It’s the most wonderful time of the year. High school football is beginning it’s region play, and college football is kicking off it’s season. There are some solid games to start things off. As I did last year, I will pick all of the SEC games, then pick the top three games nationally, and an upset special. This week, I will do more than just three top games nationally, as there are a lot of big ones between conferences since it’s opening week. I’ll probably do the same for rivalry week as well.
There are some great games involving the SEC to start with, most notably here in Alabama with the Tide taking on Big 10 runner-up Wisconsin and Auburn taking on Louisville. The season gets started with North Carolina and South Carolina on Thursday night, and keeps going all weekend long. (and yes, the season actually got started with NDSU and Montana, although North and South Carolina get the FBS season started)
As always, the bold team is my straight up pick. These lines are from MGM as of the Wednesday before the games are played, and for reference.
My record last year was 132-42, so I’m hoping I can do even better this year.
Week 1
Alabama (-10.5) Wisconsin (Dallas)
Auburn (-10.5) Louisville (Atlanta)
South Carolina (-2.5) North Carolina (Charlotte)
Western Kentucky (-3) Vanderbilt
Georgia (-35.5) Louisiana-Monroe
Arkansas (-33) UTEP
Tennessee (-21) Bowling Green
Kentucky (-17) Louisiana-Lafeyette
Texas A&M (-3) Arizona State
Florida (-36.5) New Mexico State
Mississippi State (-22) Southern Miss
Ole Miss (N/A) UT Martin
Missouri (N/A) Southeast Missouri State
LSU (N/A) McNeese State
Top Non-SEC Games
Utah (-6) Michigan
UCLA (-18) Virginia
Nebraska (-7) BYU
Boise State (-11.5) Washington
Notre Dame (-10) Texas
Ohio State (-12) Virginia Tech
