While some websites and news sources refer to this weekend’s college football action as the start of Week 1, most of us consider this to be Week 0, an appetizer of sorts before the season really gets underway. There are eight FBS vs. FBS matchups this week to go along with the start of the season for several FCS teams.
The highlights for Week 0 include a game across the Atlantic in Dublin, North Dakota State’s first game as a FBS member, and what some are calling a “College Football Playoff eliminator” between Memphis and UNLV, two teams that have a path to being the Group of Six CFP representative.
The lines for these games and all of the Week 1 matchups have been up for a long time, but bettors will really start to dig in now and we’ll see some line movements with increased betting limits and the start of the season becoming a reality. So, while this is our “Opening Line Report”, these aren’t really openers. Just what the lines are “opening” at on game week, so to speak.
Week 0 College Football Odds Report
Lines as of Sunday, August 23 at 12:30 p.m. PT
North Carolina vs. TCU (-7.5, 47.5)
Saturday, Noon ET
The 2026 college football season begins in Dublin, as TCU is over a touchdown favorite against North Carolina. We haven’t seen a ton of movement in this line to this point, but what we have seen has been heavy on the Horned Frogs. UNC recently announced that multi-time transfer Billy Edwards Jr. would be the starting QB and, while the line had already moved from 6.5 to 7.5, I don’t think that bit of breaking news got anybody excited about taking the underdog. Even without third all-time leading passer Josh Hoover, TCU is and should continue to be the preferred side.
San Jose State at USC (-38.5, 59.5)
Saturday, 3 p.m. ET
The biggest favorite on the board is USC, as the Trojans and returning QB Jayden Maiava take on newcomer Luke Weaver and the Spartans. With Walker Eget now at Duke, the Hawaii transfer gets the first crack at running this SJSU offense, but it certainly looks like a tall task given the line in this matchup. Like a lot of the favorites for Saturday, this line was pushed up over the course of the summer and we haven’t seen a whole lot of interest in taking the dog as of yet, but that could happen as the week goes along. Personally, I’m not sure that it will, given that USC scored 132 points in their first two games last season against Missouri State and Georgia Southern.
NC State at Virginia (-5.5, 53.5)
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
This game did not experience a big line move, it was simply adjusted because it will be played in Charlottesville now instead of Brazil. When the line opened over the summer, Virginia was in the -2.5 range, but it was announced on June 23 that this is an ACC conference game and that Virginia would host. We haven’t seen much movement at all since the game was relocated. NC State did win 35-31 in Raleigh last season, but, as we know with present-day college football, few things remain the same year over year.
Jacksonville State at North Dakota State (-7, 46.5)
Saturday, 5:30 p.m. ET
The first FBS game at the Fargodome is a hot ticket, as this is the most expensive game of the weekend on the secondary market. Jacksonville State made the move to FBS in 2023 and they’ve been a very solid program since joining Conference USA. NDSU is part of the Mountain West. I think the Bison are a perplexing team for bettors and oddsmakers, given that they’ve been a FCS powerhouse with quarterbacks drafted by NFL teams and the perception of the program has almost always been high. However, this is a step up going to FBS and even taking on Jacksonville State, as indicated by the fact that we have some 6.5s out there with a line that opened -10 or close to it at most sportsbooks.
Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan (-9.5, 52.5)
Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
It is certainly odd to see this game in Week 0, isn’t it? What’s even stranger is that it’s a conference game. Sacramento State is the other FBS newcomer and they’ll play in the Mid-American Conference as a school nowhere near the middle of America and certainly nowhere near the other teams in the MAC. While NDSU and others that have made the leap to Division I-A have stood out at the FCS level, Sacramento State really hasn’t, so they’re an unknown to most. That would explain the big line for this trek to Ypsilanti against an EMU team that I frankly don’t think is very good, but bettors are backing the Eagles over the Hornets to this point, with some 10s showing in the market.
Hawaii at Stanford (-5.5, 49.5)
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
No road teams are favored this week in college football, but it is a little bit surprising to see Stanford favored in a game with how the program has performed in recent seasons. The Cardinal were only favored once last season (San Jose State) and failed to cover 3.5 in a 30-29 win. They were favored once in 2024 and it was against FCS Cal Poly. They were favored once in 2023 and lost to FCS Sacramento State. As the days have passed, Stanford has actually grown a bit as a favorite, even touching -6 at some places when news was filtering out that Hawaii’s star WR Pofele Ashlock got hurt in practice. Of all the underdogs on the Week 0 slate, Hawaii strikes me as the one most likely to get public support to shrink the number.
New Mexico State at Florida State (-31.5, 53.5)
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
The Ashton Daniels era begins in Tallahassee with the chance to get some confidence rolling on offense against an overmatched New Mexico State squad. Fortunately this is a late game, but it’ll still be in the upper 80s with a heat index in the mid-90s at kickoff, so cramping seems like a possibility for both teams, especially the crew from Las Cruces heading east. Not many brave souls are interested in backing the Aggies so far, as this line has crept up at most places from where it opened in the summer.
Memphis at UNLV (-5.5, 57.5)
Saturday, 10 p.m. ET
What an outstanding Week 0 game this is. Memphis has a new head coach in Charles Huff and he has a cache of NIL weaponry thanks to Memphis-based FedEx, but it might take some time for him to get settled in. Dan Mullen is back for Year 2 for UNLV, but QB Anthony Colandrea is not. We’ll likely see reps for both former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold and Michigan transfer Alex Orji as Mullen tries to figure out which guy is the better bet at the start of the season. Even with that uncertainty, UNLV is and has been comfortably favored over the summer and spent a lot of time a -6 before the line settled back to 5.5.
Keep an eye out for more line movements by tracking our VSiN College Football Betting Splits.
