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Florida State vs. Georgia Tech College Football Week 0 Free Pick
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Jason Lake
- August 21, 2024
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NCAAF Pick: Florida State -11 (-109) at Bookmaker (visit our Bookmaker Review)
Football is back, ladies and gentlemen. It never really goes away, of course; it seems there’s always a game on somewhere in the world, whether it’s the CFL or one of those alphabet spring leagues The Rock can’t get off the ground. But when it comes to sports betting, college football is king – even busier than NFL betting in terms of annual handle. And with so many games to bet on, the top sportsbooks are gearing up for a busy season.
That’s because there are so many teams in college football – 134 of them in playing in the FBS this year. And with the new 12-team College Football Playoff in place, there’s actual hope for teams outside the major conferences to win the National Championship next January.
Florida State Seminoles vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Saturday, August 24, 2024 – 12:00 PM ET at Aviva Stadium
FSU’s Motivation Soars After Last Year’s Snub
Good thing for Florida State. Apparently, the ACC doesn’t qualify as a major conference anymore, not after FSU went 13-0 last year (8-5 ATS) and didn’t get invited to the playoffs. It was the first time in the short history of the CFP that an undefeated Power 5 team didn’t make it in.
That should give Mike Norvell’s crew plenty of motivation heading into Saturday’s 2024 regular season opener versus Georgia Tech, which will be played across the pond at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. However, the consensus reports at BMR show 83% of bettors on the Yellow Jackets as we go to press, driving FSU’s odds down from -12.5 at the open to as low as -11 at Bookmaker.
As you can see above, we’re recommending Florida State here at the ranch. There may have been good reason for that early action on the Jackets, especially with the chaos that playing internationally can bring to the gridiron. But now that the college football odds have changed, we’re prepared to eat some chalk in Week 0.
Will Florida State Go Undefeated Again?
Probably not. As well as they performed last year, Florida State went 13-0 in the weakest of the Power 5 conferences according to the Strength of Schedule numbers at Sports Reference. FSU has a tougher schedule this year under the new division-less ACC format, with tough road games against Miami and Notre Dame and challenges coming up at home versus Clemson, Florida, and North Carolina.
Florida State also has to prove they can still hang now that DJ Uiagalelei has replaced Jordan Travis at quarterback. Uiagalelei has all the talent in the world, but consistency issues saw him bounce from Clemson to Oregon State before landing in Tallahassee as a grad transfer.
The concern is understandable. Oregon State went 8-4 last year (6-6 ATS), dropping the cash in four of their last five games before getting hammered 40-8 by Notre Dame (-5.5) at the Sun Bowl. Uiagalelei is also coming to a team that has remodeled its receiving corps following the departures of wideouts Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, alongside TE Jaheim Bell.
Why Bet on Florida State?
Because they’re too good to pass up. If you’ve been betting on college football for a while, you know how important those offensive lines are; Florida State’s figures to be even better this year after Norvell went to the transfer window and added guards Richie Leonard from Florida and TJ Ferguson from Alabama.
Norvell also landed a gem on defense with edge rusher Marvin Jones Jr. coming over from Georgia. We can’t overlook the job Brent Key has done revitalizing the Georgia Tech program, but their defense doesn’t have much to offer up front, especially with edge rusher Kyle Kennard transferring to South Carolina.
Having said all that, there could be some light rain in the forecast for Dublin this Saturday, and Florida State has never played internationally so that chaos factor has to be accounted for. Make it a smaller bet for protection, but now that the FSU odds have been taken down a notch, jump on it – and may the prolate spheroid be with you.
NCAAF Pick: Florida State -11 (-109) at Bookmaker
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
