The college football season kicks off on Saturday with a spate of quality games and we have our best NCAAF betting picks available.

Action starts with Nebraska vs Northwestern and continues later in the day with Wyoming vs Illinois and Vanderbilt vs Hawaii.

Saturday College Football Picks

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Nebraska vs Northwestern @ Aviva Stadium

Most of the money has come for the Nebraska Cornhuskers to get the job done and open their season with a win.

They didn’t impress last season when losing their last five games. However, most of their games came against tough opponents such as Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio State.

We’re prepared to overlook those losses and they have rebuilt nicely for the 2022 year.

Northwestern is the $5.60 underdog, so there isn’t much confidence with the outsiders. The Wildcats also finished their 2021 season dreadfully and we’re not sure if they’re done enough in the offseason to turn it around.

The last game was a 47-14 loss to Illinois, so we’re confident with Nebraska winning on opening night and covering the 13.5 spread.

Bet: Nebraska –13.5 @ $1.90

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Wyoming vs Illinois @ Memorial Stadium

Illinois showed plenty of character last season and it could start the 2022 season with a big road win over Wyoming.

The Fighting Illini closed out with a 47-14 win over Northwestern and they didn’t play too poorly when losing to Iowa 33-23 in an important conference game.

They also scored big-time wins over Penn State and Minnesota, who were ranked at the time and those wins hold them in good stead.

Players leaving for the NFL is always a concern, but Illinois has recruited well and that’s why they’re firm $1.14 favourites to win their opening game against the Cowboys.

Wyoming typically plays against much easier opposition in the Mountain West Conference. We don’t expect that level of opposition to match up with the likes of the Big Ten, which features Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

We thought bookmakers would have the line around –19.5, so we’re happy with the –12.5 for Illinois and that line could move significantly on game day.

Bet: Illinois –12.5 @ $1.90

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Vanderbilt vs Hawaii @ Clarence Athletics Complex

There isn’t expected to be much between Vanderbilt and Hawaii, in what should be a physical contest.

The Commodores showed little towards the end of the 2021 season, including five consecutive losses to the likes of Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

They were facing tough teams but we expected more from Vanderbilt. However, expectations are high in 2022 as it starts its season as $1.28 favourites. Bookmakers have them short to win the game outright, but there’s only 8.5 points between them with spread markets.

Hawaii is never an easy opponent. It has competed against tough teams and played well in the early games, so that could be on the cards this Sunday.

Our worry for Hawaii is a lack of offence. It comes up against a high-scoring Vanderbilt, so it might need to score around 25+ points to win. Therefore, we’re taking the Commodores to cover the spread.

Bet: Vanderbilt -8.5 @ $1.89

About the Author: Daryl Curnow

After graduating from the University of Auckland (BA – English), Daryl was thrown into the world of sports and horse racing journalism.
Having worked as a racing journalist for two years, he decided to move into the online world of horse racing and sports writing. Coupled with his love of US sport, Daryl’s picks have been featured on various websites around the world and viewed by millions of readers. After years of honing his craft, Daryl became a professional punter in 2009 – with a focus on horse racing, NBA, NFL, and college sports. When he’s not working, Daryl tries to avoid making bogeys on the golf course.