Against the spread in Week 1

The longer you sit around and wait on Week 1 lines, the worse the price will be -- at least, if you're looking to bet on the favorites.

Georgia opened up at -25.5 but has already been bet up to -28 at most books. Same goes for USC, which opened at -18.5 and is now up to -21.

In general, the best handicappers grab the lines while they're soft, loading up on the Georgias and USCs of the week.

I'll never publish an entry telling you what you should have done. It's pointless. Why recommend Georgia at -25.5 if you can't find them anywhere better than -28? That's wasting both of our times.

Anyway, here are a few games I really like, even a couple weeks after the lines have been released:

• Western Michigan +21.5 at Michigan State -- I was sure this game was coming in around +14. Instead, it opened at +21 and has actually moved to +21.5, meaning if Michigan State wins by 21, or a touchdown more than I thought they would, we still win the bet.
  

• Northwestern -3.5 at Vanderbilt -- It opened at -3 and has moved to -3.5, but I think this is a good play all the way up to -5.5. Northwestern should definitely win this game outright. Another option would be to parlay the moneyline with USC and/or a few other steep moneylines, to make Northwestern a +100 line. It wouldn't take much.

• Maryland +7 at Navy -- I think the Terps could win this game outright, or at least make it go down to a last-minute drive. I actually endorse betting the +200 moneyline, but think that betting the point spread is obviously much safer. It's hard to remove bias from Maryland games, but I don't think Navy is a touchdown better, even in Baltimore.

I did like Georgia at -25.5, USC at -18.5 and Nebraska at -34, but all of those games have moved up to -- or worse, beyond -- key numbers: 28, 21 and 35, respectively. I can't recommend betting on those games unless you plan to tease them, and in general, teasing college games is a waste of value.

USC is particularly painful: Hawaii is starting four new offensive linemen against the Trojans' defensive line. That's not a fun way to start your college career.

Other games I like, but haven't looked into quite enough for a full-on recommendation:

• Arizona -15 at Toledo -- like the Western Michigan game, I figured this game would be around -21 or so. Even though we're missing the critical 14 number, six points off the spread is a huge difference.

• UAB/Florida Atlantic under 54.5 -- UAB loses long-time starting QB Joe Webb, and this is their first game without him in almost four years. Meanwhile, FAU returns two offensive starters and nine defensive starters. My theory is that UAB will struggle to score with a new quarterback, FAU will struggle with only two returning starters, and FAU's defense will keep UAB in check by returning almost their entire defense.