The college football season (sort of) begins Saturday with four meaningful games.
Week Zero offers bettors a chance to get their feet wet and also get action on preseason markets before contests count.
The only Power 4-versus-Power 4 showdown comes from Dublin, Ireland, where reigning ACC champion Florida State takes on Georgia Tech at noon ET.
The Seminoles, fresh off a 13-1 2023 campaign, opened as a 13.5-point favorite, but that number has come down to 10.5.
The Yellow Jackets have picked up some early preseason hype while FSU, which was picked to win the ACC by the media last month, lost a ton of talent to the NFL but restocked through the transfer portal.
However, a whopping 73% of the bets placed at DraftKings and 59% of the money wagered is on FSU to cover the double-digit spread.
The FSU handle is even higher at BetMGM, which has seen 62% come in on the Seminoles. Georgia Tech is only seeing about 27% of the money at ESPN BET, but the public typically loves favorites, so those percentages could continue in that direction.
“The Florida State-Georgia Tech game will be the most bet game on Saturday, but the late-night Hawaii game will also be popular as another opportunity for action,” BetMGM data analyst John Ewing told Covers.
The other guys
The Rainbow Warriors host FCS-foe Delaware State on the island of O’ahu a minute before midnight ET, and bettors have already taken a strong stance on that matchup. Hawaii opened as a 38-point favorite and has moved to -40, getting an insane 95.6% of the handle and 71.2% of the bets at ESPN BET.
Money on the Rainbow Warriors is at 89% at BetMGM and 81% at DraftKings, but 60% of the bets are on Hawaii.
SMU, which moved from the Group of Five’s AAC to the Power 4’s ACC this season, opens the season on the road at Nevada, which is a 24.5-point underdog at home. That spread isn’t scaring off bettors as 66% of the wagers are on the favored Mustangs at ESPN BET.
The other game features a Group of 5-versus-FCS matchup as New Mexico hosts Montana State as a 13.5-point favorite. The Lobos are getting 64% of the money but just 44% of the wagers at DraftKings.
Market upgrades
A new 12-team playoff format will be introduced in college football this season. This opens up more wagering possibilities for the teams-to-make-the-playoff futures market and could bring in more schools that can win the national championship compared to the old four-team system.
In a market with more than 70 teams listed by BetMGM, Alabama at -105 has received 8.5% of the handle to make the College Football Playoff, the most of any school. The Nick Saban-less Crimson Tide is tied with Iowa (+600) for the most wagers at 5.7%.
The biggest longshot with the most wagers is Colorado at +1,800.
To win the national championship, Ohio State leads the field at Fanatics Sportsbook with 34% of the bets and 54.4% of the money on the Buckeyes, six times more handle than second-place Oregon.
The Deion Sanders craze continues from 2023 as Colorado has seen 4.4% of the handle, ninth most, at +15,000 to win it all.
Conference champs
Heading into Saturday, FSU has a win total of 8.5 and is getting 45% of the bets to win the ACC at +290. However, 20% of the handle is on Miami at +400 to capture the league crown. ESPN BET says Clemson (+375) has the highest handle to win the ACC at 23.27%.
Colorado is getting 38% of the money at BetMGM to win the Big 12 at +2,500, but 43% of bets at DraftKings are on Utah, the favorite to take the conference title. The Utes are +300 at ESPN BET and are getting 43.59% of the wagers.
Ohio State (+150) is getting 55% of the handle at BetMGM to win the Big Ten, the highest of any team to win any conference. Defending national champion Michigan is tied with Penn State for second in tickets at 17%, but the Wolverines are getting only 8.9% of the money to win the league.
Alabama (+700) is getting 29.5% of the handle and 22.7% of tickets to win the SEC at BetMGM. Georgia, however, has seen 80% of the wagers and 50% of the money at DraftKings.
