College Football Week 1: Point spreads for every game
College football is officially here with Week 0 kicking things off Saturday night and Week 1 right around the corner. With most teams set to open their season this week, VegasInsider has released the point spreads for the upcoming slate of action.
Week 1 officially begins at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday with four games, including Kent State at UCF, set to kick off at that time. Overall, there will be 11 contests taking place Thursday and another six on Friday before the majority of matchups are played on Saturday. A few teams will even play on Sunday and Monday.
It’s been a long eight months since Georgia won the national championship, but the wait is now over. You can see below for the point spreads for every Week 1 college football game, according to VegasInsider as of Sunday.
Nebraska at Minnesota (-7.5) — Thursday, Aug. 31
Nebraska will kick off the Matt Rhule era on a Thursday with a tough conference matchup on the road against PJ Fleck and Minnesota. Unsurprisingly, the Huskers enter as 7.5-point underdogs after not having had a winning season since 2016.
Rhule went to the transfer portal to retool the roster, bringing in names such as Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims and Virginia receiver Billy Kemp. Minnesota went 9-4 last year but loses a lot of production, including quarterback Tanner Morgan and all-time leading rusher Mohamed Ibrahim. This one figures to be an important early game in the Big Ten West.
Florida at No. 14 Utah (-7) — Thursday, Aug. 31
Anthony Richardson dazzled in last year’s season opener against Utah to rush for 106 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Gators to a 29-26 victory. However, Richardson is now gone to the NFL as Florida brings in Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz to take over at quarterback.
This year’s matchup is set to take place in Salt Lake City as opposed to Gainesville, and the Utes enter as seven-point favorites coming off of their second straight Pac-12 title. They return starting quarterback Cam Rising and two of his top three receivers from last season, as well as running backs Ja’Quinden Jackson and Micah Bernard (combined 1,064 yards, 13 TDs in 2022).
Colorado at No. 17 TCU (-20.5) — Saturday, Sept. 2
The Buffaloes went 1-11 this past season, but only 10 scholarship players return from that team as first-year coach Deion Sanders completely revamped the roster. Sanders brought in 49 transfers including No. 1 overall transfer Travis Hunter, who plans to play both offense and defense for the Buffaloes.
They’ll face a tall task in Week 1 against the defending national runner up Horned Frogs. Chandler Morris is set to begin the year as starting quarterback again after suffering an injury in last year’s season opener against Colorado. TCU must find a way to replace the production of running back Kendre Miller (1,399 yards and 17 TDs), but it’s hard to imagine Sanders pulling off such a massive upset in Game 1.
No. 12 Tennessee (-28.5) vs. Virginia — Saturday, Sept. 2
Tennessee had a breakout year in coach Josh Heupel‘s second season to finish 11-2 for the first time since 2001. Joe Milton now takes over at quarterback after an impressive Orange Bowl performance in which he threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-28 (67.9%) passing.
The Volunteers once again stand to have an explosive offense after leading the country with 46.1 points per game in 2022. Virginia was on the opposite end of the spectrum, finishing 126th in the FBS with 17.0 points per game as it went 3-7. It’s hard to imagine the Cavaliers being able to keep up the pace, which is why Tennessee opens as nearly a four-touchdown favorite.
No. 3 Ohio State (-28.5) at Indiana — Saturday, Sept. 2
Ohio State enters the season with an unrivaled receiving corps that features a pair of first team All-Americans in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. The Buckeyes also bring back their top three rushers from a team that ranked third in the Big Ten with 192.4 ground yards per game.
The only question is who will replace CJ Stroud at quarterback, as a winner in the battle between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown has yet to be announced. Whoever it ends up being should have no problem putting up points on an Indiana squad that ranked 120th in the FBS is scoring defense last season.
Boise State at No. 10 Washington (-15.5) — Saturday, Sept. 2
Michael Penix Jr. flourished in his first season with the Huskies to finish second among all FBS quarterback with 4,641 yards passing, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions this past season. Now he brings back his top three receivers from 2022 with hopes of leading Washington to its second Playoff appearance in program history.
Boise State, however, ranked fifth in the FBS in passing defense (167.7 air yards allowed per game) in 2022 and will hope to disrupt the passing game’s flow. The Broncos return dual-threat quarterback Taylen Green and leading rusher George Holani as they hope to pull off the upset in Seattle.
South Carolina vs. No. 21 North Carolina (-2.5) — Saturday, Sept. 2
North Carolina enters the year expected to have one of the most explosive offenses in the country led by Heisman candidate quarterback Drake Maye. He set the program record for single-season yards (4,321) and tied for third nationally in total touchdowns (45) on his way to being named ACC Player of the Year and a freshman All-American.
South Carolina has increased its win total every year under coach Shane Beamer and is coming off of an 8-5 finish in 2022. The Gamecocks have a star quarterback of their own in Spencer Rattler, who led them to a pair of top 10 wins against Tennessee and Clemson late last season. The two Carolinas are set to battle in Charlotte for bragging rights in what should be an evenly matched game.
West Virginia at No. 7 Penn State (-20.5) — Saturday, Sept. 2
The Nittany Lions enter the year hoping to compete for a College Football Playoff spot and have a chance to make a statement against the Mountaineers. Penn State returns the running back tandem of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and will aim to remain a balanced offense with former five-star Drew Allar taking over at quarterback.
They should have little trouble against a West Virginia defense that gave up 32.9 points per game (116th in the FBS) this past season. WVU was picked to finish last in the Big 12 this season even with four new teams added to the conference from the Group of 5.
No. 5 LSU (-2.5) vs. No. 8 Florida State — Sunday, Sept. 3
We can only hope the 2023 version of the Tigers vs. the Seminoles will be as entertaining as last year. Florida State escaped with a 24-23 victory after LSU nearly erased a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter before botching the extra point attempt.
Now both teams enter this season with Playoff aspirations. Both teams have quarterbacks in Jayden Daniels and Jordan Travis who rank in the top five in Heisman odds to begin the season. Both teams boast defenses that should be among the best in the country. This is the only top 10 matchup this week and is a must-watch for college football fans.
No. 9 Clemson (-12.5) at Duke — Monday, Sept. 4
Clemson and Duke will kick off conference play in Week 1 with some Monday night football action after not having faced each other since 2018. The Tigers have dominated the ACC over the past eight years, winning seven league championships in that span, and will aim to get off to another good start this season.
Cade Klubnik, the No. 1 overall quarterback in the 2022 class, takes over under center and Clemson also returns running back Will Shipley (1,182 yards and 15 TDs in 2022). The Blue Devils, however, will pose a threat playing at home in Durham. This is a team that went 9-4 in coach Mike Elko‘s inaugural season and returns a majority of its contributors, including quarterback Riley Leonard and his top receiver, Jalen Calhoun.
College football Week 1 point spreads for every game
Thursday, Aug. 31
Kent State at UCF (-36.5)
Elon at Wake Forest (N/A)
Rhode Island at Georgia State (N/A)
St. Francis (PA) at Western Michigan (N/A)
NC State (-14.5) at UConn
North Carolina AT&T at UAB (N/A)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Tulsa (N/A)
South Dakota at Missouri (N/A)
Southern Utah at Arizona State (N/A)
Friday, Sept. 1
Howard at Eastern Michigan (N/A)
Miami (OH) at Miami (FL) (-17.5)
Louisville (-8.5) at Georgia Tech
Central Michigan at Michigan State (-14.5)
Missouri State at Kansas (N/A)
Stanford (-6.5) at Hawaii
Saturday, Sept. 2
East Carolina at Michigan (-35.5)
Bowling Green at Liberty (-10.5)
Arkansas State at Oklahoma (-34.5)
Fresno State at Purdue (-4.5)
Northern Illinois at Boston College (-9.5)
Ball State at Kentucky (-26.5)
Utah State at Iowa (-25.5)
Louisiana Tech at SMU (-20.5)
Long Island at Ohio (N/A)
Robert Morris at Air Force (N/A)
Akron at Temple (-10.5)
Northern Iowa at Iowa State (N/A)
East Tennessee State at Jacksonville State (N/A)
Mercer at Ole Miss (N/A)
Portland State at Oregon (N/A)
Buffalo at Wisconsin (-27.5)
UMass at Auburn (-38.5)
South Florida at Western Kentucky (-11.5)
Rice at Texas (-35.5)
Eastern Kentucky at Cincinnati (N/A)
Wofford at Pittsburgh (N/A)
Towson at Maryland (N/A)
Gardner-Webb at Appalachian State (N/A)
Tennessee State at Notre Dame (N/A)
California (-7.5) at North Texas
Bryant at UNLV (N/A)
Colgate at Syracuse (N/A)
Southeastern Louisiana at Mississippi State (N/A)
Western Carolina at Arkansas (N/A)
South Carolina State at Charlotte (N/A)
Monmouth at Florida Atlantic (N/A)
UT-Martin at Georgia (N/A)
Bucknell at James Madison (N/A)
Albany Great at Marshall (N/A)
The Citadel at Georgia Southern (N/A)
Nevada at USC (-38.5)
Maine at Florida International (N/A)
Texas State at Baylor (-26.5)
Washington State (-12.5) at Colorado State
New Mexico at Texas A&M (-37.5)
UTSA at Houston (-1.5)
Army (-9.5) at Louisiana-Monroe
Central Arkansas at Oklahoma State (N/A)
Southeast Missouri State at Kansas State (N/A)
Alabama A&M at Vanderbilt (N/A)
Bethune-Cookman at Memphis (N/A)
Stephen F. Austin at Troy (N/A)
Alcorn State at Southern Miss (N/A)
Toledo at Illinois (-9.5)
Texas Tech (-14.5) at Wyoming
Middle Tennessee at Alabama (-39.5)
Old Dominion at Virginia Tech (-15.5)
South Alabama at Tulane (-7)
Northwestern State at Louisiana (N/A)
Western Illinois at New Mexico State (N/A)
Incarnate Word at UTEP (N/A)
Northern Arizona at Arizona (N/A)
Sam Houston State at BYU (-20.5)
Coastal Carolina at UCLA (-14.5)
Idaho State at San Diego State (N/A)
Sunday, Sept. 3
Northwestern at Rutgers (N/A)
Oregon State (-16.5) at San Jose State