Betting Guide – Week 1 2026
Welcome to the first edition of The CFB Blog weekly betting guide! This will be your one-stop shop for picks each week of the college football season. We’ll be posting this guide every Wednesday at noon ET so make sure to check back. Hopefully we won’t lose you too much money this season!
I’ve invited 7 trusted college football “experts” to help build this guide in what will be a season-long competition. Each analyst will select 1 lock and 4 additional picks they have the most confidence in on the week. Locks will be scored as 2 points while standard picks will be worth just 1 point. We’ll keep track of how each expert is doing in a standings graphic like the one below.
This should help provide you, the reader, with information on whose advice you may or may not want to trust with your hard-earned dollars. Hopefully we don’t need to relegate anyone off this guide after the season, but it’s possible!
Additionally, below everyone’s selections, I’ll post the rest of my card (categorized by viewing window) for you to see what other action I like on the week.
And that’s pretty much the gist of things! We’re excited to kick off the season and hope you are too. See our week 1 selections below!
Runder Arrade
Fresno State @ USC – Over 51.5
Boise State @ Oregon – Over 51.5
Duke -8.5
SMU -3
LOCK: UNLV -3
The Rebels get a bounce-back spot here against the Bows out on the island. UNLV should still be a top class G5 team even after their week 0 loss, and I have confidence they’ll get the win against a Hawai’i team that floundered against a dismal Stanford squad.
Mr. Peanut Gallery
Northern Illinois +31.5
Fresno State @ USC – Over 51.5
Clemson +10
Louisville +7
LOCK: Notre Dame -20.5
Leave. No. Doubt. Fan is short for fanatic, which is what I’ll be here. ND will mow down its first of many victims as the echoes awake and the thunder shakes. Freeman looks even more handsome under the lights of Lambeau, and CJ Carr shines.
Dirty Tomas
Utah -34.5
Oklahoma -41.5
Indiana -40.5
Alabama -28.5
LOCK: Notre Dame -20.5
The Irish are loaded on both sides of the ball. The Badgers are not. This will be a blowout as ND is still pissed off about missing the CFP last year and looks to make an early statement.
Ovaltine Jenkins
Oklahoma -41.5
USC -22.5
Hawai’i +3
UCLA -1.5
LOCK: Idaho @ Utah – Over 57.5
Idaho QB Joshua Wood, the former Fresno State Bulldog, spun it for 363 yards and 2 touchdowns last week, albeit against a weaker FCS opponent in Cal Poly. With the Vandals offense able to move the ball and Utah’s Morgan Scalley getting his tenure as head coach underway in Salt Lake City, this one should be high scoring.
Brick Cash III
Colorado State -3
Clemson @ LSU – Over 50.5
Hawai’i +3
California +2
LOCK: Tulane @ Duke – Under 51
I think this game could be close, but I don’t see SJSU legend Walker Eget having enough weapons around him to consistently move the ball. Tulane losing almost their entire offense and coaching staff in the offseason should have them starting off slow in 2026.
Pookie Beadson
UNLV @ Hawai’i – Over 56
Michigan -27.5
Indiana -40.5
Colorado @ Georgia Tech – Over 50.5
LOCK: LSU -10
Last year, LSU stunk and still beat Clemson in Death Valley. Now, Clemson has to travel to the Bayou to play an improved LSU team and are the only power 4 team to have lost its last 3 season openers. Lock it in!
Jerry Rosenblatt
Michigan State -9.5
Colorado State -3
Ole Miss -7
Florida State +3
LOCK: Tennessee St @ UGA – Over 56.5
I think Georgia looks to make an early season statement with their offense. Defensively I don’t expect the Bulldogs to give up more than 10 until their twos and threes are in the game. By that time, look for the Dawgs to have cleared the over already single-handedly.
Adam McGee
UNLV -3
Baylor @ Auburn – Over 59.5
Indiana -40.5
Clemson @ LSU – Over 50.5
LOCK: Colorado @ GA Tech – Over 50.5
Mendoza can use his legs as a weapon and played well when he saw the field last year at Indiana. Colorado has 10+ new defensive players that will take time to get comfortable in the system. Lock it in and watch the points rain down.
Consensus Picks
These are expert picks that have a combined point total of 3 or higher (locks count as 2). Selections that fade that pick count as -1 (-2 for locks).
Notre Dame -20.5 (4)
Indiana -40.5 (3)
Colorado @ Georgia Tech – Over 50.5 (3)
Runder’s Additional Selections
Thursday
- Georgia Tech -6.5
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Missouri – Under 60.5
Friday
- Eastern Michigan -2.5
- San Jose State @ Eastern Michigan – Over 55
- Indiana State +35.5
- UTEP @ Oklahoma – Over 50.5
- Miami (FL) -23.5
- Fresno State +22.5
SATurday Morning
- North Texas +40.5
- Ohio +24.5
- Ohio @ Nebraska – Over 46.5
- Coastal Carolina +21.5
- James Madison -6.5
- Ohio State -50.5
- Miami (OH) @ Pittsburgh – Over 48.5
SATurday afternoon
- Georgia -45.5
- Texas State +30.5
- Auburn -7
- Penn State -24.5
- Cincinnati -7.5
- Oklahoma State -14
SATurday Evening
- Colorado State -3
- Memphis -10.5
- Abilene Christian @ Texas Tech – Under 59.5
- Clemson @ LSU – Over 50.5
- LSU -10
- VMI +55.5
- Hampton +45.5
- South Dakota State +13.5
SATurday after dark
- Portland State +40.5
- New Mexico -10
- UCLA ML
- UCLA @ California – Over 53.5
- Western Kentucky -2.5
Sunday
- Washington State @ Washington – Over 50.5
- Notre Dame -20.5
- Ole Miss -7
- Louisville vs Ole Miss – Over 55.5
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