An Early Look at the College Football Odds

If you’re a big college football fan, then your school has likely had its spring game, and you’re already starting to plan where your tailgate will be and your meal schedule with your friends. The college football odds that are available now for that first week show some interesting thoughts about what that first week might have in store for fans and bettors alike.

An Early Look at the College Football Odds

   

LSU (-4.5) vs Wisconsin (at Lambeau Field)

Are you kidding me? The Badgers at Lambeau? That home field advantage should give the Badgers a 10-point edge all by itself, shouldn’t it? Despite the fact that the Badgers weren’t in the upper echelons of the Big Ten last year, they have a solid defense, particularly against the run, and they can make teams pay for making mistakes. The LSU Tigers showed an offense that was quite pedestrian down the stretch, so it’s going to be interesting to see if LSU can score much. If this game were in Baton Rouge, I’d take LSU by 10. In this atmosphere, though, I see the Badgers rolling with some momentum. I’d be tempted to take them straight up, but I’m definitely taking them to cover.

Notre Dame (-5) at Texas

This is a rematch of an absolute embarrassment that the Fighting Irish dealt to the Longhorns up in South Bend in Week 1 of last year. Playing in Austin, I don’t see Texas giving up that sort of offensive performance. On the other hand, Malik Zaire is going to be back after missing most of last year with a fractured ankle, and the smart money is on him showing the same arm strength and danger out of the pocket. I don’t think that Texas is ready for this sort of competition, especially in Week 1, so I’m taking the Irish to win and cover this one.

UCLA at Texas A&M (-3)

College Station is one of the more intimidating stadiums to enter and play as a road team. The good news for the Bruins is that the Aggies might not have much of an offense to offer. They’ve had not one, but two, quarterbacks transfer out since the beginning of November. They’ve had some other players transfer out after an Aggie assistant coach went on a Twitter rant about some of the players. This is definitely a team in disarray, and UCLA is showing up just in time to take advantage. So while the Aggies will always have the 12th Man on their side, it’s players 1-11 on both offense and defense that will be the concern. I’m picking the Bruins to cover (and to win if I’m in a straight up wager).

Oklahoma (-6) vs Houston (at NRG Stadium)

Moving this game from Houston’s campus to the home of the NFL Houston Texans means that there will be more seats for Sooner fans, so expect a raucous environment for both teams. The Cougars will be stinging from that loss to Connecticut that kept them from real consideration in the College Football Playoff, and the Sooners will be stinging from that semifinal loss. I like the Cougars to get that offense going and put the Sooners on their heels. As far as college football odds go here, I’m picking Houston to cover in this one.