Opening college football betting lines, odds and spreads for Week 0 of the CFB season: Can Navy keep it close?

At last, Week 0 is finally here! The long and eventful offseason is in the rearview mirror and the 2023 college football season is upon us. The battle for a spot in the College Football Playoff begins this Saturday and won’t slow down until December. Last season’s National Championship game saw Georgia knock off TCU in lopsided fashion to claim its second straight national title. Could we see the Bulldogs 3-peat this season? It’s certainly possible.

With the offseason wrapped up, it’s time to turn our attention to the first week of games. This slate isn’t as loaded as Week 1 and Week 2 will be in September, but this is still a nice appetizer for college football fans to enjoy. These lines opened a few months ago and have already seen some movement, so let’s take a look at these lines and give our first impressions.

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NCAAF Week 0 opening lines and odds

Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. 

• Navy +20.5 (-110) vs Notre Dame – Saturday, August 26
• UTEP -1.5 (-110) vs Jacksonville State – Saturday, August 26
• UMass +8 (-110) vs New Mexico State – Saturday, August 26
• Ohio +3.5 (-115) vs San Diego State – Saturday, August 26
• Hawaii +17.5 (-110) vs Vanderbilt – Saturday, August 26
• San Jose State +30.5 (-110) vs USC – Saturday, August 26
• Florida International +10.5 (-110) vs Louisiana Tech – Saturday, August 26

We’ll have college football picks and NCAAF predictions for all the big games this season!

Best early bet for NCAAF Week 0

Navy +20.5 over Notre Dame (-110)

In general, backing service academies when they’re catching more than 2 touchdowns has been a profitable trend that has bore fruit consistently for years. There are a few reasons for this, but it’s most likely that Navy is simply a difficult team to handicap and the Midshipmen can often create a bit more variance in a game due to their unique style of play. Add in the fact that this is the first time any team will be seeing Navy’s brand new scheme under new offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut (Kennesaw State), and I expect this contest to have more variance than the betting market is accounting for. This is still a triple-option-oriented offense, but the play selection should feature more RPO and short passing plays to keep a relatively unproven Fighting Irish defense on its toes.

Sam Hartman was one of the biggest transfer portal movers in the offseason at the quarterback position, and I expect him to help bolster Notre Dame’s previously meek offense in the long run. However, I’d expect the Irish to struggle a bit in their opening game against a veteran-laden Navy defense that brings back a ton of production from a season ago. Unlike some of the other games in Week 0, there isn’t much data we can point to on either side, but the spot is one that has consistently favored the service academy against the number. That’s good enough for me to invest in the Midshipmen, and I could see this number moving as we get closer to kickoff.

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