2026 CFB: Week 0 First Look

College football is almost back and while Week 0 doesn't have the massive slate we will see once September gets rolling, there are still some interesting spots for bettors who are willing to look deeper than just the team names.

The biggest challenge with early season college football is that there is always a lot of uncertainty - perhaps more than any other league or sport with the exception of college basketball. Rosters have changed, transfers have reshaped teams, new coaches are bringing in new systems and we really don't know which teams are ready to hit the ground running until the ball is finally kicked off.

But that's also where the early season betting edge usually comes from.

The public tends to focus on returning stars, recruiting rankings, and what teams did last season - everything you would read in the annual preview magazines. The sharper approach is looking at quarterback situations, returning production, coaching continuity and which teams have the biggest question marks heading into season openers.

The headline game of Week 0 takes place in Ireland as North Carolina faces TCU. Both teams have plenty of talent, but both also have questions heading into the season - Bill Bellichick's Tar Heels in particular. Bellichick claims that his team is 'way ahead' of where it was a year ago and while you would have to assume that would be the case, it remains to be seen how it translates to the field. The international travel angle is something bettors need to consider as well. Teams have to deal with a different schedule, a different environment, and a lot of distractions leading up to kickoff. The Dublin game is without question a unique handicap each year.

USC will also draw plenty of attention when it takes on San Jose State. Everyone knows the Trojans can score points, but the question that has followed this program for years is whether the defense can hold up against better competition. San Jose State has become a very respectable program and is not the type of opponent that can simply be overlooked. Of course, the pointspread indicates otherwise in this particular matchup with the Trojans currently laying 30+ points.

Of course a big mistake casual bettors can make in Week 0 is assuming the bigger program automatically equals a good bet. These early season games are where inflated spreads can create value on the underdog side, especially when a team is getting points despite having experience and continuity.

Motivation is another major factor. A Power Four team might be focused on a conference championship or playoff run, while a smaller program sees this as their biggest opportunity of the season. That doesn't mean blindly betting underdogs, but it does mean doing the extra work before laying big numbers.

The other thing I will be watching closely is quarterback play. In college football, more than any other sport, the quarterback position can completely change the outlook of a team. A new starter can turn a contender into a question mark, while an experienced quarterback can make a team much more dangerous than the market expects.

Week 0 is not about trying to prove you know which teams are going to make the playoff. It's about finding the teams that are ready to play right now and uncovering edges in pointspreads that have plenty of uncertainty baked in but perhaps not sufficiently so.

Teams with returning production, coaching continuity and stability at quarterback are usually the ones that have the biggest advantage early in the season but the oddsmakers know that as well. Doing your homework ahead of the season kickoff is critical if you're interested in tackling Week 0 and a little bit of luck never hurts either.