USC Trojans in the Cotton Bowl. Tulane was led by QB Michael Pratt, who accounted for 37 touchdowns while the club averaged 36 points. They should again be an offensive dynamo.

The other side of the football for Tulane is a big question mark following the loss of several key pieces giving the South Alabama Jaguars a chance to rack up enough points to keep the game close and potentially eke out a victory. The Jags had the first winning season as a major college program going 10-3 overall and 8-5 against the college football point spread. Their two regular season losses were by a combined five points, 32-31 to UCLA and 10-6 to eventual Sun Belt champion and 12-win Troy.

The Jags averaged more than 31 points and return the two players most responsible. Carter Bradley threw for 3,335 yards and 28 touchdowns while La’Damian Webb rushed for over 1,000 yards with 15 total TDs. They were also strong stopping opponents ranking 26th nationally in scoring defense while yielding fewer than 94 rushing yards per game. Football odds at BetRivers sportsbook have the Jags getting 7-points, which seems like a steal.

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers ( +14.5 ) at UCLA Bruins

If you dig you can always find value in certain G5 vs. P5 matchups. Though UCLA had its best record under Chip Kelly with nine wins last season, there is some uncertainty surrounding the QB spot. With four players competing for the starting gig it took until just recently for Kelly to name Ethan Garbers the starter. However, Kelly also said Collin Schlee and Dante Moore will play, which is a recipe for disaster against a team that still plays with a chip on its shoulder. All the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers have to do is look at recent UCLA results against G5 foes for inspiration. The Bruins had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to beat South Alabama 32-31 last year and they lost to Fresno State the year before. Coastal looks like a strong college football pick getting 14.5 points.

Stanford Cardinal at Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors ( U 58.5 )

Both these teams were bad defensively last year which is why the total is pushing 60. I don’t feel they’ve done enough on offense, though, to crack the code against the other team’s stop unit making the total way too high. It’s hard to say a defense played well when giving up 35 points, but the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors defense played well in last week’s 35-28 loss to Vandy. Three turnovers gave the Commodores prime field position and they also returned a kickoff for a score. Stanford is going through a major transition with new coach Troy Taylor and a slew of new players. Only six starters return putting the Cardinal near the bottom of the experience metric. It’s hard to decipher what the Cardinal have on offense and in that case it’s safe to side with the other team’s defense, which I’m doing to keep the total UNDER the NCAAF odds of 58.5.

Check out the latest college football betting odds at BetRivers.