COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS FOR WEEK 1
I have 8 “quick picks” and 8 games that I will go more in depth for. Also, unless noted, the game is on saturday
Appalachian State at #9
Tennessee – 7:30PM ET, SECN (Thursday)
The Pick: Tennessee
South Carolina at 
Vanderbilt – 8PM ET, ESPN (Thursday)
The Pick: Vanderbilt
Oregon State at 
Minnesota – 9PM ET, BTN (Thursday)
The Pick: Minnesota
Kansas State at #8
Stanford – 9PM ET, FS1 (Friday)
The Pick: Stanford
Georgia Tech vs 
Boston College (Dublin, Ireland) – 7:30AM ET, ESPN2
The Pick: Georgia Tech
Missouri at 
West Virginia – 12PM ET, FS1
The Pick: West Virginia
Rutgers at #14 
Washington – 2PM ET, PAC12
The Pick: Washington
BYU vs 
Arizona (Glendale, AZ) – 10:30PM ET, FS1
The Pick: BYU
#3
Oklahoma vs #15
Houston (Houston, TX) – 12PM ET, ABC
Defending Big 12 champion and college football playoff semifinalists Oklahoma travel to NRG Stadium to take on the defending Peach Bowl champion Houston Cougars, who defeated Florida State to win that title. Though Oklahoma lost star receiver Sterling Shepard to the NFL Draft, quarterback Baker Mayfield should be a Heisman contender, with new receivers like Dede Westbrook trying to fill in the hole that was left by the departure of Sterling Shepard, the inexperienced Houston secondary, who only return one starter from last year, should be tested. Houston pass game isn’t to be undersold though, and I think the Cougars will hang in this one for a while, but at the end of the day I’ll take Oklahoma to pull away in the second half, 45-31.
The Pick: SU: Oklahoma
The Pick ATS: Oklahoma -11.5
#16
UCLA at 
Texas A&M – 3:30PM ET, CBS
The debut of Trevor Knight is a key story for Texas A&M in this one, as he will have to go up one of the best secondary’s in the Pac-12 in UCLA. The Aggies have the best player on the field in defensive end Myles Garrett, but on the other side of the ball Texas A&M has a lot of questions. UCLA on the other hand will have a talented quarterback in Josh Rosen, who is a future NFL Quarterback for sure, at the end of the day, I have enough confidence in UCLA’s tackles to at least slow down the beast that is Myles Garrett, and at the end of the day I have UCLA in a close one, 31-28.
The Pick SU: UCLA
The Pick ATS: UCLA +3
#5
LSU vs
Wisconsin (Green Bay, WI) – 3:30PM ET, ABC
College Gameday will be in town when the #5 preseason ranked LSU Tigers take one the Wisconsin Badgers at Lambeu Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. Wisconsin will rely on it’s running game behind back Corey Clement, and a stout offensive line featuring Dan Voltz at the center spot. On the other side of the ball for the Badgers, they should be well equipped to slow down Heisman contender Leonard Fournette, as the Wiscy linebacking core is one of the best in the nation. For LSU, it’s all about stopping the run. Wisconsin has a very one-dimensional offense, and if LSU can stop the Wisconsin running attack and force them to throw it, Wisconsin will lose this game against a secondary for LSU that might be NFL-caliber. I have enough confidence in LSU’s defensive line that I can say with very few doubts in my mind that the Tigers will win this one, 31-27.
The Pick SU: LSU
The Pick ATS: Wisconsin +11
#18
Georgia vs #22
North Carolina (Atlanta, GA) – 5:30PM ET, ESPN
This is one of the toughest games of the week to predict for me, because there are so many uncertainties revolving around Georgia with the new coaching staff. Georgia has a promising defense, and one that I think could do a lot of good in the SEC, but in the first game of the season, I just don’t have that much confidence right now. On the other hand for Georgia Nick Chubb is back, and North Carolina’s run defense will be better than it was last year, but at the same time, it would be hard to get worse. I’m really high on Elijah Hood at running back for UNC, and the Tar Heels have some of the best recievers in the ACC, so i’m actually going to call an upset win for the Tar Heels, 31-30.
The Pick SU: North Carolina
The Pick ATS: North Carolina +2.5
#20
USC vs #1
Alabama (Arlington, TX) – 8PM ET, ABC
Alabama is a really good team. They are ranked #1 in the SEC in every single one of defensive unit rankings. Yes, the quarterback spot is a little bit of a question mark for the Crimson Tide, and that great defense is unproven on the college level for the most part, but runningback Bo Scarbrough is an absolute monster on the ground. Now, I’ll give credit where credit is due, USC’s secondary should be able to slow down Alabama’s passing attack, and JuJu Smith-Schuste is the best wide receiver in the country, but with Max Browne making his first ever collegiate start against ALABAMA of all teams, that worries me, and I’ve got the Crimson Tide in an absolute blowout, 42-17.
The Pick SU: Alabama
The Pick ATS: Alabama +11.5
#2
Clemson at 
Auburn – 9PM ET, ESPN
And we move from Alabama to a game featuring the team they beat in the national championship last year in Clemson and Alabama’s in state arch rival Auburn. Auburn’s main strength is their play in the trenches, and I think their fantastic offensive line will bee able to make long, sustained drives and be able to keep Clemson’s offense off the field and while Clemson is on the field Auburn’s D-Line will be in the face of Clemson QB Deshaun Watson all game. However, I don’t see this one being much closer than the previous one, Deshaun Watson and Wayne Gallman are one of the best 1-2 punches in the ACC, with the former being the #1 candidate for player of the year at this point, I said earlier that I like Auburn’s D-Line but when Gallman gets to the second level, I don’t have the faith in Auburn’s linebackers to come up with stops. I’ve got Clemson, 42-24.
The Pick SU: Clemson
The Pick ATS: Clemson -7.5
#10
Notre Dame at 
Texas – 7:30PM ET, ABC (Sunday)
We now move into Day 4 of the 5 day college football opening weekend, and we get our first look at two of the most interesting teams in the country in Notre Dame and Texas. Both teams always look good on paper, and then tend to falter short of expectations. This is a big year for Charlie Strong, as anything short of an 8-win team could cost him his job. Both teams are going to pound the ball down eachothers throats. Each of these teams have great backs, great offensive lines, and even pretty good run defenses, so let’s say those cancel eachother out. The team whose quarterback(s) play better will win this game, and at the end of the day the experience of Malik Zaire and DeShone Kizer over the raw talent Shane Buechele. I’ve got the Fighting Irish, 37-30.
The Pick SU: Notre Dame
The Pick ATS: Notre Dame -3.5
#11
Ole Miss vs #4
Florida State (Orlando, FL) – 8PM ET, ESPN (Monday)
Hope you had a good labor day everyone! Because it’s time to watch some MORE FOOTBALL!!! In what is perhaps the best game of the week Ole Miss takes on FSU near the ESPN Headquarters in Orlando, FL. Now, if you’ve read my preseason college football playoff projected, you will know that I projected Florida State as the #1 team in the country for the end of the season, I’ll explain that here. Florida State lost Jalen Ramsey to the draft last year, but their secondary is still very good, I would also put Florida State in the top 10 in the country in terms of linebackers and defensive line, the only other teams in the nation that can say that are LSU and Alabama, also I like what I’ve seen from the Seminoles quarterback AND OH YEAH DALVIN COOK. Cook, is one of the most underrated runningbacks in the nation, and doesn’t get even close to the amount of the attention in the Heisman race that he deserves. I’m picking Florida State to win this game, but let’s give Ole Miss some credit, Chad Kelly could be a quarterback in the NFL, and the “Land Shark” Ole Miss pass rush should be able to put enough pressure on the inexperienced FSU quarterback, that he may make some mistakes, and at the end of the day I see this as almost a 50/50 tossup, in fact I’ve got Florida State in a razor thin 31-30 win.
The Pick SU: Florida State
The Pick ATS: Ole Miss +4.5