McMurphy Picks 5 Week 0 College Football Bets Across 948-Game 2026 Season

2 articles · Updated · KSR · Aug 28

Five Week 0 positions headline McMurphy’s season-opening college football betting card: TCU-North Carolina under 47.5, NC State +5.5, Eastern Michigan -9.5, Hawaii +4.5 and under 49.5, and Memphis-UNLV over 54.5.
TCU-UNC and Hawaii-Stanford both lean under because of expected slower tempos, with TCU breaking in Harvard transfer Jaden Craig at quarterback and McMurphy citing a recent 64% cover rate for Group of 6 teams catching fewer than 10 points.
NC State gets support on continuity grounds, returning its head coach, both coordinators and starting quarterback CJ Bailey, while Sacramento State’s first game as a new FBS member drives the Eastern Michigan pick.
Memphis-UNLV is the lone over, tied to Memphis coach Charles Huff bringing 17 players and four assistants from Southern Miss and to a UNLV profile that paired a top-20 offense last year with the nation’s 22nd-worst defense.
The column frames Week 0 as the start of a 948-game, 149-day FBS season that runs until the national title game on Jan. 25.