College Football Betting Odds, Picks Against the Spread for Week 1 Top 25 Schedule
The premier games in Week 1 of the college football season will help establish the national championship hierarchy.
The top-ranked Texas Longhorns visit the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes in the weekend's most notable clash.
Two other showdowns will also shape how the national title picture looks this early in the season.
The LSU Tigers visit the Clemson Tigers in an SEC-versus-ACC clash and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are on the road against the Miami Hurricanes on Sunday.
The losers of the top games won't be out of the title discussion in the world of the 12-team format, but we may think less of them as title contenders after one week of play.
Week 1 Top 25 Schedule and Odds
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Friday, August 29
Western Illinois at No. 12 Illinois (-45.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, Peacock)
Saturday, August 30
No. 1 Texas (-1.5) at No. 3 Ohio State (Noon ET, Fox)
Syracuse vs. No. 24 Tennessee (-13.5) (Noon ET, ABC)
Old Dominion at No. 20 Indiana (-24.5) (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
Nevada at No. 2 Penn State (-43.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
Marshall at No. 5 Georgia (-38.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 8 Alabama (-14) at Florida State (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
South Dakota at No. 22 Iowa State (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
Montana State at No. 7 Oregon (-26.5) (4 p.m. ET, BTN)
Illinois State at No. 18 Oklahoma (-35.5) (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Long Island at No. 15 Florida (-45.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
North Dakota at No. 17 Kansas State (-25.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
UTSA at No. 19 Texas A&M (-23.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson (-4) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
New Mexico at No. 14 Michigan (-34.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at No. 23 Texas Tech (-52.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Georgia State at No. 21 Ole Miss (-34.5) (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
East Texas A&M at No. 16 SMU (-50.5) (9 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
Northern Arizona at No. 11 Arizona State (-28.5) (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Sunday, August 31
Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 South Carolina (-7.5) (3 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 6 Notre Dame (-3) at No. 10 Miami (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 1 Texas (-1.5) at No. 3 Ohio State
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Ohio State is a point-and-a-half underdog after sitting as a half-point favorite on Friday morning.
The betting advice for either side right now is to just take the money line. The game likely won't close with a favorite larger than two points, so at that point you can just remove the risk of losing a spread bet by a single point and opt for the money line.
One bettor took that approach, wagering a whopping $500,000 on Texas to win the contest.
The game itself should be fairly close. Texas owns the edge at quarterback with Arch Manning and has more consistency on the coaching staff. Ohio State has two of the best individual players in the sport in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs, but they have two new coordinators and a new starting quarterback.
Julian Sayin is not tested yet as a college quarterback, but he has an experienced set of targets to throw to inside the OSU offense.
You could argue that although Manning has been in the Texas system for a few years that he also isn't battle-tested in these types of games yet either.
There could be some growing pains with each offense, but the difference-maker could easily be Jeremiah Smith, who is the most talented pass-catcher in the country.
If Smith can break free from Texas' coverage on a few occasions, Ohio State can make a few plays to create separation from the Longhorns.
Prediction: Ohio State ML
No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson (-4)
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Clemson enters the season with all sorts of hype behind it.
Dabo Swinney's team has been named as a national title winner by a handful of experts.
Saturday's home game is an opportunity for Clemson to prove it can live up to that hype, unlike last season's opener, when it fell 34-3 to the Georgia Bulldogs.
Clemson went 1-3 against Top 25 opposition with Cade Klubnik at quarterback and most of its 2025 squad on the roster. The ACC squad needs to show it made offseason improvements in one of its three games against preseason Top 25 teams.
LSU has more margin for error because its tough SEC schedule allows it more opportunities to climb back up the playoff hierarchy.
Brian Kelly's team has plenty to prove, though, since LSU has not won a season opener since the head coach made the move to the Bayou from Notre Dame.
LSU also went 1-3 against ranked foes in 2024 with Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback.
One of the poor records against top 25 teams will continue, and it's hard to ignore Kelly's poor Week 1 coaching form at LSU.
Clemson's home-field advantage might be enough to pull it through and open the season with a marquee win. If that happens, Klubnik will have a big game that thrusts him into the Heisman conversation.
Prediction: Clemson (-4)
No. 6 Notre Dame (-3) at No. 10 Miami
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Notre Dame heads to south Florida with a far less experienced quarterback in first-year starter C.J. Carr compared to Miami's Carson Beck.
However, the Hurricanes might not have a significant edge with the Georgia transfer at the helm.
Beck struggled last season without Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers in the UGA offense. He threw six more interceptions and his completion percentage dropped eight points from 2023 to 2024.
The questions surrounding Beck make it easy to understand why Miami is a home underdog.
Notre Dame has the best player in the matchup in running back Jeremiyah Love, who had 1,125 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns a year ago.
Love's presence inside the ND offense should help Carr ease into a comfort zone under center, as should a few veteran wide receivers.
Notre Dame is more than capable of winning on the road with an inexperienced starter. A road win would set the tone for a busy early stretch in which the Irish play three preseason top-25 teams in the first five games.
Prediction: Notre Dame (-3.5)
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