Philly Front Office

[Editor’s Note: Joe is new here. Don’t believe a word he says about me]

Let me start by saying that I absolutely love college football. There is not much better in life than having a full slate of games starting Saturday morning and going through midnight Sunday. The pageantry, the rivalries, the preposterous amounts of points scored in certain games, the hilarious coaching decisions, and of course, the gambling. I always say college football is my absolute favorite thing to watch because I have no real allegiance to any team. I simply gamble my ass off every week and enjoy every second of it. The NFL, and more specifically the Eagles, are far and away my top sports passion. But with all the joy that it can bring, it also brings a ton of stress to my life. That sounds kind of sad when I type it out, but that’s just how I was born and raised. It’s in my blood.

With Ed really diving into Philly Front Office (and because I was a star on two podcasts earlier this year for the site), I asked him if he would be willing to let me put out a weekly college football gambling article. He enthusiastically said “yes”, so here I am. We’ll see how much he regrets it in a couple of weeks. The good news for me is that I don’t care if he regrets it because I technically own 51% of Philly Front Office until he decides he’s going to repay me for his ticket to Eagles vs. Packers in Lambeau later this year.

My plan is to highlight 5 games each week and post my best bets. Within each week’s list, I will include my Game of the Week because, let’s be honest, life’s better when you have action on the Game of the Week.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Texas at Ohio State (-1.5, o/u 47.5)

Oh baby, game of the week, or game of the season? Never has the preseason #1 and #2 played each other in the opening weekend.

Texas is absolutely loaded. The golden child Arch Manning is finally taking over full time as QB1 and I, for one, couldn’t be more excited to watch him this season. Texas is far and away the richest football program and they are absolutely using this to their advantage in the NIL era. Did you know that the University of Texas owns 2.1 million acres of land in West Texas which they lease to oil & gas companies, thus generating huge annual sums of revenue? Good luck trying to keep up with Big Oil!

The Buckeyes are obviously the defending champs. They also boast probably the two best players in college football in Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs, but they also lost 14 players to the NFL and have a coach who paints his beard.

Texas has revenge on their minds after losing in the College Football Playoff to the Buckeyes last year. Ohio State being at home is a major advantage and the line of the game reflects that. Regardless, I think this game means much more for the Longhorns (check out their schedule this year, they need this win), plus they are the more talented team with the better QB.

Give me the Longhorns money line at +110.

New Mexico at Michigan (-34.5, o/u 49.5)

New Mexico is not going to score in this game. Don’t overthink this one.

Take Michigan -34.5 and thank me later.

Nevada at Penn State (-44, o/u 56.5)

I don’t know much about Nevada but I do know that they stink. They went 3-10 last year playing in the Mountain West and get the impossible assignment in Week 1 of having to travel to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Lions. They are going to get crushed.

Penn State is coming into this season with sky high expectations. If James Franklin can’t get it done with this squad, he’s going to get fired. He’s also known to run up scores with reckless abandon.

Penn State’s offensive line, skill position players, and quarterback are all very good. They are going to score at will.

I’m hammering Penn State -44 and will play this up to -49.

LSU at Clemson (-3.5, o/u 57.5)

This is another battle of true bluebloods in week 1. Each team’s fanbase expects these programs to go undefeated every season and therefore this game is huge. Each program also has a very unlikeable head coach. Brian Kelly is the absolute worst.

Clemson comes in with a preseason #3 ranking, a Heisman favorite at QB, and a top defense. LSU is obviously always loaded with talent and also have a Heisman favorite at QB of their own. In reviewing preseason power ratings, these two teams are generally pretty close to one another in all publications.

I don’t love either side here but given it’s opening weekend and a night game, I fully expect both teams to come out hot.

If LSU can weather the early storm on the road, they will cover. Take the points, put the kids to bed, and enjoy this one.

Hawai’i at Arizona (-17.5, o/u 52.5)

Hawai’i plays on opening weekend (8/23) at home against Stanford. Hawai’i is 8-0 ATS their last 8 home games so the trend obviously screams them covering in their home opener. What I am banking on here is a letdown spot for the Rainbows as they have to travel to Arizona to play a team that typically also plays strong at home.

Give me Zona -17.5.