College Football Week 1 Odds and Betting Trends

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The Hawaii Warriors kicked off the 2016 college football season last Friday in Sydney and were routed 51-31 by the California Golden Bears. But Hawaii did cover the spread as a 21.5-point underdog and will get nearly twice as many points to play with this Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines in the Big House.

The Warriors are the only team in America playing the first two weeks. Michigan is kicking off the year in a monster mismatch as one of the nation’s top-ranked teams.

The Wolverines are listed as 40.5-point home favorites at sportsbooks and as one of the favorites to win the National Championship Game. Michigan is 5-2 straight up and against the spread in its last seven Week 1 games, and Hawaii is 1-4 versus the number in its past five road games following a loss away from home.

However, not every ranked team has an easy matchup in Week 1. The two finalists that met in last year’s CFP title game will have early tests in nationally televised games on Saturday night.

The defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide will face the USC Trojans as 11-point favorites at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Alabama has won 12 in a row SU but is 7-5 ATS in those games. USC is breaking in a new quarterback in Max Browne and has failed to cover five of six.

The Clemson Tigers lost 45-40 to the Tide for the national title and will try to start another unbeaten regular season with a win over the Auburn Tigers. Clemson is a 7.5-point road favorite and has won 17 of 18 SU dating back to 2014, going 10-8 ATS during that stretch. Auburn is 6-1 SU in its last seven home games after a home loss but riding an 0-9-1 ATS run there overall.

Other college football Week 1 odds and betting trends:

South Carolina at Vanderbilt (-4)

South Carolina is undefeated SU in its last seven games against Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt has covered the spread in just two of its last seven games as a home favorite.

Oklahoma vs Houston (+11)

Houston has covered the spread in 12 of its last 14 games as an underdog.

The OVER is 6-2 in Oklahoma’s last eight games.

LSU vs Wisconsin (+10)

The UNDER is 8-3 in Wisconsin’s last 11 games.

LSU has covered the spread in five of its last six games as a favorite.

Notre Dame at Texas (+3.5)

Texas has covered the spread in just three of its last 10 games as an underdog.

Notre Dame is undefeated SU in its last 10 games as a favorite.

Ole Miss vs Florida State (-4)

Ole Miss has won nine of its last 11 Week 1 games SU.

The UNDER is 7-2 in Florida State’s last nine games as a favorite of four points or less.

Written by Clay Travis

Clay Travis is the founder of the fastest growing national multimedia platform, OutKick, that produces and distributes engaging content across sports and pop culture to millions of fans across the country. OutKick was created by Travis in 2011 and sold to the Fox Corporation in 2021.

One of the most electrifying and outspoken personalities in the industry, Travis hosts OutKick The Show where he provides his unfiltered opinion on the most compelling headlines throughout sports, culture, and politics. He also makes regular appearances on FOX News Media as a contributor providing analysis on a variety of subjects ranging from sports news to the cultural landscape. Throughout the college football season, Travis is on Big Noon Kickoff for Fox Sports breaking down the game and the latest storylines.

Additionally, Travis serves as a co-host of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, a three-hour conservative radio talk program syndicated across Premiere Networks radio stations nationwide.

Previously, he launched OutKick The Coverage on Fox Sports Radio that included interviews and listener interactions and was on Fox Sports Bet for four years. Additionally, Travis started an iHeartRadio Original Podcast called Wins & Losses that featured in-depth conversations with the biggest names in sports.

Travis is a graduate of George Washington University as well as Vanderbilt Law School. Based in Nashville, he is the author of Dixieland Delight, On Rocky Top, and Republicans Buy Sneakers Too.