The college football season is officially here with a handful of games on the slate for Week 0.

Though there aren’t any marquee matchups, bettors still can find some early value in a couple of lines.

One of those games is Florida International vs. Louisiana Tech.

FIU is coming off a 4-8 season that showed signs of progress. One of those wins was a 42-34 overtime thriller over Louisiana Tech in October.

The Panthers’ momentum was slowed a bit this offseason when they lost a couple of key players to the transfer portal and starting running back Lexington Joseph tore his ACL.

Even with those setbacks, I expect FIU to be improved this season.

The Panthers return 12 starters, including quarterback Grayson James.

If the offensive line holds up, FIU will be more competitive than many are projecting.

Louisiana Tech (3-9) brings in 22 transfers headlined by former Boise State QB Hank Bachmeier.

Will the Bulldogs be improved? Yes.

Should they open the year as 11.5-point favorites? Probably not.

The Bulldogs had the second-worst run defense in college football last year, allowing 243 yards per game.

With 11 transfers on the defensive side of the ball, it’s going to take a minute for Louisiana Tech to show improvement.

I’ll take FIU to keep this game within a number that is a bit inflated to start the year.

The play: FIU +12.