September is here, which means it's finally time for my favorite time of the year, college football season! Since I'm new to writing for SportsLine, let me introduce myself a bit. My name is Eric Cohen and I'm a college football junkie. I'm a University of Arizona football season ticket holder, who despite the two hour drive each way to Tucson from my home in the Phoenix-area, has missed one home game in the last 16 seasons (with the exception of the 2020 fan-less games). I'm a former local sports radio host who currently co-hosts a popular weekly podcast about my Wildcats, in addition to formerly working for Caesars Sportsbook in my home state.
The purpose of this column each week is to find the best parlay bets by conference. I'll try to keep each wager between two and four picks but the combined parlay of my favorite picks at the bottom of the column each week will be our lottery ticket. Hit one of those all season and it should get us a guaranteed season profit.
Before I get into the meat of the column, here are a few futures picks that might be worth a look this season:
Heisman Trophy Winner: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (+5000), Devin Leary (+8000)
National Championship Winner: Ohio State (+300)
Conference Futures: See my article from earlier this summer
While I like OSU to get over the hump and beat Alabama to win the CFP National Championship, there's not a ton of value at +300 that's worth betting it solo. It might be a fun bet to combine with a Super Bowl champion like the Bills or Buccaneers which pays in the +3000 range. For the Heisman picks, I'll take a couple of longshots, who have a chance to put up monster numbers on contending teams. I'm definitely playing the 2020 Devonta Smith angle with Smith-Njigba this season.
Week 1 brings us only two marquee matchups of teams ranked in the top 11 of the Associated Press' preseason poll. Ohio State hosts Notre Dame, and Oregon travels to Atlanta to take on last year's defending national champions, Georgia, in a "neutral site" game. I'll pick sides in both of those games below but will ignore the only other ranked vs. ranked matchup, Cincinnati at Arkansas. Generally the first true week of college football (sorry Week 0) is defined by large spreads, blowouts, and fairly uninteresting matchups. Considering the unpredictable nature of the sport, especially in September, I'll keep my conference parlays to only three picks each this week. I'm usually not a fan of going beyond that but will experiment some weeks. All lines are from Caesars Sportsbook.
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Louisiana Tech / Missouri Over 60.5
Utah State / Alabama Over 62.5
Georgia State +12.5 at South Carolina
Parlay Odds: +596 (1.5 units)
Missouri games were scoring bonanzas in 2021. Six of their first eight games eclipsed the 60+ combined point total. New LT coach Sonny Cumbie is a Mike Leach protégé who likes to throw it around quite a bit. I also like that this is an A-rated play by our SportsLine model. Utah State gave up 20 to a bad UConn team last week. Alabama will score 50+ and pull its starters, allowing the Aggies to get a couple of touchdowns. Georgia State brings back 15 starters from a team that went 7-1 in its final eight games last season. I'm putting new South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma transfer) on upset alert in Week 1.
Game Record: 0-0 last week, 0-0 overall
Conference Parlay Record: 0 of 0 overall (+0 units)
Purdue ML vs. Penn State
Colorado State +30.5 at Michigan
Notre Dame +17.5 at Ohio State
Parlay Odds: +786 (1 unit)
I was bullish on Purdue in my conference futures column and I'm just the opposite on Penn State this season. I'll take the Boilermakers outright on Thursday night at Ross-Ade Stadium. I'm a big Jay Norvell fan and think he'll make some noise at Colorado State, having moved over from Nevada. Michigan is a worthy top-10 team but this is simply too many points for a fired up squad with a new, successful (Norvell was 30-17 in his last four seasons at Nevada) head coach. I really like the Buckeyes this year; in fact they're my national championship pick. But I see this game against the Fighting Irish as a two-score game at most.
Game Record: 0-0 last week, 0-0 overall
Conference Parlay Record: 0 of 0 overall (+0 units)
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Boston College / Rutgers Under 48
NC State / East Carolina Over 55
North Carolina / Appalachian State Over 56
Parlay Odds: +596 (1 unit)
New year, same logic: bet the under in as many Rutgers games as possible. Seven of their 12 regular season games last year went under 48 total points. Six of BC's did the same... I'll take my chances. I'm big on the Wolfpack this year and as suggested above, Devin Leary is a sneaky Heisman candidate at long odds. While NC State has lost their last three road openers, I'm thinking they'll win this one in a shootout against a seemingly improved Pirates team. UNC-App St. has the feeling of a game in which defense is optional and the last one with the ball will be the winner. Good luck picking a side on that one, I certainly won't.
Game Record: 0-0 last week, 0-0 overall
Conference Parlay Record: 0 of 0 overall (+0 units)
West Virginia +7.5 at Pittsburgh
Central Michigan +21 at Oklahoma State
UL Monroe +37.5 at Texas
Parlay Odds: +595 (1 unit)
One of the underrated rivalries in the sport, The Backyard Brawl, is back for the first time since 2011 and features two teams quarterbacked by former teammates at USC. J.T. Daniels got hurt in 2019 and eventually lost the starting job to Kedon Slovis in 2020; now both are on different teams and facing each other, which makes the matchup that much more exciting. I like Pitt to make waves this season but this is too many points in a Week 1 rivalry game. Oklahoma State only beat Missouri State by a touchdown in the opener last season and lost to CMU in Week 2 of 2016. I'm high on them this season but they generally tend to start the season slower than most top teams. Texas might be able to beat Louisiana-Monroe by 50+, but there's no need to do so with Alabama up next week.
Game Record: 0-0 last week, 0-0 overall
Conference Parlay Record: 0 of 0 overall (+0 units)
Oregon +17 vs. Georgia (in Atlanta)
Arizona / San Diego State Under 46.5
Utah -3 at Florida
Parlay Odds: +596 (1 unit)
New Oregon coach Dan Lanning comes from Georgia formerly as their defensive coordinator. He knows the Bulldogs as well as anyone and can exploit whatever weaknesses they have on a stout defense. Oregon's offense full of playmakers should make this a game well into the second half. I'll be at the debut of Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego to watch my beloved Wildcats in their season opener on Saturday. Last year, they gave up 35 to Brady Hoke's team in the first half alone at Arizona Stadium. Arizona is much improved on both sides of the ball but scoring should be at a premium this time around. This is also the CBS 3:30 p.m. ET game of the week! The closer the season has gotten, the more bullish I am on Utah. Florida will be improved under new coach Billy Napier, but with eight starters back from an offense that nearly won the Rose Bowl, I like the Utes by a touchdown or so.
Game Record: 0-0 last week, 0-0 overall
Conference Parlay Record: 0 of 0 overall (+0 units)
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Utah State / Alabama Over 62.5
Georgia State +12.5 at South Carolina
Notre Dame +17.5 at Ohio State
Boston College / Rutgers Under 48
North Carolina / Appalachian State Over 56
West Virginia +7.5 at Pittsburgh
Central Michigan +21 at Oklahoma State
Utah -3 at Florida
Parlay Odds: +17545 (0.5 units)
Weekly Parlay Record: 0 of 0 overall (+0 units)
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