College football Week 1 betting recap: Favorites, unders and a crazy finish

Even though the college football season officially started last week with "Week 0," it didn't live up to this weekend's games. Why is that? Simply because last week didn't feature a full slate of games. That wasn't the case for Week 1 this week, though. Power 5 conference, mid-major or an independent, they all played this week. College football is officially back, and life is good!

They're Favorites for a Reason

Week 1 favorites went 41-10 on the moneyline and 33-25 against the spread while week one home favorites went 34-5 on the moneyline and 29-17 against the spread. Overall this year, favorites are 73-13 on the moneyline and 52-41 against the spread. Meanwhile home favorites of 10+ points are 52-1 on the moneyline and 35-25 against the spread.

Unders the way to go

Unlike the spread, betting the over/under point total was pretty even, with the under hitting at a 53% clip (74-66) over the weekend. The most notable under of the weekend was between South Dakota State and Iowa. With the line set at 41, the under hit with ease, courtesy of the Hawkeyes' 7-3 win. Best of all, neither team scored a touchdown. Both teams each hit a field goal, and Iowa got its other four points via two safeties.

The SEC is still the best

The SEC proved it's still the best conference in college football after going 13-1 on the moneyline this weekend and 10-2 against the spread vs. FBS teams. LSU was the only team in the SEC that didn't win outright this weekend and both LSU and Ole Miss were the only two teams to not cover the spread. Yes, even heavy-favorites — Alabama (-42.5) and Tennessee (-35.5) — covered with ease. 

PAC-12 struggles 

Should the PAC-12 still be considered a Power 5 conference? Maybe not for long. USC and UCLA already announced they're leaving the PAC-12 for the Big Ten in 2024, but that's not the only bad news. PAC-12 teams went 0-3 against Power 5 conference opponents this weekend. Maybe worst of all, No. 11 Oregon got steamrolled by No. 2 Georgia, 49-3, in its season opener. 

Heartbreakers

All hope of a comeback looked impossible for head coach Brian Kelly in his LSU coaching debut after Tigers punt returner Malik Nabers muffed the punt inside the LSU 10 with two minutes to go. But Seminoles running back Treshaun Ward gave the ball right back to LSU after fumbling three plays later on third and goal from the one-yard line with 1:20 remaining. LSU went 99 yards to come within one, however, Damian Ramos' extra point was blocked with no time on the clock, giving FSU a 24-23 win, and Kelly the loss in his debut. 

Trailing 29-26 on the road in "The Swamp" against unranked Florida, No. 7 Utah looked to be on the verge of forcing overtime or even pulling out a nail-biting win. But Gators linebacker Amari Burney had a different idea. On second and goal from the Florida six, Burney intercepted Utes quarterback Cam Rising in the end zone to seal the win for Florida. 

Leading 17-13 with just under three minutes, Virginia Tech's Grant Wells gave Old Dominion hope after getting intercepted for the third time on the day on third down near midfield. Having yet to score a second-half touchdown, the Monarchs ended that drought and took the lead for good on a one-yard Blake Watson rushing touchdown with less than 30 seconds to go. The 20-17 defeat wasn't the worst part of the night though for the Hokies. After the game, VT players returned to the locker room only to find items stolen from their lockers.  

Heisman odds 

Bryce Young (+300) is now the Heisman favorite after throwing five touchdowns and rushing for one in Alabama's 55-0 season-opening win over Utah State. Preseason favorite CJ Stroud (+350) follows while Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett saw his odds go from 125/1 to 18/1 after accounting for three touchdowns (two rushing, one passing) in the Bulldogs' 49-3 season-opening win over Oregon. 

Alabama, Georgia remain national title favorites

No.1 Alabama (+180) and No. 2 Georgia (+300) remain the clear-cut favorites for the National Title after coasting to Week 1 wins. Despite gutting out a 21-10 win over No. 5 Notre Dame, Ohio State (+320) follows with the third-best odds followed by Clemson (+1000), who opens its season on Monday night on the road against Georgia Tech. 

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Jared Shlensky joined Yardbarker in June of 2022 and writes about MLB, College Football and the NFL. Jared enjoys keeping up with pro and college football contests based out of Las Vegas, and he is a big fan of parlays, round robins, future bets, prop bets, and most of all, teaser bets. Jared is also a certified Pharmacy Technician and play-by-play broadcaster. Follow Jared on Twitter @JaredShlensky.