The 2023 NCAA college football season is finally here with Week 0 kicking things off this weekend. We have seven games on the college football Week 0 schedule on Saturday and it's time to lock in those CFB best bets and betting picks. Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans and reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams headline the action in a matchup against San Jose State. The first game on Saturday's college football Week 0 schedule features Navy vs Notre Dame from Dublin, Ireland. Plus, we look at Louisiana Tech hosting FIU as part of our college football betting picks this weekend. Enjoy these CFB picks and predictions as you tune into the games. Plus, keep an eye out for the CFB DFS Playbook for top Week 0 college football daily fantasy picks. 

 

College Football Week 0 Best Bets & Betting Picks

Navy vs Notre Dame Prediction

Saturday, 2:30 pm ET

Notre Dame and Navy face off in the first game of the 2023 college football season to kick off Week 0 – so you know we have to get some action on it. If you weren’t aware, Saturday afternoon’s matchup is actually an international one with Dublin, Ireland playing host. This is worth noting as neither team gets a homefield advantage, though we can expect the Irish fans to be leaning a certain way. These teams faced off last year with Notre Dame squeaking out a 35-32 win as the game sailed over the 40.5 total. This year’s matchup should be much lower scoring based on the style and notable changes on offense for both programs. 

The Fighting Irish bring in prized QB transfer Sam Hartman, but this is a much different offense than the one he starred in at Wake Forest last season. First off, Notre Dame has a new offensive coordinator in Gerad Parker, whose offenses from 2020-21 as the West Virginia OC were below-average and slower-paced. Parker’s scheme at WVU leaned on the run with a bell-cow back in Leddie Brown, and we could see something similar with Notre Dame’s strong offensive line and Audric Estime in the backfield. Plus, the Irish return very little experience or production in the receiving corps – especially with tight end Michael Mayer off to the NFL. Overall, we may see Notre Dame’s offense take a half or a full game to get going as Hartman gets comfortable with his new pass-catchers in the run-focused system with a new play-caller. 

As for Navy, it welcomes in both a new head coach and offensive coordinator this season. Last year’s defensive coordinator Brian Newberry has been promoted to the head job, which should keep the Midshipmen defense strong against the run (3rd-best run defense in 2022). Grant Chesnut is the new OC and he’s expected to change things up slightly. The Navy offense will still feature the triple-option attack, but with some more short passing plays incorporated. Like Notre Dame, this new-ish scheme could take a game or two for the players to become comfortable. In general, though, the Navy offense should have trouble scoring out of the gate. The full-game under is worth a look too, but take the first-half under as a best bet.

Pick: Navy-Notre Dame 1H UNDER 25.5 (-110 on BetMGM)

San Jose State at USC Prediction

Saturday, 8 pm ET

Caleb Williams is back at the helm of the high-scoring, quick-paced USC offense. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is expected to put up big numbers yet again in Lincoln Riley’s attack and it starts with this home opener against San Jose State. In addition to Williams’ dynamic dual-threat ability, the Trojans are loaded on offense and return a ton of playmakers from last year’s unit that averaged 41.4 PPG. Arizona transfer WR Dorian Singer replaces Jordan Addison as one of Williams’ top targets while Mario Williams, Tahj Washington, and Brenden Rice are all back in the receiving corps. Plus, young receivers like Kyron Hudson, Zachariah Branch, and Duce Robinson bring even more firepower to the offense. The backfield also features a strong 1-2 punch in Austin Jones and MarShawn Lloyd. Again, this offense will be very good and it’s hard to imagine a Mountain West defense holding it down at home this weekend. 

Riley’s offenses have historically started out hot in their first games of the season. Going back to his time as Oklahoma’s head coach, Riley’s teams have scored at least 48 points in five of the past six season openers while averaging 53.7 PPG. That includes USC putting up 66 points in Week 1 of last year. It’s tough to fully back the Trojans against the spread as 30.5-point favorites or the overall total at 67 because we’re factoring in the San Jose State offense. Instead, let’s just count on USC to put up plenty of points on its own to go over the team total in the first half and the full game. The only worry for the full-game team total is that the Trojans take their foot off the gas in the second half with Caleb Williams sitting on the bench. Even so, the USC backups are all still very talented to contribute here. 

Pick: USC Team Total OVER 48.5 (-120 on DraftKings)

PICK: USC Team Total 1H OVER 27.5 (-140 on DraftKings)

FIU at Louisiana Tech Prediction

Saturday, 9 pm ET

One of the late kickoffs on Saturday features a rare conference matchup to begin the season as Florida International visits Louisiana Tech for Conference-USA bragging rights. Louisiana Tech is an 11.5-point favorite at home, but we’re just backing the Bulldogs to cover the spread in the first half. Before we get into any specifics, an important motivational factor is at play here. When these teams met last season, FIU pulled out the double-overtime 42-34 win at home. Louisiana Tech, though, had the lead with two minutes to go in the game and easily could have won in OT. Expect the Bulldogs coaching staff and players to be plenty motivated to start this rematch strong with the homefield advantage against a conference foe.

Louisiana Tech’s offense welcomes in Boise State transfer Hank Bachmeier as the new starting quarterback and he can immediately make a difference. Bachmeier brings a veteran presence and an accurate arm to a Bulldogs offense that dealt with inconsistent and poor QB play last year. He’ll be throwing to one of the best WR duos in the C-USA with sure-handed slot receiver Smoke Harris and big-play threat Cyrus Allen back from last year. 

On the other side, the FIU offense has a lot of questions coming into the season. Grayson James has been named the starting QB after throwing as many interceptions as touchdowns (11) a year ago and leaves a lot to be desired. The Panthers also lost their top two pass-catchers from last season with WR Tyrese Chambers and TE Rivaldo Fairweather transferring to Maryland and Auburn, respectively. Plus, FIU's lead RB Lexington Joseph is out for the year after getting hurt in the spring. Then there's the defense, which lost a few key players from a year ago. Back LaTech in the first half to build a lead of at least a touchdown.

Pick: Louisiana Tech 1H -6.5 (-115 on BetMGM)

Other CFB Week 0 Bets To Consider:

  • New Mexico State -6.5 (-129 on DraftKings)
  • Hawaii-Vanderbilt OVER 55.5 (-110 on FanDuel)