Finally, opening weekend has arrived. No more hype, no more lists; just football. There are a mixed bag of games this weekend, ranging from great to good to downright inhumane. With Tropical Storm Ernesto looking like it will not only turn back into a hurricane but also potentially be hitting Gainesville, FL (where I attend school), I will not be doing a preview for any game in which a top 25 team is playing a division 1-AA team. As a matter of fact, I probably won’t be doing any of those this year because they are a waste of time to everyone except the division 1-AA team who is getting paid to get their ass kicked.
The format here will be relatively simple. Home teams are listed second with the point spread in parenthesis and the team who I think will cover the point spread in bold. Keep in mind that a team can lose and still cover a point spread. Following the preview I will post what I predict the score to be. I will only be doing top 25 games as well as the five best games featuring non-top 25 teams. The format might change as we get further into the season but for now that is what we are going with. Point spreads are courtesy of World Sports Exchange at wsex.com.
I’m sure everyone is heartbroken but no Unrelated Chatter this week, straight to the previews we go…
Disclaimer: I am by no means a professional gambler nor do I or Inside Pulse condone gambling. Having said that, these predictions were made for prediction purposes only! If you lose your house because you bet based on what I said then you are an idiot and deserve to lose your house, just don’t hold me responsible.
August 31st
Boston College (-13.5) at Central Michigan: Normally this game wouldn’t be given the time of day but it’s the first official game on the D1-A slate so it gets some love. I did some research but was unable to find out why BC would ever have to travel to Central Michigan. BC doesn’t ever get much respect but should put a hurting on Central Michigan.
BC 38 – Central Michigan 17
Northwestern at Miami (OH) (+4) : Talk about an emotional scene. This was supposed to be Northwestern Head Coach Randy Walker’s return to his alma matter and the school where he was originally a head coach. Due to his unfortunate passing this summer, the game has taken on a whole different meaning. It’s hard to predict a game like this because you have no idea how the emotions of the Northwestern players’ will play out. I’m going with Miami just because they have a little less uncertainty surrounding them right now but Northwestern is probably the better team.
Miami (OH) 34 – Northwestern 21
South Carolina (-7) at Mississippi State: Much like Notre Dame, I remain a bit skeptical about South Carolina. Are they as good as advertised or are they a product of the Steve Spurrier hype machine. Either way they won’t be tested in the opener because Mississippi State has a long, long way to go before they can get back to the days of Fred Smoot.
South Carolina 27 – Mississippi State 10
Northern Arizona at #24 Arizona State : D1-AA team; no point spread available.
Arizona State 44 – Northern Arizona 13
UTEP at San Diego State (-1.5): SDSU coach Chuck Long makes his head coaching debut and he definitely wishes he had a team like Northern Arizona coming to town instead of UTEP. UTEP is led by Carson Palmer’s little brother Jordan and are a very solid football team with an outstanding coach in Mike Price. Both these teams are among the best non-BCS conference teams in America and it should be a shootout. It’s a shame that this game will be televised on CSTV because that means about 9 people in America get to see it. I have CSTV on my cable system in NY but no such luck here in FL.
SDSU 38 – UTEP 31
September 1st
Nevada (+11.5) at Fresno State: Much like UTEP/SDSU the night before, this too is a match up of solid non-BCS teams. Nevada QB Jeff Rowe is among the best you have never heard of, but you do get to sneak a peak at him cause the game will be on ESPN. Be sure to catch some of the action before you hit up the bars because you will not be disappointed. Unless head coach Pat Hill thinks Fresno, CA is the greatest place on Earth, I can’t imagine he stays at Fresno State much longer because it’s just a matter of time before a big program or the NFL woos him away.
Fresno State 31 – Nevada 21
September 2nd
North Texas at #3 Texas: Texas is notorious for blowing teams out of the water in the opening weeks but the quarterback situation scares me too much to give 41 points. Texas coach Mack Brown has elected to go with Colt McCoy but until he proves he can handle the job I’ll take the huge road underdog. Ah who am I kidding, I’ll still go with Texas.
Texas 56 – North Texas 10
Vanderbilt at #14 Michigan (-26): Unfortunately this game is a year too late. Had it been last year, Jay Cutler might have been able to keep his Commodores in the game. Thanks to a new transfer rule regarding players who have received their bachelors degree, Vandy actually still has experience in former Arizona QB Richard Kovalcheck. Don’t get too excited though, the guy lost his job midway last season.
Michigan 51 – Vanderbilt 21
Montana at #16 Iowa: D1-AA team; no point spread available.
Iowa 45 – Montana 17
Western Kentucky at #15 Georgia : D1-AA team; no point spread available.
Georgia 52 – Western Kentucky 13
Northeastern at #17 Virginia Tech: D1-AA team; no point spread available.
Virginia Tech 65 – Northeastern 7
Northern Illinois at #1 Ohio State (-18): Northern Illinois has an outstanding RB in Garrett Wolfe. In the reporters’ world he’s become the guy who is so underrated that he is overrated. It’s put up or shut up time for Wolfe, the rest of his team doesn’t stand a chance.
Ohio State 42 – Northern Illinois 17
Marshall at #5 West Virgnina (-21.5): If West Virginia can carry all that momentum from last season and live up to the hype this one should be over quickly down in Morgantown.
West Virginia 49 – Marshall 24
Florida Atlantic at #18 Clemson (-33.5): This game gets reviewed but only because FAU is a D-1A team, barely. Ok I lied, no review.
Clemson 56 – Florida Atlantic 10
Akron at #19 Penn State (-17) : Penn State shouldn’t miss too much with Anthony Morelli stepping in for Michael Robinson but you never can be too sure. Akron isn’t that bad of a team and I toyed with taking them with the points but went with Penn State instead just because of the homefield advantage.
Penn State 38 – Akron 17
Louisiana Tech at #20 Nebraska (-20): All is just about right again in Huskerland following their Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan. Nebraska is a team to watch out for this season and Louisiana Tech certainly is not. Put the women and children to bed early on Saturday as this one might be a lot more lopsided than you think.
Nebraska 63 – Louisiana Tech 20
Stanford at #21 Oregon (-11.5) : Had this game been at Stanford and not Oregon, I may have gone the other way with my pick. Oregon seems to be getting a little bit too much love for a team that lost it’s best players on both sides of the ball. This will be a close one but I think Oregon pulls away late.
Oregon 28 – Stanford 13
#9 California (+2) at #23 Tennessee: The point spread alone should tell you all you need to know about this game. California has more talent and is better coached than their opponent, but unfortunately for them their name is California. If this team was named Texas or Ohio State we would be talking about how dangerous they are. Instead they are underdogs against a team that didn’t even go to a bowl last year. Of course the line is so fishy that it wouldn’t surprise me if Tennessee sent them back to Cali with their tails between their legs.
California 31 – Tennessee 27
Southern Mississippi at #7 Florida (-20): Ironically enough I write this preview as my friend is standing in line waiting to get me my student ticket for the game. Southern Miss is a lot better than people think but Florida plays this one on an emotional high with this being the day of their huge 10th anniversary celebration of the1996 national title. Hell it must be important, Steve Spurrier is even coming to town for it.
Florida 44 – Southern Mississippi 20
UAB at #10 Oklahoma (-22): Last year UAB nearly shocked the world by going into Tennessee and beating them. Many would lead you to believe that they might indeed be able to pull off the upset this year with the controversy surrounding Oklahoma but I think it is all nonsense. Paul Thompson is just as good as a quarterback as Rhett Bomar and the Sooners should pull away “sooner” than later. And there is my first god-awful pun in the history of this column, shoot me now.
Oklahoma 41 – UAB 13
SMU (+26.5) at #25 Texas Tech: Yes, Texas Tech puts points on the board like they are going out of style but until they prove that they can play some defense I just have to go with SMU on this one. Double the money if they can rekindle their days of the late 80’s and cheat to win. Expect a shootout, the over at 54.5 is probably a much safer bet.
Texas Tech 48 – SMU 28
Washington State at #4 Auburn (-14.5): The point spread seems a bit low and I am not too sure why. Anyone who is anyone has touted the virtues of Auburn this season while the only thing that has been said about Washington State is that they well, play in Washington state.
Auburn 31 – Washington State 14
#2 Notre Dame at Georgia Tech (+7): Arguably the best game of the day. No one has said much about Georgia Tech this preseason other than their outstanding WR Calvin Johnson. Georgia Tech is a good, not great, team and the outcome will depend solely on if quarterback Reggie Ball can be accurate in his passes to Johnson. If Ball is on, then we may have our first upset of the season.
Notre Dame 27 – Georgia Tech 24
Louisiana Lafayette at #8 LSU (-30.5):The only way LSU loses this game is if they forget that it’s scheduled and they fail to show up. Hell, even then Louisiana Lafayette still might not cover.
LSU 66 – Louisiana Lafayette 13
#6 USC (-8) at Arkansas: Once considered a potential upset alert, the buzz has cooled on Arkansas a great deal due to star RB Darren McFadden being injured for the game due to a bar fight. Arkansas should be a bowl bound team this season but being bowl bound and beating USC are two different things. JD Booty gets the start at QB for USC so I guess if there is a time to knock off USC this would be the game, I just don’t see it happening.
USC 31 – Arkansas 21
#22 TCU at Baylor (+7): Some nice things are finally being said about the Baylor football program for the first time since I can remember. I don’t think they will beat TCU but I do think they keep it close. Moral victories are just another nice way of saying that you lost, but this could very well be a moral victory of Baylor.
TCU 27 – Baylor 21
September 3rd
Kentucky at #13 Louisville (No spread given): It’s a tough time in Lexington, KY as people are coming to grips with now being the second best in the state at both football and basketball. Rivalry games are often close regardless of the skill level, but this is not one of those cases.
Louisville 45 – Kentucky 17
September 4th
#11 Florida State (+3) at #12 Miami: Talent aside, this game just has a big game feel to it. The rivalry combined with the timeslot combined with it being a holiday and it is hard not to get excited about this game. As many of you may have seen from my season preview, I have Florida State playing in the national title game. The question is, can they still make it there with a loss in the opener to Miami? I say the question is moot because FSU goes into the Orange Bowl and pulls this one out.
Florida State 31 – Miami 27
That’s all for now. Enjoy this weekends slate of games and I apologize if I did not cover your team.
