Perhaps no other slate brings as much uncertainty and potential payoff as the Week 1 college football schedule. In the age of NIL, the transfer portal and conference realignment, it can be tough for handicappers to set the Week 1 college football odds. There's already been one big upset this season when Georgia Tech beat Florida State as a double-digit underdog in Week 0. Should teams like Michigan (-21 via SportsLine consensus), Penn State (-7.5) or Georgia (-12.5) be on upset alert as they take on Fresno State, West Virginia and Clemson, respectively?
There's college football every day of Labor Day Weekend, so which lines should you be targeting in your Week 1 college football best bets? Before locking in any Week 1 college football picks, be sure to see the top Week 1 college football expert picks, predictions and best bets from Thomas Casale.
A frequent guest on national radio and TV shows to discuss college sports, Casale has been betting -- and winning -- for more than 30 years. Over the past two college football seasons, Casale is 122-92-5 (57%) overall on his college football picks and 26-8 (76.4%) in bowl games -- all publicly documented. Anybody who has followed him is way up.
Now, he has turned his attention to the Week 1 college football odds and is sharing his top three best bets over at SportsLine. If you parlay them together, you could be looking at a return of around 6-1. Get his top college football picks at SportsLine.
Top Week 1 college football expert predictions
One of Casale's top Week 1 college football picks: He's taking Florida to cover against No. 19 Miami (Fla.) at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Casale was able to get this line at Florida +3, but he recommends taking it down to +2. Otherwise, he suggests backing Florida on the money line.
Billy Napier is feeling the heat in Gainesville as Florida faces one of the toughest schedules in the nation. However, Florida might have its most talented team under Napier this season and it has experience at quarterback in Graham Mertz and home-field advantage in this one. "I expect a tight game but see it being a case of one team into the year undervalued and the other a bit overvalued," Casale told SportsLine. See what other picks Casale likes at SportsLine.
How to make Week 1 college football picks
Casale has also found two other college football picks he loves, including backing a team that "has a significant edge in the trenches" in one of the week's biggest matchups. You can only see his picks at SportsLine.
What are the best bets for Week 1 of college football, and which team has a big edge in the trenches? Visit SportsLine now to see Thomas Casale's college football best bets, all from a proven college football handicapper who has gone 26-8 on bowl games the past two seasons, and find out.