College Football: 2 Best Bets and Player Props for Stanford at Hawaii

I'm not great with timezones, but this game at 7:30 PM EST on Saturday is sometime in the afternoon on the islands of Hawaii. It's actually at 1:30 local. Yes, I looked that up.

That's where the Hawaii Warriors will look to defend home turf against the Stanford Cardinal in their season opener. Stanford has made a slew of changes after a disappointing inaugural season in the ACC, and Hawaii is looking to return to bowl games themselves.

How can we bet Saturday's late-night hammer? Here's where my action is.

All college football betting odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Stanford at Hawaii Betting Picks

Stanford Moneyline (+108)

I'm buying what new Stanford GM Andrew Luck is selling.

Luck brought in former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich, who won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, to head up the football schematics while, apparently, Luck was quite busy on this phones. Quarterbacks flocked to learn from the former Pro Bowler, meaning the team was able to land former Oregon State Beavers starter Ben Gulbranson to start Week 0.

Gulbranson had a decent year for the Beavs, tallying a 60.9% completion rate and 126.9 passer rating. At worst, he's an adult compared to whatever I watched with Elic Ayomanor's NFL Draft film in April.

If he can just right the ship offensively at all, Stanford is 28th in FBS on defense, according to ESPN's SP+ rankings. They were 109th in yards per play (YPP) allowed last year, so the site is giving a ton of credence to the transfers that Luck brought in on that side, too.

Without major changes, Hawaii just doesn't seem to be a bowl team from the Mountain West. Stanford? I can't rule it out from a superior ACC.

I'll happily take plus money in this nightcap with the stronger roster from the better conference when the effect of traveling to Hawaii is lessened in Week 0. The Warriors went 6-1 against the spread (ATS) at home last year, but their one game failing to cover came in...Week 0 against FCS Delaware State.

CJ Williams Over 42.5 Receiving Yards (-114)

Gulbranson supported a 37.4% target share and 901 receiving yards for Trent Walker at Oregon State last year. I think he can feed Stanford's new projected top wideout, too.

CJ Williams is hoping to be that guy after cameos in the Southern California Trojans and Wisconsin Badgers offenses over the last three years. He averaged 12.3 yards per reception (YPR) on 35 grabs.

Ayomanor's vacated 32.2% target share is a ton of room to fill in the offense, so I think Williams' 22.0% projected target share in my projections is fairly conservative. Even at that mark, I've got him at 64.0 median receiving yards against a Hawaii squad that was just 65th in passing YPA allowed last year against a soft Mountain West schedule.

I gave this bet out in my Week 0 college football player prop best bets, too.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.