College Football Picks: 3 Best Bets for SEC in Week 1

· Aug 28 - 5 minutes read

Look for the Oklahoma-Temple game to land over the 58½-point total.
Alabama may struggle to cover against Western Kentucky in Kalen DeBoer’s first game as the head coach following Nick Saban’s retirement.
Go With LSU to take care of business in Vegas against USC.
Check the latest NCAA football odds at BetUS!

There are some pretty compelling matchups involving SEC teams in Week 1 of the college football season.

College Football Picks: 3 Best Bets for SEC in Week 1 — Jalen Milroe #4 of the Alabama Crimson | Harry How/Getty Images/AFP

Top-ranked Georgia is a double-digit favorite against a Clemson team expected to compete for the ACC title. The college football odds list Florida as the underdog as Miami visits Gainesville for the first time since 2008, Texas A&M plays host to Notre Dame while the LSU Tigers meet up with USC in Las Vegas in the final game of the week.

Things get going on Thursday with Arkansas and Missouri both playing Football Championship Subdivision programs. Oklahoma is a -42½ point favorite against visiting Temple on Friday while the BetUS sportsbook odds list Georgia, South Carolina and Texas as double-digit favorites. The only SEC teams to be underdogs in Week 1 are Florida and Vanderbilt.

Nine of the top 20 teams in the odds of winning the national championship hail from the SEC. Nine of the top 20 teams in both the Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association polls are from the SEC with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas strengthening a conference that has seen one of its teams win six of the last nine national titles.

Let’s take a look at some of the bets to consider as 14 SEC teams will be playing at home.

Top 3 SEC Bets for Week 1

1. Oklahoma vs. Temple Game to Go Over Total

Temple allowed at least 40 points on six different occasions last season. The last time the Owls faced a team from one of the power conferences, Temple allowed 543 yards and 41 points in a loss to Miami.

Oklahoma put up 73 points in last year’s season opener. The Sooners have topped 40 points in each of their last seven openers. This feels like a game where Oklahoma should be able to score early and often.

Game Captains vs. Temple 🫡#OUDNA | #Team130 pic.twitter.com/QkuyAcPqqM

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) August 25, 2024

That makes the 58½-point total against Temple a pretty tempting option for those who bet online as Oklahoma plays its first game as a member of the SEC.

Bet on Oklahoma at 58½-point total

2. Fade Alabama to Cover Spread vs Western Kentucky

Alabama comes into the first game with Kalen DeBoer as the head coach following Nick Saban’s retirement against a Western Kentucky team with a familiar name at quarterback.

Kalen DeBoer previews Alabama’s season opener against Western Kentucky in his first game-week press conference as head coach of the Crimson Tide. #RollTide @InlineElectric pic.twitter.com/YL56agtxQA

— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) August 26, 2024

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It might take some time for Alabama to put everything together with a new head coach and some key players gone.

Alabama has covered in two of the last four regular-season games when favored by at least 30 points, so consider going with the Hilltoppers to cover the college football spread. Most of the top pass catchers for Alabama are gone. Will that impact the season-opening numbers for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe? That makes the 32-point spread a little tricky for the Crimson Tide.

T.J. Finley began his collegiate career at LSU and one of his five touchdown passes as a freshman came against Alabama. The next season, he had two more TD passes against the Crimson Tide when he played for Auburn.

The well-traveled Finley is on his fourth team in five years after spending last season at Texas State.

With the exception of last year’s meeting with Ohio State, Western Kentucky has been competitive against teams from the power conferences since Tyson Helton took over as the head coach for the Hilltoppers.

Bet on

3. LSU ATS Pick Against USC

The meeting between LSU and USC at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas might not have quite the star power now that quarterbacks Caleb Williams of USC and Jayden Daniels were the top two picks in April’s NFL Draft. However, LSU is still a team viewed as a potential College Football Playoff participant.

USC finished 10th in the Pac-12 last season in both total defense and scoring defense.

Nobody is expecting LSU to match the offensive production of the 2023 team in yards per game now that Daniels and his top two receivers were all first-round NFL picks, but the Tigers should be able to take care of business against USC as the 4½-point favorite.

Bet On College Football Lines!

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets.