College Football Best Bets: Thursday Night, Week 1

The college football landscape has been reset for the 2024 season. The College Football Playoff (CFP) will have 12 teams for the first time, which features the five conference champions paired with the next seven highest-ranked teams. Conferences underwent major changes, as well. The Pac-12 is virtually no more while the SEC added two major brands and the Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC all acquired several squads.

As if a shakeup in conference play wasn't intriguing enough, the stakes will also be heightened on a week-to-week basis with far more teams in contention for the CFP. Higher stakes could also generate more competitive games throughout the season, potentially impacting how we bet the sport.

Thursday's slate gives us our first taste before Saturday's full lineup of Week 1 games. Tonight's schedule has plenty to watch, from four top-25 teams in action to Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes taking the field against the FCS powerhouse North Dakota State Bison.

Using the college football odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as a guide, what are the best college football bets for this week?

All college football odds via FanDuel Sportsbook. Lines may change after this article is published.

College Football Betting Picks

Western Carolina Catamounts at No. 24 NC State Wolfpack

NC State Over 47.5 Points (-113)

The North Carolina State Wolfpack have experienced a bit of a drought on offense. After finishing in the 78th percentile of points per game (PPG) in 2021, the Wolfpack were in the bottom 25% of the category in 2022 followed by the bottom 44% last season.

Fortunately, NC State brought in a haul of offensive talent from the transfer portal. Quarterback Grayson McCall was the 120th overall prospect and the 20th-best signal-caller in the portal, per 247 Sports. Jordan Waters was the sixth-best running back available, and Justin Joly was another big get as the third-best tight end that went portaling.

McCall posted a 86.8 passing grade in 2022 followed by 79.7 last season, via Pro Football Focus (PFF). Waters put up over 800 rushing yards with the Duke Blue Devils in 2023 while posting a solid 79.2 rushing grade. Joly brings exciting potential after posting over 500 receiving yards on 10.3 yards per catch last season, and he's on the Mackey Award Preseason Watch List.

The additions keep going as wide receiver Noah Rogers -- a former top-50 recruit -- also transferred from the Ohio State Buckeyes. It wouldn't be a surprise to see this offense take a huge leap in the upcoming season.

Enter tonight's opponent -- the Western Carolina Catamounts. This is a cupcake opponent if I've ever seen one with the Wolfpack favored by 32.5 points. While Western Carolina ranks 19th in the FCS Coaches Poll, the defense is far from a strength.

In fact, the Catamounts gave up 7.97 passing yards per passing attempt in 2023. For reference, this would have ranked 91st out of 133 Division I teams. The rushing defense wasn't quite as bad, but it was still nothing to write home about, giving up 4.02 yards per rushing attempt.

The opportunity for NC State to show off its new-look offense in the season opener is there. Look for the Wolfpack's offense to roar against the FCS opponent.

Duquesne Dukes at Toledo Rockets

Duquesne +27.5 (-105)

The Toledo Rockets come off an 11-3 season -- their highest win total since going 11-0-1 in 1995. Toledo is expected to have another big season, carrying the second-shortest odds to win the MAC Championship (+330) paired with an 8.5 win total.

We should see the Rockets begin the season with a bang as they are 27.5-point favorites tonight against the Duquesne Dukes. However, this spread feels a bit too high.

Toledo had an excellent offense last season, producing 6.4 yards per play (89th percentile). However, the unit experienced massive changes in the offseason. The entire starting offensive line is being replaced, and quarterback Dequan Finn and running back Peny Boone transferred.

This unit will likely take a step back, but it still features an excellent receiving corps led by wideouts Jerjuan Newton and Junior Vandeross. The two targets will likely be a handful for the Dukes.

Moving to the other side of the ball, Toledo boasted the 10th-highest team coverage grade by PFF in 2023. However, top cornerback Quinyon Mitchell moved onto the NFL as a first-round draft pick. It's reasonable to expect the pass defense to decline some.

Duquesne averaged only 205.5 passing yards per game a season ago, but it was efficient with 8.53 yards per passing attempt. For reference, this would have been the 18th-best mark in Division I. The Dukes also featured an efficient run game with 4.29 yards per carry and 148.8 rushing yards per contest.

This will still probably be a comfortable win for the Rockets, but Duquesne could have enough on offense to take advantage of a declining pass defense. Plus, Toledo's offense is bound to look rusty after losing a haul of key players.

North Dakota State Bison at Colorado Buffaloes

North Dakota State Moneyline (+330)

Colorado quickly took the spotlight in the 2023 season, starting 3-0. However, the rest of the season was a disaster with the Buffaloes losing eight of their final nine games (4-8 on the season).

The Buffs carry sure-fire NFL talent, including Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, who are among NFL Mock Draft Database's top six prospects in the 2025 consensus big board. However, good luck winning if you can't win the trenches.

This was exactly the problem in Boulder a season ago, ranking 69th in PFF's pass blocking efficiency. Similar to Sanders' first season as Colorado's head coach, the Buffaloes bring in a ton of new players -- 42 transfers and 13 high school recruits.

Thursday's opponent is spelling big trouble. North Dakota State advanced to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs in 2023 and is ranked second in the FCS Coaches Poll.

The Bison are an experienced team that is used to winning. Quarterback Cam Miller will likely be a big threat as he posted a FCS-best 93.4 PFF grade in 2023. He was one of two players on NDSU who appeared on PFF's FCS All-America Team, as well. Miller and safety Cole Wisniewski (93.4 PFF grade in 2023) will both suit up tonight. North Dakota State has some stars of its own.

We aren't expecting much from Colorado in 2024 as they have a 5.5 win total. NDSU totaled over 230.0 rushing yards per game last season while the Buffs finished 122nd out of 133 teams in PFF's run defense grade.

An experienced Bison team has enough to pull off the upside in Boulder. North Dakota State's rushing attack could cause fits for Colorado.

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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.