Thursday
No. 21 Texas A&M @
No. 9 South Carolina, SEC Network, 6 p.m. ET
This is a great game
to start the SEC and the college football season. Texas A&M looks a little
weak on defense to stop a monster running game from the Gamecocks. Is this the
start the USC needs to finally get to the SEC title game? This could be a
little closer than it looks on paper. First game is always tough to choose, but
USC should handle this game.
Nick-South Carolina,
38-31
Jeremy- South Carolina, 35-24
No. 18 Ole Miss vs.
Boise State, Atlanta, Ga., ESPN 8 p.m. ET
A huge game for both
teams as Ole Miss is looking to solidify and see its amazing 2013 recruiting
class grow up this season and make some noise in the SEC. Boise State is
breaking in a new coach and what better way to open up with a win over a ranked
SEC school.
Nick-Ole Miss, 45-41
Jeremy- Ole Miss, 37-17
No. 19 Arizona State
vs. Weber State, Pac-12 Network, 10:30 p.m. ET
Snoozer to start the
season for the Sun Devils here and they should roll in this game.
Nick-ASU, 45-17
Jeremy- ASU, 51-14
Friday
No. 8 Michigan State
vs. Jacksonville State, BTN, 7:30 p.m.
Is there really any
need to talk about this one? If Sparty doesn’t win in a shutout in this game it
will be a disappointment.
Nick-Michigan State,
38-3
Jeremy- Michigan State, 34-10
Saturday
No. 1 Florida State
vs. Oklahoma State, Dallas, Texas, ABC, 8 p.m. ET
What a great
opportunity for Florida State to open the season as the defending national
champs on ABC and defeat a down Oklahoma State team. After researching a lot
about the ‘Noles this year they could be better than last year. Do the ‘Noles
start and end in Dallas? It all starts right here.
Nick-Florida State,
38-21
Jeremy- FSU, 41-17
No. 2 Alabama vs. West
Virginia, Atlanta, Ga., ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET
The Tide are still
without a starting quarterback, but with their style of football does it really
matter? This is a big season for West Virginia and they could really use a game
to shock the world on the first weekend of the season, but don’t expect that to
happen. Bama may not look pretty in this game, but it should be able to run the
ball all over a weak Mountaineer defense.
Nick-Bama, 31-14
Jeremy- Alabama, 34-17
No. 3 Oregon vs. South
Dakota State, Pac-12 Network, 10:30 p.m. ET
Look for the Ducks to
run up 70 points in this game. Marcus Mariota begins his attempt at a Heisman
trophy run and this game should get him a great start.
Nick-Oregon, 70-14
Jeremy- Oregon, 55-14
No. 4 Oklahoma vs.
Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m. ET
I am probably in the
minority here but I do not think the Sooners are the No. 4 team in the country.
I doubt we will see whether that is true this weekend as they should have no
problem running over Tech. It will be interesting in this game to see how
Sooner QB Trevor Knight gets his sophomore campaign off.
Nick-Sooners, 56-35
Jeremy- OU, 42-10
No. 5 Ohio State vs.
Navy, CBS Sports Network, Noon
The Buckeyes have
probably had the worst luck of any team in fall camp losing Braxton Miller, but
that shouldn’t affect them in this game. Navy could make this game interesting
for the first half, but the OSU defense is too tough to allow a major upset to
start the season.
Nick-Ohio State, 35-24
Jeremy- OSU, 34-14
No. 6 Auburn vs.
Arkansas, SEC Network, 4 p.m.
Can Auburn harness the
miracle like it did last season? What effect does the Nick Marshall suspension
have on the Tigers? Even though the Hogs can run the ball, I don’t think we
will really know what Auburn is going to look like tell a few weeks. Arkansas
should be improved but don’t expect them to hang with the Tigers in this game.
Nick-Auburn, 42-20
Jeremy- Auburn, 38-24
No. 7 UCLA vs.
Virginia, ESPN, Noon
We have heard so much
in the off season about UCLA’s return to the top and how they are a dark horse
national title contender. Virginia could be sneaky to some teams, but Brett
Hundley and the Bruins are looking to start their season off with a statement
and I expect they will do just that.
Nick-UCLA, 45-24
Jeremy- UCLA, 38-14
No. 11 Stanford vs. UC
Davis, Pac-12 Network, 4 p.m. ET
Another week one
snoozer. Stanford is one of the most physical teams in the country and should
have no problem with UC Davis. It will be interesting to watch if Kevin Hogan
has truly claimed this team as his and what kind of fire the Cardinal show up
with for this game.
Nick-Stanford, 45-10
Jeremy- Stanford, 37-7
No. 12 Georgia vs. No.
16 Clemson, ESPN, 5:30 p.m. ET
This is probably the
most intriguing game of the weekend. Georgia looks like it is loaded and ready
for a run at the SEC title and maybe even a national title. How do they replace
Aaron Murray is the biggest question, but with the defense they have and the
running game look out this team could be scary good. Clemson is in the same
situation looking to replace an all-world quarterback in Tajh Boyd as well as
receiver Sammy Watkins. This game to me comes down to who can control the ball
better because both teams have great defenses (I know Clemson with a good
defense right?). I think this comes down to Georgia at home and the Dawgs
rushing attack.
Nick-Georgia, 35-31
Jeremy- UGA, 31-27
No. 13 LSU vs. No. 14
Wisconsin, ESPN, 9 p.m. ET
More questions than
answers come from this game. Does LSU have a quarterback? Do they need one with
Leonard Fournette running the ball? Will Fournette live up to the hype? For
Wisconsin is Melvin Gordon the real deal and can he carry this team back to a
B1G title? This like Clemson-Georgia is extremely intriguing. I think the speed
of LSU will be the difference in an extremely close game.
Nick-LSU, 31-28
Jeremy- LSU, 24-23
No. 15 USC vs. Fresno
State, FOX, 7:30 p.m. ET
The Sarkisian Era
beings in LA and the Trojans look like a team that is ready to make its return
to prominence. USC lacks depth, but its starting 22 are so good they will only
need the bench after this game is out of hand. Fresno State is replacing too
much after some mass attrition to the NFL including quarterback David Carr.
Nick-USC, 41-30
Jeremy- USC, 38-17
No. 17 Notre Dame vs.
Rice, NBC, 3:30 p.m. ET
The Irish should be
happy to have a serviceable quarterback in the mix with Everett Golsen back
under center and are talented. They lose a lot on the defensive front, but
should have no problem with the Owls.
Nick-Notre Dame, 42-24
Jeremy- Notre Dame, 35-14
No. 20 Kansas State
vs. Stephen F. Austin, 7:10 p.m. ET
It’s not unheard of to
see Kansas State lose to an FCS team to start the season, but don’t expect it
to happen this week. SFA was just run over by Eastern Washington in week one of
the FCS season and no way it can hang with the Wildcats.
Nick-Kansas State,
45-17
Jeremy- K-State, 35-10
No. 22 Nebraska vs.
Florida Atlantic, BTN, 3:30 p.m. ET
Good way for the
Huskers to get off on the right foot here. FAU is going to struggle breaking
Nebraska’s opening-day winning streak. Watch for Ameer Abdula to look like the
dark horse Heisman contender he is in this one. Huskers roll.
Nick-Nebraska, 49-17
Jeremy- Nebraska, 34-7
No. 23 North Carolina
vs. Liberty, ESPN3, 6 p.m. ET
The Heels are a very
young but talented team. It will be tough to see how good they really can be
opening with an FCS program, but look for them to show some flashes of that
talent.
Nick-North Carolina,
45-14
Jeremy- UNC, 45-14
No. 24 Missouri vs.
South Dakota State, ESPNU, 3:30 p.m. ET
Missouri was the
surprise team in the SEC last year with one of the best runs in the program’s
history. Can they repeat it after losing some big names? We probably won’t find
out too much about Mizzou in this one, unless they lose...
Nick-Missouri, 38-13
Jeremy- Mizzou, 41-13
No. 25 Washington @
Hawai’I, CBS Sports Network, 10:30 p.m. ET
Good way for the Chris
Peterson era to get underway in Washington. Play a game in paradise and play
one of the worst teams in college football. The Huskies have some question
marks going into this season, but the Warriors are a bad team and UW should
have no problem in this one.
Nick-Washington, 48-10
Jeremy- Washington, 45-13
Sunday
No. 10 Baylor vs. SMU,
Fox Sports 1, 7:30 p.m.
This could be a sneaky
close game as SMU can score with the Bears, but in the end Baylor has too much
talent and speed for the Mustangs to keep up with. Plus Baylor is playing the
opening game in its new facility no way the fall in this one. I think it will
be closer, but Baylor pulls it off in the end.
Nick-Baylor, 48-34
Jeremy- Baylor, 45-21
Games to watch
There are two games
that I am really interested in this weekend, Clemson-Georgia and LSU-Wisconsin.
Both games are pretty even and could go either way.
Clemson @ Georgia
For the second
straight year this is probably the most intriguing game in week one. Good for
these two schools to schedule a tough game to start the season to see where
they truly are.
Georgia
The Dawgs are loaded
this season and ready to finally make the run to an SEC title and potentially a
spot in the playoff. Offensively, Nick Marshal and Todd Gurley will carry the
load for this unit and they are two of the best running backs in the country.
Hutson Mason is a new starting quarterback but not new to the game and has
plenty of experience to help this offense move the ball. Georgia’s defense is
loaded just like its offense and it could be the best unit on this team. UGA is
tough to beat at home especially when it is looking for revenge after last
season. Expect this team to come out ready to play and Marshall and Gurley to
be the difference makers in this game.
Clemson
The Tigers are
replacing some serious pieces from a year ago in Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins so
the offense could be the one question mark for this team. It is tough to have
to open against such a great Georgia defense, but Dabbo Sweeney being the
offensive guru he is should be able to get this offense moving during this
game. For once expect the Tiger defense to be better than its offense and it
could be the unit that keeps it in this game. Vick Beasley could be the best defensive
lineman in the country and DC Brent Veneables should have this defense primed
and ready to take on the Gurley-Marshall duo.
Analysis
If Georgia comes out
and scores on the first two drives with a solid rushing attack lookout this one
could be over early, but if the Clemson defense can get some early stops and slow
down Gurley and Marshall this could be a battle. Clemson also needs to
establish itself on offense with a couple nice long drives to start the game.
If it gets in the red zone it better score touchdowns because against this
Georgia defense opportunities are going to be few and far between. If the
Bulldogs can get the Clemson offense off the field on third down the first few
drives of this game and establish the running game early I could see this being
a lopsided game, but I think Clemson has enough talent on defense to keep this
one close and a little more low scoring than last season. I think Georgia will
pull this one out and it is going to come down to a big play from its defense
and a solid game from either Gurley or Marshall.
LSU vs. Wisconsin
This is the
other great game to watch this opening weekend. Both of these teams are
extremely evenly matched and they play damn near the same style of physical
football.
Wisconsin
The biggest
thing in this game for Wisconsin will be its rushing attack lead by Melvin
Gordon. If the Badgers can use that extremely experienced offensive line and
Gordon to get the ball going downhill they have the chance to meet LSU in
physicality and make an early statement in Houston. I worry a little bit about
the Badger defense against an equally physical offensive front and rushing
attack from the Tigers, but this is going to be smash it out football game. The
true key to this game could come from the Wisconsin passing game, if the Tigers
start to shut down the rushing attack can Joel Stave and UW passing game get
first downs and score points?
LSU
The Tigers
have a lot more questions than the Badgers do, but they also have more
top-to-bottom talent. Speed could be one of the biggest weapons for the Tigers
in this game as they are hands down much faster than Wisconsin. LSU’s key in
this one will be the ability to plug holes and win the battle at the line of
scrimmage to stop the Badger rushing attack. On the offensive side of the ball
for the Tigers getting Leonard Fournette some
early touches and getting him confident in the game will be huge. This game
will come down to some big plays from him and the Tiger running game.
Analysis
Physically
these teams are very evenly matched, but one of the keys to this game will be
LSU’s speed. If they can get around the edge as well as plug the lanes for
Gordon and the Badger running game the Tigers could be on their way to an early
statement game between the SEC and B1G. That being said if Gordon can find some
running room and the Badgers can establish an early running game this could be
extremely interesting. I think LSU’s team speed will be the key in this one,
but this should be one of the best games of the weekend. I think this one is
going to be extremely close and could come down to who has the ball the last
drive.
Upset Alert
This one is
tough to pick this week because they really good games are pitting ranked teams
so those can be upsets. I know I may get some hate mail for this, but sorry
Ohio State fans.
Ohio State-Navy: I can’t go so far as to call this an
alert, but maybe a heightened level of anxiety should be the best way to put
this. Ohio State’s defense is so good that it should have no trouble stopping
the Navy Triple Option, but if Navy can make some early first downs and keep
that defense on the field longer than expected this game could be closer than
Ohio State fans want. Watch out for Ohio State to get a slow start on offense
and Navy to start with some big plays. If Navy is in this game at the end of
the third quarter watch out this could be an upset.
Players to watch
Vic
Beasley-DE-Clemson: The Clemson defense could be the key in the game against
Georgia and if Beasley can make some big plays for his defense it could give
the Tigers the momentum to win this game.
Jamies
Winston-QB-Florida State: How does the reigning Heisman trophy winning handle
all the distraction and begin his run at a second-consecutive trophy? It will
be interesting to see if he comes out on fire like he did last season.
Leonard Fournette-RB-LSU: The No. 1 overall
recruit in 2014 should see plenty of playing time in the opener against
Wisconsin. Will he live up to the hype and lead the Tigers this season?
Brett Hundley-QB-UCLA: Hundley and the Bruins
start the season with a trip all the way across the country against a
potentially sneaky Virginia team. Hundley is a Heisman candidate and this could
be a great way for him to get some big numbers and a good win to start the season.
Trevor Knight-QB-Oklahoma: Knight missed a lot
of time last season due to injury but came in to help the Sooners beat Bama in
the Sugar Bowl. What does his sophomore season have in store? Knight’s success
is going to be a key in the Sooners success. He needs another good start to the
year to keep the momentum of 2013 going.
My Conference pick
ACC
Atlantic-Florida State
Coastal-North Carolina
Winner-Florida State
B1G
East-Michigan State
West-Wisconsin
Winner-Wisconsin
Big 12
Winner-Baylor
Pac 12
North-Oregon
South-UCLA
Winner-UCLA
SEC
East-Georgia
West-Alabama
Winner-Georgia
Four Teams in the Playoff
UCLA, Georgia, Florida State, Baylor
Championship Game: Florida State-Georgia
Champion: Florida State
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