ESPN College Football Predictions: Weekly Odds & Best Bets

The unofficial first week of the college football season dubbed Week 0 whetted our appetites for the season to come. If the first slate of games was any indication, favorites might be in big trouble this year.

USC and Florida State didn’t even come close to covering the college football betting line against their opponents, while TCU and UNLV suffered outright losses to North Carolina and Memphis. With those results in mind, let’s take a look at this week’s ESPN College Football predictions.

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Featured ESPN College Football Games This Week

This is one of the biggest slates of the year as virtually every team in the country will be kicking off its season. While most top teams are starting their campaigns against outmatched non-conference opponents, there are some excellent games on the docket. If you want to know the NCAA football predictions for this week’s games, keep reading below. Here is a focus on the national TV games including ESPN games this week.

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Colorado Buffaloes, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Utah Utes vs. Idaho Vandals, 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Illinois Fighting Illini vs. UAB Blazers, 9 p.m. ET (BTN)

Friday, September 4, 2026

Oklahoma Sooners vs. UTEP Miners, 8 p.m. ET (SEC Network)

Michigan State Spartans vs. Toledo Rockets, 8 p.m. ET (FS1)

Stanford Cardinal vs. Miami Hurricanes, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)

USC Trojans vs. Fresno State Bulldogs, 9 p.m. ET (FOX)

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Indiana Hoosiers vs. North Texas Mean Green, 12 p.m. ET (FOX)

Alabama Crimson Tide vs. East Carolina Pirates, 12 p.m. ET (ABC)

Houston Cougars vs. Oregon State Beavers, 12 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Ohio Bobcats, 12 p.m. ET (FS1)

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Ball State Cardinals, 12:30 p.m. ET (BTN)

Oregon Ducks vs. Boise State Broncos, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

Texas Longhorns vs. Texas State Bobcats, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Marshall Thundering Herd, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

Auburn Tigers vs. Baylor Bears, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Boston College Eagles, 3:30 p.m. ET (FOX)

Duke Blue Devils vs. Tulane Green Wave, 3:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Northern Illinois Huskies, 4:15 p.m. ET (BTN)

LSU Tigers vs. Clemson Tigers, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

Michigan Wolverines vs. Western Michigan Broncos, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

California Golden Bears vs. UCLA Bruins, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Sunday, September 6, 2026

Washington Huskies vs. Washington State Cougars, 4 p.m. ET (NBC)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Wisconsin Badgers, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

Ole Miss Rebels vs. Louisville Cardinals, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

Monday, September 7, 2026

Florida State Seminoles vs. SMU Mustangs, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

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ESPN Matchups with the Biggest National Attention

This week is a slow burn until Saturday night. That’s when the Lane Kiffin era begins in Baton Rouge with the LSU Tigers hosting the Clemson Tigers on ABC which is part of ESPN’s college football coverage. Kiffin is once again in the crosshairs of the college football world after recruiting players that couldn’t make it in the NFL to LSU. Much of the drama on that front will unfold in the courtroom, but many non-affiliated fans will hate watching LSU and hoping the Bayou Bengals fall to the visiting Tigers on Saturday night.

Sunday gives fans the best action this week. Kiffin’s former team (Ole Miss) will face the Louisville Cardinals at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on ABC. This is the only showdown between ranked teams in Week 1, and the Rebels will face a very tough test.

There are two other games of note on Sunday as Washington and Washington State square off in the 118th edition of the Apple Cup, while Notre Dame travels to Wisconsin to face the Badgers at storied Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

Week 1 will conclude on Monday night with the Florida State Seminoles hosting the SMU Mustangs on Labor Day on ESPN. FSU is once again a program in disarray, and an early season loss will once again lead to boosters passing the hat and hoping they can raise enough buyout money for Mike Norvell.

Games That Could Impact the Rankings

Since Ole Miss vs. Louisville is the only game between ranked teams this week, that is the most obvious result that will impact the rankings in one way or another. SMU is ranked No. 19 currently, so a loss to Florida State will probably knock the Mustangs out of the Top 25.

The ranked teams are heavy favorites in virtually every other game this week, so a loss by any of those teams would result in a freefall in the rankings.

ESPN NCAAF Picks & Predictions

The top selection of my college football picks is UTEP +41.5 at Oklahoma. The Miners aren’t very good, and Scotty Walden will likely be fired at the conclusion of this season. However, UTEP does know how to keep games close. UTEP went 2-10 last season, but only one of the Miners’ losses was by more than 17 points. That includes a 27-10 loss to Texas that was much closer than the experts believed.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma will be happy to just pick up a win in this game. The Sooners have a massive showdown in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines next week, and they also face Georgia and Texas in their first five games. Brent Venables knows he needs a healthy John Mateer this season, so I expect Mateer will be benched rather early.

Boise State was the epitome of feast or famine last season. The Broncos went 9-5 and in all five of their losses they were defeated by double digits while scoring 10 or fewer points. Conversely, in seven of their nine wins, Boise State scored at least 38 points and won by double digits.

I believe Oregon will completely fluster Boise State like we saw in the Broncos’ losses last season. The Ducks are extremely talented and have been a perennial contender under Dan Lanning. Dante Moore is a Heisman Trophy contender, and Oregon doesn’t have a real opponent over the next few weeks, so don’t be surprised if the Ducks turn this game into a laugher.

Predicted Winners

It’s hard to imagine many of the ranked teams losing this week. All of the top teams in the country are favored by at least 20 points, and the only two potential contenders that could fall are LSU and Ole Miss. I believe SMU will beat Florida State to close out the week on ESPN, as the Seminoles were not very convincing in their Week 0 win over New Mexico State.

Potential Upsets to Watch

Tarleton State is only a short favorite against Bowling Green, and the visitors have one of the best chances of pulling off an FCS over FBS upset. The Texans might be on the fast track to FBS football like we saw recently from Sam Houston State, and this could be a shot across the bow.

Dave Aranda is on a pretty hot seat in Waco, and he knows that an upset win over Auburn would do him a world of good. The Tigers are rebuilding in a big way under new head coach Alex Golesh, and Aranda’s defense could completely shut down Auburn’s offense. D.J. Lagway will be the X-Factor, as the Florida transfer has shown talent but needs to stop throwing picks.

Games That Could Be Closer Than Expected

UTEP is my favorite pick this week when it comes to big underdogs, but I also like the VMI Keydets to cover a whopping 55.5 points against Virginia Tech. There’s no doubt that VMI will lose considering the Keydets are one of the worst teams in the FCS, yet this number is too large. VMI will run the option under long-time Navy offensive line coach Ashley Ingram, and that will help run clock. Additionally, the Keydets have played four FBS teams over the last four seasons and lost by 34 points to Wake Forest in 2022, 38 points to North Carolina State in 2023, 52 points to Georgia Tech in 2024, and 45 points to Navy last season.

ESPN NCAAF Odds & Betting Preview

Most of the college football betting odds this week showcase big spreads. The top teams in the country are all expected to roll in home openers that will delight their fanbases. 

How the Betting Markets Compare

There have been more outliers than usual this week as different sportsbooks ascribe different weights to FCS opponents. We always see a handful of FCS upsets over FBS teams each season, so sportsbooks are taking the time to dive into the deep end of FCS. Many FCS teams opened their seasons last Thursday night, so they will have fewer kinks to work out too.

Factors That Could Move the Odds

A late injury or a surprise start could move the betting odds prior to kickoff. Some teams have unresolved depth charts that will only be seen when they first take the field, and there are always a handful of surprise suspensions that can shift the odds like we saw in the TCU-North Carolina game last week. 

Final ESPN College Football Predictions

My top college football upset picks are Clemson and Tarleton State. Clemson is back to flying under the radar after years in the spotlight, and there are a ton of distractions on the home front for LSU. Meanwhile, Tarleton State is now one of the top teams in the FCS just six years after making the jump from Division II, and the Texans went on the road to beat Army in double overtime last season.

Biggest Takeaways Before Game Day

It’s important not to overreact to Week 0 results. Fans and pundits do this every season, as we want to jump to conclusions based on what we just saw without considering this may just be a one-time result. Don’t get caught up in the punditry or spend too much time watching game film for these early season games. 

Games Worth Following This Week

There are games on five days over Labor Day Weekend as this has become college football’s opening extravaganza. 

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