College Football Week 1 Player Props: Best Bets & Picks
Tomorrow marks the first full college football slate of the year, and just like that, we’re all the way back. As such, it’s time to attack the board, but in ways less conventional than point spreads and totals. Instead, let’s focus on the player props market, where lines and odds may be a bit less stale than the traditional offerings from sportsbooks.
Ahead of the jam-packed, official opening Saturday of college football, here are my favorite player props for Week 1. Make sure to check out our college football picks for more tips and analysis on every FBS game throughout the season.
CFB Week 1 Player Prop: Cam Cook (WVU) Over 115.5 rushing yards (-115)
Odds courtesy of bet365 at the time of publishing. Playable to 119.5 (-110).
Cam Cook arrives in Morgantown after leading the country in total rushing yards (1,659) and rushing yards per game (127.6) as a member of the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in 2025. The level of competition will improve in his promotion from Conference USA to the Big 12, but he won’t exactly meet said improved competition in Week 1 when the Mountaineers host Coastal Carolina.
The ‘Neers are laying more than three touchdowns against the ‘Chants, and they have a team total in the high-30s – almost 40. It’s safe to say oddsmakers expect West Virginia to move the ball feverishly in this game, and Cook should be the primary beneficiary of that, assuming he plays a majority of the contest. That is probably the biggest concern here, as the matchup is an excellent one on paper.
Coastal was bottom-10 nationally against the run last year, allowing north of five yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, and I don’t expect this unit to be much better this season. The Chanticleers are lacking continuity, bringing back only 44% of their defensive production per SP+, and to make matters worse, a vast majority of the front seven is made up of transfers. New defensive coordinator L.D. Scott brought over some pieces with him from Missouri State, where he coached the defensive line, but only one of those transfers graded above replacement level by PFF while playing a full allotment of minutes in Conference USA, on a defense that still surrendered more than 4.5 yards per attempt. Now they’re stepping up in class against a power-conference offensive line, which admittedly is incorporating plenty of new faces in its own right, though all three projected starting transfers were above replacement level in run blocking in their starting roles last year.
As mentioned, the biggest concern is playing time here. However, Cook is elite when it comes to breakaway ability, as he led the country in rushes of at least 10 yards and missed tackles forced a season ago. He has the burst and field vision to surpass this number in two to three quarters of action against a bad defense, and we all know Rich Rod loves to feed his running backs.
Get our expert's CFB Week 1 best bets
CFB Week 1 Player Prop: Dante Moore (ORE) Over 244.5 passing yards (-115)
Odds courtesy of bet365 at the time of publishing. Playable to 249.5 (-110).
As I alluded to in my Boise State vs Oregon prediction, this Broncos stop-unit figures to be overmatched by this Ducks offense. Boise lost four key contributors in the secondary, including stud safety Tye Benefield and cornerback A’Marion McCoy, and their replacements have either minimal experience overall or minimal to no experience against offenses like Oregon’s. On paper, the Oregon wide receiver-Boise State secondary matchup is one that heavily favors the talent of the Ducks, and with a full year in Eugene under his belt, Dante Moore should be fit to exploit these types of mismatches – especially with a stable of pass-catchers that include the likes of Dakorien Moore, Jeremiah McClellan, Evan Stewart and Jamari Johnson. It’s an embarrassment of riches, really.
Moore is elite clean pockets, and while Boise State edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan is a very real threat to disrupt him in the backfield, the Ducks have an elite pass-blocking offensive line with four pieces that graded top-50 in the Big Ten in pass blocking last year per PFF. Look for Moore to have plenty of time to find his play-makers down the field.
CFB Week 1 Player Prop: Zeon Chriss-Gremillion (TUL) Over 0.5 interceptions (-130)
Odds available at bet365 at the time of publishing. Playable to -135.
Zeon Chriss-Gremillion won the starting job for Tulane…somehow. The traveled veteran is in his fifth season of collegiate football, and per PFF, he’s attempted 319 passes and thrown 15 interceptions. Digging a bit deeper, ZCG has 26 turnover-worthy plays in his career, which equates to a staggering 6.3%. For a bit of context, that exact percentage was good for 170th out of 176 FBS quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks last year. “Not great, Bob.”
ZCG’s primary asset is his rushing ability, but he’s going to have to attempt some passes, and when he does, there’s a good chance a turnover will occur at some point. Let’s not forget, Tulane is a program working in its second new head coach in three years, and the Green Wave return only 27% of their offensive production. Not to mention, there’s only one piece on the offensive line that played significant snaps last year. None of this feels great ahead of a Week 1 matchup on the road against Manny Diaz – Duke’s defensive minded head coach that deploys an aggressive scheme that thrives in its high-risk, high-reward tendencies.
