College football best bets: Expert predictions, picks for Fri. 8/30 (2024)

Day 2 of five straight days of college football begins now.

Our college football writers came through with seven best bets for Thursday's games, and they're back with four more for Friday night, including Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin and TCU vs. Stanford.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

We'll have you covered all weekend here at Action Network. So, whenever you're looking to bet any of the 96 games on this Week 1 slate, make sure to come back here. We'll be happy to see you.

For now, let's take a look at our four college football best betsfor Friday, Aug. 30.

Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin Best Bet

Friday, Aug. 30

9 p.m.ET

FS1

Western Michigan +24.5 (ESPN BET)

ByMike Ianniello

Western Michigan returns a ton of production on both sides of the ball and should be in the top half of the MAC this season.

It returns eight starters on offense, led by veteran quarterback Hayden Wolff. The Broncos also return 1,000-yard rusher Jalen Buckley, and leading receivers Kenneth Womack and Anthony Sambucci.

Center Jacob Gideon anchors a strong offensive line, and some decent transfer portal pieces were brought in to address any needs.

On the Western Michigan defense, Tate Hallock and Aaron Wofford both return in the secondary after finishing first and second on the team in tackles, and Louisville transfer Popeye Williams was brought in to help replace Marshawn Kneeland on the Broncos defensive line opposite Corey Walker.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin has a few questions heading into this season. Mainly, is Tyler Van Dyke any good?

After throwing 25 touchdowns with just six interceptions for Miami in 2021, he has thrown 29 touchdowns with 17 interceptions over the last two seasons.

Defensively, the Badgers should be fine, but they have just two starters returning in the front seven.

While they don’t have any glaring concerns, this is no longer the dominant top-10 Wisconsin defense we've seen in the past. This team ranked just 62nd in Defensive Success Rate last season.

I’m not putting the Badgers on upset alert here, but head coach Luke Fickell just doesn't blow teams out. Now, we're getting 24.5 points.

Wisconsin didn’t beat a single team by more than 21 points last year, and that includes a terrible three-win Buffalo team in last season’s opener.

Fickell’s teams are just 6-12 against the spread when favored by 22 or more and haven't covered in the last seven games as more than a three-touchdown favorite.

Pick: Western Michigan +24.5 (Play to +23)

Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin Best Bet

Friday, Aug. 30

9 p.m.ET

FS1

Under 56.5 (FanDuel)

ByPatrick Strollo

The Western Michigan Broncos will face the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday night at Camp Randall Stadium.

Wisconsin has won 16 consecutive season openers against nonconference competition, and that's clearly the expectation in this one. But I think the value is on the under.

Western Michigan and Wisconsin are returning the cores of their respective defenses with both bringing back eight starters.

Wisconsin will look to pick up where it left off after finishing the 2023 season as the 21st-ranked scoring defense in the nation, allowing just 20.2 points per game. With a supermajority of returning production on defense, that shouldn't be an issue.

Last season, there was some concern that new head coach Luke Fickell would abandon the run, but that wasn't the case. A commitment to the run makes sense this season as he continues to build out his offensive arsenal.

Western Michigan struggled on defense last season, but it returned just two starters. This year, with eight returning starters, the Broncos defense should see a marked improvement.

After some turmoil at coordinator in the early offseason, Western Michigan settled on Scott Power, and he should be working with enough talent to be a pest.

The Broncos struggled on offense last season, often leaving the defense out to dry. New offensive coordinator Walt Bell will look to unlock the potential of the Broncos offense, but that’s going to take time and is unlikely to materialize against this excellent Big Ten defense.

Both teams rank in the top 25 in returning defensive production with the Badgers bringing back 72% (24th) from last year and the Broncos 77% (12th), per SP+.

I recommend backing the under as both teams look to rely on their respective strengths. Right now, the market is sitting above one of the key total numbersof 55, and I recommend using that as a hard stop when betting this game.

Pick: Under 56.5 (Play to 55)

TCU vs. Stanford Best Bet

Friday, Aug. 30

10:30 p.m.ET

ESPN

Stanford +9.5 (DraftKings)

ByMike McNamara

I love the Cardinal here at home in a fun Friday night ACC/Big 12 battle.

Yes, that’s right — Stanford vs TCU is now an ACC/Big 12 matchup.

I think the Cardinal are a little bit undervalued in the market, as they returned a lot from a team that improved as the season progressed a year ago.

Meanwhile, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes went into desperation mode in the offseason after a rough 2023, parting ways with defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie and overhauling the entire defensive scheme.

The Horned Frogs still have plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball, but 9.5 points is too many for a road opener against a Stanford team that's on the upswing.

Quarterback Josh Hoover has a live arm, but he can be a little bit careless with the ball and was too inconsistent for my liking a year ago.

I expect this game to be nip-and-tuck throughout, and the turnover battle will likely loom large.

I give Stanford a legitimate chance to pull off the outright upset, so I'll gladly take the points with the Trees at home in Palo Alto.

Pick: Stanford +9.5 (Play to +8.5)

TCU vs. Stanford Best Bet

Friday, Aug. 30

10:30 p.m.ET

ESPN

Stanford +9.5 (DraftKings)

ByGreg Waddell

Both of these teams underwhelmed last year, but they could be trending in opposite directions this season.

TCU finished with a 5-7 record last year — just one year after a trip to the National Championship. After a disappointing campaign, the Horned Frogs got decimated by the transfer portal on defense.

Their biggest key additions in the secondary come from Old Dominion, Austin Peay and Tulsa. There will be a learning curve here for the Frogs.

While Stanford was also bad last year, it does return a ton of legitimately good football players.

Quarterback Ashton Daniels is a blossoming star. All in all, he threw for over 2,200 yards and tallied 14 touchdowns as a sophom*ore last season in only 10 starts. Daniels is a dual-threat as well, rushing for 461 non-sack yards last season.

Plus, he gets his top three targets back in Tiger Bachmeier, Elic Ayomanor and Sam Roush.

Ayomanor is capable of "wow" moments in an offense that loves trick plays — but the Cardinal may not even need many tricks against this ugly TCU defense.

Last season, TCU was a stunning 0-7 in games where the opposing offense scored at least 18 points. All five of its wins came in games where their opponent simply couldn't score.

This Horned Frogs defense will be prone to shootouts once again, and Stanford has the star power and experience to keep up at home.

Pick: Stanford +9.5 (Play to +7.5)

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