Early College Football Opening Lines: Best Bets for Week 0, Week 1, and Ohio State-Texas

The first college football games of the 2026 season aren't until Aug. 29, but six games already have early college football opening lines, and I'm breaking down the early betting odds with my best bets for each matchup.

Among the games with early lines are the College Football Brasil matchup in Rio de Janeiro, the Aer Lingus Classic in Dublin, and Ohio State vs. Texas in Week 2. 

🏈 Opening college football lines

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💰 Early college football best bets

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NC State vs. Virginia

• Date: Saturday, Aug. 29
• Location: Nilton Santos Stadium (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
• Early pick: NC State +3.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Virginia is getting far too much respect with the early odds. While Tony Elliott's program is coming off a trip to the ACC Championship, it's losing several key players, including starting QB Chandler Morris and All-ACC running back J'Mari Taylor. 

Meanwhile, NC State returns one of the best QBs in the country in CJ Bailey. With Bailey back, the Wolfpack will be a tough out in the first-ever college game played in South America. I'd expect this to be closer to a pick'em by August, so it's worth betting NC State early.

North Carolina vs. TCU

• Date: Saturday, Aug. 29
• Location: Aviva Stadium (Dublin, Ireland)
• Early pick: TCU -7.5 (-115) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In a rematch of last year's opener, TCU should dismantle Bill Belichick's North Carolina program again, but this time the Horned Frogs get to do it abroad. Nothing about Belichick's first season in college should give any hope about a rebuild in Chapel Hill, especially with how transfer-dependent UNC will be again.

And while TCU lost QB Josh Hoover to Indiana, Sonny Dykes added a top replacement in Harvard's Jaden Craig. However, it might be worth holding off on betting on this matchup early. I wouldn't be surprised to see the public blindly back UNC again and sway the spread.

Baylor vs. Auburn

• Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
• Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
• Early pick: Auburn -7.5 (-106) ⭐⭐⭐

Neither of these teams will look like they did last year when Auburn beat Baylor by 14 in Waco. The Tigers have a new head coach in Alex Golesh, and a whole lot of additions via the transfer portal, including Byrum Brown (who played for Golesh at South Florida) and former Baylor star running back Bryson Washington.

The Bears added former Florida QB DJ Lagway, as well as a half dozen other potential starters. But it's hard to get a strong read on either team this early, so for now I lean toward Auburn with the clear offensive advantage.

Clemson vs. LSU

• Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
• Location: Tiger Stadium (Baton Rouge, La.)
• Early pick: Clemson +10.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lane Kiffin's first game coaching LSU is a doozy, as the Tigers hope to win the second round of the battle of Death Valley after beating Clemson last year. But despite having the No. 1 transfer portal class, being favored by double digits with an essentially brand-new roster is a little crazy.

Sure, Dabo Swinney's Tigers have taken a step back, but this team is talented. Clemson returns one of the best wide receiver corps in the country, a former blue-chip QB and running back, and several All-ACC-level defenders.

Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame

• Date: Sunday, Sept. 6
• Location: Lambeau Field (Green Bay, Wis.)
• Early pick: Notre Dame -16.5 (-115) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Although Wisconsin seems to be reinvesting in Luke Fickell with additions like QB Colton Joseph in the transfer portal, Notre Dame is going to come in hot in its first game after being left out of the College Football Playoff. Not only do the Fighting Irish have the co-favorite by the Heisman Trophy odds, but they're consistently one of the best teams ATS.

During Marcus Freeman's tenure, Notre Dame is 45-19 ATS, and with what they return defensively (Leonard Moore, Boubacar Traore), Wisconsin is in for a tough day at Lambeau. This spread is definitely worth betting early.

Ohio State vs. Texas

• Date: Saturday, Sept. 12
• Location: DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas)
• Early pick: Texas -2.5 (-115) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Last year, when these two college football national championship odds favorites squared off, Ohio State won 14-7. The story then was how badly Arch Manning struggled, but he was a different player down the stretch last year, racking up 19 TDs in his final six games while leading Texas to a 5-1 record.

Ohio State, on the other hand, struggled down the stretch with Julian Sayin looking shaky in big games. The Buckeyes have also lost multiple All-Americans on defense for the second straight season. I'd bet Texas now, with the Longhorns likely to be closer to -4.5 by September.