College football Week 1 kicks off this weekend for the 2024 season, and I couldn’t be more pumped.
This means the next few days will be exciting for fans who love football and for bettors looking for fun ways to wager a few bucks.
I’ve already given you my best bets for Week 1 games, but now it’s time to have a little fun with my “Bear Bytes.”
These little “bytes,” as I call them, are just nuggets that give you some entertaining talking points to pull from as you watch the football festivities with friends and family or banter with your coworkers at the water cooler.
Here are the biggest nuggets that stuck out to me while doing my research.
(All times ET)
Saturday, Aug. 31
No. 8 Penn State @ West Virginia (noon, FOX and FOX sports app)
Since 2000, James Franklin is 20-6-1 against the spread (ATS) as a favorite of at least seven points. If you narrow it down to games in which Penn State was favored between seven and 24 points, Franklin is 16-0-1 ATS in that spot.
West Virginia went 0-3 last year against teams that finished ranked (-25.3 PPG, all by at least two touchdowns). The Mountaineers lost 38-15 to Penn State, 48-34 to Oklahoma State and 59-20 to Oklahoma. All three finished in the top 15. WVU went 9-1 vs unranked teams.
No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia (noon, ABC)
Clemson hasn’t been this big of a ‘dog since 2012 when the Tigers lost 49-37 to Florida State as a 14.5-point underdog.
No. 7 Notre Dame @ No. 20 Texas A&M (7:30 p.m., ABC)
Since 2000, Texas A&M is 3-10 at Kyle Field when the Aggies are ranked and hosting a top-10 team. That spans five different coaches (R.C. Slocum 0-2, Dennis Franchione 0-1, Mike Sherman 1-1, Kevin Sumlin 1-4 and Jimbo Fisher 1-2).
Chris “The Bear” Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an “occasional” wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He’s a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!” Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.
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