The longest offseason in North American sports is finally over (if it’s not the longest in days, it’s the longest in feels). While gimmicky and and usually uninspiring, Week 0 whets the appetite and puts tens of millions of fans on notice that their own team’s debut is less than a week away. The 2024 slate offers a marquee ACC matchup across the pond in Dublin, with Georgia Tech (+10.5) sacrificing their home date with FSU for the spotlight. Stateside there are three games, the last of which being a midnight (ET) kick in Hawaii (-40). Continuing the ACC theme in primetime is SMU (-27) at Nevada, and in between is the rarely seen 2 TD FCS road favorite Montana St (-13.5) at New Mexico in Bronco Mendenhall’s return to the sidelines for NMU. Because of the slim pickings tomorrow, I’m going to also explore plays for opening night of Week 1, Thursday August 29th. Four total plays including the traditional 2 unit Best Bet press seems like an appropriate opening set.

Bet 1: FSU-GT Under 55.5 (-110) (11:00am CT Sat 8/24, ESPN; all odds via ESPN Bet)

I remain a committed skeptic of DJ Uiagalelei’s, while still holding tremendous respect for Mike Norvell and thinking the Noles got jobbed by the CFP committee last year (and in so doing, destroying all defenses of the old 4-team format). Strength vs strength will be when FSU’s defense is on the field, and I’m seeing GT coming in with a clearly defined game plan to protect Haynes King, while preferring to run. While it won’t result in GT just driving down the field repeatedly, I think it results in ball and clock movement that gets bogged down in the red zone. The same should be true of several FSU drives if GT (with new DC Tyler Santucci, formerly at Duke) can force DJU to need to make plays on third down. On a continent that prefers soccer, a field goal fest along the lines of 30-16 will be fitting.

Bet 2: New Mexico +13.5 (-105) vs Montana St (3:00pm CT Sat 8/24, FS1; all odds via ESPN Bet)

I’ll start by saying that waiting closer to kickoff is definitely the move, since this line has moved an incredible way all the way from opening at MTST -4.5. The second point of order is reinforcing that MTST is not Montana, who made it all the way to the FCS title game last year. On the contrary, this team lost 37-7 to them last November. The crazy line movement, and MTST’s FCS Coaches Poll rank of #4, aren’t for nothing. But this spread could easily inch to 14 before kickoff. Mendenhall isn’t taking over a stocked cupboard, but his hands weren’t tied by a pre-portal set of rules either. Both NMU and GT are tempting moneyline shots because of the high variance Week 0 offers, but I think it more likely that this just ends up being a fairly close game with a home team on maximum effort to start a new era.

Bet 3: North Dakota St +270 moneyline at Colorado (7:00pm CT Thurs 8/29, ESPN; all odds via ESPN Bet)

Sure, why not? One of the three FCS teams ranked higher than the aforementioned Montana St to pull off the upset, a total contrast to Deion’s shocking upset of TCU to start last year. There’s some concern with it being a new coaching staff for the Bison – Tim Polasek returning to Fargo after nearly a decade split between Iowa and Wyoming. But these Dakota FCS powerhouses are more resilient than one would seem. NDSU won’t be taken likely, but there is definitely potential for a significant asymmetry in motivation and focus that could play to their advantage. Worth a shot.

Best Bet (2 units): North Carolina +2.5 (-105) at Minnesota (7:00pm CT Thurs 8/29, FOX; all odds via ESPN Bet)

Mack Brown has been coy in declining to name Max Johnson QB1, saying talented sophomore Connor Harrell will probably play too. Either way, I’m high on their chances in this game. Fleck talks a good game, but they were pretty ugly last November. Max Brosmer is in as QB1 for the Gophers after racking up numbers at FCS New Hampshire, but those numbers didn’t crush the competition in a 6-5 campaign. Other than 2019, Fleck’s teams have been one-note run dominant. It’ll take yet to be re-seen creativity to knock off a Mack Brown team with an offseason to prepare.

Good luck to all!