The College Football season is days away and we have games all over the world taking place. North Carolina and TCU kickoff the season in Dublin, Ireland, and NC State and Virginia were supposed to be in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, but the game was moved back to the states, giving the Wolfpack another chance to extend their winning streak in Charlottesville, Virginia. Let’s talk turkey! Here are my three best bets for Week 0 in College Football.
North Carolina vs TCU (-9.5): O/U 47.5
TCU and North Carolina kickoff the season in Dublin, Ireland and man, do I hope it’s closer than last year! The Horned Frogs demolished the Tar Heels, 48-14, which ended up being TCU’s largest win of the season and UNC’s biggest loss. The Tar Heels threw for 172 yards with two quarterbacks as the outcome was a vast disappointment for Bill Belichick in his Tar Heels debut.
I am going to focus on the passing game for UNC as it upgraded its quarterback. Belichick landed Billy Edwards Jr. who started a season at Maryland in 2024, then two games at Wisconsin in 2025, suffering injuries in both contests. It’s a bounce back season for Edwards and Belichick. The two had an entire spring and summer to work together — Belichick didn’t have that last year.
In 2024, Edwards finished with 15 passing touchdowns and seven rushing scores to go along with 2,881 passing yards and a 65% completion rate. He started the first seven games with at least 250 yards and six of those featured at least two passing touchdowns. He’s also ran for a touchdown in 10 different games during his career, so he’s mobile too.
Nine out of TCU’s 13 opponents in 2025 threw for at least two touchdowns on the Horned Frogs and 10 out of 13 quarterbacks reached at least 170 passing yards.
The market is all over TCU here and if the Horned Frogs are the much better team, then UNC will be in a trailing script meaning Edwards can reach 170-plus passing yards. If UNC is competitive or wins, I have a hard time seeing Edwards not finding some type of success through the air as well. I like Edwards at 168+ passing yards on DraftKings up to 175.5.
Pick: Billy Edwards Jr. 168+ Passing Yards (1 unit)
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North Carolina State vs Virginia (-4.5): O/U 53.5
This game was supposed to be played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but was rescheduled to Charlottesville, Virginia — becoming an extra home game for the Cavaliers. These two met last year in Virginia, and NC State won, 35-31. Entering this season, the ACC Preseason Poll slated Virginia at No. 5 and NC State at No. 7.
NC State scored at least 30 points in eight out of 13 games last season and can see an improvement this year. The Wolfpack are expected to have one of their best offensive lines in a few seasons with Jayden Scott back at running back (585 rush yards, 4 TDs) alongside quarterback CJ Bailey (31 TDs, 3,320 yards). Both are ready for breakout seasons as juniors, while senior transfer Victor Snow (Buffalo, Nevada) will make an impact after 19 career touchdowns on 151 touches ranging from receptions, rushes, kickoff, and punt returns.
Last season, Virginia had J’Mari Taylor (1,062 yards, 15 TDs) at running back and Chandler Morris (3,245 yards, 21 TDs) at quarterback, which became one of the most underrated duos in the country. Both players have moved on. The Cavaliers have two quarterbacks this year, the starter Beau Pribula (Missouri, Penn State) and the backup Eli Holstein (Pitt), plus a solid offensive line with 165 career starts. Who will be the playmakers on offense? That will be the question for Virginia.
In Pribula’s final four games with Missouri last season, Pribula tallied two rushing touchdowns, zero passing scores, and four interceptions on 57.7 completion percentage. When the running game slowed down for Missouri, Pribula wasn’t nearly as effective. CJ Bailey started hot and finished hot with NC State last year. I like his upside, along with NC State’s offense more than UVA’s. I played the Wolfpack +5.5 and +4.5. I’d go down to +3.5.
Pick: North Carolina State +5.5 (1 unit)
San Jose State at USC (-38.5): O/U 61.5
San Jose State basically lost everything from last season. The Spartans have two starters back on offense and one on defense. The top five wide receivers departed, plus three lineman and the quarterback.
San Jose State added seven defensive backs in the transfer portal alone to fill that need. The Spartans will be battling for last-place in the Mountain West and should need some time to mesh. USC won’t give them that.
The Trojans have a Heisman long shot at quarterback, Jayden Maiava, one of the best running back rooms in the country, and an experienced offensive line with five of their top seven back. In the first two games of 2025, USC put up 73 points on Missouri State and 59 on Georgia Southern. The Trojans could do something similar to the Spartans.
There are 48.5’s and 49.5’s on USC’s Team Total floating around out there — 49 is a key number with seven touchdowns and seven extra points, so I’d opt for the 48.5. USC may not need to kick a field goal the entire game.
Pick: USC Team Total Over 48.5 (1 unit)
Week 0 Picks
1 unit: Billy Edwards 168+ Passing Yards (-116)
1 unit: USC Team Total Over 48.5 (-135)
1 unit: NC State +5.5 (-122)
My Week 0 College Football Articles:
Top 10 Heisman Rankings
Top 5 Heisman Long Shots
Top 25 Poll
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