X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

College Football Betting Picks: Results Against The Spread (Week 0) and 9/3 spread picks

Mike Marteny's CFB bettings picks against the spread for Week Zero. He has every FBS college football game graded against his NCAA betting picks.

Week 0 means the week doesn't count, right? Overall, it wasn't that bad. After all, I didn't get one "week 0" pick right in 2019. I ended up going heaviest on the UTEP spread and under on Saturday morning. It's a good thing I did. Week 0 is a week for learning things, and learn we did.

First off, when your game starts like this, you know where it's heading. At least I did.

What did this tell me? Well, I knew in this moment that my Nebraska pick, the highest of the week, was doomed. It was the same errors by the same players and the same coaching staff getting outcoached. Bret Bielema remembered the game plan from nine years ago and ran toss sweeps left more than half the plays. If he had any backs the caliber of Melvin Gordon or James White, this Illinois team would have hung 70 on Nebraska too.

We learned that Michigan transfer Zach Charbonnet was a really good player in a really bad system and that he might just be UCLA's missing link. We learned that UConn's offense is painful to watch, but that defense has some heart. They're gonna bust some big spreads against over-hyped offenses this year. We also learned that New Mexico State is the worst FBS team and it's not close. In all fairness, I told you that before the games began.

I promised transparency this year, and you will get it, warts and all. I don't like to be wrong, but I will admit when I am. Here are the results from week 0. Winners against the spread will be in bold. My result will follow.

Want some CFB DFS tools? If you like what you see here, don't forget to sign up for your RotoBaller CFB DFS Premium Pass. Use code MARTENY and receive 10% off your purchase! You'll love the College Football DFS Lineup Optimizer, DFS Cheat Sheets and Premium Slack Chatrooms to help you out in real-time.

CFB Betting Pick Results Week 0

Nebraska (-7.5) at Illinois: MISS!

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 4

I made most of my complaints above, but it doesn't make me any less pissed off. Half the people in my town are on suicide watch. The other half are being monitored by the FBI for the sheer number of death threats made to Scott Frost, Adrian Martinez, and Cam Taylor-Britt. Football is that important in Nebraska and this kind of play is unacceptable. The fans were starting to turn on the prodigal son. There may be no coming back from this for Frost.

Connecticut at Fresno State (-27.5): HIT!

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

This was easy money. No, I'm not going to sit here and bag on UConn. I was impressed with the defense, but when the offense is a comedy of errors, it wears on you and wears them down. Don't lose sight of the fact that Fresno could very well be a top-25 team. They are that good.

Hawaii at UCLA (-17.5): MISS!

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

It's a good thing I didn't put too much on this. Dorian Thompson-Robinson had a pedestrian game, but the Hawaii defense that allowed an average of 211 rushing yards per game last year is back. They allowed 244 on the ground in this one.

UTEP (-9.5) at New Mexico State: HIT!

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

I should have changed this because I ended up hammering it in my Saturday bets. Gavin Hardison threw for 249 yards, 158 of them to Jacob Cowing. Why is this important? It's not. I just figured the guys should get some respect because they may not be mentioned again this season.

 

Now is the time of the week when we tally up the scores. I went 2-2 against the spread and netted a total of 0 points on my picks. So week 0 truly was a zero. Things will start to get interesting this week, starting on Thursday!

The weekly totals follow the bet. Season totals are in parentheses.

1. 0-0 (0-0) = 0
2. 0-1 (0-1) = -1
3. 2-0 (2-0) = 6
4. 0-1 (0-1) = -4
5. 0-0 (0-0) = 0

I still have the 28 points that I started the season with. Whenever the house doesn't have your money, it's a win!

Now we will move on to the pre-Saturday picks. Labor Day Weekend is the one weekend that college football has to itself, and it takes full advantage of it. We have a game on Wednesday, 16 on Thursday, eight on Friday, 57 on Saturday and one each on Sunday and Monday to close out the weekend. That's 84 total games and if you have a good cable package, you can watch most of them.

Unfortunately, only 46 of those 84 are FBS vs. FBS teams. Those 46 are the ones that I will be picking. Ten of those are on Thursday and Friday. Let's get started!

CFB Betting Picks September 3-4 2021:

Temple at Rutgers(-14.5):

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

This feels high, but I don't know how many points Temple can score. Greg Schiano is building Rutgers back to where he had it before the NFL came calling. He's the guy that got Ray Rice to go to school there. Schiano has done a similar job, stocking the offense with former UCF and Nebraska QB transfer Noah Vedral and former Wisconsin WR Aron Cruickshank. Isaih Pacheco is also an underrated back. This offense is going to be good, and I see a lot of question marks for Temple. Give me Rutgers, but I'm lowering the bet because of the half.

Boise State at Central Florida(-5.5):

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

I have zero confidence in the UCF defense, but Boise heading to the heat and humidity of the Bounce House over Labor Day weekend is going to be quite a shock to the system. Everyone else must be thinking the same thing because the line is slowly creeping upward. Boise returns every skill player from a team that scored 237 points in just seven games. UCF loses Greg McRae, Otis Anderson, and Bentavious Thompson and replaces them with Northwestern transfer Isaiah Bowser. Auburn running backs Mark-Anthony Richards and R.J. Harvey followed Gus Malzahn to Orlando as well. I expect to see a better UCF team this fall, but Boise has three running backs that all run well. I still like the Broncos outright.

South Florida at North Carolina State(-18.5):

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

That's a lot of points, but USF only won their opener against the Citadel last year. They only held one other opponent (Cincinnati) under 30 points and lost five of those eight by more than 20 points. This line isn't unwarranted. NC State loses Bailey Hockman, but Devin Leary looked good when he played last year. Running backs Ricky Person and Zonovan Knight are back. So is leading receiver Emeka Emezie. This is a good NC State team. They aren't going to roll USF like the Irish did in last year's FBS opener, but I'll say they still win by 20. Give me the Wolfpack.

East Carolina at Appalachian State(-10.5):

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

The line dropped three points and I can't think of a good reason why. Duke transfer Chase Brice will take the reins from Zac Thomas, but the real bread-and-butter of the Mountaineers offense is the run game. Both Camerun Peoples and Daetrich Harrington are back for Appalachian State (though Harrington wont play until conference play opens). That alone is enough to make me take them. Leading receiver Thomas Henningan returning is just a bonus. ECU returns most of the offense that closed 2020 with wins over Temple and SMU, but I think that App State defense will be a little too much. Give me the Mountaineers.

(4)Ohio State(-13.5) at Minnesota:

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

I will tell you right now this is too many. I want to pick Minnesota to win outright, but they still have some kind of mental block when it comes to the Buckeyes. Justin Fields is the only guy that threw a pass for the Buckeyes last year. Master Teague returns, but he was beaten out by Oklahoma transfer Trey Sermon (who is also playing on Sundays) in the middle of last season. Jameson Williams transferred to Alabama. That's a lot of moving pieces to replace on offense starting against a team like Minnesota. Mohamed Ibrahim might be the best back in the Big Ten(14). Now for the mental part: Minnesota hasn't beaten Ohio State since 2000. The last time before that was 1981. The Gophers have only lost three of the ten games since 2000 by less than 14 points. For those reasons, I wont take Goldy outright, but I do think Ohio State gets tested. Give me the Gophers.

Bowling Green at Tennessee(-35.5):

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 1

Bowling Green is straight up awful, but the Vols almost populated the transfer portal by themselves. Michigan transfer John Milton beat out Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker for the QB job. It's still going to be an ugly game. Tennessee couldn't get out of their own way much of the year, but I'm pretty sure Bowling Green wont score. I want no part of this one. I feel much better about the under than the spread. Give me BGSU, only because I'm not sure Tennessee can score five touchdowns, even against this defense.

(10)North Carolina(-5.5) at Virginia Tech:

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 5

We all know what the Tarheels lost, but Tennessee transfer Ty Chandler is a very good back. He just played for a bad team. I'm more concerned about what Tech lost. Khalil Herbert is with the Bears and Hendon Hooker is with the Vols. Those were the two leading rushers. The Hokies were plagued by offensive inconsistency last year and that will be the case again. Give me the Heels for my lock before Saturday.

Duke(-6.5) at Charlotte:

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Every Duke player that threw a touchdown pass is no longer on the roster. Mataeo Durant is a solid back, and he'll need to be. Gunnar Holmberg did not look good last season. Duke has a couple of good receivers, but I want to see if the QB can get the ball there. Tre Harbison was the best player Charlotte had last year and he's in the NFL. This is going to be an ugly and depressing game (but I'll watch it anyway. I'm an addict. Don't judge). I'm not big on either team, but when in doubt, go with the better coach. That is far and away David Cutcliffe. Give me Duke.

Old Dominion at Wake Forest(-31.5):

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Ouch. That's a lot of points. However, Wake returns QB Sam Hartman, leading rusher Christian Beal-Smith, and Jaquarii Roberson, who is the best receiver you've never heard of. When we last saw the Monarchs, they were riding an 11-game losing streak to end 2019. We don't know much about this team, but I know it isn't any better. I have to take Wake here.

Michigan State at Northwestern(-3.5):

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

This line has dropped off a cliff. The Wildcats opened at -7.5, but the bettors are looking at the same thing I am. Michigan State returns experience. Northwestern has South Carolina transfer Ryan Hilinski at QB and leading rusher Cam Porter. Behind that, they have a lot of questions at receiver. Both teams are well coached and I do think that Mel Tucker is going to lead the Spartans to wins in a couple of games that they shouldn't win this year. I just think it's a lot to ask in week 1. Give me Northwestern at home.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More College Football Analysis

More Betting Picks

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Griffin Conine

To Have Shoulder Surgery On Tuesday
Luke Keaschall

Twins Prospect Luke Keaschall Suffers Broken Forearm
Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF