College football player props are back in full swing, and Action Network has you covered with our best plays for this monster Week 1 slate.
If you enjoy college football player prop betting and are interested in weekly statistical projections, please make sure to check out our friends at the CFFSite, who compile the data that can give you the edge against the books.
College Football Player Props for Week 1
In the table below, you'll find each of my top player prop picks from the Week 1 college football slate. Click on any pick or team logo to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Specific bet recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Northern Arizona vs. Arizona State
 10 p.m. ET Thursday, Sept. 1 Pac-12 Network  |
QB Emory Jones Rushing Touchdowns
A resounding "yes" to the question of “Is the juice is worth the squeeze?” regarding Emory Jones’ rushing touchdown prop at 0.5 set at +250 odds.
While Jones’ passing leaves much to be desired as we saw last year at Florida, the junior quarterback is a dynamic runner of the football, rushing for 758 yards and four touchdowns with the Gators in 2021.
Twelve-game seasonal averages for starting quarterbacks under head coach Herm Edwards come out to around 114 carries and seven touchdowns.
We’ll take our chances here Jones finds the end-zone with his legs with an implied total of 38 points for the Sun Devils on Thursday night.
Pick: Emory Jones Over 0.5 Rushing Touchdowns (+250)
Illinois vs. Indiana
 8 p.m. ET Friday, Sept. 2 FS1  |
WR Isaiah Williams Receptions
Bettors were distraught after last week’s results when Williams was well on his way to smashing every prop listed under his name. However, a cramping injury forced him off the field in the second half, and he would not return in the blowout over Wyoming.
Every fall camp report from Illinois beat writers suggested Williams was set for an alpha-like role in 2022, and his 42 offensive snaps last week indicated as much as he hauled in seven passes on nine targets.
Minimal yardage would be an understatement as Williams averaged just 3.7 YPC, but we don’t care about that here. Our projections have Williams at six catches this week.
Pick: Isaiah Williams Over 4.5 Receptions
TCU vs. Colorado
 10 p.m. ET Friday, Sept. 2 ESPN  |
WR Quentin Johnston Receiving Yards
Maddeningly inconsistent at times, Quentin Johnston is the clear-cut WR1 in a TCU offense that should see a significant bump in production with Sonny Dykes now at the helm.
The four-year average yards-per-game mark for the WR1 under Dykes when he was at SMU comes out to 85.6. TheCFFSite has Johnston projected at 98 yards this week.
There's no difference to us whether it’s Chandler Morris, Max Duggan or all three quarterbacks on the depth chart throwing him the ball.
As for Colorado, it loses three starters from last year’s group in the secondary, and both starting cornerbacks are under six feet — not optimal against the 6-foot-4 future first-round NFL Draft pick.
Pick: Quentin Johnston Over 83.5 Receiving Yards
Colorado State vs. Michigan
 Noon ET Saturday, Sept. 3 ABC  |
RB Blake Corum Fantasy Points
The Michigan backfield vacated 270 carries with Hassan Haskins now in the NFL. Junior Blake Corum is expected to assume a major chunk of that.
The Wolverines will also boast one of the best offensive lines in the entire country again in 2022 with three starters returning. Michigan also brought in a new right tackle who was a four-star prospect and Virginia transfer Victor Oluwatimi, who graded out as one of the best centers in the country last season according to PFF.
If your cause for concern about Corum reaching this mark is the presence of former five-star recruit Donovan Edwards, just take a look back at last year’s first three games. Corum scored 26, 28 and 32 fantasy points — and that was as the backup.
Pick: Blake Corum Over 20 Fantasy Points
Utah State vs. Alabama
 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 3 SEC Network  |
RB Calvin Tyler Jr. Rushing Yards
One of the biggest discrepancies between PrizePicks and theCFFsite's projections is with Calvin Tyler Jr. We have Tyler at 45.5 yards, and even that feels generous against this vaunted Alabama defense.
No. 1 running backs averaged just 47.4 yards per game against the Tide last season. If you limit that to just nonconference opponents, the starting running back averaged just 23.5 rush yards in four contests.
As a 41-point dog, we don’t anticipate Tyler’s workload to be anywhere close to the 33 attempts he had against UConn last week. He should also find far less success against Will Anderson and Co.
