College Football Week 1 Odds & Picks: California vs. North Texas (Saturday)

The beauty of college football is in its unpredictability. Each year, we get crazy upsets, even in Week 1 when there are often some lopsided lines. In this weekly piece I'll highlight a few plays I like where the long-shot underdog has a great chance to win outright. Let's jump right into the action to find some long shot winners. Let’s take a look at California vs. North Texas.

• Best College Football Longshot Bets for Week 1
• College Football Projected Spreads
• Top College Football Picks & Predictions

College Football Week 1 Long Shot Bets: California vs. North Texas

The Golden Bears of Cal will travel to Denton, Texas to take on North Texas in this Week 1 matchup. There are a lot of concerns about the North Texas defense that gave up 31 or more points in six of seven losses last season. North Texas’ woeful defense explains why Cal enters as nearly touchdown favorites despite beating just one FBS opponent by more than seven all last year. In addition, Cal will start a quarterback with six career attempts in Sam Jackson. The inexperience on offense could help North Texas negate their biggest weakness.

For all the concerns about the North Texas defense, their offense should remain solid. Their SP+ ranking in offense is 57th, higher than Cal's. Stone Earle will take over the Mean Green's offense. He's a dual threat QB that could give the Cal defense fits like they did against dynamic QBs such as Caleb Williams and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. This is a perfect spot to pull off an early upset statement win.

Pick: North Texas (+230)

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