NFL fans can practically taste the opening stretch of games from here. The kickoff game between the Lions and Chiefs is under one week away, and NFL betting lines are already all over the BetMGM online sportsbook.
For now, football fans can satiate themselves with a full complement of college football, which will play out throughout the weekend and even into next Monday evening.
College Football
LSU vs. Florida State
Sunday, Sept. 3 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC
The NCAA appetizer is over, as there’s a full slate of college football this weekend. There are 87 games involving FBS teams, with NCAAF odds available for each one at BetMGM.
The top game of the weekend is undoubtedly the preseason top-10 showdown between LSU and Florida State. Both teams have a real shot to win their conference and are prominently featured in the College Football Playoff odds table.
Both teams also feature quarterbacks with a very real shot to win the Heisman. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis threw for 3,214 yards and 24 touchdowns last year in Tallahassee, chipping in another 417 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation this year, having passed for 2,913 and ran for 885 last season in his first year at LSU.
College Football
West Virginia at Penn State
Saturday, Sept. 2 | 7:30 p.m. | NBC
This weekend’s game in Happy Valley between the Mountaineers and Nittany Lions will be the first in the series since Oct. 24, 1992. Penn State has dominated the overall rivalry, at one point winning 25 straight games from 1959 to 1983.
Penn State will have the advantage again this weekend, as the college football odds project Penn State as a 20.5-point favorite. PSU quarterback Drew Allar is an early name to watch in the Heisman betting odds market, while West Virginia head coach Neal Brown is one of the biggest names in the 2023 college football hot seat discussion.
West Virginia will bring a strong rushing attack to the game, but the defense and quarterback are major question marks. Still, the Mountaineers should provide a quality P5 opponent for a Penn State team hoping to finally overtake Michigan and Ohio State at the top of the Big Ten.
Major League Baseball
Phillies at Brewers
Friday, Sept. 1 through Sunday, Sept. 3 | FOX (Saturday); Peacock (Sunday)
Division and playoff races enter their final stretch in September. With the Braves and Dodgers in commanding positions in the NL East and NL West, respectively, the only mystery in the National League is who will seize control of the Central.
For now, it’s the Milwaukee Brewers, who finished August with a 74-59 record and a three-game lead over the Cubs. Current MLB odds have the Brewers at -350 to win the division.
But the Cubs are charging hard toward a playoff spot, posting an impressive 18-9 record last month, and they likely won’t be satisfied with just a Wild Card bid. The Brewers will need to keep winning games to fend off Wrigleyville.
The Phillies (74-59) are at the top of the Wild Card heap right now and are unlikely to blow a five-game lead in September with a schedule that includes series against the Mets, Pirates, and Cardinals.
That means the Phillies most dramatic role – at least in the immediate future – is that of a Milwaukee monkey wrench. The Brewers can bring good pitching to the mound, but Philadelphia has the seventh-best team OBP and fifth-best team slugging percentage in all of Major League Baseball.
