College football picks: Looking ahead to point spreads for Weeks 2-3 in 2025, potential line movements

The first full weekend of the 2025 college football season is full of showdowns that will set the tone for each team's season trajectory. Coaches, fans, viewers and sports bettors will be taking notes, and the same holds true for oddsmakers.

Those who set college football point spreads will see their power ratings for each team become a moving target and adjust accordingly to future point spreads. Unlike the NFL, when a full slate of spreads is often set and released weeks ahead of time, the college football look-ahead menu is usually limited.

Even so, we've already witnessed at least one such instance in which an outcome clearly influenced the odds for the following week. The opening spread for the Hawaii vs. Arizona game listed the Wildcats as 13.5-point favorites. That number now stands at -17.5 after Hawaii edged Stanford 23-20 but saw quarterback Michael Alejado hampered by an in-game leg injury. The dual-threat QB is expected to play this week, but he is not at full strength. The Rainbow Warriors also allowed 177 rushing yards to what appears to be a dreadful Stanford offense and were pushed around at the line of scrimmage by the short-handed Cardinal.

Moreover, there are a couple of other live college football spreads available for future weeks at outlets such as DraftKings that are worth keeping an eye on this weekend. For example, Clemson is 3.5-point home favorite this weekend against LSU and is already posted as an 8.5-point favorite at Georgia Tech in Week 3.

We expect the Clemson Tigers, led by Heisman candidate QB Cade Klubnik, to win and cover the spread. If they do so, we can anticipate a line movement that hits double figures. The Tigers have won nine straight in the series, including a 42-21 drubbing the last time they met Georgia Tech in 2023.

Conversely, the LSU Tigers, who have lost five consecutive season openers, are listed as 5.5-point home favorites against Florida in Week 3 on Sept. 13. With an LSU loss to Clemson in Week 1, we could see this spread for the Tigers, who have been late bloomers under coach Brian Kelly, take a nosedive. We might be inclined to "buy the dip" on LSU at a lowered price if this comes to fruition. We'd for sure like Tigers at -3.5 and would consider them at -4.

Also, for Week 2, Baylor is currently a 3.5-point underdog at SMU. This could change pending the result of its Week 1 showdown against Auburn, and numerous SportsLine experts believe the Bears (+2.5) are being slept on in this matchup. As of Friday morning, all four expert picks are on Baylor to cover the spread or win outright.

Josh Nagel is the assistant managing editor of SportsLine and one of its top college football analysts. He finished last year on a 10-3 run with his ATS selections.