The 2024 college football season is a season of change. The Pac-12 will no longer exist, at least as a competitive organization. Hopefully Oregon State and Washington State can find a way back.
Additionally, there is now a 12-team College Football Playoff, and undefeated major conference teams are no longer in danger of being eliminated from the CFP, as the winners of all four major conferences advance to the quarterfinals. The winner of the highest-rated Group of Five also automatically qualifies.
What will remain the same is my weekly Best Bets column. Each week, I will use this space to share some of my best bets heading into the weekend. I will also highlight the upsets of the week – teams that are likely to lose by at least a touchdown, but that I expect to win for sure.
We will also be making predictions for other games involving potential College Football Playoff teams. Almost every team is technically a CFP contender at this point, as most teams have yet to play, so we will be making predictions for the current AP Top 12, at least for the first few weeks of the season. With the playoffs expanded this season, we will take a more in-depth look at the rankings once we have played a few games.
Games against FCS opponents don't count, but there are a lot of those this week — 59 to be exact. There are only 37 games between FBS teams, so the pool of picks this week is pretty small.
SportsLine Consensus Odds
Week 1 Recommendations
No. 8 Penn State (-8.5) vs. West Virginia
I like Penn State this season. I expect the Nittany Lions to win the CFP. I'm a sleeper pick for the Big Ten title. QB Drew Aller and running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen lead a dynamic offense. However, West Virginia is coming off a 9-4 season and still feels slighted. The Mountaineers also have weapons offensively, with dual-threat QB Garrett Green. West Virginia is tough on their home field, which could make this game interesting. But ultimately, I expect Penn State to win. Pick: West Virginia (+8.5)
New Mexico vs. No. 21 Arizona (-31)
Arizona is one of the few teams considered good enough to compete for a Big 12 championship. Brent Brennan replaces Jedd Fisch and inherits a solid lineup that includes last year's starting QB Noah Fifita. Brennan led San Jose State to three bowl games, one of the toughest places to win. New Mexico will be looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Montana State in which they blew a big lead in the fourth quarter. The line is pretty big, but it's hard not to like the Wildcats. Pick: Arizona (-31)
UCLA (-14) vs. Hawaii
It's a new world for UCLA. The Bruins are in a new conference, the Big Ten, and have a new coach in former star running back and running back coach DeShawn Foster. Foster has a big job competing in a tougher conference. The Bruins are picked to be in the bottom half of the league, and it's hard to expect them to do much better this season. Not much is expected of Hawaii, picked ninth in the Mountain West, either. The Rainbow Warriors will rely on QB Braden Shager to do most of the heavy lifting on offense. This is the first of several long road trips for the Bruins, but they should be successful. Pick UCLA (-14)
Upsets of the week
Wyoming vs. Arizona State (-6.5)
Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham is still picking up the pieces of the program he inherited from the previous regime, and it may take some time for the team to regain its competitive edge, especially in the Big 12. Few are convinced this season will be a breakthrough. Arizona State finished last in the conference in the preseason media poll. Wyoming is unlikely to win the Mountain West this season, but they will be good enough to give teams higher in the standings a hard time. If the Cowboys can get off to a good start in this game, they could pull off an upset win. Prediction: Wyoming (+6.5)
Other CFP Candidates
What college football picks can you be confident about going into Week 1? Head to SportsLine to find out which team will win and cover the spread, powered by a proven computer model that's returned over $2,000 in profits since inception.
