College football season kicks off with a bang over Labor Day weekend. Saturday's slate includes a game between Auburn (-2.5) and Washington in Atlanta with 2019 College Football Playoff implications on the line. Michigan and Notre Dame battle in South Bend, with the home team as a slight favorite. In the nightcap in Orlando, Alabama is favored by 24 points over Louisville, who's looking to adjust to life after Lamar Jackson. It's one of the biggest days to wager on football and there have been wild swings in the college football odds already. Before you make your own college football picks and predictions, you need to see what SportsLine's proven computer model has to say.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times, and those who have followed it have seen massive returns. Over the past three years, this proprietary computer model has generated a jaw-dropping $4,210 profit for $100 bettors. It also closed last bowl season on a perfect 7-0 run.
Now it has simulated every single play of the first full week of college football, and you can see all the results over at SportsLine.
One pick we'll give away: Defending champion Alabama opens the season with a blowout victory over Louisville that will cover the 24.5-point spread in a neutral-site battle in Orlando.
The model is calling for both heralded Crimson Tide quarterbacks to see the field for Alabama, but it is Tua Tagovailoa who leads the way with 190 yards passing.
Alabama has plenty to replace after the loss of top receiver Calvin Ridley and several huge pieces on defense. But the Tide, armed with two championship-caliber quarterbacks and plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, will be too much for a Louisville squad that must adjust to life after Lamar Jackson. Back Alabama with confidence and take the Under 62 as well, because that total hits in 66 percent of simulations.
Another Week 1 college football shocker: Arizona comes out strong in Kevin Sumlin's debut, beating BYU and covering the 10.5-point spread with room to spare.
Sumlin, who coached Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M, gets another Heisman contender in quarterback Khalil Tate, who was one of the most dynamic players in college football last season. The model is calling for Tate to roll up over 400 yards of total offense and account for at least three touchdowns in this opener against a BYU defense that will be overmatched. Back the Wildcats with complete confidence because they cover the spread almost 60 percent of the time, according to the model.
The model has also made the call on the huge Top-15 battle between Notre Dame and Michigan, and is projecting a national title contender to get shocked by an underdog.
So what college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 1? And what team shocks college football? Check out the latest college football odds below and then visit SportsLine to see which teams are winning more than 50 percent of simulations, all from a proven computer model that has returned over $4,000 in profit over the past three seasons.
Florida Atlantic at Oklahoma (-20.5, 72)
Oregon State at Ohio State (-38.5, 63.5)
Texas vs. Maryland (+13.5, 54)
Washington vs. Auburn (-2.5, 48.5)
West Virginia vs. Tennessee (+9.5, 61.5)
Appalachian State at Penn State (-24, 54)
UNLV at USC (-26, 63.5)
Boise State at Troy (+10, 48)
Michigan at Notre Dame (-1, 46.5)
Bowling Green at Oregon (-32, 72.5)
Louisville vs. Alabama (-24, 62)
Miami vs. LSU (+3.5, 46.5)
Virginia Tech at Florida State (-7.5, 55)