3 underdogs to bet on for Week 1 of the 2022 college football season

Get ready for wall-to-wall action for Week 1 of the college football season, which began on Thursday and ends Monday night.

The opening weekend is the lone stretch where football fans can solely focus on college, as the NFL season will get underway next week. This is a good thing, too, because there are plenty of marquee matchups on deck in college football this weekend.

Betting lines for this week’s games have been out for quite some time, and most of my bets were placed earlier at numbers that have since moved. But for those wishing to make some last-minute plays, I have added a few underdogs round out my Week 1 betting card and make things more entertaining this weekend.

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Buffalo at Maryland, 11 a.m. Saturday

Lance Leipold left Buffalo in the late spring and the Bulls turned to Maurice Linguist in May before a 4-8 season. Now with a full offseason of preparation, Buffalo should be more suited to hit the ground running.

There are a lot of new faces on this Buffalo roster after the team brought in the highest-rated class in school history. But most of the returners are on the defensive side of the ball, which is a good thing since Maryland will test them through the air. The Bulls allowed 221.2 yards per game last year, a mark that ranked fifth in the conference.

The Bulls have little shot of winning this game, but my power ratings suggest that this is too many points for the season opener.

My bet: Buffalo +24.5

Middle Tennessee at James Madison, 6 p.m. Saturday

James Madison is favored by nearly a touchdown, which might be giving this team too much credit in its introduction to the FBS. The Dukes do have plenty of veterans returning after going 12-2 and recording a FCS semifinal appearance in 2021.

Middle Tennessee, meanwhile, is switching to an Air Raid offense under new coordinator Mitch Stewart, and he’s got an experienced group of receivers to lean on within this new system. The Blue Raiders also brought in a pair of transfer running backs from Big 12 programs, with Joe Ervin (Kansas State) and A’Varius Sparrow (West Virginia) coming to town.

I make this game closer to a toss-up than the current spread would indicate, so give me the points in this matchup.

My bet: Middle Tennessee

Kent State at Washington, 9:30 p.m. Saturday

Gone is 2021 MAC Player of the Year Dustin Crum, who graduated after leading the Golden Flashes to an average of 33 points per game. But reports suggest Collin Schlee is up to the task of replacing Crum at quarterback. Schlee has been at Kent State since signing as a three-star prospect out of Maryland a few years ago, and it is his turn to show what he can do.

Luckily for Schlee, he has a 1,000-yard receiver to throw to in Dante Cephas. He also has running back Marquez Cooper in the backfield after running for 1,205 yards last season. Washington should win this game, but don’t be surprised if Kent State stays within striking distance for much of this late-night contest.

My bet: Kent State +23