College football’s loaded Week 1 slate starts on Thursday night and goes throughout Labor Day weekend. Read on for our best ATS bets for Week 1’s college football action.

Week 1 gives us our first opportunity to see many of the 30 first-year FBS head coaches in action, which is 12 more than we had at the start of last season.     

Below, we offer our top ATS bets for Week 1 in college football (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, BetMGM, FanDuel Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Top ATS Bets of Week 1

UTEP +32 (-110) ★★★

Oklahoma’s losses from last season are well-documented, as head coach Lincoln Riley, quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler, and running back Kennedy Brooks are all gone. The Sooners’ reputation has them with the shortest odds to win the Big 12, but metrics like FPI are not as sold on Oklahoma, giving them a 28% chance (second behind Texas’ 40%).

The Sooners should be just fine in due time under new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who reunites with UCF transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel after he coached him as a true freshman in 2019. In addition, Clemson's longtime defensive coordinator, Brent Venables, should bring toughness to Oklahoma in his first season as head coach. However, all those shiny new pieces should take time to mesh, so this will not be a well-oiled Oklahoma machine out of the gate. 

The Sooners also must replace eight defensive starters and return just 10 total starters, the second-fewest in the Big 12. We expect the Miners to stay within this big number.

NC State -10.5 (-110) ★★★★

NC State’s No. 13 preseason ranking matches the school’s best preseason ranking since 1975. And with what the Wolfpack have returning, they have an excellent chance for their first 10-win season since 2002.

The Wolfpack return 88% of an experienced defensive unit that ranked 15th in the country in three-and-out percentage (41.9%), fifth in opponent 3rd-down percentage (29.3%), and 12th in points per drive allowed (14.3) a year ago. However, the most essential returnee is quarterback Devin Leary, whose 7:1 TD-INT ratio last year is third-best among returning Power 5 quarterbacks and was the best in the ACC since 2018. In addition, his 35 touchdowns were a school record. 

The NC State momentum has been building for a while now, as its 13 conference wins over the last two seasons are second only to Clemson’s 14. 

BetMGM is the lone 10.5 out there, as all other sportsbooks are at least at NC State -11, so be sure to shop for the best value.

Ohio State -15.5 (-110) ★★★★★

Welcome to head coaching, Marcus Freeman. Freeman took over for the departed Brian Kelly at Notre Dame and watched his team squander a 28-7 lead in last year’s Fiesta Bowl. This is his first taste of head coaching in the regular season against one of the two favorites to win the national championship.

Freeman led Notre Dame to a top-15 scoring defense as coordinator last year, but his unit was exposed by Oklahoma State, who put up 37 points against them in that aforementioned Fiesta Bowl.

If the Fighting Irish couldn't contain the Cowboys, how do they figure to hold up against Ohio State, who led the FBS in scoring (45.7 ppg) and total offense last season, and returns 80% of its production?

Ohio State has arguably the best quarterback (CJ Stroud), running back (TreVeyon Henderson), and wide receiver (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) in the country. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish head into the season with Tyler Buchner at quarterback, who heads into a hostile environment with just 46 pass attempts to his name. He will be without his best wide receiver, Avery Davis, who suffered a torn ACL in practice. He also could be without four-year offensive line starter Jarrett Patterson, who is questionable with a foot sprain. Thus, Notre Dame’s longest active road winning streak (10 games) is toast.

While most other sportsbooks have shot up to -17, FanDuel has yet to catch up, making it the best sportsbook to shop for Ohio State backers in Week 1.

Where to Bet on College Football Top ATS Bets of Week 1

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel Sportsbook
Caesars Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook
PointsBet
BetMGM

SEE ALSO: All picks, odds, and sports betting news. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.

College football top ATS bets from 8/28/2022 at 4:54 p.m. ET.