College Football Thursday Night Betting
College football is the second most popular sport in the United States, behind the NFL. A big reason for that is the massive increase in live TV content. Once upon a time, Thursday night football would feature one game per week. These days, Thursday night football serves as a celebration to kick off a long weekend of action. The 2023 Thursday night college football schedule was not one of the better ones in history, as there simply were not a lot of great matchups on the schedule. It all started with 11 games in Week 1 highlighted by Minnesota’s win over Nebraska and concluded with the Egg Bowl in Week 13 with Mississippi beating Mississippi State.
College Football Betting Lines
Week 1 Thursday night college football schedule was a big one with 11 games on the schedule. The two best games were Minnesota’s 13-10 win over Nebraska and Arizona State’s escape against Southern Utah. The Sun Devils were 32.5-point home favorites and just barely pulled out a 24-21 win. Other results from Week 1 Thursday action on August 31 had Wake Forest beating Elon 37-17, Central Florida routing Kent 56-6, Georgia State getting past Rhode Island 42-35, Western Michigan beating St. Francis (PA) 35-17, NC State winning at Connecticut 24-14, Utah beating Florida 24-11, UAB routing North Carolina A&T 35-6, Missouri rolling over South Dakota 35-10 and Tulsa beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 42-7.
Week 2 schedule had just one game and it was not competitive, as the Louisville Cardinals routed the Murray State Racers 56-0. It was the home opener for head coach Jeff Brohm. It was an easy win for the Cardinals, as Jawhar Jordan rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals put up 690 yards of total offense in the win. Quarterback Jack Plummer threw for 247 yards and a TD in the win. The Louisville defense held Murray State to just 166 total yards.
Week 3 Thursday night schedule had two games, only one of which was close. The Miami Hurricanes had no trouble at all in winning at home, as they routed Bethune-Cookman by a score of 48-7. Tyler Van Dyke threw for 247 yards, while Xavier Restrepo had 120 receiving yards. The close game on Thursday in Week 3 had Memphis just getting past Navy 28-24. Blake Watson rushed for 169 yards and a TD and the Tigers overcame two turnovers in the last six minutes to hold off Navy.
Week 4 Thursday night schedule had just one game, as Georgia State went into Coastal Carolina and routed the Chanticleers, winning 30-17. Georgia State was a 4.5-point underdog and let start to finish. Georgia State dominated on the ground, as Marcus Carroll had 29 carries for 150 yards and a TD, while Darren Grainger had 13 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Week 5 Thursday night football schedule had Western Kentucky rolling over Middle Tennessee 31-10, easily covering the 6.5-point number. It was Tulsa cruising to a 48-26 win over Temple, easily covering the 3-point chalk and in overtime it was Jacksonville State winning at Sam Houston by a score of 35-28. Jacksonville State scored with just seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 28 and then scored the only TD in overtime.
Week 6 Thursday night college football schedule had two competitive games, as Liberty beat Sam Houston State 21-16, while Western Kentucky outscored Louisiana Tech 25-38. The win by the Hilltoppers was expected, as they were listed as 6-point road favorites. The game also went over the total of 58.5 at online sportsbooks.
Week 7 Thursday night college football featured the best finish of the college football season, as Houston beat West Virginia 41-39 on a Hail Mary Touchdown pass on the last play of the game. Donovan Smith hit Stephen Johnson Jr. with a 49-yard TD pass to give Houston the home win. The TD also gave Houston the cover, as they were a 3-point home dog and were trailing 39-35 before the last second TD. The other game on Thursday had SMU routing East Carolina 31-10.
Week 8 Thursday night college football schedule had both of the underdogs winning outright. It was James Madison winning 20-9 on the road at Marshall. Almost all of the scoring was done in the second half, as James Madison led 3-0 at the half. Rice won the other game on Thursday, as they routed Tulsa 42-10. The Owls were listed as a 3.5-point road underdog.
Week 9 Thursday night college football schedule had two blowouts, as each of the home teams rolled to victory. It was Virginia Tech blowing out Syracuse, winning by a score of 38-10. The game was over at the half, as the Hokies led 30-3. The Hokies easily covered the 2.5-point spread and the game just went over the total of 47.5. In the other game it was Georgia Southern winning 44-27 over Georgia State. Georgia Southern easily covered the small spread and the game went over the total.
Week 10 Thursday night college football schedule had three games, with the home team winning each game and covering the spread in two of the three. It was Texas Tech beating TCU 35-28 with quarterback Behren Morton returning to the lineup and throwing for 282 yards and two TDs. The Red Raiders held off a late TCU rally and covered the 2.5-point spread. Troy had a big fourth quarter and beat South Alabama by a score of 28-10 to cover the 6.5-point number. The other game had Duke scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to slip past Wake Forest 24-21 but the Blue Devils did not cover the 7-point spread.
Week 11 Thursday night college football saw both of the road underdogs covering the spread with one of them winning outright. Southern Mississippi went into Lafayette as an 8.5-point underdog and won outright in overtime by a score of 34-31. In the other Thursday night game, it was Louisville beating Virginia 31-24 but the Cardinals were never a threat to cover the 20.5-point spread. Louisville actually trailed in the fourth quarter before rallying for the win.
Week 12 Thursday night college football had just one game and it was Pittsburgh beating Boston College 24-16. The Panthers came into the game with just two wins on the season but oddsmakers knew something because Pittsburgh was listed as a small home favorite. Nate Yarnell made just his second career start at quarterback and played well. He had one passing TD and one rushing TD. The Panthers were leading by just one point with under five minutes left when Rodney Hammond Jr. broke a long 66-yard run for a touchdown. He finished with 145 yards on 15 carries.
Week 13 Thursday night college football had just one game and it was Mississippi beating Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl by a score of 17-7. Jaxson Dart threw one touchdown and Quinshon Judkins rushed for another in the win for the Rebels. It was really an ugly game, as the Rebels led just 3-0 at the half. Judkins sparked the offense for Ole Miss in the second half and he finished with 119 yards on 28 carries. The only score for the Bulldogs was a 1-yard run by quarterback Will Rogers who threw for just 207 yards. It was a disappointing finish for Mississippi State who finished the season with a losing record.
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