Week 1 of the 2022 college football season has finally arrived with a number of enticing matchups, including a Top-5 showdown between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Notre Dame, along with the highly anticipated matchup between No. 11 Oregon and No. 3 Georgia.
Below we preview a few of the top games of the weekend and offer our best parlay picks for Week 1.
Week 1 college football parlay picks
- Arkansas -7 (+105) + ND vs OSU Over 59 (-110) = +291
- Florida +2.5 (+100) + Oregon vs. Georgia Under 52.5 (-105) = +290
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Parlay Pick 1
PARLAY: Arkansas -7 (+105) + Notre Dame vs. Ohio State Over 59 (-110) = +291 (at DraftKings)
Arkansas -7 (+105)
The Cincinnati Bearcats are in rebuild mode after becoming the first Group of Five team to make the College Football Playoff. Quarterback Desmond Ridder was just one of a record nine Cincinnati players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, leaving major holes to fill on Luke Fickell’s squad.
Either redshirt senior Ben Bryant or redshirt sophomore Evan Prater will get the start in Week 1 against an Arkansas defense that ranked fifth in the SEC in passing yards allowed last season.
On offense, the Hogs were a run-first team, averaging an SEC-high 227.8 rushing yards per contest, with junior dual-threat QB KJ Jefferson (2,676 passing yards, 664 rushing) leading the way.
The Bearcats are 1-4 against the spread in their last five road games, while the Razorbacks are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games overall and 4-1 ATS in their last five non-conference games.
Notre Dame vs Ohio State Over 59 (-110)
Ohio State missed the College Football Playoff last season behind an 11-2 record, with losses to Oregon and Michigan in the regular season. But, the No. 2 team in the nation has plenty of hope for a return to college football’s biggest stage, with Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud back to lead the offense, with running back TreVeyon Henderson and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba by his side.
PFN's Top 100 CFB Players in 2022:
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) August 25, 2022
1) C.J. Stroud, QB, @OhioStateFB
With Stroud, TreVeyon Henderson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, there is no telling just how high this OSU team can fly this fall.
One thing is for sure: You won't want to miss any of the Buckeyes' games in 2022. pic.twitter.com/piyQ43kZIx
The offense will be tough for any team to handle, and the home-field advantage of the Horseshoe is going to present a challenge for Notre Dame and new head coach Marcus Freeman. The Irish will also play behind a new starting quarterback in Tyler Buchner, who appeared in 10 games as a freshman last year.
Buchner may be playing without left guard Jarrett Patterson, who’s dealing with a foot sprain, which could cause some issues against Ohio State’s revamped defense under the guidance of new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, previously with Oklahoma State.
The Irish may have trouble reaching the end zone but the Buckeyes, alone, can push this total Over 59. The team has scored 40 or more points in 38 games since 2017 and hasn’t had a season opener go Under 59 points since 2014.
Parlay Pick 2
PARLAY: Florida +2.5 (+100) + Oregon vs. Georgia Under 52.5 (-105) = +290 (at FanDuel)
Florida +2.5 (+100)
Former Louisiana coach Billy Napier will attempt to revive a floundering Florida program in his first year as head coach and gets a steep test against No. 7 Utah in the season opener. Luckily, Napier has home-field advantage on his side, and few places are tougher to play at than the Swamp.
The Gators own the longest active season-opening home win streak in the FBS, with 32 victories since 1990. Florida also hasn’t seen a new head coach lose his debut since Charley Pell in 1979.
To defeat Utah, the Gators will need a huge performance from quarterback Anthony Richardson — who ranked ninth among quarterbacks in the FBS with 57.3 rushing yards per contest — and the defense to step up and stop the run.
The Utes’ history on the road also bodes well for Florida. Utah is 2-8 in its last 10 games away from home against teams that finished with a winning record.
Oregon vs Georgia Under 52.5 (-105)
Oregon pulled off an upset over Ohio State early in the 2021 season and will now look to unseat the reigning national champions in Georgia territory.
The Ducks have a new coach in former Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning and a new quarterback — either Auburn transfer Bo Nix or redshirt-freshman Ty Thompson — but the defense has experience and talent.
Kirby Smart not fretting over Oregon Ducks unnamed starting QB: ‘I know who the quarterback is going to be’https://t.co/CEW78HVc76
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) August 29, 2022
We all know what to expect from Georgia’s stop unit, even after the Bulldogs lost a number of players to the NFL. This will be a battle of one defensive powerhouse against a Ducks defense primed to dominate FBS in the years to come.
The Under is 8-3 in Georgia’s last 11 games overall, and with the uncertainties with Oregon’s new offense, it’s unlikely the Ducks will blow past the Bulldogs.
