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College football is officially back, and after 16 games yesterday, the Week 1 college football schedule continues on Friday with an 11-game slate. One of those 11 is Michigan State hosting Western Michigan at 7 p.m. ET. Western Michigan is a 20.5-point underdog in the latest college football odds, and although the SportsLine model projects Michigan State to win the game, it finds the best value on backing Western Michigan against the spread since the Broncos cover in 73% of simulations.

Whether you're looking into MLB betting, football betting, or anything else on the Friday sports schedule, there are a number of online sports betting options, and our team can help point you in the right direction. Our computer model and experts will weigh in on all of the biggest events every day, and they're offering their top sports betting picks right now.

Here's what we're betting today: 

Friday college football best bets 

  • Game: Western Michigan vs. Michigan State (7 p.m. ET)
  • The Pick: Western Michigan +20.5 (-105)

Western Michigan is no stranger to scheduling tough season-openers, and last year, the Broncos played Wisconsin close in a 28-14 loss. The Broncos went on to play in a bowl game after a 6-6 regular season, losing to South Alabama, 30-23. Although Michigan State remains one of the biggest football brands in the nation, and certainly in the Michigan region, the Spartans are coming off three straight losing seasons, including going 5-7 last fall. The model projects Western Michigan to make enough plays to compete with a Michigan State program that isn't the same power it has been recently, projecting the Broncos to cover the spread in 73% of simulations.

  • Game: Auburn vs. Baylor (8 p.m. ET)
  • The Pick: Under 58.5 total points (-110)

The model projects the Under to hit in 60% of simulations, projecting a combined 53 points scored. Auburn will have a completely different offense this season after graduating its starting quarterback, and having its leading rusher and receiver in the NFL. Jackson Arnold, who started at Oklahoma, takes over at Auburn, but the Sooners ranked 110th in the nation in scoring last year with Arnold starting the majority of games. Baylor does return its QB1 in Sawyer Robertson, but still, the model views this total as too high.

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Friday MLB best bets

  • Game: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Washington Nationals (Friday, 6:45 p.m. ET)
  • The Pick: Nationals +120 (model)

Washington enters on a five-game losing streak, dropping games to the Phillies and Yankees, two teams at least 14 games over .500 with World Series aspirations. However, the Nationals return to Washington to start a series against the Rays, who are 64-69 overall, including 3-6 over their last nine games. Tampa Bay scored just three runs over its last two contests, and the Rays are starting Adrian Houser, who has allowed at least four runs in three of four August starts. The model projects the Nationals to win in 57% of simulations, showing strong value at plus-money odds for Friday MLB betting.

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Friday US Open best bets

  • Match: Ben Shelton vs. Adrian Mannarino (Friday, 1:30 p.m. ET)
  • The Pick: Mannarino U8.5 aces (-116) (expert)

SportsLine tennis expert Blake Von Hagen, who is 178-106-13 (+43.9u) on his best bets at SportsLine this year, is backing Mannarino to go Under 8.5 aces against Shelton in the third round of the men's draw. 

"Mannarino is just three matches removed from having a closing ace prop of 3.5 against Jannik Sinner in Cincinnati, albeit in a best-of-3 format," Von Hagen told SportsLine. "The veteran lefty is facing Shelton, who allows fewer aces than Sinner due to his deep return position and athleticism. Mannarino finished with two aces against Shelton in Toronto earlier this season, and he needed five sets to record nine aces in their Australian Open meeting last year. Mannarino is only averaging 3.6 aces per hard-court match this season, providing clear value on the Under here."

This prop is available at FanDuel, where you can get over $300 in bonus bets if your first wager of $5 or more wins when you bet $5 using the latest FanDuel promo code:

NFL Week 1 best bets

  • Game: Carolina Panthers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday, Sept. 7 at 1 pm ET)
  • The Pick: Jaguars -3 (model)

The Liam Coen era begins in Jacksonville as the former Buccaneers offensive coordinator makes his NFL head coaching debut in Week 1. The Jaguars have a fully healthy Trevor Lawrence back after missing the second half of last season with multiple injuries, and added arguably one of the best overall athletes in NFL Draft history in two-way standout Travis Hunter with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Although Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had a stronger statistical end to his second NFL season, the Panthers still went 5-12 last year, and Young is 6-22 as an NFL starter. The Jaguars went 2-1 in three home games with Lawrence against teams who missed the playoffs last season, and Carolina is a longshot to reach the postseason this fall. The model projects the Jaguars to cover in well over 50% of simulations.

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