Kickoff 2024: College Football Begins with FSU vs Georgia Tech

Introduction to the 2024 College Football Season You have made it. Tomorrow is the start of the 2024 college football season. It's why the shirt reads College football, period. It is not the greatest week zero slate we have ever seen in the history of CFB. It's not even the best week zero slate we have seen in the last few seasons, but we do have an ACC affair with a Florida State vs. Georgia Tech: Betting Insights preseason top ten team to kick off the 2024 campaign tomorrow in Ireland. It's the Dublin debut of 10th ranked Florida State and Georgia Tech in ACC clash to begin 2024. In college football, that from a betting perspective, has been a fascinating case study in the last week and a half, Florida State top ten team in the preseason perfect undefeated and an ACC champ entering the bowl season last year, the Seminoles opened as a 13.5 point favorite. Donnie. They're still favored by double digits, expected to win the game outright in a large way over the yellow Jackets. But 13.5, about ten days ago, has now become closer to single digits than two touchdowns. Only a ten and a half point spread total 55.5. Where do you fall on the eve of the 2024 college football season? Yeah, we talked about it in the last week when that line was 11.5, and I did like Georgia Tech because there'a lot of, you know, we don't know what's going to take place. Breaking a new quarterback for Florida State. You're not exactly playing a Doak Campbell either. You are across seas here. So neither one of these teams is used to playing in that environment. Maybe it will be a little bit sloppy right off the top, but also what you can't deny. Sometimes we're looking at like professional handicappers, right? We say, okay, the season's just starting. The public usually has an eye on the game going, oh, which way do we want to go here? And as Ben just pointed out, this line was hovering around two touchdowns here. Let's just call it 13.5. Now this line sits at ten and a half at the FanDuel sports book. If you go right to the FanDuel sports book and click on statistics for this game betting statistics. That is 72% of the tickets coming in on Florida State, 69% of the money coming in on Florida State, 13.5 down to ten and a half. That means some sharp action is coming in the opposite way on Georgia Tech. Does it always win? No it doesn't, but I always like these false flag type games. Saying everybody you talk to typically likes Florida State and then you say, well, why wouldn't that line be going from 13.5? And to 17.5, not 13.5 back down to ten and a half. It's just those little betting intricacies that we see early in the season that you pay attention to. But a lot of people like Florida State, but can't answer for why that line is actually dropping here. Yeah, it is really interesting. We shared some insights from those around the sports betting landscape earlier in the week that a lot of the sharp money, that big market moving money is on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who enter year number two fully under Brant Key, who played his college football on the defensive side of the ball there in Atlanta, Georgia, for Georgia Tech interim head coach in 2022 after Jeff Collins was dismissed, led Georgia Tech to a four and four season in his tenure, seven and six last year with a bowl victory and maybe most two touchdown spread in ag conference game. Georgia Tech was seven and two Analyzing Player Props and Betting Strategies against the number as an underdog a season ago, Florida State favored 11 times last year, six and five against the spread to Donnie's point. DJ Uiagalelei is now the quarterback for FSU, a guy with plenty of college football and ACC experience 48 games in his career. A 30 and ten record as a starter last season in Corvallis at Oregon State. The first three years of his tenure at Clemson. Donnie, when you look at some of the props that are available, one of the other reasons at I think a lot of people are looking at Georgia Tech is the consistency of a promising young head coach in Brant Key in the quarterback of Haynes King being back for a second straight season, 187, in a hook is his passing yards prop FSU sixth best passing defense in the country. A season ago and their two All-ACC performers in the secondary do return this year, but it's also his legs. Haynes King over 700 yards on the ground last year, ten rushing scores, his rushing yards, prop 42.5 against Florida State's defense. Yeah, and the tough part about that too is we ale if you are on the FanDuel ss book looking at players rushing. Boy, Ben just told you this guy is an unbelievable runner 42.5. That's really easy. We'll understand this. Florida State's got some weapons in that front seven. And they put pressure on you. Which means you take sacks. That goes away from your rushing yards. So theoretically you can have 100 yards on the ground as a quarterback and say Ben, why did he wind up with 62 yards? Well, because that's what happens here in college football. I don't know why they've ever not done away with that rule. Just one of those quirks they have. Same thing with DJ you out there 20.5 rushing yards here. Oh that should be easy here. But also take into account that the favorites. You might take knees at the end of the football game, but also if you take sacks you will le that. But most of these are correlated. If you think Georgia Tech is going to hang around and win this game, Haynes King is probably going to be a big deal. There throwing the football for close to 200 yards and or rushing. If he goes under those two totals, I doubt the fact that they're going to be hanging around this football game within single digits here. But also it is the first game. You're taking a lot of leaps here. As Ben pointed out, sometimes just having that quarterback in the system back for another year after having some success here, you can look to take that leap into the second year. And the question marks more from Florida State side. Do we know Florida State has better football players? Of course we do. But it's just a matter of that game against Georgia. A lot of talent left the building breaking in a new quarterback overseas. Sometimes that's a little bit more to deal with here. And that line we know Ben. It wouldn't be ten and a half. It was at Doak Campbell. It would be well over two touchdowns as a favorite for Florida State. It's a unique spot of course for both Florida State and Georgia Tech to start a season in week zero all the way over in Ireland. FSU of course, has a lot of new faces, not just their quarterback in D.J. Uiagalelei, but also transfer running back from Alabama. His name is Roydell Williams. We'll talk a couple of more props on the other side of the break, but just so you get the understanding of where the Noles are entering this year, of course, Florida State was one of the stories of 2023, one of 15 undefeated Power Five conference champions in the history, the ten year history of the college football Playoff, and the only one of those 15 to be left out of the CFP. They are the favorites to win the ACC this year. A plus 320 price. It is considered a three team race between FSU, Clemson and Miami and a plus 160 number for the Noles to reach the College Football Playoff nine and a half. The win total the under has the juice. Donnie. If you had to pick the ACC champion entering 2024, is it this Florida State team or is it another team from the Sunshine State? I would yea, I would probably say, look, Florida State is too easy for me to attack right now. A lot of changes though. Clemson I think is going to be in the mix. And certainly the Miami Hurricanes with that new backfield, if you will, quarterback and running back. I think it's Week Zero Matchups and Predictions that year where Miami actually can play a factor in the ACC. Live right here on the early line on a football Friday on the eve of the 2024 college football campaign that starts in Dublin, 10th ranked Florida State and Georgia Tech and ACC affair to get us started in 24. Just want to make this point. We'll have some bets a little bit later on for you. Roydell Williams, new transfer running back for FSU in a two man backfield that also features Lawrence Toafili, who was big for FSU in the ACC Championship game. We'll look at their rushing yards props, but it ll be an area of attack for me. Doctors, as Georgia Tech had the third worst rushing defense in FBS college football. There were 133 teams playing FBS college football last year, and Georgia Tech had the third worst rushing defense, allowing 226 yards per game. Yeah and you know what's funny about that, too? Because I remember a couplef years ago, I can't remember the exact the Mayan, Mayan Williams. Like, I'll probably be getting this wrong for Ohio State. The reason I'm bringing it up is they had one of their first games and. Kevin. Yeah. Kevin. Why We're on the air. He was supposed to be the starter, so his number was like 101 yards. Like, yeah, he should be ableo run wild and like that game that he was plummeting like a rock because it was understood he wasn't actually the starting running back. The only reason I bring this up is because you try to educate the public on day, like, it's not like the NFL where it's like, no, hold on. No, Nixon's not getting the carries for the Texans. Kenneth Gainwell starting over Saquon Barkley. We don't really get those surprises, but you do get them in college football. So I'm interested to see like we're almost what, 24 hours or so away from game time. Yeah I'm looking at those numbers now. And you say to yourself Toafili, they're 42.5 yards. Roydell Williams 67.5. I want to see where those line up here. And if they stay the same, because I always remember statistics like that. Like hey, running back number one on the depth chart, he should get all the bulk of the carries to be like, hey, the guy is getting carries late in the fourth quarter. What actually happens here? So just a word to the wise at that point that they're probably going to get the bulk, but it's going to be interesting to see where those Challenges of Betting on College Football numbers wind up right before we get to game time. Because as I like to say, somebody probably knows something of what that rotation is actually going to be and who's going to be the lead ball carrier and get the majority of the carries. Prop betting in college football is still a relatively new phenomenon, which can mean that you have some edges if you hit it right and you are in the know. Or it could be the most frustrating thing you have ever done because availability and injury reports are not commonplace, or at least did not useto be a common occurrence in college football. More so now instituted on a conference by conference basis. It can also be incredibly frustrating when you bet a quarterback and the over of his rushing yards prop, only to see him get sacked twice late in the game and then the number two stay under elsewhere in week zero. Doctors. We've got three other games on the week zero slate, a new ACC team in SMU travels out to Nevada. What's surprising about this SMU earlier this week, a 27.5 point favorite. Now it's 24. In a hook. Only the wolf pack getting some love in the market Delaware State. We are happy to report, has landed out on the islands and off the mainland. Hawaii, though a 39.5 point favorite against the Hornets. Braden Schrager is back for the rainbow Wars under Timmy Chang. They are going to toss that ball all aroundhe yard. And Montana State is an FCS powerhouse at least has been that way under Brant Vegan the past few years. A 32 and nine record. Donny. It's not often though, you see an FCS team ballooning to a two touchdown favorite virtually against the FBS school in action in the gamn New Mexico. Yeah, that's a tough look right there for a team that's supposed to be the better team and playing at home and getting two touchdowns, it's like you're supposed to open up with cupcakes on your schedule as a major Division one team. Now granted, are they power five? Not necessarily, but they're still Division one. That's tough, but also I've always like I've never been to Hawaii. So let's just say I've been told multiple times I live on the East Coast. I want to go to Hawaii. Donny, you're going to need at least two weeks, because that flight out there is a pain that flight out their back is a pain. You want to be able to relax and like, get your mind about you. So we're led to believe that Delaware State is flying from the East coast out to Hawaii, playing a football game right away and flying back. I mean, that just seems like the ultimate fate at this point. And when you do here, you're playing at Hawaii. It's got to be cool for a college. Hey man, we're at Hawaii. That's going to be really neat. It's not as if you're flying out there to lay on the beach for 6 or 7 days, get some work in and play a game. That's a business. And I can't imagine flying to the West Coast, then flying once again. I gosh, that's too much for me, man. Where are their legs going to be in that game? Goodness, yeah, it's going to be difficult. I can't believe it's only a 24.5 point spread in favor of the Stangs against Nevada. It's still more than three scores. It's four scores. But SMU, an 11 win team that has the 11th most returning production 7 of their team back from last year, including virtually their entire offense and quarterback Preston Stone is only a favorite now against Nevada, who has won just two games each of the past two years. Braden Schrager, by the way, for Hawaii 297 and a hook the passing ya