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College football odds, picks, predictions for Week 1, 2024: Proven computer backs Penn State in best bets

By CBS Sports Staff,

1 day ago

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The first upset of the 2024 college football season occurred in the first game of the year as No. 10 Florida State fell to Georgia Tech in Ireland. FSU will look to avoid another defeat to an unranked ACC foe during the Week 1 college football schedule when it hosts Boston College on Sunday. Meanwhile, the other members of the Florida Cup rivalry -- Miami and the University of Florida -- will get together the day before in Gainesville, Fla. The Hurricanes are favored by 2.5 points, per the Week 1 college football odds via SportsLine consensus, in what will be the programs' first meeting since 2019.

As for the Seminoles, they are 16-point favorites over BC, but they were also double-digit favorites before losing to Georgia Tech. Which schools from Florida warrant your Week 1 college football bets, and what matchups involving teams from outside the state should you keep an eye on? Before locking in any college football picks for Week 1 of the 2024 season, be sure to see the latest college football predictions from SportsLine's proven model .

The model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It is also coming off a profitable 13-9 season on top-rated spread picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen strong returns.

Now, it has turned its attention to the latest college football odds and Week 1 college football betting lines on the spread, money line, and over/under,. Head here to see every pick .

Top college football predictions for Week 1

One of the college football picks the model is high on during Week 1: Penn State (-8.5) cruises to a blowout win over West Virginia at noon ET on Saturday. That's exactly what happened when these two squared off in Week 1 last year when PSU won 38-15. That score was just par for the course in terms of the all-time series between the two, which has been contested 60 times. The Nittany Lions have dominated with a 49-9-2 head-to-head record, including five straight double-digit victories.

PSU brings back QB Drew Allar , who led the Big Ten with 25 passing touchdowns a year ago, and he's backed by one of the best defenses in college football. Penn State led the nation with 49 sacks a year ago and allowed just 13.5 PPG, third-fewest in the nation. PSU also has the huge advantage versus the spread as it is 18-7-1 ATS since 2022 -- the best spread record in FBS -- while West Virginia is winless ATS in its last four versus ranked opponents. See which other picks the model likes here .

Another prediction: Western Kentucky (+31.5) stays within the spread at No. 5 Alabama in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday. WKU covered in its last two of 2023, while Bama failed to cover in two of its last three to end the season. As is usual the case, the Tide lost lots of players to the pros -- 10 in the 2024 NFL Draft -- in addition to several players to the transfer portal. But their biggest loss was the retirement of Nick Saban, and one shouldn't be surprised if Alabama needs a bit of an adjustment period under Kalen DeBoer.

The Hilltoppers have the type of offense that can stay with Alabama for a while as they ranked 15th in FBS in passing yards per game a year ago. Even with that high volume, they still have efficiency as just seven teams allowed fewer sacks than WKU's 13. Coach Tyson Helton has won at least eight games in four of his five seasons at the helm, and he has a 4-1 bowl record, so he gets his teams up for big games. With Western Kentucky's style of play, and with how these teams ended 2023 ATS, the model is backing the Hilltoppers (+31.5) to cover well over 50% of the time. See the rest of the model's picks here .

How to make college football picks for Week 1

The model has also made the call on who wins and covers in every FBS matchup in Week 1, and it's calling for several underdogs to win outright. You can only get every pick for every game at SportsLine .

So what college football picks can you make with confidence, and which underdogs win outright? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams win and cover the spread, all from a proven computer model that has returned well over $2,000 in profit since its inception , and find out.