College Football Best Bets for Week 0: Fading the Tar Heels And More
Betting

College Football Best Bets for Week 0: Fading the Tar Heels And More

Kody Malstrom breaks down three college football best bets for Week 0, including an under on North Carolina and a pick for Memphis vs. UNLV.

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The wait is finally over—college football is back on our screens, signaling the start of football season with the NFL lurking around the corner. To help appease our appetite for the sport, below are three of my favorite bets for the Week 0 slate, targeting a pair of team totals before capping off the night with an exciting matchup between Memphis and UNLV.

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Best Bets for College Football Week 0

North Carolina Team Total Under 18.5 (-110, Fanatics)

After a brilliant first drive to kick off the year, North Carolina’s offense was never able to build on their momentum, finishing the 2025 campaign ranked near dead last in Success Rate, Finishing Drives, and in Explosiveness. Their inability to protect the ball made it difficult for them to sustain their drives down the field, residing near the bottom of the board in Havoc Allowed.

With the Tar Heels making minimal adjustments to their offensive line, their struggles on offense are poised to persist, giving Billy Edwards Jr. less time in the pocket to operate before having to force a throw into a tight window. The Tar Heels' RB room will also give their offense minimal support, allowing opposing second levels to stretch out their coverage and smother Edwards passing lanes on the outside.

With UNC struggling to hold their ground in the trenches, this will help TCU mask their question marks on the back end, shielding a group that is expected to regress in Success Rate. Barring a broken play, expect the Tar Heels to be held out of scoring position, keeping them under their team total. If the Horned Frogs get off to a slow start, diversify your risk by placing a separate wager on them to cover the spread at -6.5 or better.

Stanford Team Total Under 26.5 (-105, DraftKings)

Turning our sights towards another underwhelming offense, Stanford was never able to find its footing last season, ranking in the bottom thirty in Success Rate and in EPA per play. Like the Tar Heels, the Cardinal front five forced their backfield to combat against a heavy amount of pressure, leading to a high volume of early outs.

Unfortunately for the Cardinal, Hawaii quietly excelled on defense by the end of last season, fielding a group that climbed into the top half of the board in Defensive Havoc and in Defense Hard Stops. Place a bet on Stanford to be held under their team total of 26.5 with intentions of adding more to your position should it cross through the key number of 28.

Memphis vs. UNLV Over 56.5 (-108, BetMGM)

Arguably the most exciting matchup of the day, Memphis and UNLV should be able to light up the scoreboard, pitting two efficient offenses against a pair of defenses that gave up big gains at a high rate per their below league average marks in Defensive Explosiveness. When backed up inside the 40, they stumbled to the bottom half of the board in Defensive Finishing Drives.

It is worth noting both offenses are expected to trot out multiple QBs, potentially throwing a wrench into their rhythm early in the contest. Still, with both defenses incapable of creating stops in front of the sticks, the uptick in their total number of scoring opportunities will help brush aside regression, keeping them on pace to clear the over of 56.5.

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