OddsShark’s Week One Gambling Picks

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I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR — THESE ARE NOT MY PICKS. MY PICKS ARE HERE.

These are the OddsShark gambling picks.

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The 2017 college football season kicks off in full force starting Thursday and continues throughout the Labor Day weekend with games each day. After just 10 schools were in action last weekend, a lot more will be playing on a slate that includes some good inter-conference matchups to watch later in the weekend.

West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech (-4) (Sun, 7:30pm ET) – Matchup Report

The Virginia Tech Hokies are ranked in the Top 25 to start the season, something that was not the case a year ago. The program looks to be back on track heading into head coach Justin Fuente’s second year at the helm after going an impressive 10-4 last season. Virginia Tech made the ACC Championship Game before losing to the Clemson Tigers and has gone 7-2 straight up in its last nine games against Big 12 teams, according to the OddsShark College Football Database.

The West Virginia Mountaineers have lost six of the previous eight meetings in the series SU, and while the Hokies have gone just 2-8 against the spread in their past 10 season openers, they should be primed to start reversing that trend with a win and cover in this spot.

Texas A&M at UCLA (-4) (Sun, 7:30pm ET) – Matchup Report

This is a huge year for the UCLA Bruins and junior quarterback Josh Rosen, who missed most of last season following a shoulder injury. Rosen projects to be one of the top signal callers selected in next year’s NFL Draft along with USC’s Sam Darnold, and both of them will be trying to perform their best in an effort to be one of the top picks. The Bruins have won four of their last five season openers, but they have gone only 1-4 ATS in their past five versus SEC teams.

The Texas A&M Aggies are not a traditional SEC team though, and head coach Kevin Sumlin has pressure on him to get them back among the conference’s top teams. Texas A&M has a seven-game winning streak in season openers, the last five coming under Sumlin. That streak ends here with UCLA lighting up Texas A&M’s defense en route to an easy victory and cover.

Tennessee (-3) vs. Georgia Tech (Mon, 8:00pm ET) – Matchup Report

The Tennessee Volunteers have been even better than the Aggies with eight straight season-opening wins, but they will be taking on a Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets team that has also won nine of 10 in Week 1. Something has to give between these teams, and Georgia Tech’s experience will be the difference.

The Yellow Jackets have 17 starters back, including the entire defensive backfield. Georgia Tech is 3-1 ATS in its last four as an underdog, and head coach Paul Johnson’s Ramblin’ Wreck will down the Vols to improve that trend to 4-1.

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.