College Football best bets: Noon picks for Virginia Tech vs. Vanderbilt, Penn State vs. WVU on Aug. 31

Action Network's NCAAF best bets for Saturday, Aug. 31

Noon Best Bets | Afternoon Best Bets | Evening Best Bets

Action Network writers BJ Cunningham, Mike McNamara and Patrick Strollo hand-picked their three best bets for Saturday's early slate, including picks for Clemson vs. Georgia, Penn State vs. West Virginia and Virginia Tech vs Vanderbilt.

Continue reading for all three college football best bets for Saturday's noon games.

Clemson vs. Georgia Best Bet

Saturday, Aug. 31

12 p.m. ET

ABC

Over 48 (DraftKings)

By BJ Cunningham

It’s the biggest game of Week 1, and I think the total is too low.

This will now be Year 2 for quarterback Cade Klubnik in offensive coordinator Garrett Riley’s system, and he has to improve on his 6.1 yards per attempt and 63.9 PFF passing grade.

He has all of his main skill-position players back, and Clemson returns four starters on the offensive line as well.

The biggest thing about Clemson is it wants to play fast. The Tigers ranked 21st in seconds per play last season, while Georgia will play slow and try to control the tempo.

The Bulldogs have lost a little bit in the skill-position department from last year, but head coach Kirby Smart reloaded this offseason by bringing in Florida running back Trevor Etienne, Stanford tight end Benjamin Yurosek and Miami wide receiver Colbie Young.

Etienne’s status for this game is up in the air due to a possible suspension, but backup Roderick Robinson averaged 8.2 yards per carry in a limited role last season.

Georgia is also bringing back four starters across the offensive line after ranking 25th in Offensive Line Yards. That unit will be one of the best offensive line groups in the country.

Clemson’s defensive line lost four starters, and while the talent is there, it ranked 125th in rushing explosiveness allowed last season.

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck was also one of the most efficient passers in the country last year, and it’s paramount that the Dawgs keep a clean pocket for him.

He put up a PFF passing grade of 92.5 when he wasn't under pressure but struggled when he was. With a loaded offensive line in front of him, he should have plenty of time to throw against Clemson’s brand-new defensive line.

A lot of projection models — including our own PRO Projections — have this total well into the 50s, so I think there's value on over 48.5 points.

Pick: Over 48 (Play to 49)

Penn State vs. West Virginia Best Bet

Saturday, Aug. 31

12 p.m. ET

FOX

West Virginia +8 (ESPN BET)

By Mike McNamara

This line opened as high as 10 and is moving down for good reason.

The Morgantown faithful will be out in full force for a massive home opener against a top-10 team that beat their team a year ago in Happy Valley.

Neal Brown and Co. did not take too kindly to James Franklin adding a late touchdown in garbage time when he could've just run the clock out.

On the field, I think the Mountaineers are better than people realize. I actually give them a pretty decent chance of winning this game outright.

Garrett Greene is one of the toughest quarterbacks in the country and just makes the plays in critical moments either with his arm or his legs.

Meanwhile, the PSU offense once again lacks talent on the perimeter, giving Drew Allar limited options to throw to.

This will also be Allar’s first game in a brand-new system under Andy Kotelnicki in a very hostile environment.

With a strong ground game, West Virginia will be able to move the ball methodically and chew some clock in a game I expect to go right down to the wire.

If a portal-heavy WVU secondary can hold up and make some plays, I like the Mountaineers to pull off the upset. But either way, I’m backing the home underdog catching over a touchdown.

Pick: West Virginia +8 (Play to +7)

Virginia Tech vs. Vanderbilt Best Bet

Saturday, Aug. 31

12 p.m. ET

ESPN

Under 48.5 (BetMGM)

By Patrick Strollo

The Virginia Tech Hokies will lead the charge for the early Saturday slate, as they travel to Nashville to face the Vanderbilt Commodores in an ACC vs. SEC Power 4 matchup.

Virginia Tech enters the game returning the fourth-most production in FBS, per SP+, with 90% (second) of its offensive production and 77% (13th) of its defensive production coming back.

With 17 starters returning, the Hokies should be able to knock the cobwebs off quickly and get off to the races. However, they may face more resistance from Vanderbilt than the spread would indicate.

Vandy will look to bounce back after a 2-10 campaign in 2023. The Commodores are in the midst of a full offensive reboot after clearing out their offensive coordinator and every position coach from last year.

Additionally, none of the three quarterbacks who took snaps last year are on the roster.

In comes New Mexico State transfer and former Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year Diego Pavia. A presumptive starter, Pavia will run an RPO scheme with a run-first emphasis. I expect the former Aggie to rely heavily on the run, especially in his first Power 4 action.

The Virginia Tech defense is well-suited to handle a run-first quarterback, especially given the strengths of its defensive line led by Antwaun Powell-Ryland.

The Hokies return seven starters on defense, and the front seven should do more than enough to mitigate question marks in the secondary, particularly against a running quarterback.

After struggling on defense for the last handful of years, Vandy head coach Clark Lea will be in charge of calling plays on defense. The Commodores hit the portal hard and are now ranked 23rd nationally in returning defensive production.

I think we can expect to see them improve on defense with Lea — a former Notre Dame defensive coordinator — taking over.

Initially, I liked laying the chalk in this game, but the more I dug into it, I ended up settling on the under as the right play.

With two head coaches who made their names on the defensive side of the ball and two offenses that are going to look to run the ball, all signs point to a lower-scoring affair. I recommend betting the under at 48 or better.

Pick: Under 48.5 (Play 48)

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