The 2024 college football season is one of change. The Pac-12 is no more, at least not as a competitive entity. Hopefully, Oregon State and Washington State can find a way to resurrect it.
Also, we now have a 12-team College Football Playoff. All four major conference champions will get byes to the quarterfinals, so there is no longer any danger of an undefeated major conference team being left out of the CFP. The highest rated Group of Five champion gets an automatic berth as well.
One thing that hasn't changed is my weekly Best Bets column. Each week, I will use this space to tell you what I think are a few of the best bets heading into the weekend. I will also throw in an upset of the week, which will be a team that is at least a touchdown underdog that I am picking to win outright.
I will also give you picks on other games involving potential College Football Playoff teams. Since most teams have not played yet, just about everybody is technically a CFP candidate at the moment. So for the first few weeks of the season at least, I'll go with the current AP top 12. With the expanded playoff this season, I'll go deeper into the rankings once we get a few games under our belts.
Games against FCS opponents are not considered, and there a lot of those this week -- 59 to be exact. There are only 37 games between FBS teams. That makes the pool for this week's picks pretty small.
Odds via SportsLine consensus
Week 1 picks
No. 8 Penn State (-8.5) at West Virginia
I like Penn State this season. I have the Nittany Lions predicted for the CFP and a sleeper pick for the Big Ten title. QB Drew Allar and running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen lead what should be a dynamic offense. However, West Virginia is a team coming off a 9-4 season and yet still feeling disrespected. The Mountaineers have some weapons on offense as well with dual-threat QB Garrett Greene. West Virginia is tough on its home field and can make this game interesting. In the end though, I expect Penn State to pull through. Pick: West Virginia (+8.5)
New Mexico at No. 21 Arizona (-31)
Arizona is one of a handful of teams thought to be good enough to contend for the Big 12 championship. Brent Brennan takes over for Jedd Fisch and inherits a solid roster, including last year's starting QB, Noah Fifita. Brennen took San Jose State, one of the toughest places to win, to three bowl games. New Mexico is picking up the pieces after a tough loss to Montana State in which it blew a big fourth-quarter lead. The line is pretty big, but it's hard not to like the Wildcats. Pick: Arizona (-31)
UCLA (-14) at Hawaii
It's a new world at UCLA. The Bruins are in a new conference, the Big Ten, and have a new coach in former star RB and RB coach Deshaun Foster. He has a big job ahead of him trying to compete in a tougher conference. The Bruins have been picked for the bottom half of the league, and it is difficult to expect more than that this season. Not much is expected of Hawaii, either, which is picked ninth in the Mountain West. The Rainbow Warriors will rely on QB Brayden Schager to do most of the heavy lifting offensively. This is the first of several long road trips for the Bruins, but it should be a successful one. Pick UCLA (-14)
Upset of the Week
Wyoming at Arizona State (-6.5)
Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham is still picking up the pieces of the program left over from the previous administration, and it may still take some time to get back to competitiveness, especially in the Big 12. Few are convinced that this is the season that significant strides are made. The preseason media poll picked ASU last in the conference. Wyoming is not likely to win the Mountain West this season, but it's good enough to make it tough on those teams ahead of it in the pecking order. If the Cowboys can get off to a good start in this game, they can ride it to what would be considered an upset victory. Pick: Wyoming (+6.5)
Other CFP candidates
- No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia (-13.5) Pick: Georgia
- Akron at No. 2 Ohio State (-48.5) Pick: Ohio State
- Colorado State at. No. 4 Texas (-31.5) Pick: Texas
- Western Kentucky at No. 5 Alabama (-32) Pick: Alabama
- No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M (-3) Pick: Texas A&M
- Fresno State at No. 9 Michigan (-21) Pick: Michigan
- Boston College at No. 10 Florida State (-15.5) Pick: Florida State
Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 1? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread -- all from a proven computer model that has returned well over $2,000 in profit since its inception -- and find out.
