Best 0-1 College Football Teams: Best Bets For Winless Teams After Week 1

Opening the season with a loss can be demoralizing for any college football program, but it's especially true for the teams chasing a College Football Playoff bid or a conference title.

Only a handful of teams entered the season as College Football Playoff odds contenders and lost in Week 1 – one such team lost twice – and they're among the best 0-1 college football teams in the country.

However, there are just three 0-1 teams with college football championship odds shorter than 300/1 at our best college football betting sites, putting into perspective how important every single game is in this sport.

While the likes of LSU and Clemson are holding out hope that they can still bring a title back to their fanbases other 0-1 programs have other aspirations that would still make this season a success.

Shortest college football championship odds for winless teams

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Best bets for top 0-1 teams

For as excruciating a loss as it was for LSU against USC, there's no reason to give up hope yet on the Tigers' CFP chances.

Not only did LSU have to replace the Heisman winner at QB, it was also breaking in a new defensive coordinator after how putrid last year's unit was opposite Jayden Daniels.

If not for some last-minute heroics from Miller Moss – who shot up the Heisman Trophy odds – LSU would have won. And while Brian Kelly is as meme-able as it gets, he's also proven he can bounce back from a Week 1 non-conference loss.

In both of his previous two seasons as head coach in Baton Rouge, LSU lost its season opener to Florida State. That's not ideal, but LSU has gone on to win 10 games in both of Kelly's two seasons in charge.

It was also clear against USC that new defensive coo rdinator Blake Baker has improved the defense, even if it struggled on the final drive.

And more importantly, new starting QB Garrett Nussmeier has some bright moments that had to have caught the attention of NFL scouts.

This offense should be dangerous with Nussmeier behind center, a pair of first-round offensive tackles in Will Campbell and Emery Jones, and a strong group of pass catchers led by Kyren Lacy.

The Tigers now play four straight games where they'll be heavy favorites. And if they can beat just one of Ole Miss, Alabama, or Oklahoma, they'll likely end the season 9-3 at worst.

The committee will put a three-loss SEC team in over most teams from other conferences with two losses. If they do, a $10 bet pays a $12 profit.

And if you're concerned nine wins won't be enough for the playoff, Caesars has LSU's win total set at 8 with the Over a t +100. 

Best bet: LSU to make CFP (+120 via DraftKings) | Implied probability: 45.45%

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Before the second half against Georgia, Clemson was playing like it will once again have an elite defense capable of making up for its lack of explosiveness on offense.

While the second half was a mess in terms of the Tigers' inability to move the ball, we shouldn't overlook just how ferocious Georgia's defense is this season. There are future NFL starters at every level.

And when your offense isn't supporting you, your defense is bound to break – especially against a QB who's among the favorites by the 2025 NFL Draft odds. So while giving up 28 second-half points is a tough look, Clemson still has a potential top 20 defense on paper.

We can talk all day about Dabo Swinney's refusal to use the portal being malpractice that has sabotaged Clemson's potential dynasty. But the man went 11-3 with DJ Uiagalelei as his QB – Florida State fans would die for Mike Norv ell to be able to do that.

I'm no Swinney defender, but in his 15 full seasons as head coach, he's won fewer than nine regular season games just three times. And he has NFL players on both sides of the ball like Peter Woods and Phil Mafah to lean on.

Even though this isn't the Clemson of old, the Tigers should still go 9-3 in the ACC. I mean, the preseason favorite to win the conference is now 0-2, so it's not like Clemson has some gauntlet of a schedule. 

Its toughest games are against Appalachian State, an NC State team that was on the ropes against an FCS team in Week 1, 0-2 Florida State on the road, No. 22 Louisville at home, and a Virginia Tech team that lost to Vanderbilt.

The Tigers should win four of those games, which gives them breathing room to drop one random game to Stanford, Wake Forest, Virginia, Pittsburgh, or South Carolina.

If Da bo wins nine regular season games for the 13th time, a $10 bet pays an $8.33 profit.

Best bet: Clemson Over 8.5 wins (-120 via Caesars) | Implied probability: 54.55%

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It's not Mike Elko's fault that Texas A&M was a 3-point favorite against a top 10 program in his first game running the show in College Station.

The Aggies should have never been favored over Notre Dame – Marcus Freeman is 7-3 ATS on the road as an underdog. And Elko's team kept up until the end in what was an absolute bloodbath of a game.

Half of the NFL draftniks out there had touted Conner Weigman as a potential top QB prospect, too. That only fed into the Texas A&M hype.

Weigman was terrible, but that had more to do with how strong Freeman's defense is and how perfectly the Fighting Irish game planned for the matchup. He's still a former five-star that showed enough to get first-round buzz heading into the year.

The loss shouldn't cloud the fact that this team is loaded, especially on defense. Nic Scourton is a potential top 20 pick, and he's joined on the D-line by another budding star in Shemar Turner. 

Now the Aggies get to play an FCS program, the FCS program of the SEC (Florida), Bowling Green, and Arkansas. That should be four wins for Elko and Co.

And honestly, the rest of the schedule isn't too bad, and the team is only going to get better. The only ranked teams the Aggies play are Missouri, LSU, and Texas – all three games are at Kyle Field, too.

Win just one of those and 9-3 is right there for the taking. If they do, a $10 bet pays a $7.41 profit.

Best bet: Texas A&M Over 8 wins (-135 via Caesars) | Implied probability: 57.45%

Every team in the MAC that lost in Week 1 had to play a Power 4 opponent. While teams like Akron and Kent State got blown out, Miami (Ohio) lost by only one score on the road against Northwestern.

Obviously the Wildcats aren't a Big Ten power, but they did reach a bowl game last season in David Braun's first in charge. So the RedHawks losing 13-6 to them at their temporary stadium is a pretty impressive feat.

Coming off last year's conference title, Miami (Ohio) is the favorite by the MAC Championship odds. The RedHawks lost some significant talent in the transfer portal to Power 4 schools but still brought a lot back.

That returning talent shined against Northwestern. Linebacker Matthew Salopek, last year's MAC Defensive Player of the Year, was all over the field. 

He wasn't alone either, with fellow linebacker Ty Wise and pass rusher Brian Ugwu all making plays. Those three alone give Miami (Ohio) a defense cable of carrying the RedHawks to their second straight MAC title.

And it's hard to blame the offense. Northwestern was 18th in SP+ on defense last season and first in the country in returning production on that side of the ball this season. 

MAC defenses won't be nearly as capable, and sixth-year senior Brett Gabbert might be the best QB in the conference. One positive takeaway on offense is the emergence of Michigan State transfer Cade McDonald at wide receiver. 

Chuck Martin's team won the MAC last year by playing hard-nosed defense, and it can again this year. It has Cincinnati and Notre Dame next, so conference play should feel easy in comparison to three straight Power 4 opponents.

If Miami (OH) does go back-to-back in the MAC, a $10 winning bet pays a $25 profit.

Best bet: Miami (Ohio) to win MAC (+250 via BetMGM) | Implied probability: 28.57%

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College football betting odds pages

Here are our
best college football betting sites:

• Caesars Promo Code: SBRBONUS1000 | Read our Caesars Review
• BetMGM Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our BetMGM Review
• bet365 Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our bet365 Review
• FanDuel Promo Code | Read our FanDuel Review
• DraftKings Promo Code | Read our DraftKings Review

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