2026 Week 0 College Football Odds

The NCAAF is back, and our Week 0 college football picks will help you pick the right wagers for the kickoff of the season. There are eight games scheduled for Week 0, including a matchup between San Jose State and #14 USC. 

Continue reading to see the latest odds for Week 0 and my predictions for every game. Also, I will break down my best bets for each matchup and my top player props for Week 0.  

Week 0 College Football Odds 

Here are the latest college football odds for Week 0, courtesy of Lucky Rebel. 

#14 USC is the only ranked team playing in Week 0. With that in mind, it is not surprising that the Trojans are the biggest favorites this weekend at top college football betting sites. 

Lincoln Riley and company are such heavy favorites that many sites are not offering moneyline odds on the Trojans. However, you can still bet on USC as a -39.0-point favorite. 

Florida State is also a heavy favorite this weekend against New Mexico State. The Seminoles are not in the AP Top 25 to start the season, but they are laying 31.0 points against the visiting Aggies on Saturday.  

Lucky Rebel has hundreds of college football betting markets available for Week 0. Read our Lucky Rebel review to find out more about this sportsbook.  

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Best Week 0 College Football Picks

Here are my top college football predictions for every Week 0 matchup. 

Straight Up/ML Picks

• TCU (-350)
• North Dakota State (-275)
• Stanford (-180)

TCU kicks off the college football season as a -350 moneyline favorite over the North Carolina Tar Heels in Ireland. When these teams met in Week 1 last year, the Horned Frogs steamrolled Bill Belichick and company 48-14. This year should be closer, but there are too many off-the-field distractions at UNC to bet on a Tar Heel upset on Saturday. 

Another favorite to back this weekend is North Dakota State, which is available at -275 to beat Jacksonville State. The Bison went 12-1 last year and did not lose a game until December. The Gamecocks, on the other hand, pulled together a 9-5 season, but failed to top 2,300 passing yards as a team. 

This is North Dakota State’s first game as a DI-FBS school, and I think they will start their time in the FBS with a win. 

Rounding out my list of moneyline favorites in Week 0 is Stanford, which is a -180 favorite against visiting Hawai’i. The Rainbow Warriors beat the Cardinals in their season opener last year, but they will not have the home-field advantage this time around. Stanford also has an upgraded QB this time around, with Michigan transfer Davis Warren lining up under center.  

Best ATS picks

• Sacramento State +9.5 (-110)
• San Jose State +39.0 (-108)
• New Mexico State +31.0 (-108)

Eastern Michigan is laying 9.5 points against Sacramento State on Saturday, and I do not think they will cover. This is the Hornets’ debut in the MAC, and they will be led by transfer QB Carson Conklin, who is back with the team after a one-year stint at Fresno State. Conklin should help the Hornets cover the spread against an Eagles team that was 4-8 last season. 

San Jose State is another underdog that can cover the spread this weekend. The Spartans are getting 39.0 points against the USC Trojans this weekend. USC will win, but 39 points is simply too high a number for a young Trojans team to cover before their offense rounds into mid-season form. 

The Trojans’ defense is also unproven, making a 39-point spread too big a risk to back USC this weekend. 

My final point spread prediction for Week 0 is for New Mexico State to cover +31.0 against Florida State. The Seminoles started great last season but lost seven of their last nine games. They also face #19 SMU next week and could be overlooking New Mexico State, allowing the Aggies to cover the large spread. 

Top CFB Upset Picks

• NC State (+162)
• Memphis (+162)

My two upset picks for Week 0 are NC State (+162) over Virginia and Memphis (+162) over UNLV in the final game of the day. 

NC State and Virginia both averaged over 30 PPG last season, so this could be a high-scoring game. CJ Bailey is back for another year as the Wolfpack QB, and he has a new weapon to work with in App State transfer WR Davion Dozier. Virginia, on the other hand, has a new QB in Beau Pribula, who previously played at Penn State and Missouri. 

Bailey’s familiarity with the NC State offense will be key to the Wolfpack’s chance of securing the upset. 

Memphis is also a good underdog bet for its matchup against UNLV. The Tigers started 8-1 last season before falling off at the end of the year. New HC Charles Huff has plenty of motivation to start off his time in Memphis with a win, and UNLV had one of the worst defenses in the country last season. 

Top Week 0 College Football Prop Bets

• Jeremy Payne (TCU) over 77.5 rushing yards (-115)
• CJ Bailey (NC State) anytime TD scorer (+120)
• JonAnthony Hall (Stanford) 1st half TD scorer (+450)

My top player prop for Week 0 in college football is for TCU RB Jeremy Payne to have over 77.5 rushing yards. Payne averaged 5.7 YPC last season and led the team in carries. UNC, on the other hand, allowed over 120 rushing yards per game last season and will struggle to stop Payne. 

CJ Bailey is listed at +120 odds to score a TD this weekend as NC State takes on Virginia. The NC State QB had six rushing TDs last season, tied for the second-most on the team. The Cavaliers had a good run defense last year, but Bailey will find the end zone on Saturday. 

Rounding out my top college football player props for Week 0 is JonAnthony Hall as a first-half TD scorer at +450 odds. Hall is a freshman, but Hawai’i’s passing defense was only average at best last season. Stanford did not have a WR top 750 yards last year, but Hall can cement himself as a top pass catcher with a big game against the Rainbow Warriors. 

Betting on College Football in Week 0

Lucky Rebel is the top sportsbook for betting on Week 0 college football odds. It has competitive odds on every matchup this Saturday and offers dozens of player props for each game.

Signing up for a Lucky Rebel account today makes you eligible for the site’s welcome bonus. You can get $1,250 in extra funds for betting on your Week 0 predictions with a qualifying deposit.