Week 1 of the 2026 college football season is here and our VSiN team is attacking it relentlessly. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the Week 1 CFB Betting Hub for write-ups and picks from all of our talented analysts. However, I’d love for you to keep reading for my college football best bets and predictions for this exciting Week 1 slate. I’ll probably add some picks as lines move and more information comes out later in the week — and on game day. If I do, I’ll put them on the VSiN Pro Picks page. Don’t miss out on those.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for college football best bets from all of our analysts
Miami Hurricanes at Stanford Cardinal – Friday at 9:00 pm ET
Last week, Stanford’s passing game looked spectacular. Sure, the Cardinal got to face a weak Rainbow Warriors secondary, but they averaged 9.12 Yards/Dropback, according to Game on Paper. For context, Drew Mestemaker and the Mean Green had the highest Yards/Dropback in college football in 2025, and their mark was 9.11. That doesn’t mean Stanford suddenly has the most explosive passing game in the nation. However, it’s hard not to be impressed with what Davis Warren was able to do, throwing for 310 yards and consistently making the right reads. And it shouldn’t have been all that surprising considering Tavita Pritchard is now the Cardinal’s head coach. Pritchard sat behind Andrew Luck in the quarterback room at Stanford, and he was plucked away from a quarterbacks coach job with the Commanders last year. He knows how to get the most out of his signal-callers.
With the Cardinal now looking like they have some life offensively, I like the idea of going Over in Friday night’s meeting with the Hurricanes. Last year, Miami was No. 10 in the nation in Adjusted EPA/Play (0.21), and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson continues to pump out elite offenses in Coral Gables. This year, with Darian Mensah coming in as an upgrade over Carson Beck, why should we expect anything different?
The Over is also 11-5 in the 16 games Miami has played with totals between 42.5 and 49 under Mario Cristobal. On top of that, the one other time the Hurricanes played as road favorites of 21.5 to 28 points with Cristobal on the sidelines, the game went Over.
Bet: Over 47.5 (-110)
Tulane Green Wave at Duke Blue Devils – Saturday at 3:30 pm ET
Tulane dealt with sweeping changes in the offseason, as Jon Sumrall took the Florida job and the Green Wave were left with very little talent. Also, while things didn’t get much worse when Willie Fritz left for Houston, that was largely because Sumrall was a stud himself. It’s unclear what the Green Wave now have in head coach Will Hall. But Tulane did go out and add a good amount of contributors in the portal, and expectations are still rather high this season. You can’t say the same for Duke.
In a weird way, Manny Diaz abandoned his defensive background to accommodate Mensah and a high-octane passing game. Well, how easy will it be to recover that defensive-minded identity? Duke only returns four starters on the defensive side of the ball, and it’s a little hard to believe in the Blue Devils flipping a switch and drastically improving on last year’s 29.4 points per game allowed. Also, the offense is due to take a major step back with Walker Eget in at quarterback in place of Mensah. Eget didn’t set the world on fire with San Jose State, he’ll be working behind a shaky offensive line, and he doesn’t have Cooper Barkate to throw to.
It just doesn’t seem fair to expect Duke to win this game by a significant margin, so I’ll take the points with the road team. The Blue Devils are just 1-3 ATS in the first two weeks of the season under Diaz, and they’re also 3-5-1 ATS as home favorites in that time.
Bet: Tulane +9.5 (-120)
Clemson Tigers at LSU Tigers – Saturday at 7:30 pm ET
Clemson is starting to use the portal a little more, meaning there’s a chance Dabo Swinney will find a way to get his program back into the limelight. Of course, Clemson has still been able to contend in the ACC, but that’s not enough for a team that has won national championships. And as of right now, it still feels like Clemson is coming up short in competing with the big boys, and we could see that right away.
LSU is a team I played to go Over 8.5 wins and make the College Football Playoff, and I even believe Lane Kiffin’s group is being undersold as a championship contender. Blake Baker is back at defensive coordinator after having done a good job under Brian Kelly, and he’s now working with even more talent. This team should be rock-solid on that side of the ball again, and the offense is going to be special. Sam Leavitt was a big add for Kiffin at the quarterback spot, as the signal-caller did a good job with Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State. But LSU did an even better job of addressing some of the skill positions, and this is now a team with as much offensive talent as anyone in the country. The team is also extremely well coached, so we should see top-notch execution.
There’s just a real chance that Clemson’s defense — which hasn’t been the same since Brent Venables left — won’t have an answer for the LSU offense. I’m also not buying the Clemson offense, which lost a great quarterback in Cade Klubnik.
Clemson also hasn’t fared well as a big underdog under Swinney, and Kiffin loves running up the score. Don’t be surprised if this one gets ugly.
Bet: LSU -10 (-110)
Added Plays
Nothing yet.
Check the Pro Picks page for any additional plays, or come back here right before kick-off to see if I added something on the game you’re interested in.
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2026 Record: 1-0 (+1.00 units)
