College Football Week 1 Betting Preview

Defending national champions the Alabama Crimson Tide will get their new season started on Saturday when they take on the USC Trojans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Crimson Tide begin the season as the No. 1 team in the country and as the national championship favorite at online sportsbook Bovada. In their opener against the Trojans they’re a 12-point favorite at Bovada.

Alabama heads into their opener having won 12 in a row straight-up with a 7-5 record against the spread. The Trojans are ranked at No. 20 to start the season. They finished last season with one win in their last four games and they only covered the spread in one of their last six.

There are three other ranked matchups on the Week 1 schedule including the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners versus the No. 15 Houston Cougars, the No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs versus the No. 22 North Carolina Tar Heels and the No. 11 Mississippi Rebels versus the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles.

The Sooners and Cougars meet up at NRG Stadium in Houston with the Sooners listed as an 11.5-point favorite. Oklahoma had a seven-game winning streak snapped last time out when they lost to the Clemson Tigers as a 3.5-point favorite in the Orange Bowl. Houston is an impressive 12-1-1 ATS in their last 14 games as an underdog, but the last time they faced Oklahoma in 2004 they were hammered 63-13 as a 4-point underdog.

Georgia and North Carolina clash at the Georgia Dome with the Bulldogs listed as a 3-point favorite. Georgia has won five straight with a 4-1 ATS record and their last seven games have all gone UNDER the posted total. UNC has dropped their last two games after losing to Baylor 49-38 as a 2.5-point favorite in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

Ole Miss and Florida State meet up at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Seminoles had a five-game ATS winning streak snapped when they lost to Houston 38-24 as a 7.5-point favorite in the Peach Bowl. Ole Miss has won their last three both SU and ATS and for totals bettors they’ve gone 9-1 UNDER in their last 10 games. At Bovada the Seminoles are a 4.5-point favorite.