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The Week 0 college football schedule takes place on Saturday, Aug. 29, and it will begin in Ireland before concluding in Las Vegas. Eight games are on the slate, two of which are outliers when observing the Week 0 college football odds. No. 14 USC is the only ranked team in action, as they are 38.5-point favorites over San Jose State, while Florida State is favored by 31.5 points over New Mexico State. The other six games all have college football spreads of under 9 points as you have varying options to make CFB best bets on. Visit our DraftKings promo code review and get $200 in bonus bets as a new user after $5+ in wagers here:
UNC vs. TCU (-7.5) kicks off the 2026 college football season as Bill Belichick's Tar Heels will face the Horned Frogs in Dublin, Ireland. Another intriguing contest has FCS powerhouse, North Dakota State, making its FBS debut as the Bison (-6.5) host the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
Before making any college football picks for those games or others in Week 0, be sure to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.
The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. It is on a 31-19 run on top-rated CFB money-line picks since the 2024 season, and it has been upgraded for the 2026 season to even better factor in the transfer portal!
Now, it has studied the latest college football odds (see the latest college football lines for each matchup this week on our college football odds page), simulated every single play for every Week 0 game, and the results are in.
One of the college picks the model is high on during Week 0: Virginia (-5.5, 53.5) covers against NC State in a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff well over 50% of the time. Another prediction: New Mexico State (+31.5, 53.5) goes on the road and covers at Florida State. The Aggies cover in nearly 70% of simulations, and the Under hits well over 50% of the time.
The model has also made the call on who wins and covers in every FBS matchup, including a shocking upset!
So which college football teams should you back in Week 0, and which underdog starts the season off with a shocking upset? ... Join SportsLine now to see who wins and covers every single game, all from the model that is on a 31-19 run on top-rated money line picks since 2024!
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Written by Ross Kelly
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