Michael Holley reacts to the final preseason game for the Patriots and how far it seems Mac Jones has fallen in his year two progression this summer.
College football officially started this past weekend, but the real action begins Thursday night when the first Week 1 games featuring top 25 ranked teams are played.
There are a bunch of awesome matchups on tap, including several featuring two ranked teams.
The best game is arguably No. 5 Notre Dame traveling to Columbus to play Heisman Trophy hopeful CJ Stroud and No. 2 Ohio State. We also have a Pac-12 vs. SEC showdown when No. 11 Oregon plays the defending champion and No. 3 ranked Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Oregon beat No. 3 Ohio State on the road in Week 2 last season, so these Ducks players should have plenty of confidence they can pull off another upset.
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North Carolina State (-11 at East Carolina) and Utah (-3 at Florida) are the only ranked teams listed as road favorites this week (excluding neutral site games). Homefield advantage is often a significant factor early in the season.
Here are the opening betting lines, via PointsBet, for the Week 1 games involving teams in the AP Top 25 poll.
Thursday, Sept. 1
NCAAF
West Virginia at No. 17 Pittsburgh (-7.5)
Central Michigan at No. 12 Oklahoma State (-20.5)
VMI at No. 22 Wake Forest (no line yet)
Friday, Sept. 2
Western Michigan at No. 15 Michigan State (-22)
Saturday, Sept. 3
Colorado State at No. 8 Michigan (-27.5)
No. 11 Oregon at No. 3 Georgia (-17.5)
No. 23 Cincinnati at No. 19 Arkansas (-6)
UTEP at No. 9 Oklahoma (-31.5)
Rice at No. 14 USC (-33.5)
No. 7 Utah (-3) at Florida
Utah State at No. 1 Alabama (-41)
No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 2 Ohio State (-17.5)
Miami (OH) at No. 20 Kentucky (-17)
Albany at No. 10 Baylor (no line yet)
Illinois State at No. 18 Wisconsin (no line yet)
Troy at No. 21 Ole Miss (-17.5)
Bethune-Cookman at No. 16 Miami (no line yet)
No. 13 NC State (-11) at East Carolina
Monday, Sept. 5
No. 4 Clemson (-22) at Georgia Tech
