The 2024 college football season will begin on Saturday, Aug. 24 when the Florida State Seminoles take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin. It’s the first of four games on the Week 0 college football schedule, as SMU takes on Nevada, New Mexico plays Montana State and Hawaii battles Delaware State as well. In the two matchups between FCS schools, Florida State is favored by 12.5 in the Week 0 college football odds while SMU is a 26.5-point favorite.
Meanwhile, New Mexico is an 8.5-point underdog to FCS Montana State and Hawaii is a 38.5-point favorite over Delaware State according to the latest Week 0 college football lines. So which sides should you be backing in those game and what Week 1 matchup should you be looking ahead to? Before locking in any Week 0 college football picks on those games or others, be sure to see the top Week 0 college football expert picks, predictions and best bets from Thomas Casale.
A frequent guest on national radio and TV shows to discuss college sports, Casale has been betting — and winning — for more than 30 years. Over the past two college football seasons, Casale is 122-92-5 (57%) overall on his college football picks and 26-8 (76.4%) in bowl games — all publicly documented. Anybody who has followed him is way up.
Now, he has turned his attention to the Week 0 college football odds and is sharing his top three best bets over at SportsLine. If you parlay them together, you could be looking at a return of around 6-1. Get his top college football picks at SportsLine.
Top Week 0 college football expert predictions
One of Casale’s top Week 0 college football picks: He likes the Over (56.5) as SMU takes on Nevada to begin the season in an 8 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday, Aug. 24 on CBS Sports Network. The Mustangs move into the ACC after going 11-3 last year and finishing the season as a ranked team for the first time since 1984. The Over hit in five of SMU’s last six regular-season matchups while also hitting in four of Nevada’s last five games.
“SMU should do most of the heavy lifting here. Led by quarterback Preston Stone, the Mustangs return eight starters from an offense that averaged 38.7 points per game in 2023,” Casale told SportsLine. “SMU will have little difficulty eclipsing that number against a dreadful Nevada defense that allowed more than 30 points eight times last season.” See what other picks Sallee likes at SportsLine.
How to make Week 0 college football picks
Casale has also found two other college football picks he loves, including a look ahead to a marquee matchup in Week 1 where one offense “has a solid edge.” You can only see his picks at SportsLine.
What are the best bets for Week 0 of college football, and which total is way off? Visit SportsLine now to see Thomas Casale’s college football best bets, all from a proven college football handicapper who has gone 26-8 on bowl games the past two seasons, and find out.
