How to bet on college football Week 1: Where to bet, top betting sites, promos, Ohio State vs. Texas betting
Here's how to bet on the Week 1 college football schedule, including Ohio State vs. Texas on Saturday in Columbus
The Week 1 college football schedule offers a robust slate, perfect for anyone wondering how to bet on college football. The marquee matchup will be No. 3 Ohio State hosting No. 1 Texas at Ohio Stadium. Last year's national champion against this year's top-ranked team in the preseason AP Top 25 kicks off at noon ET, ushering in another season full of ranked matchups that will have College Football Playoff implications.
The Buckeyes are 2.5-point home favorites in the Week 1 college football odds and the over/under for Ohio State vs. Texas is 47.5. Meanwhile, No. 8 Alabama is a 13.5-point road favorite in a 3:30 p.m. ET matchup against Florida State and No. 4 Clemson is a 4-point home favorite against No. 9 LSU in a game that kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET. If you're wondering where to find the best college football odds or looking for sportsbook promos and betting sites for Week 1 of college football can read more below, along with picks for some of the biggest games. They can help you figure out where to bet on college football.
Sportsbook offers
Here are the top sportsbook promos for new users ahead of college football Week 0.
The DraftKings promo code, bet365 bonus code and FanDuel promo code all offer bonus bets after new users place a wager of $5 or more. DraftKings is offering $300 in bonus bets in addition to more than $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket for the upcoming season. bet365 is offering new users either $200 in bonus bets with the placement of a $5+ bet, or up to a $1,000 first bet safety net. FanDuel's latest promo code offers new users $300 in bonus bets if their first bet of at least $5 wins.
Both the BetMGM bonus code and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code provide bonus bets, but only if your first bet loses. New users at Fanatics have the ability to get $100 No Sweat Bets in FanCash on every football Game Day from Aug. 23 to October. Meanwhile, the BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS awards new users up to $1,500 back in bonus bets if their first bet loses. BetMGM users in New Jersey, West Virginia, Pennsylvania or Michigan can get a different promotion and receive $150 in bonus bets if you win your first bet of $10 or more.
The Caesars Sportsbook promo code is completely different than the others, offering profit boosts instead of bonus bets. After placing a wager of $1 or more, you receive 20 100% profit boost tokens with the code CBS20X.
Betting on Week 1 college football
SportsLine's computer model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a betting profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college spread football picks, and was a profitable 27-16 combined on money-line and over/under college football picks in 2024. Anybody following its college football betting picks on betting sites could have seen strong returns.
Under 47.5 in Ohio State vs. Texas
These are two juggernauts but they'll both be turning to first-year starting quarterbacks that will be taking on defenses loaded with future professionals. After years of sitting behind Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning finally takes the reins at Texas while Alabama transfer Julian Sayin won the starting job for the defending national champions. The Buckeyes led the nation in yards allowed per game (254.6) last season while the Longhorns ranked third (283.4) and the model thinks defense reigns supreme in this matchup, as it predicts the under hits in 57% of simulations.
Alabama (-13.5) vs. Florida State
Kalen DeBoer's first season at the helm in Tuscaloosa led to the first year that Alabama has failed to reach double-digit wins since 2007, Nick Saban's first season. However, Florida State is coming off a 2-10 season and yet still decided to stick with head coach Mike Norvell. The Seminoles will be improved, but so will the Crimson Tide with a great offensive line, plenty of front seven depth and loads of skill-position talent. The model is expecting whoever starts at QB to simply need to manage situations and says that Alabama covers in 58% of simulations.
LSU ML (+150) vs. Clemson
Brian Kelly scored arguably his biggest win at LSU when he convinced Garrett Nussmeier to keep his name out of the NFL draft and return to the Tigers. Nussmeier was playing efficient and mistake-free football during a three-game winning streak to close out the 2024 season and the model is expecting him to keep it rolling. It predicts that he throws for over 300 yards to help LSU win in 58% of simulations, making these plus-money odds with an implied win percentage of just 40% an incredible value.
Responsible gaming
It's important for bettors to understand responsible gaming and not fall into dangerous habits such as chasing losses. Sportsbooks offer tools such as time and wager limits to help out their users in this regard. Bettors can also use national resources like The National Council on Problem Gaming, Gamblers Anonymous and 1-800-GAMBLER.
