The worst thing about sports betting is the first quarter fake out. That is when your wager appears to be a lock through the first quarter before things turn pear shaped. That best describes our picks from week 0. Hawaii and Charlotte were looking good during the first 15 minutes. And then the situation went sideways. However, our college football week 1 parlay looks to get on track.
Let’s be honest, the first two or three weeks of the college football season are a crapshoot. You have an idea of how you think teams should do, but there is still a lot of mystery. This is a positive in some cases since you’ll enjoy better odds.
On the flip side, it can also fool you into wagering on teams that aren’t nearly as good as promised. It’s not quite the blind leading the blind, but here is The Touchback’s college football week 1 parlay.
College Football Record in 2022
Moneyline: 0-1 (All Underdogs/Pick’ems)
ATS: 1-1
Parlays hit in 2022: 0
More College Football: Ranking the Mountain West Conference football stadiums
The Touchback’s college football week 1 parlay
Game 1
Oregon Ducks vs Georgia Bulldogs
The pick: Oregon +17.5 (-110)
While this contest is technically at a neutral venue, playing in Atlanta is a home game for the Georgia Bulldogs. Despite that, Oregon is great value to cover the 17.5 spread. The Ducks probably don’t win. They also won’t be facing the team that left the field as National Champions in 2021.
Nobody really knows what to expect from Kirby Smart and company this season. The expectation is that they’ll be elite, but the same thing was said about LSU in 2020. Oregon is no pushover either and should have managed to keep this a two-score game.
Game 2
Texas State at Nevada Wolfpack
The pick: Nevada to win (-110)
This is an overreaction line to Nevada not looking convincing against New Mexico State. The Wolfpack should not be in a pick’em to Texas State, who has been awful for years now. Firstly, the Aggies under Jerry Kill are going to be tougher than in previous seasons. Last week’s result isn’t as bad as it appears.
Meanwhile, playing in week 0 will have given Nevada sometime to work out the kinks in what was a very disjointed performance. A lot of their problems were self-inflicted, and they should be able to fix those against the Bobcats in Reno.
Game 3
Illinois Fighting Illini at Indiana Hoosiers
The pick: Illinois to win (+135)
I was shocked to see Illinois as the underdog. Indiana was bad last season and could be worse in 2022. The Fighting Illini looked competent in their week 0 victory over Wyoming. This line makes no sense but take it if you can get it.
Game 4
Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Ohio State Buckeyes
The pick: Notre Dame to win (+525)
Ohio State doesn’t have a great record in these high-profile, non-conference games. They lost last year to Oregon, barely beat TCU in 2018 and got upset by Oklahoma a year before that. There is a lot of hype around the Buckeyes which isn’t always a good thing.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame has nothing to lose. Despite being ranked in the top five, they head into this contest as an afterthought. The Fighting Irish most likely get blasted here, but an upset is within the realm of possibilities. Why not take them and balloon up the odds of your college football week 1 parlay?
The payoff
Unlike last week with its meager odds, our college football week 1 parlay is going for broke. This four-game wager gets you odds of +5258. That means if you bet $10, you would win $535.81.
