The college football season begins this Saturday and we've got you covered with Sharp Football betting analysis, coverage and market opportunities.
Let's look at Vanderbilt vs Hawaii which kicks off at 10:30 PM ET on August 27.
Legendary Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang is now the head coach of the Rainbow Warriors, inheriting a program that was crumbling under Todd Graham.
Chang’s highest level of experience at the FBS level has been as a position coach, so he’s tasked with rebuilding this program despite minimal experience.
Betting on bad teams can be risky, so approach this game with some hesitation.
However, Vanderbilt returns 13 starters and should be better prepared in Year 2 under head coach Clark Lea.
Wyoming at Illinois Spread, current line:
Vanderbilt at Hawaii Prediction, Against the Spread:
Vanderbilt is a road favorite for the first time since 2017, and it looks like a good bet to lay the points and take Vanderbilt -7.5 at Hawaii.
When Vanderbilt is on Offense
Vandy’s stats are always skewed in a negative direction because it can’t compete in the SEC, but there’s plenty of talent to handle a bottom-tier Group of Five program.
Against SEC opponents, Vanderbilt allowed 12% more pressure than expected relative to their opponents’ averages.
In three games against non-SEC FBS opponents, however, Vanderbilt’s pressure rate allowed was 4% below expected.
When Vanderbilt quarterbacks were kept clean against non-SEC opponents last season, they generated 9.8 EPA. We should expect a fairly efficient game from the Commodores offense against a Hawaii defense that ranked 84th in opponent-adjusted pressure rate.
When Hawaii is on Offense
Chang’s offensive coordinator Ian Shoemaker led an explosive attack at Eastern Washington over the last three seasons, but this will be his first experience at the FBS level.
Shoemaker’s Eastern Washington squad threw the ball 54% of the time last year, so expect a pass-heavy offense, much like Chang’s days as a player.
Hawaii lists three potential starters at quarterback on the depth chart, none of whom have extensive experience.
Vandy’s defense was roughed up last year, but Lea is an accomplished defensive coach and has six returning starters to work with 一 plus two four-star defensive recruits, and two transfers with experience.
Other College Football Betting Predictions for Week 0: