Our 7 best bets for Week 1 of the college football season

Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines have won their past two season openers by a combined score of 96-20. Michigan has high expectations this year and extremely little room for error, with a ton of pressure on Harbaugh to finish better than third in a tough East division of the B1G that features powerhouses Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State. Notre Dame is a tough place to win on the road, but Michigan will be prepared and has more at stake.

Saban is essentially unbeatable Week 1. He's 11-0 in his opening games as Alabama's head coach, including six wins over other ranked teams, all of which came by double-digits. I hate the idea of laying 24 points with a team that hasn't even named a starting quarterback, but it's tough to bet against the Crimson Tide in this spot.

Possibly the most intriguing matchup of the Week 1 slate. Both Washington and Auburn have hopes of competing in the College Football Playoff this year and will be looking to get off to a strong start. Both teams have top-tier coaches and quarterbacks expected to compete for the Heisman, so I'm closing my eyes and taking the points in what should be a slugfest.

Lane Kiffin's takeover at FAU was one of the most entertaining stories of the 2017 college football year, with the Owls turning the ship around after three consecutive 3-9 seasons to produce an 11-3 campaign capped off by a 50-3 bowl victory. Oklahoma is obviously on a completely different level when it comes to recruiting, but Kiffin's team averaged over 40 points a game last year. Granted, it came against lesser competition, but a potentially high scoring offense getting a huge number like this is a rare occasion in sports betting.

While you might be tempted to lower your expectations for Wyoming this season with the departure of quarterback Josh Allen, the Cowboys return eight of 11 starters on a defensive unit that led the country in takeaways last year. Don't be surprised if they still make some noise in the Mountain West.

Nothing against LSU, but it's tough to bet against the return of the turnover chain. The Hurricanes will be hyped and looking to avenge what was a dismal end to what started out as an unbelievably promising 2017 season.

Virginia Tech and Florida State are two historic programs expected to have solid seasons but fall short of the playoff. While it's tempting to back Florida State to bounce back after their 2017 season got off to the worst start imaginable, the seven-point line is too juicy to pass up. Even if the Hokies can't win this one, I expect them to keep things close.