College football odds, lines, schedule for Week 0: Nebraska, Illinois open 2022 season as big favorites

A Big Ten matchup in Ireland headlines the first week of the 2022 college football season

By Barrett Sallee

Aug 22, 2022 at 1:45 pm ET • 1 min read

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The 2022 season will get cranked up on Saturday when the Week 0 slate kicks off with a Big Ten matchup across the pond. Nebraska and Northwestern will tee it up at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, in what will be the Cornhuskers' second Week 0 game in as many years.

Nebraska is led by former Texas quarterback Casey Thompson, who landed in Lincoln after Adrian Martinez transferred to Kansas State. Coach Scott Frost is on the hottest of seats entering the 2022 season, and a big win in front of a national audience after losing eight one-score games a year ago would help cool it a little.

That isn't the only matchup on the schedule, though. Illinois will host Wyoming, Charlotte will visit FAU and Vanderbilt will wrap up the action with a late-night matchup at Hawaii.

Where should you make your wagers? Here's a look at the opening lines for every Week 0 game.

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.

Northwestern vs. Nebraska (-13): The Cornhuskers couldn't quite break through last year, but they did dominate Northwestern 56-7 in their lone Big Ten win. Like Martinez, Thompson fits the mold of a traditional Scott Frost quarterback and could be a difference-maker if he is just a bit more consistent than he was last year at Texas. Northwestern boasts a relatively healthy quarterback room with Ryan Hilinski and Brendan Sullivan battling it out behind a talented offensive line.

Wyoming at Illinois (-10): Illinois' offensive identity has come into focus under coach Bret Bielema thanks to a punishing running back room and a quarterback (Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito) who is more than capable of managing games. Meanwhile, the Cowboys were decimated by offseason departures, most notably wide receiver Isaiah Neyor. Expect this one to be an old-fashioned slugfest.

Vanderbilt (-6.5) at Hawaii: The Commodores could use a win to kick off coach Clark Lea's second year, and they could get one against first-year Hawaii coach Timmy Chang. No, this wouldn't be a signature win for the Commodores by any stretch of the imagination, but any victory right now would be a welcome change. It'll be fascinating to see what Chang has up his sleeve in his first game coaching at his alma mater.