College football score predictions: Best bets, picks for Week 1

College football is back with its first full weekend of action as the Week 1 schedule unfolds beginning on Thursday. There’s at least one FBS matchup every day from Thursday through Labor Day Monday, with a majority of the action coming on Saturday. Clemson vs. LSU and Auburn vs. Baylor are some of the notable matchups that day. Ole Miss vs. Louisville and Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame are among the Sunday matchups, while SMU vs. Florida State gets a standalone spot on Monday. Visit our DraftKings promo code review and get $200 in bonus bets as a new user after $5+ in wagers here:

The latest Week 1 college football lines have LSU as a 10-point favorite against Clemson, while Ole Miss -7 against Louisville in the only ranked-on-ranked matchup of the week. Before locking in any Week 1college football picks, be sure to see the latest college football score predictions from SportsLine’s proven model.

The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. It is on a 32-19 run on top-rated CFB money-line picks since the 2024 season, and it has been upgraded for the 2026 season to even better factor in the transfer portal. Anybody following its college football betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting sites could have seen strong returns. 

Now, it has turned its attention to the latest college football odds for Week 1 and locked in picks for every FBS matchup. Head here to see every pick.

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Top college football score predictions for Week 1

One college football score prediction for the Week 1 college football schedule: The model projects that Penn State beats Marshall 39-11 in Matt Campbell’s debut for the Nittany Lions. That makes Penn State (-24.5) the better value against the spread, and the Under the pick for the total, which is at 52.5. 

Campbell comes to Happy Valley after an impressive run at Iowa State. He brought a good chunk of that roster with him as well with a couple dozen Cyclones coming to Penn State via the transfer portal, including quarterback Rocco Becht. More than half the roster, in fact, is a product of the portal as many outgoing players followed James Franklin to Virginia Tech or defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to Tennessee. 

Marshall, meanwhile, is coming off a rare down as season as the Thundering Herd went 5-7 last season. They have plenty of questions on the offensive line and on defense in general, so the model is projecting this game to be relatively lopsided given the overall talent edge for the Nittany Lions. See the model’s score predictions for every other matchup here.

College football best bets for Week 1

The model has also made the call on the exact score prediction fro each Week 1 college football game, including an underdog that it says will win outright. You can only get every pick for every game at SportsLine.

So what is the exact projected score for each game, and which underdog pulls off a shocking upset? 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 is on a 32-19 run, and find out.

College football lines for Week 1 notable games

See full Week 1 college football picks, odds, predictions here

Thursday, Sep. 3
UMass at Rutgers (-28.5, 51.5)
Colorado at Georgia Tech (-6.5, 50.5)

Friday, Sep. 4
UTEP at Oklahoma (-41.5, 50.5)
Miami at Stanford (-24.5, 47.5)

Saturday, Sep. 5
North Texas at Indiana (-40.5, 55.5)
Ball State at Ohio State (-50.5, 56.5)
Boise State at Oregon (-24.5, 51.5)
Marshall at Penn State (-24.5, 52.5)
Texas State at Texas (-29.5, 59.5)
Baylor vs. Auburn (-7.5, 58.5)
Clemson at LSU (-10.5, 50.5)
UCLA at California (-1.5, 53.5)

Sunday, Sep. 6
Washington vs. Washington State (+23.5, 50.5)
Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame (-20.5, 47.5)
Louisville vs. Ole Miss (-7, 55.5)

Monday, Sep. 7
SMU at Florida State (+3, 53.5)