Posted by Mike
Just three more days and it's on. We'll be posting fast and furious this week, so please feel free to add comments.
The first week of CFB is always filled with lopsided contest as most major programs tune it up, and small programs get paid. The week begins with Thursday night contests featuring Marshall at Ohio State, Pittsburgh at Utah and Southern Miss at South Carolina.
The Gamecocks are a 14 point favorite, and I do not know why this number is so low.
The Bulldawgs are a 28 point favorite over Louisiana Lafayette which is equally puzzling. Georgia is historically a low scoring team against small schools. Hopefully CMR will have the luxury of pummeling the Rajin' Cajuns, and leave something in his bag for Spurrier, but I have doubts. 1 – We are starting a new QB. 2 – We are running a new defense. 3 – We are short one (dumb ass) running back.
Both teams will work on the basics and try to sit on a package for the next game. This plus the off field distractions in Columbia and Athens could lead to skewed point spreads.
The three best games of opening week are Cincinnati at Fresno State (+1.5), Boise State at Va. Tech (+2.5) and LSU at North Carolina (+1.5). As indicated by the lines, all are expected to be close games, and the BSU vs. VT contest could have huge BCS implications. The Broncos have a soft schedule, so if they top the Hokies, there is nothing between them and an eventual beat down in the title game by whoever wins the SEC. I do not believe this can or will happen. Boise State is entertaining to watch, but Virginia Tech plays big boy football.
North Carolina has been living their own little South Beach soap opera . This game is huge for their program and if Butch Davis is going to make it work in Chapel Hill, this is the year. The crowd will be rowdy, but the Tigers play in front of rowdy fans every time they hit the field. If LSU had a coach with an IQ above 10, they would win hands down. Therefore I believe it will be a very close game.
UGA will win by 35.
ReplyDeleteLock of the week looks like VaTech. BSU returns a lot of players, but speed factor will be big. VaTech 28, BSU 10
ReplyDeleteGeorgia never seems to covers big lines like this. I predict 31-10.
ReplyDeleteVery tough for UGa to cover that spread, especially with the new QB and a big game on the horizon.
ReplyDeleteCincy will destroy Fresno State. The local paper (Cincinnati Enquirer) says the FS Bulldogs are counting on temperatures at game time in the high nineties to help them. It's been mid-90's in Cincinnati for the past three weeks, with humidity in the 80's. So much for Cincinnati not being used to the heat.
You are right about Les Miles. He is dumber than his players and that is hard to do.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info Paul!
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