College football makes its triumphant return with a four-pack of Week 0 games this Saturday.
The latest: The FBS machine won't be at full throttle until the final Saturday of the month, but the Week 0 slate serves as a nice appetizer. First up, No. 10 Florida State in a conference battle with Georgia Tech in Ireland.
Check out our college football Week 0 odds and best bet for the action on August 24.
College football Week 0 odds
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No. 10 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech
| Market | Betting odds |
| Florida State moneyline | -560 |
| Georgia Tech moneyline | +380 |
| Florida State -11.5 | -110 |
| Georgia Tech +11.5 | -110 |
| Over 55.5 points | -107 |
| Under 55.5 points | -114 |
The first game of the day has by far the most brand recognition, as the nationally ranked Seminoles open their season against a Yellow Jackets team that finished 7-6 a season ago.
After losing 10 players to the NFL, Florida State reloaded with the No. 7 transfer portal class, per 247 Sports. Georgia Tech brings back fifth-year quarterback Haynes King, who accounted for 37 TDs and over 3,500 total yards last year.
Florida State covered as a 24-point home favourite when it last faced Georgia Tech two seasons ago.
Montana State vs. New Mexico
| Market | Betting odds |
| Montana State moneyline | -530 |
| New Mexico moneyline | +360 |
| Montana State -11.5 | -109 |
| New Mexico +11.5 | -112 |
| Over 53.5 points | -113 |
| Under 53.5 points | -108 |
Montana State plays in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), which is one rung below the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in the hierarchy of college football. And yet the Bobcats are double-digit favourites on the road against the FBS-affiliated Lobos.
Montana State is ranked No. 4 in the country. New Mexico, meanwhile, is looking for its first FBS winning season since 2016.
According to College Football Network, this is the fourth time since 2005 that an FCS team is a double-digit favourite over an FBS team. In the three previous instances, the FCS squad won by an average margin of 12.3 points.
College football Week 0 odds: SMU vs. Nevada
| Market | Betting odds |
| SMU moneyline | -10,000 |
| Nevada moneyline | +1,600 |
| SMU -25 | -112 |
| Nevada +25 | -109 |
| Over 55.5 points | -109 |
| Under 55.5 points | -112 |
Last year was a return to glory for Southern Methodist. The team finished with 11 wins for the first time since Eric Dickerson galloped in its backfield.
SMU quarterback Preston Stone looks to build off a season in which he threw for 28 TDs and 9.3 yards/attempt. The Mustangs had the No. 8 scoring offence in the country (38.7 PPG).
Nevada, which went 2-10 last year, should help SMU get its inaugural ACC season off to an excellent start.
Delaware State vs. Hawaii
| Market | Betting odds |
| Delaware State moneyline | OTB |
| Hawaii moneyline | OTB |
| Delaware State +38.5 | -108 |
| Hawaii -38.5 | -113 |
| Over 58.5 points | -107 |
| Under 58.5 points | -114 |
Things aren't off to a great start for Delaware State.
Delaware State spokeswoman confirms Hornets missed today’s 10.5-hour flight to Honolulu because of a bus snafu to JFK airport. “We’re working on a plan,”’she said. DSU and @HawaiiFootball open season Saturday. (@Garyterp was the first to report) #HawaiiFootball @StarAdvertiser
— Stephen Tsai (@StephenTsai) August 20, 2024
The Hornets will now have less time to adjust to the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone, which is six hours behind. And this was already going to be a tall task for a Delaware State squad that went 1-10 last year at the FCS level.
Hawaii isn't expected to do much in the Mountain West Conference this year, though the Rainbow Warriors do have their starting QB and top three receiving targets back in the fold.
Week 0 best bet
Nevada under 14.5 points (-115)
At the outset of a new season, it's difficult to have much of a feel for betting on college football. Transfers, graduations and coaching changes tend to complicate things.
But I know this: The best player from a stellar SMU defence is back in Dallas, and I expect him to cause a lot of problems for Nevada.
Defensive end Elijah Roberts broke out with 10.0 sacks last year and is back for another season at SMU. So is safety Isaiah Nwokobia, who led the team with four interceptions.
A lot of pieces are gone from an SMU defence that finished 11th in scoring (17.8 points allowed/game). But a couple of the most important ones stuck around.
Nevada's offence finished 129th among 133 FBS schools in scoring last year (17.3 PPG). The Wolfpack rushed for just 3.4 yards per carry and threw just six total passing TDs.
Pick made at 3:50 p.m. on 08/20/2024.
