Week 1 of the 2023 college football season is upon us, and we won't have to even wait until Saturday to enjoy some of the more anticipated matchups on the slate. Florida at No. 14 Utah and Nebraska at Minnesota are both included in the Thursday night lineup, while Friday sees teams among the likes of Miami, Michigan State and Louisville take the field before the full Saturday schedule takes center stage.
If that's not enough, the Week 1 action doesn't stop after Saturday. Three games are set to be played on Sunday -- headlined by a neutral-site affair between No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Florida State in Orlando -- before Labor Day Weekend wraps with Clemson at Duke as a standalone game on Monday evening.
Factor in wagering, and for some fans, the stakes are raised even further for what is already bound to be an entertaining five-day stretch of games to usher in the 2023 season. Whether you're a gambler or not, point spreads still have value in forecasting how a game may unfold.
The odds for Week 1 games are out, and we've highlighted the point spreads for some of the biggest games below. Now sit back, (try to) relax and enjoy the action.
Odds via SportsLine consensus
Florida at No. 14 Utah (-6.5), Thursday: The Utes are out for payback after a 29-26 loss to the Gators in a thriller last September in Gainesville, Florida. The big question for Utah, and something bound to impact the final point spread, is the availability of incumbent starting quarterback Cameron Rising, who is still making his way back from an ACL injury suffered during the Rose Bowl loss to Penn State in January. This game will also mark quarterback Graham Mertz's debut at Florida after transferring in from Wisconsin during the offseason.
Colorado at No. 17 TCU (-21): The Deion Sanders era at Colorado begins with a road trip to last year's national runner-up with triple digits in the forecast for Fort Worth, Texas. TCU's offense will be without much of the star power it boasted from a year ago but should still be a formidable unit with Kendal Briles now calling the offensive shots and quarterback Chandler Morris -- who started against Colorado in Week 1 last season before suffering an injury -- taking over QB1 duties. As for the Buffaloes, the roster is virtually unrecognizable following an offseason overhaul that saw the arrival of the top-ranked transfer class for 2023. Nonetheless, Sanders and Co. are still facing an uphill battle Saturday as three-touchdown underdogs against the Horned Frogs.
No. 21 North Carolina (-2.5) vs. South Carolina, Charlotte: The 60th meeting between the Gamecocks and Tar Heels comes on the exact same field where they last met in 2021 -- a 38-21 South Carolina victory in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. North Carolina boasts a bona fide Heisman contender this time around in quarterback Drake Maye, but the question is whether the defense can hold up its end of the bargain after finishing outside the top 100 nationally last year. Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler will look to take advantage of that in his second year starting for a South Carolina offense that is now under the watch of first-year offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains.
No. 3 Ohio State (-30) at Indiana: The featured game of the week on CBS is a chance for the Buckeyes to come out firing on all cylinders at Indiana. Oddsmakers expect them to do just that, which is no shocker considering the historical mismatch this series has been. Ohio State owns a 27-game win streak in the series and boasts a 78-12-5 all-time edge against the Hoosiers. The big storyline for the Buckeyes entering this one is who will start under center as Kyle McCord and Devin Brown are still competing for the starting job and could both play come Saturday.
No. 5 LSU (-2.5) vs. No. 8 Florida State, Sunday in Orlando: The lone ranked matchup in Week 1 is bound to have serious College Football Playoff implications as the Tigers and Seminoles begin the season against each other for a second straight year. After opening the season in New Orleans last year, this time the two meet in the Sunshine State. Florida State looks to make it two straight after winning a 24-23 thriller last September, and they're equipped with stars among the likes of quarterback Jordan Travis and defensive end Jared Verse. LSU checks in as the slim betting favorite as the Tigers enter Year 2 under coach Brian Kelly, but the defense will notably be without defensive tackle and preseason first-team All-SEC selection Maason Smith after Smith was handed a one-game suspension by the NCAA.
Best of the rest
Nebraska at Minnesota (-7.5), Thursday
Louisville (-8) at Georgia Tech, Friday
East Carolina at No. 2 Michigan (-36)
Virginia at No. 12 Tennessee (-28)
Boise State at No. 10 Washington (-14.5)
Rice at No. 11 Texas (-35)
Nevada at No. 6 USC (-38)
UTSA (-1) at Houston
West Virginia at No. 7 Penn State (-20.5)
Texas Tech (-14) at Wyoming
Middle Tennessee at No. 4 Alabama (-39)
No. 18 Oregon State (-16.5) at San Jose State, Sunday
Northwestern at Rutgers (-6.5), Sunday
No. 9 Clemson (-12.5) at Duke, Monday
Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 1? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread -- all from a proven computer model that has returned almost $2,500 in profit over the past seven-plus seasons -- and find out.
