Week 0 best bet for FIU vs. Louisiana Tech
The 2023 college football season begins with seven games in Week 0 and a lot of matchups that normally wouldn’t get bettors excited. However, with the start of the season, every game looks like a supermodel in some respects, so there will be interest in a lot of teams that otherwise wouldn’t get any on a regular week. Because of that, I hope you’ve used all the tools available at VSiN to prepare yourself for this week and subsequent weeks as we go forward.
I’ll be posting my College Football Power Ratings every week, along with a look at college football schedule spots and we’ll be bringing you a lot more where that came from as the season rolls along.
College Football Odds | College Football Betting Splits
Here is my favorite pick for Week 0:
(odds as of August 24, 3:30 p.m. PT)
Florida International Panthers at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (-11.5, 58.5)
One of the lines that has been slowly rising this week is the Conference USA clash between FIU and Louisiana Tech. The Panthers won 42-34 in double overtime last season and it ultimately served as their last victory. The Panthers were outscored 177-55 in their four losses to end the year, but managed to upset the Bulldogs as one of their four wins.
So, it is a revenge spot for the boys from Ruston and they are a much stronger team this season with Boise State transfer Hank Bachmeier holding the keys to Sonny Cumbie’s Air Raid offense. In last season’s game, the Bulldogs outgained FIU 440-378 and 5.4 to 5.1 in yards per play, which wasn’t terribly impressive, but FIU was helped by four scoring drives under 60 yards, while Louisiana Tech had to earn their points with drives of 52 or more yards on all five scoring possessions.
Bachmeier has thrown for over 6,600 yards in his career and 41 touchdown passes, so he should be an instant upgrade to the offense. Bulldogs defensive coordinator Scott Power is in Year 2 after coming over from Stephen F. Austin, where the Lumberjacks had a strong defense for the FCS ranks. My line on the game is Louisiana Tech -16.5, so I still have a noticeable overlay, even with this line moving up from -10 where it was to start the week. I’d play it up to -12.5, as -13 gets a little less valuable.
Pick: Louisiana Tech -11.5
