College football odds, picks, predictions for Aug. 27, 2022: Computer simulation fading Illinois in Week 0

The opening week of the 2022 college football season features no ranked teams in action and just one Power-5 matchup. But that hasn’t diminished the anticipation for the Week 0 college football schedule as it is the first gridiron action in over seven months. The week’s slate is headlined by Nebraska vs. Northwestern, in which the Cornhuskers are 11-point favorites in the Week 0 college football odds at Caesars Sportsbook. But the biggest Week 0 college football spread is Utah State being massive 27-point favorites over the UConn Huskies.

UConn has won just four total games since the 2018 season, while Utah State is coming off an 11-win season. But that number is still huge considering the Aggies aren’t a Power-5 team, while the Huskies are independent, but still in FBS. So which side of the line should you lean towards when making Week 0 college football predictions? Before locking in any college football picks for Week 0 of the 2022 season, be sure to see the latest college football predictions from SportsLine’s proven model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past six years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spreads. It also finished the 2021-22 college football season on a 43-31 run on all top-rated college football side picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, it has turned its attention to the latest college football odds for Saturday from Caesars and locked in picks for every FBS matchup. Head here to see every pick.

Top college football predictions for Aug. 27, 2022

One of the top college football picks the model is recommending for Saturday: Wyoming (+14) goes on the road and covers versus Illinois at 4 pm ET. The Cowboys actually had more wins away from home (four) than in Wyoming (three) last year. They also showed a dramatic year-over-year improvement, going from a 2-4 season (2020) to a 7-6 record in 2021.

Wyoming lost its top rusher in Xazavian Valladay to the transfer portal but that move could end up an addition by subtraction. His departure gives more playing time to Titus Swen, whose 5.9 yards per carry was second in the Mountain West last year. Wyoming also has a deep stable of backup RBs and the ground game is where the model has Wyoming sticking with Illinois.

The SportsLine model projects over 180 rushing yards from the Cowboys, with each of their top four rushers averaging at least 5.1 yards per carry. Run defense was a problem for the Illini in 2021 as Wisconsin put up nearly 400 rushing yards against them, while two other teams topped 200 yards. With Wyoming controlling the clock via the run, the Cowboys are expected to stay within a single score of Illinois and cover as 10-point underdogs in 60% of simulations. See which other teams the model likes here.

How to make college football picks for Saturday, Aug. 27

The model has also made the call on who wins and covers in every other FBS matchup on Saturday, and it’s calling for a big favorite to get a huge scare. You can only get every pick for every game at SportsLine.

So what college football picks can you make with confidence? And which heavy favorite gets a big scare? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams win and cover the spread, all from a proven computer model that has returned almost $3,600 in profit over the past six seasonsand find out.

College football odds for Saturday, Aug. 27 (via Caesars)

See full Week 0 college football picks, odds, predictions here

Saturday, Aug. 27

Nebraska at Northwestern (+11.5, 50.5)

Featured Games | Northwestern Wildcats vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers

UConn at Utah State (-27, 60.5)

Featured Games | Utah State Aggies vs. Connecticut Huskies

Wyoming at Illinois (-13, 44)

Featured Games | Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Wyoming Cowboys

Charlotte at FAU (-7, 59)

Featured Games | Florida Atlantic Owls vs. Charlotte 49ers

North Texas at UTEP (PK, 55)

Featured Games | UTEP Miners vs. North Texas Mean Green

Nevada at New Mexico State (+9, 50.5)

Featured Games | New Mexico State Aggies vs. Nevada Wolf Pack

Vanderbilt at Hawaii (+9, 55)

Featured Games | Hawaii Rainbow Warriors vs. Vanderbilt Commodores