NCAAF Best Bets: Week 1 Highlights & Picks; Player Props
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00:00Before we get there, we rejoice. It officially begins week number one of the college football
00:07season tonight with 21, 21 FBS college football games on this Thursday night. They start at 6pm
00:16Eastern time in Piscataway, New Jersey on the banks of the Raritan as the Scarlet Knights get
00:22ready to host Howard in the first football game of this evening. 21 games that go all the way until
00:2810pm Eastern time as we head out to California as well. 21 games tonight, six tomorrow, 67 on
00:37Saturday, one on Sunday, one on Labor Day Monday. It starts a five-day consecutive streak of college
00:45football each and every night DRS. Week number one of the 2024 campaign is officially here.
00:53It's fantastic stuff and by the way, talking about Rutgers football, the birthplace of
00:58collegiate football, I should say football anywhere basically. I remember 1994 BWS. I
01:02didn't know if you were born in 1994, but your boy was in the stands at Rutgers watching the
01:07Miami Hurricanes and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. You had on one side of the ball Frank Costa,
01:11Miami. You had Warren Sapp of the Dolphins. You had Ray Lewis. So I'm entrenched in Rutgers football
01:17here in the Garden State, but also let me just take this time out right now to say I believe
01:21there's legislation that they're trying to push through in New Jersey where we can actually bet
01:25on our state's teams and the reason I bring this up is not because you're a D-Gen, you want to bet
01:29here. You take a look at Rutgers tonight. At home, favored by 36 and a half points. You want to talk
01:34about the alumni and people just watching that game and throwing it down and the tax money that
01:37you can get and the ramifications to understand that we're not actually influencing the game
01:41because we live an hour and a half away from Rutgers here and can't wager on this football
01:45game. Open that up in New Jersey because quite frankly, it will help Rutgers, Rutgers football,
01:50Rutgers basketball, St. Peter's. Understand this. Nobody's influencing those games because they live
01:56in New Jersey and say, hey, I'm from New York City just across a Stone's throw there and I
02:00can bet on the football game. Open it up to New Jersey. It will be better for Rutgers University
02:04and they would love that. And well said DRS and I would also advise if you are betting on the
02:10Rutgers game to go under 49 and a half or focus on the Bison team total and go under that. Rutgers
02:16is going to be sensational under the Seattle man on the defensive side of the football this season,
02:22but we'll talk about that in just a moment. Best game of the night, North Dakota State and Colorado.
02:27We'll get to that in just a moment, but we have four ranked teams in the preseason AP top 25
02:33in action on this opening Thursday to kick off week number one, number 11, Missouri against FCS
02:40fo Murray State, 48 and a half points spread. In fact, as you look up and down this board,
02:45all the ranked teams tonight will play in FCS fo Utah 12th in the country, the top big 12 team
02:52in the AP top 25, a 38 and a half point favorite against Southern Utah, Kansas ranked in the
02:58preseason poll for the first time since 2009, a hefty favorite against Lindenwood and NC State
03:05under Dave Doran has been as consistent as you will find around the country and within the ACC
03:11the last five to seven years in college football, 32 and a half points spread against Western
03:16Carolina. Now we love the start to college football season, but once again, Ben, if you made
03:22me commissioner of college sports, this would not be taking place in week number one. You would not
03:26be allowed to play down to your competition. We would expand the college football playoff to 32
03:31teams. We'll take away these cupcakes and we will get right after it in week number one. Ben,
03:35imagine the NFL right now, a cupcake schedule where it's like, hey, you know what the Eagles
03:38are opening up in a Brazil, but they're going to play a division three football team out of
03:43college. Like, no, we're not having that here. We want to get better opponents up. Now, granted
03:47this weekend, we're going to go over some great football games that you can sink your teeth into,
03:51but I feel like so many times in college football and college basketball, there's a lot of wasted
03:55time that we could be used much better here, Ben. It's part of the reality DRS to get ranked team
04:02playing on a Thursday night. You schedule a cupcake, you get your feet wet in a new college
04:08football season to set the stage for the rest of the year. A couple of names to know the props
04:13aren't loading for me right now on the fan dual sports book, unfortunate timing on this Thursday
04:18morning ahead of week one kicking off tonight in CFB. Jalen Daniels is back at the quarterback spot
04:24for KU, one of the best and most dynamic two-way threats at the QB position in college football
04:31for the Jayhawks. Brady Cook and Luther Burden, one of the best quarterback and wide receiver combos
04:37in college football this year. Keep an eye on Mizzou, the easiest schedule in the daunting SEC.
04:44A college football playoff run for the Tigers? Maybe, just maybe, if the defense can back up
04:50the amount of points the offense is going to score throughout this season. But those are the cupcake
04:56games, a ranked team versus an FCS foe. When you're an FBS team, often you start your year with an FCS
05:03opponent. It should be easy, you should win by three touchdowns at bare minimum, and be happy
05:08entering week number two. Not the case tonight in Folsom Field. Deion Sanders himself at his first
05:16Big 12 media days back in July in Vegas said, I can't believe that before I got to see you,
05:22they had this game on the schedule. Colorado starts year number two of the prime era tonight in Boulder
05:30against FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. In my estimation, it is the best game of this Thursday
05:37night. It could be a top five game in week number one, including the ranked versus ranked games that
05:43we have on Saturday and Sunday. The Buffaloes, a nine and a half point home favorite against the
05:49Bison, the over under 59 and a half. Again, from the odds perspective, DRS, there is a talent gap
05:56between Colorado and FBS program and NDSU and FCS school, but not that large of a gap to have this
06:04as a single digit number entering tonight in Boulder. It's pretty crazy. And also keep in
06:10mind, if you are Colorado, yes, you are the more talented football team. You're at home and you're
06:14not an underdog. You're favored roughly by double digits. You're supposed to win this game. And quite
06:18frankly, if you have maybe two top five draft picks on your roster at quarterback and also
06:23wide receiver slash cornerback, you should win this game going away. But I feel like as a general
06:28public, like it's great that this is number one, the game number one in prime time at eight o'clock
06:33that we can all watch tonight because we are going to win, Ben. Even if Colorado doesn't win,
06:38if they win the football game, Dion is going to peacock at that press conference. And I can't
06:42wait to watch it if they lose. I can't wait for Dion to show up or not show up to that press
06:48conference and answer the questions about losing to an FCS team at this point. This is what makes
06:53it so intriguing. If this was like a week five game, nobody would talk about it. But the fact we
06:56get this week number one on a Thursday night in prime time with so much intrigue all the way
07:02around. That's why it's going to have the high ratings, because either way, the public is going
07:06to win because Dion is going to put on a show. So much public notoriety and attention paid to
07:13Colorado. They were the story of September last year in college football, a perfect three and
07:18oh start. An upset of the reigning national runner-ups in TCU week number one as a three
07:23touchdown dog. But then they only won one more game from that perfect three and oh start winning
07:28four of their first six, never winning again, a four and eight season for CU. We'll talk about
07:35year two expectation under Dion Sanders in just a moment. As for this game, just so you know what
07:42North Dakota State brings into the ball game tonight in Boulder. They have won six of the last
07:4710 FCS national titles. Their last in 2021. They are a powerhouse at this level. Even a down year
07:55last year led to a semifinal berth. They were runner up in 2022 to South Dakota State, who is
08:01also a wagon playing Oklahoma State on Saturday. North Dakota State returns nine players that made
08:08seven plus starts last year on the defensive side of the football, and they returned both
08:14of their quarterbacks. Why do I say both? Because both Cam Miller, who will more than likely start
08:19tonight, and Cole Payton run a heavy run offense in both QBs. Each had 13 rushing touchdowns a
08:29season ago against a Colorado defense that needs to be better. They gave up 34 and a half points
08:36per game, the fourth worst of every of any power conference program a season ago, and more than 176
08:43yards on the ground. More from Boulder next. 21 FBS college football games to kick off week number
08:51one tonight on a Thursday for the college football 2024 campaign, and the best game of the public
08:58national attention in a national spot. 8 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN. It is Colorado hosting
09:05FCS power North Dakota State. A nine and a half point spread in favor of CU. The over under slightly
09:12on the uptick at 59 and a hook. Donny, you have called this game, and I think correctly so, a
09:17referendum entering year number two of the prime era under Deion Sanders in Colorado. What will the
09:24referendum say on a Friday morning following tonight's season opener for Colorado? I'd be hard
09:31pressed to see if they lost, because also keep in mind, maybe you would expect this loss last year
09:34on the Deion's first season, but you had that entire off season to get this team ready to go.
09:39You have a quarterback that's supposed to be probably a top five player, if not higher in the
09:43draft. You're supposed to win these football games going away against lesser competition, but you can
09:47also say, where were the issues last year been on the Colorado squad? It was on the offensive line.
09:53They just couldn't block. So then you take a look at their supposed starters this year. No
09:57returning starters back. So it's a complete line change on that offensive line to see if these guys
10:02can actually block. Now again, if you have a quarterback of that talent, two starting wide
10:07receivers coming back that you'll be able to get open against anybody, you should be able to move
10:10the football at will tonight. And even if your defense isn't that great, you still should be
10:15able to put this team away. And also if Colorado does win tonight, they don't get any bonus points
10:20for beating an FCS team. They're supposed to do that on their home field. But if they do lose,
10:25that sends things maybe spiraling for the rest of the season. But for my money, and this isn't
10:30coming from, hey, I dug into the X and O's. Colorado's supposed to win this football game,
10:34and I would be really surprised if they didn't.
10:37There's still a nine and a half point favorite. What will our reaction be if Colorado covers that
10:42number? We'll say good. This Buffaloes team has improved year over year. If NDSU keeps it tight,
10:48okay, maybe some questions and some holes to poke in this Colorado team. If they lose,
10:54oh boy, the storm that will hit Boulder immediately is going to be large. And that is part
11:02of what is in store for CU. It comes with the talk. You must then walk the walk and back it up.
11:11Now, I just want to say this, from a college football perspective, Carl Durrell,
11:16former head coach before Deion Sanders in Boulder, CU won one, won a single game in 2022.
11:24So getting the four wins last year with a completely overhauled roster that Deion Sanders
11:29pretty much done once again, 42 transfers in, 45 transfers out throughout this offseason.
11:35To improve this year, to get to bowl eligibility would be a statement for CU. But that's not how
11:42people bet Deion Sanders, and that's not what maybe he would even consider success this year
11:48in Boulder. But what is true success this year? The Buffs win total is five and a half. First
11:55year in the big 12, 25 to one is the number to win the conference. You know, Sanders,
12:01one of the best quarterbacks in the conference and maybe the country in college football at 40 to one
12:06and the best two-way player, Travis Hunter, now fully healthy at a 60 to one number to win the
12:11Heisman Trophy. In the season opener last year, that huge upset in Fort Worth over the Horned
12:17Frogs, Hunter played 144 total snaps, was out there virtually the entirety of the game on either
12:25side of the football. For Colorado to be great, Shanor Sanders and Travis Hunter and the rest of
12:31the cast and crew have to be great. But what do you consider DRS success for Colorado this year
12:38in year two under Sanders? You got to go to a bowl game. You do. And I understand that you can
12:43turn things quickly around. Let's just say this was been, I don't know, 10 years ago in college
12:47football, no transfer portal. You'd say, you know, you got to give Deion five to six years because
12:51he's got to get a full, four full recruiting classes in there for your expectations to be
12:56much higher. He brought in a lot of good football players and maybe to his own detriment at Colorado
13:01got off to that hot start. Let's just say they lost last year to TCU. Maybe those expectations
13:06at the end of the year go, hey, you know what? Didn't have a great football team, fought against
13:09it, picked up a couple wins on to next year. But we sort of bought in as a national public here
13:14saying, oh no, they just beat the runners up to the national championship game. Maybe they can
13:19make a ball game this year and be a top 20 team. And all eyes were on the prize in America. We were
13:24watching each and every game early on, but they sort of fell off, but that's no excuse here.
13:28Like we're not saying, hey, a winning season or a five win season is going to be a plus. Also,
13:32keep in mind to me, Ben, last year's pack 12, much tougher than what you're going to get out
13:36of this year's big 12, even though it will be a competitive conference. That's why the expectations
13:40are slightly higher this year in Colorado. But also you have the talent. It's not as if you don't
13:45have the talent. You have the coaching staff in place that you feel is going to be able to pick up
13:49wins and just having a high-profile candidate, a quarterback, you should be able to move that
13:54football up and down the field. Anything less than a bowl game, which is six wins, that's a
14:00massive disappointment for Colorado and Deion Sanders. Colorado left the big 12 initially to
14:06join the pack 12 back in 2010. First season of the pack 12 was 2011. You might not remember this,
14:14but Colorado before Deion Sanders and before they left for the pack 12 was a solid and consistent
14:19program out there in the Rockies. But after their departure from the big 12, just one bowl appearance
14:26for Colorado in that span since 2010, way back in 2016. So to lead this program back to bowl
14:34eligibility would be something year over year improvement for a team that won just a single game
14:40two college football seasons ago. But people aren't really betting Colorado to make a bowl
14:45or to go over five and a half wins. People are betting CU to win the big 12 at 25 to one or to
14:50reach the college football playoff at a 22 to one number or heck to win a national championship
14:56at 300 to one. I think there is the realist perspective for this Colorado team and the
15:02national attention that comes with the Deion Sanders hype train. His son is his quarterback
15:08and should or Sanders last year through for more than 3200 passing yards 27 TDs to three only three
15:15interceptions 25th in terms of college football last year in terms of his passing output his
15:22props entering this year 3050 and a hook should go over that he threw for 348 yards or more in four
15:31of the first five games for CU last year including 510 against TCU in the opener but just more than
15:38275 yards once in the last six games and also coincided with an OC change Sean Lewis a bright
15:47and talented young mind who is now the head coach at San Diego State and a familiar name in NFL
15:52circles Pat Sherman. You can see should or Sanders a plus 550 price to be the first overall pick in
15:582025 it's the second best stuff. Some final thoughts on this Thursday in college football
16:04next Thursday in the NFL next. Tonight kicks off week number one of the 2024 college football season
16:1121 FBS games on this Thursday evening that's games that include at least one FBS program taking the
16:18field Colorado and North Dakota State is not one of the few that we have that features two FBS
16:24programs so one of the other best games of the night Minnesota and North Carolina in the twin
16:30cities a one and a half point spread in favor of UNC. A lot of turnover for both of these two teams
16:38they met last year early on in September week number three UNC won that game 31-13. Drake May
16:46threw for over 400 yards and a couple of touchdowns North Carolina won and covered as a touchdown
16:52favorite in Chapel Hill but I will ask you to pay attention to the running back battle tonight
16:58on Marion Hampton for UNC expect to be one of the best in the country this year. Darius Taylor on
17:05the other side for the Golden Gophers I think is in store for a big season debut tonight in
17:10Minneapolis. I'll tell you what's interesting about this game too some of the line movement
17:14here initially the fan blue sports book opened up Minnesota as a two and a half point favorite we
17:18now see that at one and a half and some other outlets out there are showing twos and higher as
17:23the favorite team North Carolina but you're right a lot of turnover here game number one almost a
17:28measuring stick game between these two programs and sooner than later I need some big time results
17:33at a PJ Fleck up there in Minnesota or else let's go back to the Mac and have some fun PJ what's the
17:37big deal go home you can always go home as they like to say. It's a good point DRS there's a
17:44couple of calls for PJ Fleck in terms of really turning things around this is going to be year one
17:50two three four five this is year eight in a while at the helm of the Gophers they won nine games
17:56back in 2021 they won 11 games for the first time since the early 1900s back in 2019 with
18:03Rashad Bateman and Tyler Johnson at the wide receiver spots and Moe Ibrahim as their running
18:10now it's Darius Taylor it's Max Brosmer the transfer from New Hampshire where Ryan Day and
18:15Chip Kelly played quarterback back in the day a lot will be expected of this Gophers team a new
18:21DC in the Twin Cities need to be better on the defensive side of the football a top 10 defense
18:26in 2022 much worse last year giving up nearly 27 points per game and more than 154 per game on the
18:35ground a couple of big 10 teams in action tonight Illinois four touchdown favorite under the man
18:41known as Brett Bielema in this season debut against Eastern Illinois Rutgers as we shared 36 and a
18:47half point favorite against Howard that's the first game of the night starting at 6 p.m eastern
18:51time new era in Nolens it's John Summerall taking over he left Troy to go to Tulane after Willie
18:58Fritz left Tulane to go to Houston Summerall third highest active win percentage among FBS
19:05coaches in its two years leading the Trojans Troy was pretty good in the Sunbelt all right DRS any
19:12final thoughts on college football before we move our attention to next week's Thursday football
19:18slate in the National Football League well just looking forward to tonight's action dipping in a
19:22little Colorado keeping an eye on some other scores here and again it's the perfect appetizer
19:26here don't get spent on Thursday night people you gotta wait for Friday Saturday Sunday and
19:32Labor Day Monday so pace yourselves with those bankrolls out there how about that six games
19:38tomorrow 21 tonight 67 on Saturday USC and LSU from Sin City on Sunday Florida State back
19:47stateside hoping for better against Boston College on Monday night Labor Day evening
19:55next Thursday the NFL season kicks off inside Arrowhead a rematch of the AFC championship game
20:02from a year ago it's the Chiefs and the Ravens KC dispatching Baltimore in the Charm City last AFC
20:09title game to advance back to a Super Bowl and claim their third Lombardi trophy in the last five
20:15years so the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions try to kick off their title defense looking to do
20:21something DRS that no team has ever done in the history of the National Football League that's
20:26win three Lombardi trophies in three straight seasons the Chiefs a three-point favorite at
20:32home against the flock the over under 46 and a half your early thoughts a week out from the season
20:38opener in Arrowhead I think that spread is perfect here and we can just go back a few months and say
20:44okay it's a rematch but it's in a different building did you learn Baltimore Ravens from
20:48your mistakes you know you have an electric quarterback with his arm but more importantly
20:53on the ground you signed up some big-time running backs for this season will you use them in the
20:59Thursday's opener or will you say out of hell with what we do great let's throw the football all over
21:04the lot and get beat by the Kansas City Chiefs that's the question we're going to answer but as
21:09I said I think that line at three is absolutely right on point it's going to be a great game and
21:14a close one right down the stretch I think it's going to be a great game as well in the field
21:19goal number feels fitting we'll talk more about it with Mark Zinnow a little bit later on in this
21:25second hour he joins us next this is when Mark Zinnow gets into his truest form not the MLB map
21:32not daily plays in major league baseball he is known as the mouth in the south for a reason
21:39and the college football season in full kicks off this week and week one kicks off tonight
21:45with 21 FBS college football games so on this Thursday live right here on the early line for
21:52the next half hour Mark Zinnow joins us to talk some college football Zinnow as always we
21:58appreciate the time thank you for being here gentlemen it's it's Christmas for me I mean you
22:04know I just as soon as I get that stinger to come in my life will be complete and I know it's really
22:09all we have and we do have next segment together as you know as we break down some of the biggest
22:16games that involve an SCS school here SEC school here in week number one so many things are
22:24happening my mind's all over the place giddy with excitement but Zinnow before we dive into any week
22:29one games either on this Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday or Monday that's five consecutive days
22:35of college football let's go big picture to begin as you look at the national championship odds I
22:41really think it is a statement into what this college football season holds now there is a
22:46slight change of course as Florida State was upset last week in Dublin by Georgia Tech FSU and
22:52Michigan tied for the 10th best price to win the natty this year at 30 to 1 entering the year
22:57entering week number one Michigan now a 30 to 1 price by themselves with that 10th best number
23:03so Zinnow 9 of the 10 best prices to win the college football playoff national championship
23:08in 2024 hail from either the SEC or the big big 10 five SEC schools four big 10 programs on that
23:17list and the independent that is Notre Dame is the national championship prices an indication
23:24of you of what this college football season is going to look like in the hunt for a title
23:29yeah I mean look it's obviously they're the two best conferences but you know what you do
23:33have to account for maybe here's a little bit of cannibalization of each other and that there
23:38is a possibility that whether it's Notre Dame or even an ACC team that could sneak in and sort of
23:44upset the apple card here although I don't want to give too much credence to the big 12 I think
23:49they still have a long way to go as far as the conferences are concerned but again Georgia's
23:53going to play its toughest schedule easily in five years LSU is going through a state of transition
23:58Alabama's got a brand new head coach despite the fact that they're returning a lot of the same
24:02talent so all these teams have a bunch of question marks and they're all going to start to
24:06play opponents that they don't routinely see and this is kind of the only thing that conference
24:10realignment in my opinion has really done that has made it a lot more exciting when you look at
24:14some of these opening game schedules and things of that nature and the way it's all going to shake
24:18out LSU LSU and USC and then you get Texas A&M and Notre Dame in week one I mean you're getting
24:26some legitimate matchups here that could be season-defining matchups that really could
24:31you know decide how the ranking system goes for those seven at-large bids that are going to pop
24:35up for the expanded college football playoff here so I do think there'll be a little bit of
24:39cannibalization I think when it's all said and done with it we get to the final 12 you know
24:43you're having nine of the top 10 teams come from those two conferences it wouldn't shock me if we
24:49got three or four big 12 teams in two or three ACC teams and you're only looking at maybe five
24:54or six or seven from the SCC and the big 10 combined. Mark talk to me this year about coaching
24:59philosophy because we haven't seen this before 12 teams are going to make it into the college
25:02football playoff and so many times early in the season let's just say it's week two or week three
25:06or week four you suffer that loss you're probably just trying to coach your kids up say hey guys
25:11we still have some things to play for even though you technically don't believe it if it's
25:14championship robust but now most of these teams can afford at least one loss maybe even two losses
25:20to play themselves into the national championship picture how do you figure that plays on teams
25:24like Georgia and Ohio State and Oregon who in the past you saw Georgia last year take a loss in the
25:28SCC championship game not even included in the college football playoff now you can still coach
25:33these kids up for the remaining parts of the season say no we have a legitimate chance to get
25:37ourselves into the college football playoff. Yeah and it's not only interesting that teams will play
25:43different because they're actually still alive I'm really curious to see when we get to November we
25:48start getting rankings coming out that four or five seed competition is going to be very interesting
25:53obviously because the top four seeds are going to get a bite from the first round that's one
25:57less game that they're going to have to play and so that's ultimately going to be another deciding
26:01factor where you know teams sitting at six or seven and teams sitting at three and four are
26:06really going to have to kick it up another notch and I think when you get to that point of the
26:11schedule in November everybody's theoretically trying to play their very best football but what
26:16it does do is it gets these teams in the high teams the 17-18 teams that believe hey a couple
26:21things bounce away we still got a shot you may get some more competitive football down the road
26:26I'll just add this much to this whole thing while we keep this narrative out there about
26:30you know what the expanded playoff has done it's not like the pros you don't often see college
26:36teams and college coaches just mail it in right especially when they play home games one of their
26:41students and their boosters and everything else like they still come to play it's not like the
26:45NFL where these guys mail it in they know their season is over so I don't think you'll see that
26:49much of a drop off but the inter-competition between four and five seed who's going to get
26:54the buy and who's not and those teams at the very end that are trying to sneak their way in still
26:57will be a little bit higher yeah I think it's a really good point you know I think it adds
27:02significance to the regular season detractors of expansion tried to argue the opposite I would
27:07disagree as you look at the national championship odds before we move individual and top Heisman
27:13trophy are there any teams that you are targeting either in the top 10 list here with one of those
27:18prices or a little bit deeper down the board in this new era of college football
27:25again I think LSU is under the radar this year I know that they've had a quarterback change they
27:30just lost the Heisman trophy winner I get it time to get on the NUS bus but their schedule is super
27:35favorable all things considered if they get past USC in week one and I think they do the toughest
27:41contest they have the rest of the way is a road contest at A&M at the end of October they get
27:46Ole Miss at home they get Alabama at home they get Oklahoma at home so we all know how hard it
27:52is to go into Death Valley and the advantage that they have there there are other road games
27:55or a South Carolina in Arkansas again also teams in the programs in a state of transition here
28:01they do have to go to the swamp in Florida but who knows what that situation is going to look
28:04like by then whether Billy Napier is still going to be there or not but they got a really favorable
28:09schedule from that standpoint I think that they could actually be in contention to win the SEC
28:15if they do that and they get a top four seed guess what LSU could really surprise some people
28:20this year coming out of nowhere and Brian Kelly who I think is still an excellent football coach
28:25you know we want to talk about recruiting and other things aside when it comes to X's and O's
28:28in game plan I still Brian Kelly's in the top five to ten coaches that I absolutely would trust
28:33in a spot to put their game plan to beat any opponent so this is a really good situation
28:38if the tiger is flying under the radar a little bit there will be many Heisman trophy moments
28:43this year the top five in the odds market here at the Fandula Sportsbook to win the Heisman Gabriel
28:48Beck Ewers Milrow and Howard now I'm going to ask you this question are we going to see one of these
28:53top flight top guys run away with it or is it the chance that we might see a little bit of a longer
28:58shot be able to take down a Heisman trophy this year I think there are some longer names out there
29:05that really could sort of you know again throw wrenches into the works we were talking about
29:10Kieran Jones from Virginia Tech the dual threat quarterback before we started I mean I love the
29:15kid I think he's incredibly under the radar right now I think Virginia Tech's under the radar right
29:20now if he puts together an offensive season like I think he can he'll insert himself into this
29:25conversation at some point not going to crack the top two or three odds just because he's playing
29:29at Virginia Tech but that's a guy to look out for that I think could upset some things you know
29:34where do we look at other guys who are out there how much does Will Howard really play into this
29:39thing in Ohio State I'm not really sure you know Ewers I think probably would be the guy that I'd
29:44look at right now the Georgia offense is in a state of transition I don't know what they're
29:48going to look like the first couple of weeks of the year remember last year for as good as they
29:51were overall the first four weeks of the season the Georgia offense wasn't good it was really
29:55unimpressive as a matter of fact so are they going to go through the same struggles now without Brad
30:00Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkie and everything else I think Ewers probably has the most stability
30:05and an offense that sets him up to win this thing is who I would look at the early season
30:08but there certainly are some other names out there that I think really are worth
30:13worth taking a look at and don't forget guys about Noah Fafita in Arizona he's going to
30:18have a full season now under center he was excellent last year it's another guy that's
30:24going to fly under the radar that no one's thinking about but these are eye pop numbers
30:29for Fafita that could really set the world on fire it might be the best quarterback wide
30:35receiver duo in the big 12 and around the country Noah Fafita and Teteroa McMillan remain in Tucson
30:43we'll talk some SEC handicaps next with Mark Zinner here on the early line it has been long
30:49awaited to see this animation back in our lives week number one of this college football season
30:55on a Thursday a ranked SEC team in the mix tonight that's Missouri checking in at 11th
31:03in the country with the easiest schedule in the southeastern conference a team I am optimistic
31:09about but whether it's Mizzou tonight or elsewhere around the conference this is when Mark Zinno
31:15transitions into the mouth in the south it's time for his SEC picks
31:30you guys seen the meme of Seinfeld when George Costanza said it's soup season I gotta get ready
31:36or whatever the line is that's Mark Zinno right now as we get ready for college football it's
31:43mouth in the south season Zinno let's start with the SEC title odds a realigned conference with
31:50the additions of Oklahoma and Texas and the Longhorns have the second best price at plus 370
31:56to win a conference crown Georgia the preseason favorite at plus 180 a new era in Tuscaloosa
32:03at Alabama under Kalen DeBoer no longer Nick Saban but a five to one price on the crimson
32:09tide you are optimistic about LSU where else would you look in the conference for a bet
32:16I mean again I it's hard to turn away from Texas at this point in time but their schedule does
32:23give you a little bit of pause for concern just from the standpoint of you know facing Georgia
32:30and having to go to A&M you know but I think other than that they have a very favorable
32:35schedule from the standpoint of Michigan I don't think it'll be as tough as many people
32:40will give credit for it's going to be a great matchup to watch in week two but clearly they're
32:44taking a little bit of a step back so Texas would be where I would look first when it comes to the
32:49odds and again what have I said for the last couple of years even when Nick Saban was there
32:54like Alabama at that price almost feels like an auto bet just because you never see Alabama at
33:01this price they still have what I think at this point in time might be the most complete you know
33:08team overall in the SEC and Jalen Milrow is another guy he might be better than Carson Beck
33:15at least for my money we'll see I think if he takes another step forward that could be something
33:19that we're talking about come the middle of the season but those are the teams that I'm looking
33:23at Alabama and Texas LSU Georgia I just have a hard time believing they're going to escape the
33:30schedule without at least two losses I really genuinely do like it's just they haven't had to
33:36play this level of the schedule all in a long time and I don't know if they have the horses in the
33:41barn given what they lost last year to do it by the way Mark we are going to start up this season
33:47in the ACC and the SEC week number one on Saturday at noon kickoff don't have to wait long it's
33:52Clemson it's Georgia a two touchdown favorite here at the FanDuel Sportsbook for Georgia a total that
33:58opened at 50 and a half has dropped now to 48 and a half it feels like when we talk I mean we've
34:03talked a lot about Colorado and the referendum that's going to be taking place here with Deion
34:07Sanders that was when he's been a very good college coach but not really wanting to adapt maybe to
34:12today's college football game talk to me about Clemson and Georgia and the ramifications on a
34:17win or a loss even from a Clemson perspective here yeah I mean look I'll say this much about
34:23Clemson their defense is going to be very good once again this should be a top 20 defense in
34:27the country based by Barrett Carter first preseason all-american linebacker I mean look
34:31this is exactly what Davo has been known for building on that side of the ball right like
34:38this is exactly the moment that he steps up he's had all the time to prepare for Georgia and he's
34:42facing an offense as I mentioned him in state of transition no more Brock Bowers no more Ladd
34:46McConkie and still Mike Bobo who I'm not a hundred percent a fan of as far as a play caller and a
34:51coordinator when it comes to his track record given what he did at Georgia the first time what
34:56happened at Colorado State and then they brought it back the slow start last year part of the
35:01production from Georgia's offense was the fact that they played a very limited schedule they're
35:06not used to seeing a defense the level of Clemson until they get to the SEC championship game and
35:11they end up playing Alabama so I like the fact here that Clemson is going to go up against an
35:16offense in a state of transition now on the flip side of this guys Clemson's offense isn't exactly
35:21ready to set the world on fire Kate Klubnick has been highly touted coming in but hasn't really
35:26lived up to expectations hasn't necessarily gotten below him but we've seen some things
35:30are in that make you go this wasn't the five-star recruit coming out of high school we thought we
35:33were getting kind of deal so Georgia's defense we know is always going to be good it doesn't
35:37matter who's playing there they've got that pedigree I like the under in this game guys I
35:41know we missed the best of the number but still at 48 and a half I'm pretty content with taking
35:44the under in this contest you want a sign of the times for Clemson football that they're not quite
35:50at the pantheon of college football this moment moment like Georgia the preseason number one team
35:55is there's always high expectations in Clemson but to start off 2021 after a college football
36:02playoff appearance the year prior these two teams met up in Shoreline week number one the
36:07marquee matchup on a Saturday night the Tigers were a three-point favorite against UGA now a 13
36:15and a half point underdog against the dogs who have won two national championships since 2021
36:22got started in Georgia has only lost two football games in the last three plus seasons in their last
36:3048 since the end of 2020 through 2021 and to where we are at this moment the once fearsome swap
36:40for the Gators maybe not so much in his sunshine state showdown this Saturday between
36:47Florida and Miami one of the eight preseason ranked opponents that UF has to play in year
36:53number three under Billy Napier it makes it the most difficult schedule in the country
36:58in Miami Mark Zinno with a new quarterback in Cameron Ward and a new running back in Damian
37:02Martinez and a lot of returning talent elsewhere is a two and a half point favorite in Gainesville
37:09is the line correct will the result follow soon uh chomp chomp guys uh this is not a spot where
37:17I would back Miami it's Florida or pass and I kind of like Florida with no expectations
37:22with people thinking they're going to be bad and Billy Napier with a little bit of a chip on his
37:25shoulder uh but we know Billy Napier has always a bit been about defense at least that was the
37:30success he had that got him the Florida job and I think he'll be well prepared for this I listen I
37:34think Cam Ward was undervalued last year Washington State we know what the Heisman numbers he was able
37:39to put up at some points throughout the season but this doesn't bode well for Mario Cristobal
37:44this is not a spot where I want to back Miami given everything that they have people are talking
37:48about this team possibly win a national title I don't see it I'll take the points I'll take
37:53the Gators on the money line as well a lot of expectation for this Miami team in year number
38:00three under Cristobal they have a losing record 12 and 13 in his first two years in South Florida
38:06plenty more around week one of college football next live right here on the early line on sports
38:12grid to go elsewhere around the week one slate in college football the first full Saturday of
38:18the year the first full weekend of the year as well late night in college station it is Texas A&M
38:26and Notre Dame one of the ranked versus ranked matchups that we have as a part of this college
38:32football slate to kick off week number one A&M top 20 team in the country against Notre Dame who
38:39checks in at number seven entering 2024 two and a half points spreads it out in favor of the Aggies
38:46it's the debut of Mike Elko now as the head coach at A&M but of course he knows college station
38:53pretty well was the defensive coordinator for four years under Jimbo Fisher before heading to Duke
38:58where his quarterback for two years was Riley Leonard who's now the new quarterback at Notre
39:04Dame how do we make sense of it all with the Irish a two and a half point road underdog
39:09yeah who would have thought the smart kids at Duke would have invaded this matchup but that's
39:12obviously what has happened here and I like Texas A&M guys I I can't get past it um I look just for
39:19the sake of me having some sanity for three and a half hours I'll probably suck up the juice and
39:25just take A&M on the money line and not worry about it um in case this thing is closer than
39:29what we think but I just I have a hard time believing that Notre Dame's offense is going
39:34to be able to have a lot of success against his A&M defense and for everything that we know about
39:40what Mike Elko is and what he built at Duke he knows Riley very well and knows Riley Leonard
39:45very well and knows what he does as well knows what his weaknesses are and this is also a young
39:49man who's still recovering from a major knee injury last year how much is he going to be able
39:55to let loose and do the things he normally do was able to do at Duke you know he was a pretty
39:59mobile guy and liked to run and everything else will he have the full you know gamut of his skill
40:04set available in this game regardless I just think the environment at Kyle Field one of the toughest
40:09and best in all of college football given this primetime matchup and everything that we're going
40:13to be looking at is way too much for me to look over the Aggies I know the Irish are the seventh
40:18team in the country some of that feels like it's a little bit inflated given what they've lost
40:23still uh I like this Aggies defense I think they show out I think the under is also a decent play
40:29in this spot here but I'm not walking away from Texas A&M at all. From yell practice on Saturday
40:35night to Sin City on a Sunday LSU and USC how about this the FanDuel Sportsbook opened up earlier
40:41a six and a half point favorite for LSU we're now down mark to four and a half and other outlets as
40:46low as four a total of 64 and a half LSU SC from Vegas what gives here well you know my thoughts on
40:54LSU as I told them a little while ago I think they're really undervalued here uh and I think
40:58there's a reason why they're the favorite here but multiple things here particularly for the USC
41:03defense which we knew was bad Alex Grinch is gone um you know they now have uh Danton Lynn
41:09who takes over but it's an LSU front that returns four starters in this game their defense still is
41:15going to be very good LSU I know they lost a lot on the offensive side of the ball with Daniels and
41:19neighbors going to the NFL but this is about for me this LSU defense being able to take care of
41:24the USC offensive both these quarterbacks guys are guys in Miller Moss for USC and Garrett Nussmeyer
41:30for the Tigers been with the same coach for a couple of years so theoretically the transition
41:38should be a little less difficult than let's say a transfer portal quarterback coming in
41:42and taking the job here but I think in general I give the edge to Nussmeyer I give the edge to
41:48uh to Brian Kelly not take anything away from Lincoln Riley and what he's able to do
41:52uh as a plate crawler this is the first time Lincoln Riley hasn't had a dynamic quarterback
41:57under center for him in his entire you know recent collegiate career going back to Oklahoma so I
42:02think things will be a little bit of a struggle for USC early I like LSU I'll lay the points
42:07in this era of college football to see two guys like Miller Moss and Garrett Nussmeyer
42:12waited out at their respective programs is a testament to both of the signal callers
42:17that will enter the stage in Sin City on Sunday Miller Moss a holiday bowl record six touchdowns
42:24against Louisville that was the optimism for him to earn the starting job entering this season as
42:30the heir apparent to Caleb Williams Garrett Nussmeyer has bided his time behind the Heisman
42:35trophy winner in Jaden Daniels he's going to be really really good this year and there's a lot of
42:42offensive pieces there for LSU to like as well 13 games for both of these teams both were trashed
42:50offensively last year USC the third worst power conference team in terms of scoring defensive
42:56output more than 35 points per game they played 13 games 10 of them over the Bayou Bengals played
43:0213 games 12 of them over two new DC's Blake Baker in the Bayou Dan Tinlin the short trip in LA from
43:11UCLA to USC how will their defenses perform in game number one against two stout offenses
43:19on the other side Mark Zinno the mouth of the south it's that time of the year we appreciate
43:25your time power three of the early line is up next