Friday Night Lights are no longer are reserved for high schools across the nation. College football now has a regular slate of games on Friday night all season, and these aren’t just your run of the mill weekday Group of 5 matchups.
Nope, the Power 5, especially the PAC-12, have begun to regularly appear on Friday nights as well. Below we have everything you need to wager on Friday night football. We have Friday night odds, strategies, key matchups and the full schedule.
Friday Night College Football Betting Strategies
Just like any other midweek football nights, these are typically high scoring games so looking at the over/under each week will be key.
Now there aren’t many midweek MACtion games on Friday, those are typically reserved for Tuesday and Wednesday nights once the conference portion of the schedule comes around, but the PAC-12, Mountain West and American Athletic conferences are all over the Friday schedule and those conferences can score just as much.
Circle the Calendar
Right off of the bat you can see two of the favorites to win the Big Ten get their seasons started, an in-state rivalry and one of the top teams in the Mountain West take on a PAC-12 power.
Michigan State welcomes Utah State to start the season at 7 p.m. followed by Wisconsin welcoming Western Kentucky at 9 p.m.
Also at 9 p.m., San Diego State, coming off of a 10-win season, will travel to Stanford. Another Mountain West and PAC-12 matchup begins at 9:30 p.m. when Colorado visits Colorado State in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, which the Buffs have won three straight times.
Week 2 brings us another rivalry, a classic from the old Southwest Conference, as TCU and SMU fight for the Iron Skillet. The Horned Frogs have won six straight and will be favored to make it seven, but rivalries are always fun.
In Week 3 we go south for an American Athletic Conference vs. Sun Belt matchup as Memphis, favored to win the West Division of the AAC, takes on Georgia State, picked third in the East Division of the Sun Belt.
Week 4 brings a fun slate of Power 5 games with a PAC-12 showdown between USC and Washington State following a Big Ten game between Illinois and Penn State. However, the marquee game comes from the Group of 5 when UCF hosts defending C-USA champs, Florida Atlantic.
Week 5 has another PAC-12 matchup between two South Division teams when UCLA takes on Colorado. These two teams have played some exciting games since 2014 starting with a double overtime win by the Bruins and two other four point wins for UCLA, in 2016 the Buffaloes won by 10.
Week 6 produces another rivalry game out of Utah when BYU takes on Utah State for the Old Wagon Wheel. We also get an ACC matchup between two middle of the road teams as Georgia Tech and Louisville both look to move up the division standings.
Another strong Group of 5 game for Week 6 comes from C-USA as two teams battling to challenge FAU for the East Division, Middle Tennessee State and Marshall, go head-to-head.
Week 7 has three games, and although two look to be clunkers — South Florida vs Tulsa and SDSU against Air Force — but the PAC-12 has a big game to make up for those. The two teams looking to knock off USC, Arizona and Utah go head-to-head in Utah. This game should go a long way in deciding who represents the South in the PAC-12 title game.
Week 8 will be Mountain West night when Boise State hosts Colorado State and Air Force and UNLV go up against each other.
Week 9 has a big slate. Out of C-USA, FAU goes up against Louisiana Tech to begin the night. Miami travels to Boston College in an ACC showdown and the Big Ten joins the action with Indiana against Minnesota. Out West, Wyoming and Colorado State face off in a big Mountain West game and Utah and UCLA will match up in Pac-12 action.
Week 10 features an ACC game between Pittsburgh and Virginia. C-USA has Western Kentucky taking on MTSU while the PAC-12 sends out Colorado and Arizona.
Week 11 has the game of the season in the Mountain West when Boise State and Fresno State, two division favorites, face each other. It very likely will be a preview of the Mountain West championship game. Louisville and Syracuse will also duke it out.
Week 12 has an AAC matchup between Memphis and SMU and a Mountain West game between Boise State and New Mexico, which looks to be a blowout.
Week 13, the day after Thanksgiving, is always a big day in college football — the Big Ten, Big 12, PAC-12 and SEC are all in action. Texas and Kansas probably won’t be a great game, but the Heroes Trophy between Iowa and Nebraska is on the line, the Battle Line Rivalry between Arkansas and Missouri, the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State and the the Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State are on the line. Not to mention, Oklahoma and West Virginia will play in Morgantown in game that will prove key for the Big 12 race.
The Friday night schedule concludes during conference championship week when the Mid-American Conference and PAC-12 decide its champions before the bowl season begins.
College Football Friday Night Odds and Schedule
Aug. 31
Syracuse at Western Michigan, 6 p.m. (CBSSN)
LINE: Syracuse -6
O/U: 65
Monmouth at Eastern Michigan, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
LINE: N/A
Utah State at Michigan State, 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
LINE: Michigan State -22.5
O/U: 50
Army at Duke, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
LINE: Duke -13.5
O/U: 46
Western Kentucky at Wisconsin, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
LINE: Wisconsin -34.5
O/U: 51
San Diego State at Stanford, 9 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
LINE: Stanford -14.5
O/U: 49
Colorado at Colorado State, 9:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
LINE: Colorado -7.5
O/U: N/A
September 7
TCU at SMU, 8 p.m. (ESPN 2)
Pick: TCU -22.5
September 14
Georgia State at Memphis, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Pick: Memphis -25.5
September 21
Florida Atlantic at UCF, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Pick: Central Florida -14.5
Penn State at Illinois, 9 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
Pick: Illinois +26
Washington State at USC, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Pick: USC -4
September 28
Memphis at Tulane, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Pick: Memphis -14
UCLA at Colorado, 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
Pick: Colorado -11.5
October 5
Georgia Tech at Louisville, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Pick: Georgia Tech -3.5
Middle Tennessee State at Marshall, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)
Pick: Marshall -7
Utah State at BYU, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Pick: Utah State +2.5
October 12
#23 South Florida at Tulsa, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Pick: Tulsa
Air Force at San Diego State, 9 p.m. (CBSSN)
Pick: Air Force +10
Arizona at Utah, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Pick: Arizona +13.5
October 19
Colorado State at Boise State, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Pick: Colorado State +23.5
Air Force at UNLV, 10 p.m. (CBSSN)
Pick: Air Force -13
October 26
Louisiana Tech at Florida Atlantic, 6:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
Pick: Louisiana Tech +2.5
Miami at Boston College, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Pick: Miami -3
Indiana at Minnesota, 8 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
Pick: Minnesota +2.5
Wyoming at Colorado State, 10 p.m. (CBSSN)
Pick: Wyoming -2
#23 Utah at UCLA, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Pick: Utah -10
November 2
Pittsburgh at #23 Virginia, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Pick: Virginia -7.5
Western Kentucky at Middle Tennessee, 8 p.m. (CBSSN)
Pick: Western Kentucky +13.5
Colorado at Arizona, 10:30 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
Pick: Arizona -4
November 9
Louisville at #19 Syracuse, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Pick: Syracuse -20.5
#23 Fresno State at Boise State, 10:15 p.m. (ESPN2)
Pick: Fresno State -2
November 16
Memphis at SMU, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Pick: SMU +8.5
Boise State at New Mexico, 9 p.m. (CBSSN)
Pick: Boise State -20
November 23
Nebraska at Iowa, Noon (FOX)
Pick: Nebraska +7.5
Arkansas at Missouri, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
Pick: Arkansas +21
Texas at Kansas, Noon (Fox Sports 1)
Pick: Kansas +14.5
Oregon at Oregon State, 4 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
Pick: Oregon -14.5
Oklahoma at West Virginia, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Pick: West Virginia +2.5
Washington at Washington State, 8:30 p.m. (FOX)
Pick: Washington State -3.5
November 30
Northern Illinois vs Buffalo, 7 p.m. (ESPN 2) – MAC Championship in Detroit
On the surface, Buffalo (10-2, 7-1) appears to be a big favorite considering their regular season record was so much more impressive than everyone else in the MAC. But Northern Illinois (7-5, 6-2) had a more challenging non-conference schedule, having played Utah, Iowa and Florida State. Buffalo’s only Power Five opponent was Rutgers, who had the worst record in the Big Ten. There’s also the matter of Northern Illinois’ 11-1 all-time record against Buffalo, which includes 11 straight wins dating back to 1970. But Buffalo has covered eight of their last 10 and Northern Illinois enters this game on a two-game losing streak. The Bulls end their long losing streak with a cover and MAC Championship.
Pick: Buffalo -4
#17 Utah vs #16 Washington, 8 p.m. (FOX) – Pac-12 Championship in Santa Clara
The Huskies had failed to cover six weeks in a row before last week’s Apple Cup win. One of their few covers this season came in their third game, when they beat Utah on the road, 21-7, as four-point favorites. The Utes have now won eight of their last nine while the Huskies, despite winning five of seven, have rarely made things look easy over the last two months. Their 13-point win over Washington State was easily their most impressive performance since September. They also have a long history of success against Utah, having won 11 of 12 and three straight. If they can cover against Utah in Salt Lake City, they can surely do it on a neutral field after last week’s signature win.
Pick: Washington -4.5