The 2025 college football season kicks off with a slew of games in Week 1, including the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide against the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday. Last season, Alabama failed to make the College Football Playoff and finished with a 9-4 record. The Crimson Tide also fell 19-13 to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. As for Florida State, they are coming off a disappointing 2-10 season in 2024. The Crismon Tide are 14-point favorites in the latest college football odds, while the over/under is 50.5.
Alabama vs. Florida State begins at 3:30 p.m. ET. Bettors looking for sportsbook promos and betting sites for Week 1 of college football can read more below, along with picks for some of the biggest games.
Sportsbook offers
Here are the top sportsbook promos for new users ahead of Alabama vs. Florida State.
The DraftKings promo code, bet365 bonus code and FanDuel promo code all offer bonus bets after new users place a wager of $5 or more. DraftKings is offering $300 in bonus bets in addition to more than $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket for the upcoming season. bet365 is offering new users either $200 in bonus bets with the placement of a $5+ bet, or up to a $1,000 first bet safety net. FanDuel’s latest promo code offers new users $300 in bonus bets if their first bet of at least $5 wins.
Both the BetMGM bonus code and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code provide bonus bets, but only if your first bet loses. New users at Fanatics have the ability to get $100 No Sweat Bets in FanCash on every football Game Day from Aug. 23 to October. Meanwhile, the BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS awards new users up to $1,500 back in bonus bets if their first bet loses. BetMGM users in New Jersey, West Virginia, Pennsylvania or Michigan can get a different promotion and receive $150 in bonus bets if you win your first bet of $10 or more.
The Caesars Sportsbook promo code is completely different than the others, offering profit boosts instead of bonus bets. After placing a wager of $1 or more, you receive 20 100% profit boost tokens with the code CBS20X.
Betting on Week 1 college football
SportsLine’s computer model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a betting profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college spread football picks, and was a profitable 27-16 combined on money-line and over/under college football picks in 2024. Anybody following its college football betting picks on betting sites could have seen strong returns.
Alabama -13.5
The Crimson Tide had Jalen Milroe leave for the NFL, and Ty Simpson won the starting quarterback job. He only has 381 career passing yards, but he has been with the school for the last three years. Sophomore receiver Ryan Williams is an explosive weapon for this offense, as he reeled in 48 catches for 865 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. Alabama had covered the spread in four of the last six games last season. SportsLine’s model is backing the Crimson Tide to cover in almost 60% of simulations, providing value at this price.
Under 50.5 total points
The Crimson Tide had the under hit in six of their last seven regular-season games in 2024. With a new quarterback at the helm, fans shouldn’t expect a high-scoring affair. While Ryan Williams can be an explosive aerial playmaker, Alabama could lean on running back Jam Miller and the ground game. Last season, Miller had 668 rushing yards and seven scores. Tommy Castellanos will be starting for the Noles after transferring from Boston College. There will be things to iron out since he’s playing in a new system. In addition, Florida State had the under hit in nine of their 12 games last year. SportsLine’s model is projecting these teams to combine for 48 points, helping the Under hit in almost 60% of simulations.
Responsible gaming
It’s important for bettors to understand responsible gaming and not fall into dangerous habits such as chasing losses. Sportsbooks offer tools such as time and wager limits to help out their users in this regard. Bettors can also use national resources like The National Council on Problem Gaming, Gamblers Anonymous and 1-800-GAMBLER.
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