Ladies and gentlemen, we finally made it. Welcome to Week 1 of the 2024 college football season! Ok, technically the season started on Saturday with four games in "Week 0," but that was like the free basket of bread and butter the waiter brings out before you even order an appetizer. The 48-ounce ribeye steak that is this 100-game slate is on the grill, and we can finally start to smell it. 

With Week 1 upon us, let's take a look at some of the biggest line movements of the offseason and see how they can shape our betting card for the week. 

College football Week 1 market report

Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Texas A&M Aggies

Line movement: Texas A&M pk ---> Texas A&M -3
One of the most pivotal matchups on the Week 1 slate, Notre Dame-Texas A&M could eventually decide a College Football Playoff spot. Sportsbooks opened this line at a pick'em, but money has consistently come in on the Aggies to push them out to a three-point favorite. It's easy to see why, too. 

Jimbo Fisher wasted Texas A&M's top-tier talent for years. Mike Elko, who won 16 games over the last two years with much less talent at Duke, won't make the same mistakes. Quarterback Conner Weigman looked fantastic last year before suffering a season-ending injury in the fourth game of the season, and he's poised to return as a top QB in the SEC. The Aggies are also loaded in the trenches, while Notre Dame is entering the season with questions along the offensive line. 

We like grabbing Texas A&M if you can find -2.5 or better.

Nevada Wolf Pack @ Troy Trojans

Line movement: Troy -16 ---> Troy -9.5
Week 2 in the NFL is famously called "overreaction week" because oddsmakers and bettors tend to overreact to poor or outstanding performances from Week 1. That's exactly what we're seeing here after Nevada nearly upset SMU as a 28-point underdog in Week 0, but that was more about SMU struggling than it was about Nevada playing well.

The Wolf Pack were outgained, 408-298, in the game, and they averaged just 4.2 yards per play. Quarterback Brendon Lewis wasn't efficient as a passer, throwing for just 132 yards on 26 attempts. He relied on his legs to move the chains all night, so Troy's coaching staff will make it a priority to keep him in the pocket and make him beat the defense with his arm. 

The look-ahead line for this game was as high as Troy -18 earlier this offseason. This is a severe overreaction to Nevada's Week 0 performance, so we're going to wait as long as possible and take Troy at the best number possible. 

In the news ...

Georgia Tech takes down No. 10 Florida State in Week 0 — Week 0 of the college football season doesn't normally produce any drama, but that changed in a big way this year. In the very first game of the 12-team College Football Playoff era, Georgia Tech upset No. 10 Florida State, 24-21, on a last-second field goal. The good news for the Seminoles is they can still make the playoffs if they go 11-1 or 10-2, but they have no more room for error. Florida State is now +330 to make the CFP. 

Aaron Judge makes more history with 50th home run of the season — If it seems like Judge is setting an MLB record every other week, that's because it's basically true. On Sunday, the New York Yankees superstar cracked his 50th and 51st home runs of the year to become just the fifth player in league history to put up three 50-homer seasons. New York still has 31 games left on its schedule, so it's not unfathomable to think Judge could reach 60 home runs for the second time in his career. Judge has already locked up the AL MVP award, as he's now a -3000 favorite. 

Chiefs re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster — As we inch closer to final cuts in the NFL, one team's trash is another team's treasure. A great example of that popped up on Monday morning, as the Kansas City Chiefs signed Smith-Schuster off the streets after the New England Patriots waived him earlier this month. Smith-Schuster led all Kansas City wideouts with 78 receptions and 933 yards in 2022. The Chiefs are +500 to three-peat as Super Bowl champions. 

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jack Dougherty