College football picks: LSU among three underdogs with betting value in Week 1

College football fans can almost taste it. The 2025 season is officially back this Saturday with a full slate of games, headlined by No. 1 Texas heading to Columbus to take on No. 3 Ohio State. The Longhorns are 2.5-point underdogs despite having the higher ranking, and are a popular pick to upset the defending national champions. However, are they the among the underdogs with the most betting value in Week 1?

The Inside the Lines team -- which powers the SportsLine model -- has simulated every game to find its favorite underdog plays for Week 1. For more free plays, you can find daily best bets on the Inside the Lines Blog.

College Football Week 1 Best Underdog Bets

LSU (+150, DraftKings) @ Clemson

Model: LSU 33, Clemson 30

We like LSU outright against Clemson. Both programs return much of the same roster from last year, and it's worth remembering that Clemson lost it's final home game of 2024 to South Carolina -- a consistent theme against quality opponents in recent seasons.

The line tilts toward Clemson mostly because of brand power and Dabo Swinney's reputation, but the production on the field hasn't matched the talent rankings on paper. Clemson does have a stout defensive line, but LSU should still have the edge on the ground here. The Tigers can control the run game against a defense that was gashed last year—Texas piled up 300 rushing yards on Swinney's team.

We give Clemson a slight turnover advantage, but LSU has the edge in sacks and should be able to create more disruptive plays defensively. LSU is simply the more complete team, and with its ability to run the ball and dictate tempo, the Bayou Bengals walk out with the outright win. Bet LSU-Clemson at DraftKings here:

Utah @ UCLA (+195, DraftKings)

Model: UCLA 21, Utah 20

Give us a home dog in this Pac-12 After Dark throwback. Nico Iamaleava is a proven starter at the Power 4 level and gets the edge as a quarterback playing at home. While Utah added Devon Dampier from New Mexico, his 12 touchdowns to 12 interceptions last season don't inspire much confidence, and UCLA should have the secondary to neutralize him. The Bruins also added a running back who averaged 6.3 yards per carry at Cal, and new head coach DeShaun Foster knows a thing or two about establishing the ground game.

If UCLA can control the run, it'll keep Utah's offense off the field and limit its scoring chances, which already projects well under the Utes' implied team total. Defensively, the Bruins were stout against the run last year, allowing just 3.5 yards per carry, and we trust them to force Dampier into mistakes.

With both teams looking to redeem themselves from last season and the SportsLine Model making this essentially a pick 'em, we're taking UCLA at home with the higher-ceiling quarterback and a defense that can swing the game in the Bruins' favor. Sign up for DraftKings to bet on Utah-UCLA here:

Temple @ UMass (+115, FanDuel) 

Model: UMass 32, Temple 31

This is one of those games where you just have to embrace the ugly. Temple sits second-to-last in our power rankings and UMass isn't much higher—but one of these teams gets to play at home and that matters.

The Minutemen didn't win a single game against an FBS opponent last year, yet they quietly showed life late in the season. They nearly upset Liberty, and even covered against Georgia by rushing for 241 yards — more than Clemson did in the season opener. In fact, UMass played Georgia just about as close as Clemson did, which says a lot about how competitive the Minutemen became down the stretch.

With Temple bringing the nation's second-worst power rating into this matchup and our model projecting UMass to edge the Owls 32–31, grabbing the Minutemen at +115 on FanDuel looks like the right side. Bet Temple-UMass at FanDuel here: