The 2022/23 college football season had its official start last weekend with a small number of Week 0 fixtures, but this week it starts with all the big teams in action, so here we bring you our free NCAA football picks on the weekend’s biggest matches.
The action starts on Thursday and spans five days and nights. Pittsburgh against West Virginia gets us going on Thursday, with Clemson versus Georgia Tech on Monday finishing what looks on paper like a great round of fixtures for Week 1.
One of the stand-out fixtures of Week 1 sees Ohio State (2) take on Notre Dame (5). A clash between two top-5 teams early in the season is a great way to get things going.
First, a quick look at the outright betting to win the NCAA National Championship shows us that the Alabama Crimson Tide is the favorite to win again. Nick Saban’s team is just +175 with the best Vegas online betting sites to win the championship again after losing out to the Georgia Bulldogs in last season’s final.
After Alabama comes to Ohio State, who is just +300 in the latest Vegas NCAAF odds. They are followed by last year’s champions, the Bulldogs at +350, and Clemson who are at +1000.
| NCAAF 2023 National Championship Betting |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama Crimson Tide | +175 | +160 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | +300 | +300 |
| Georgia Bulldogs | +350 | +350 |
| Clemson Tigers | +1000 | +900 |
| USC | +1800 | +1800 |
Right, onto our college football picks; the first match we are looking at is the clash in Pennsylvania on Thursday night.
The match known as the Backyard Brawl was last played in 2011 when West Virginia won 8-0. I think we can safely discount that match as a form guide, but with this being the opening match of the season, there isn’t a great deal to go on, regardless!
A lot of the attention will be on quarterbacks Kedon Slovis and JT Daniels, and with it being the first game between the sides in 11 years, there is a lot of hype, and it could be a fiery contest due to this.
The spread is 8 in favor of West Virginia. Pittsburgh is -300 on the Moneyline, with West Virginia at +250. I’m ignoring the spread on this occasion and just going for a win for Pittsburgh as my betting pick.
The price in the spread is -115 in favor of Pittsburgh, and although I think they will do it, I am just a bit unsure about the nature of the game. It could be a scrappy match with more emotion on show than quality that’s why I’m going to just stick with the Panthers on the Moneyline.
This is one of the weekend’s matches, with the second favorites to win the National Championship, Ohio State, hosting the Fighting Irish.
Ohio is -800 on the Moneyline, and odds and spread have been heading in their favor for some time now (Notre Dame is +580). With the spread growing, so does the risk. So it might be worth looking elsewhere for a pick on this match.
Ohio has the more notable names on the team sheet, and it looks like they outgun the Fighting Irish in every department. There are also some holes in the OSU defense and I believe this could lead to an open and entertaining match.
And to say that Ohio State matches were high-scoring last year would be somewhat of an understatement. So my betting pick for this fixture is over 59.5 points with BetOnline. It bypasses the spread bet risk, and at -115, it goes without saying that it is far better value than Ohio on the Moneyline.
Off the pitch, the main NCAAF news was Nick Saban’s amazing new contract. But on it, this will be the season’s theme with Saban’s team facing huge spreads.
BetOnline isn’t even pricing the Moneyline on this match, such is the one-sided nature of it. The total points spread is set at 62.5.
The Aggies got their season off to a winning start in Week 0, beating Connecticut 31-20 in Utah. But I feel that won’t help them get the better of Bryce Young and his receivers. Can Young and the Crimson Tide beat the spread? That is the only question.
After the disappointment of last season’s final, Alabama will be keen to lay down a marker, and I’m going to take Crimson Tide to beat the spread this week for my final betting pick.
