Football is back, now I can stop pretending to care about anything else. I will probably cry during kickoff in Madison. Onto to the week 1 picks, I was a solid 15 games over .500 last year.
UNLV to cover, getting 35.5, against the Badgers in Madison (O/U 56) Thursday
I LOVE the Badgers this year. The addition of Russell Wilson makes the Bielema’s squad a dark horse national title contender and the Big Ten favorite. However, Bobby Houk is a helluva football coach and the Rebels plays Wisconsin real tough in last year’s opener in Vegas. The Badger D will take some time to acclimate to new personnel and to the loss of one man wrecking crew, JJ Watt. I expect the Rebels to put enough points on the board to keep it respectable. I love the over.
Miss. State to cover, giving 30, against Memphis in Graceland (O/U 50.5) Thursday
Memphis is awful. I was driving down to Oxford, MS for a family wedding a few weeks ago and was fortunate enough to get 90 minutes of Memphis Tiger football talk. The callers were predicting anywhere from 4 to 8 wins this year, one caller went so far to guarantee a W over UAB because “Tommy West (former Tiger coach) is their DC.” They won 1 DAMN GAME last year. I was laughing so hard I almost drove into oncoming traffic 3 times.
On the other hand, Dan Mullen is a great coach who has a chance for a monster job this offseason if the Bulldogs improve. They has a real nice year in 2010 but still finished next to last in the SEC West, leaving a big chip on their shoulder. I expect them to run the hell out of the football and defend like their lives depend on it. Very high on Miss. State. Expect them to cover easy, but not sure about the 50.5 b/c don’t know if Memphis will score.
TCU to cover, giving 4.5, against Baylor in Waco (O/U 56) Friday
The Bears are a hot sleeper pick, hearing a lot of Big X11 player of the year talk about Robert Griffin 3. There are a handful of guys in Norman who might say different. I’ll take Patterson every freaking time, and the new QB, Casey Pachall, is talented and surrounded by playmakers.
Northwestern v BC
All depends on Persa’s Achilles. Betting is off the board due to his questionable status. I like BC’s QB Rettig also.
Missouri to cover, giving 20.5, against Miami of OH in Columbia (O/U 47.5)
Miami is crap in the beginning of the season. Mizzou has playmakers, a capable QB, and an offensive mastermind in Gary Pinkel. They think they have something brewing in Columbia, and I agree. Love the Tigers and the over.
Houston Cougars to cover, giving 3, to UCLA in Houston (O/U 61)
As much as I love Ricky, got to take the 6 year QB in his first game back after losing his season to injury. Houston will spread the Bruins out and Keenum’s accuracy will cause UCLA to bleed to death from a thousand pricks (high 40s completions and 4≤TD passes).
USF to cover, getting 10, against the Domers in South Bend (O/U 47)
The Bulls are good. Way too good to be getting 10 points against the Irish. They have playmakers, speed on D, and an experienced, productive QB. This Bulls team is a lot better than many of the teams that the Irish lost to last year. Very concerned about the Irish’s lack of playmakers.
BYU to cover, giving 3, against Ole Miss in the Grove (O/U 57)
The sports radio station that covers Ole Miss in Oxford, MS let’s Houston Nutt’s daughter host a call in program. I was appalled listening to that garbage.
LSU to cover, getting 4, against the Ducks in JerryWorld (O/U 55)
I think the Ducks will have trouble dealing with the Bayou Bengals DLine. I think that LSU will run on the Ducks and allow Jarrett Lee to have success on play action.
Boise State to cover, giving 3.5, against the Dawgs in the Dome (O/U 51)
Kellen Moore and Chris Petersen with 8 months prep, yeah I will take my chances. The Broncos have been recruiting and developing stellar defensive players and have really been able to defend the run. I like Aaron Murray but don’t trust the talent on the outside or true frosh Isiah Crowell to make enough plays. While Murray is mobile and a decent athlete, it would take a “Colt McCoy type” QB to put the type of pressure on the Broncos D without productive playmakers.
