(Rankings based off of the AP Poll)
- (14) Clemson Vs (1) Georgia – In any of the past 10 seasons, this game, even though it was this early in the season, would have major playoff implications. This year, not so much. With Florida State’s embarrassing week 0 loss, Clemson is in the “best position” to win the ACC. I say that with quotations because anything can change down the line, after all it was just week 0. However, if Clemson can pull off the upset, I think they’ll going to win the ACC, I’m that confident. However, it will be tough for a few reasons. We know Clemson has not wanted to adapt to the new college football world. They’ve had 2 incoming transfers in the 2020’s, both quarterbacks. Neither of those quarterbacks have played much, if at all. That led to a down year, as it was their first season since 2010 when the finished with below 10 wins. They were close with 9, but they started 4-4. They have the toughest first week matchup, and the game rests on the shoulders of Cade Klubnik. Klubnik did not have a good 2023, at least for the expectations put on him. He threw for 2,844 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 9 picks. Even though they won their last 2 games, Klubnik threw just 364 yards and 2 picks. He was also sacked 9 times. Clemson did have some opt outs in their bowl game, but the O-line won’t be nearly as good this season. This will also have an impact on Phil Mafah, who won’t be sharing carries with Will Shipley now. He still went for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns on 179 carries, but with a worse offensive line and a fierce Georgia defense, he will have a tough time on Saturday. Speaking about that Georgia defense, its going to be great… again. Nazir Stackhouse, Mykel Williams, and Warren Brinson are all going to be wreaking havoc on opposing QBs, and the linebackers will also be great. Georgia isn’t all defense, however. I have Carson Beck on my Heisman watch, and go read that article right after this one. Trevor Etienne might not play because of DUI charge, but he should play the rest of the year. In his spot would be Branson Robinson, who didn’t play at all last year, but he did do well in preseason practice. Georgia’s all-around greatness should stifle an underdog Clemson, but the Tigers will keep it close. This certainly won’t be like the Georgia -Oregon game from 2022. UGA wins, 34-17. Odds: UGA -13.5, O/U 48.5
- (7) Notre Dame @ (20) Texas A&M – Both of these teams are coming into this game and these season with something to prove. Notre Dame is trying to prove that Marcus Freeman can take them to the CFP. Notre Dame was great last year, going 10-3. All 3 losses were to quality teams, those being Ohio State, Louisville, and Clemson. They never left the polls, and with star QB Riley Leonard transferring in, ND will be feared this season. They’ll be feared even more at the start of the season, as Leonard is healthy. We say what he did last year, when he led Duke to an upset of Clemson. Mike Denbrock is once again the OC at Notre Dame, but he can take Leonard from great to a Darkhorse Heisman contender. Leonard will do with an upgraded receiving core, too, if he even needs to throw the ball. Beaux Collins has been solid for Clemson over the past 3 years, he has a deep threat target is Kris Mitchell, who transferred in from FIU, and a great group of tight ends. Jeremiyah Love will try to follow in the foot steps of great Notre Dame running backs as well. On defense, there is a lot of change. Six starters are gone, including JD Bertrand, who had 76 tackles last year. The secondary should be great, and will give Conner Weigman trouble. Weigman hasn’t played college football in about 11 months, when he got hurt against Auburn. He has said that he’s 100 percent healthy, which is great. In his time in college, Conner Weigman has thrown for 1,875 yards, 16 touchdowns, and just 2 picks – both of which came in the same game. Even though he lost Evan Stewart and Ainias Smith, Moose Muhammad and some transfers will fill that hole. Speaking of transfers, Nic Scourton from Purdue will be great on the D- line. Back to Weigman, he might have some trouble, but with the home field environment and College GameDay is College Station, he leads Texas A&M to the early upset, 28-21. Odds: TAMU -3, O/U 46.5
- (23) USC Vs (13) LSU – The final ranked matchup of the weekend will pit the USC Trojans and the LSU Tigers in Vegas, where what happens in Vegas will defiantly not stay in Vegas. Both teams are rolling out new quarterbacks, Miller Moss for USC and Garrett Nussmeier. Moss showed us what he could do in the Holiday Bowl last year, throwing for 372 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 1 pick. He also got in blowouts earlier in the season and played great. Granted, they were against Nevada and Stanford. Moss has been a backup for 3 years at USC, and even though he’s had 2 different head coaches and OCs, he’s played in the same system since arriving in Los Angeles. He’ll have one of the best receivers in college football for this upcoming year, Zachariah Branch. Branch finished with the fourth most receiving yards on USC last year, with 320 on 31 catches. Branch also took both a punt and a kickoff back for a touchdown, along with a rushing touchdown. He didn’t play that much last year, but he’s the top target this year. As for Nussmeier, he’s also gone through 2 head coaches and 2 OCs, although he’ll have his 3rd different OC this year. We have seen a lot more of Nussmeier, as he’s thrown for 1,720 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 7 picks in 3 years. When he has played, however, his completion percentage has not been the best. He has a career completion percentage of 58.9%. He had a completion percentage of 51.5% last year. He’s thrown 219 passes in his career and 33 last year. Just like Moss, Nussmeier has also lost top targets from last year. Theres no more Malik Nabers or Brian Thomas Jr., but Kyren Lacey finished last year with 560 yards and 7 touchdowns. He can follow in the long list of great LSU receivers and help out Nussmeier in the process. Liberty transfer CJ Daniels had 19 yards per catch and 10 touchdowns last year as well. However, LSU needed to fix their defense this offseason, and in a way, they kind of did. After letting up 2,00 rushing yards in both of the past 2 years, LSU got Blake Baker to come back to become the defensive coordinator. Brian Kelly also fired the cornerbacks coach, safeties coach, and D-line coach from last year. Harold Perkins is still playing at a very high level, and if these new coaches do even a little bit better than the ones last year, LSU will make the CFP. USC also has a new defensive regime, after finally firing Alex Grinch. D’Anton Lynn will be the DC for the Trojans this year. Even though USC has an explosive quarterback and Vegas is much closer to SoCal than Louisiana, LSU has the experience, and they get the win 35-31. Odds: LSU -4.5, O/U 64.5
- (19) Miami @ Florida – Even though they don’t play much now, this is still a very close and fierce rivalry. Both teams are competing for the same recruits and the same players in the transfer portal. Speaking of the transfer portal, that’s how Florida got their quarterback. Graham Mertz transferred in from Wisconsin last year and set career highs in passing yards and touchdowns, along with completion percentage. He also had a career low in interceptions. He threw for 2,900 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 3 picks on a 72.9 completion percentage. He had a completion percentage of 61% in 2020, 58.7% in 2021, and 57.3 in 2022. Mertz very well could’ve thrown for 3,000 yards last year if he didn’t get injured. After last year, my whole perception on Mertz has changed. He went from an inaccurate gunslinger to a calmer QB. There is no more Ricky Pearsall, but Eugene Wilson will be the top target after catching 61 passes and 6 touchdowns, which lead the team last year. Chimere Dike is a former teammate of Mertz, so they should have great chemistry. The defense has to improve, however, if Florida wants to stay in this game. They fell apart at the end of last year, much like the offense. The linebackers and secondary should be better than last year as well. As for Miami, I’m really excited to see what Cam Ward can do for Miami this game and this season. Ward had a great career at Incarnate Word, which I petition to be renamed Incarnate Ward. He’s thrown for a total of 6,900 yards there, along with 71 touchdowns and just 14 picks. At Wazzu, both of his seasons kind of meshed together. He threw for 3,230 yards in 2022 and 3,735 in 23. He had 23 touchdowns and 9 picks in 2022 and 25 touchdowns and 7 picks in 2023. Miami also brought in Damien Martinez from Oregon State, bolstering the running game. Ward still has Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George to throw to. I think this will be Miami’s best season since 2017, but it might be because of their schedule. They only play 1 ranked team this season, that being Florida State. Miami wins, 33-24. Odds: MIA -2.5, O/U 54.5
- (8) Penn State @ West Virginia – Is this the year that Drew Allar can finally break through? With the 12-team playoff, If Penn State just does the same thing they’ve done for the past few years, they’re a lock for the playoff. Penn State obviously doesn’t want to do that, but the only reason they do better than last year is if Allar can play at a higher level. Allar did throw for 25 touchdowns and just 2 picks last year, but only 2,630 yards. He looked pretty good in most of his games, but when it came to playing really good teams, not only did he lose all 3 games, he had a completion percentage under 50%. He only threw for 70 yards against Michigan, and went 18-42 against Ohio State. Last year, Penn State relied on their 2-headed monster at running back. Kaytron Allen had 172 carries for 902 yards and 6 touchdowns, while Nick Singleton had 171 carries, 752 yards, and 8 touchdowns. Somehow, Penn State got both of them to stay this offseason and not transfer. Allen and Singleton will still be great this year, there’s no doubt about it, but if Allar can’t take the next step, it’ll be an early exit in the playoff for the Nittany Lions. Going back to Allar, he played great when these two teams met last year. He threw for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns, going 21-29. The defense for WVU improved last year, and it should be great again this game. They led the Big 12 in sacks last year, and the secondary had most of the leading tacklers. Garrett Greene on offense should be able to shake this game up if needed, and CJ Donaldson will improve from a great 2023. Donaldson had 171 carries for 800 yards 11 touchdowns, and had 81 yards and 1 touchdown off 18 carries in this game last year. Even though West Virginia has a great defense and a well improved offense, they aren’t good enough to stifle Penn State, and the Nittany Lions get the win, 35-21. Odds: PSU -8, O/U 51.5
- North Carolina @ Minnesota – Can the 2 QB method work for North Carolina? After Fall camp, Mack Brown still hasn’t picked a true starter, but he does plan to play both Max Johnson and Conner Harrell in this game. The closest QB competition to this in recent history is the JJ McCarthy-Cade McNamara coemption for Michigan back in 2022. Johnson is more experienced, like McNamara, but Harrell is shiftier like McCarthy. Now, I don’t think Mack Brown will play 1 this game and the other the next, but I do think that whoever plays better this week will be the starter for the rest of the year, barring injury. Minnesota has had to prepare for both. If Johnson plays most of the minutes, Minnesota might have an easier time. They always have great defensive backs, which should be good if Harrell is stifled from the front seven. Minnesota has a deep D-line, and the linebackers have Cody Lindenberg return after a leg injury last year. Johnson and Harrell won’t have Tez Walker to throw to, but JJ Jones should be able to fill his role, along with Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver at tight end. UNC still has Omarion Hampton at running back as well. Hampton ran for 1,500 yards and had 15 touchdowns on 253 carries, and if Harrell can mix into the rushing game, Minnesota might not be able to keep up. Unlike UNC, Minnesota didn’t have a QB battle. Max Brosmer transferred in from New Hampshire, and after torching the FCS for 8,713 yards and 70 touchdowns, along with rushing for 10, he’s ready to take over the FBS. He’s also a little old. He’s true freshman year came in 2019, and then he played just 1 game in Sophomore year due to COVID. Then, in 2021, he tore his ACL and had a medical redshirt season. He returned in 2022 and played pretty well, and then improved a little in 2023. If Brosmer can play at half of the level that he played at his time at New Hampshire, that’s still a step up from Athan Kaliakmanis. Brosmer will have Daniel Jackson to throw to, Minnesota’s leading receiver from last year. Jackson had 59 catches for 830 yards and 8 touchdowns. UNC should have their hands full with him. At the end of the day, I think that UNC’s defense should be able to minimize Brosmer’s effect on the game, and Omarion Hampton carries the offense to a 27-18 win. Odds: UNC -2, O/U 51.5
- Virginia Tech @ Vanderbilt – Out of all teams in the FBS season, Virginia Tech is the one that I think will shock the rest of the college football world. They have a great quarterback, Kyron Drones. After coming in at the end of the Purdue game last season, Drones finished the season with 2,800 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He ran for 642 yards and 4 touchdowns as well. He didn’t always look the best, like against Louisville when he went 12-21 for 69 yards and 1 pick. However, he played a lot better more times last year than when he played bad. Drones might have 1 or 2 bad games this season, but most QBs do. IF I had to extend my top 10 Heisman contenders list that I made a while back to 15 players, Drones would’ve been 11th. That’s how good I think he’ll do this season. However, he does have to be more accurate. He only completed 58% of his passes last year, but he did make up a bit by his running stats. Obviously, VT’s offense isn’t just Drones, however. The rushing game as a whole averaged 190 yards per game, and leading back Bhayshul Tuten is back for the Hokies. He ran for 860 yards and 10 touchdowns last year. Four of the top five o-line starters are back, which will give Vandy trouble all game. However, a bright spot for Vanderbilt is their linebackers. Their leading tackler is back after 74 tackles last year, and Prince Kollie can get to the quarterback from where he lines up. The safeties should also be impactful for Vandy. However, is Vanderbilt’s defense good or average for all of college football, or for Vanderbilt standards? Clark Lea has a lot to prove as both the head couch and DC. On offense, Vanderbilt lost so much talent. Three wide receivers that were going to play a big part in this year transferred away, and even though Nate Johnson or Diego Pavia, whoever starts, should look good, there’s a new OC in town. Vandy’s general Vanderbilt-ness and a great running game from Virgina Tech lead them to the win, 27-13. Odds: VT -13.5, O/U 48.5
- NDSU @ Colorado – You might be saying to yourself, “Why is NDSU vs Colorado this high on this list?” Well, if you’re a diehard college football fan like me or maybe just a casual, you probably know how dominant North Dakota State has been since 2011. They’ve won 9 FCS championships in that time, have made it to 10 championships, produced countless NFL players, including the second overall pick Carson Wentz and third overall pick Trey Lance. They haven’t won a National Championship since 2021, but they hope things can change. His is Tim Polasek’s first game as the head coach of NDSU after the previous coach left for USC. This season, they could have one of the best offenses NDSU has every had and it starts with QB Cam Miller. He threw for 2,530 yards 18 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions last year. He also ran for 645 and a whopping 13 touchdowns. He ran for 14 back in 2022, so Colorado’s defense should be on their toes all game. They’ll do that with a defense that will probably still be bad, however. The linebackers look about the same, but the secondary got a lot better. Back to NDSU, backup QB Cole Payton will be playing like Taysom Hill this season, but I don’t know if Polasek will have him play like that in such a big game. As for Colorado’s offense, its deeper than just Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. I talked about them in the Heisman post, so go read that after this. There is no more Xavier Weaver, but Jimmy Horn Jr. and Omarion Miller will step up, along with Hunter, of course. Colorado also got Dallas Hayden to transfer in from Ohio State, so that should fix their problem at running back that they had last year. Their other big offensive problem last year was their O-line. We have to wait and see how the o-line does, but its mostly transfers, along with Jordan Seaton, one of the best recruits from the past year. Colorado has improved a lot on the field, not so much off, but that will take them to a 45-35 win. Odds: COLO -10.5, O/U 55.5
- Boston College @ (10) Florida State – How? Just How? You talk all season about how you were snubbed from the CFP because you didn’t have your quarterback and how you’re too good for the ACC and want to leave, but then you lose to an ACC opponent with your QB1. And at this point, I can confidently say that DJ Uiagalelei is not a good college quarterback. FSU scored the first touchdown of the game against Georgia Tech, a Lawrance Toafili 28-yard run. The Noles then went for 2, and then kicked 2 more field goals to finish the half with 14 points, and tied. Roydell Williams ran a touchdown in from 1 yard out in the fourth quarter. Georgia Tech then kicked the game winning field goal after GT took the rest of the time left on the clock off. DJU went 19-27 for 193 yards, which is not what we though he was going to do. He did out play Hanes King of Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets had a ground game and King didn’t need to throw the ball. Jamal Haynes had 75 yards and 2 touchdowns off 11 carries for the Yellow Jackets. DJU’s game was much like his career so far, which is mid. His career high in passing yards was last year, with 2,638. He had 22 touchdowns back in 2022. FSU had just under 100 yards on 31 carries, while GT had about 90 yards more, on just 5 more carries. FSU finished the game with 3.2 yards per rush, and Georgia Tech finished with 5.3. In the passing game, FSU had 7.1 yards per pass. Georgia Tech had 9.1. On top of that, Florida State had less penalties. Florida State had all the chances in the world to lock that game down, but they never could. They now look forward to Boston College, which has an all-new regime. That new regime is led by Bill O’Brien, however, so… Anyways, Tomas Castellanos looked more like a running back playing quarterback last year, but he did confuse the FSU defense. Castellanos threw for 2,248 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He was the leading rusher for BC, as he had 1,113 yards for 13 touchdowns. The leading back was Kye Robichaux, who had 163 carries for 780 yards and 8 touchdowns. BC will run the ball a lot just like they did last year, which led to them nearly upsetting the Noles last year. FSU was much better last year, and unless FSU can change something before Monday, they will be upset again. I think BC does a much better job then when they did last year in this game, and Florida State will win this game on like a last second field goal or something. FSU wins, but barely, 34-31. I’m hoping DJU and FSU can prove me wrong and blow out Boston College, but after his and the defense’s performance last game, I don’t know. Odds: FSU -16.5, O/U 49.5
- TCU @ Stanford – It’s been 19 months since TCU was destroyed by Georgia in the national championship game. Since then, they lost to a Colorado team that went 1-11 the prior year, finished the season 5-7, and went 3-6 in conference play. After Chandler Morris, who has the starter before his injury last year, transferred away, Josh Hoover is now going to be the starter for the whole year. TCU also lost Emani Bailey, their leading rusher from last year. Hoover threw for 2,200 yards and 15 touchdowns in 8 games last season, but he did also throw for 9 picks. If he can cut down on those picks, TCU should be able to keep up with the better teams in the Big 12 like Utah, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State. Cam Cook, the starting running back now, also has to step up after he only got 16 carries last season. On defense, they get 2 linebackers via the transfer portal that should make big tackles. However, the defense still needs to be better. The defense has probably had to practice for both Stanford QBs, Ashton Daniels and Elijah Brown. Daniels started last year, throwing for 2,250 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he threw 8 picks and only completed 58.8% of his passes. He is a bit of a dual-threat quarterback, as he ran for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns last year. However, Stanford got Brown to commit in the last recruiting cycle. In his time at Mater Dei high school, one of the best high school football teams of all time. He was named Player of the Year as a sophomore, and led Mater Dei to 2 state championships. He's the only Mater Dei quarterback to win multiple state championships, something Bryce Young, Matt Leinart, and Matt Barkley never did. Daniels should start the game, but if he struggles, Brown will certainly be put in at QB. Whoever is playing quarterback for Stanford will have Elic Ayomanor to throw to. Ayomanor had 62 receptions for 1,013 yards and 6 touchdowns last year. He had that crazy game against Colorado, where he caught 13 passes for 294 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had a 97-yard touchdown, which helped Stanford come back from down 29-0 at half. Stanford was bad last year, and know with a confusing quarterback room, I don’t see them winning this game. TCU wins, 34-21. Odds: TCU -9.5, O/U 59.5
- UNLV @ Houston – After Jayden Maiava transferred to USC, head coach Barry Odom hasn’t picked a starting QB. The competition is between Hajj-Malik Williams, a 6th year transfer from Campbell, and Matthew Sluka, a senior transfer from Holy Cross, and returning senior Cameron Friel. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more than just 1 of these quarterbacks in this game. They had a great offense under Maiava last season, but with a new guy at the helm, I don’t know how well this offense will click, especially with two transfers. However, they do have a good o-line, so if the QB can stay upright, the offense can stay afloat. Their defense got a lot better with leading tackler Jackson Woodard back and some transfers coming in from Texas and Texas A&M to boost the secondary. Houston already has their quarterback, that being Donovan Smith. Last year, he threw for 2,800 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He also ran for 430 yards and 6 touchdowns. Smith was good last year, but the ground game wasn’t. The leading back for the Cougars was Parker Jenkins, who had just 464 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 99 carries. The o-line lost 4 starters last year, but with an overhaul, Jenkins and Stacy Sneed should be able to run wild. The whole defense got transfers coming in, which will definitely force to group to be disruptive this season. With a QB battle still going on, Houston should take down UNLV, but the Rebels will contend. Houston wins, 24-17. Odds: HOU -2.5, O/U 54.5
- Coastal Carolina @ Jacksonville State – This is the game for the College Football Sickos. Most CFB fans know about Coastal Carolina and their Teal turf. However, not many CFB fans know about Jacksonville State. Hailing out of Jacksonville, Alabama, the Gamecocks upset FSU back in 2021, and joined Conference USA and the FBS before the 2023 season. Under head coach Rich Rodriguez, he led them to an 8-4 regular season and defeated Louisiana to win the New Orleans Bowl in overtime. They finished 3rd in the CUSA, only behind two 10-win teams. Rich Rod announced that both Logan Smothers and Tyler Huff will be co-starters for this game. Smothers only played in a few games last season, throwing for 735 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. He also ran for 283 yards and 6 touchdowns. He played for a bit in JSU’s bowl game, and did not look good. He went 6-9 for 80 yards and a pick. He did run for 1 touchdown, however. Huff was playing for Furman last year, throwing for 1,860 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Just like Smothers, Huff is also a dual-threat QB. He ran for 590 yards and 6 touchdowns as well. It will be interesting to see how his play will look like after playing alright in the FCS, but he obviously had to be good enough to come to JSU and contend for the starting spot. Tight End Sean Brown will be the top target in this game, and Coastal Carolina defends the pass very well. JSU did run the ball a lot last year, so if they can beat CCU on the ground, they’ll have to do it that way. As for their offense, they lose their leader, Grayson McCall, who transferred to NC State. Ethan Vasko is looking like the starter and is talented enough to get the job done, but nothing close to what McCall was. However, it isn’t official. Head coach Tim Beck already has the starting QB picked, but he said that he doesn’t want to tip off JSU. Noah Kim, a transfer from Michigan State will be the other option at QB. Kim’s time at MSU was not good, and I do think Vasko will get the job. Both teams have a confusing quarterback room, but CCU’s o-line and running game should get them the road win, 23-14. Odds: JVST -3.5, O/U 53.5
- FAU @ Michigan State – Will things change for MSU after hiring Jonathan Smith? They had to fire Mel Tucker after just 2 games last season, and Harlon Barnett led the team to a 2-8 record. Smith was great at Oregon State, and he brought Aiden Chiles with him. Chiles is one of the best first year starters in college football this year, and he will have Nate Carter to rely on. Carter had 185 carries for 800 yards and 4 touchdowns last season, but I could see him going for well over 1,000 yards this year. Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams also transferred in, and he ran for1,157 yards and 12 touchdowns last season for UMass. Both backs should get a lot of carries this game, and I don’t see FAU being able to keep up with them. Guess who also comes to MSU from Oregon State via the transfer portal? That’s right, starting tight end Jack Velling. He only had 29 catches for 440 yards last year, but he did have 8 touchdowns. Chiles should target Velling a lot this season, and especially this game as he gets acclimated to the team in real play. On defense, their front seven got a lot more options to start and wreak havoc on opposing offenses this season. They should do that this game, as FAU has practically an all-new o-line, and they have a new QB under center, that being Cam Fancher. He didn’t have the best career at Marshall, but he’s looking for a fresh start at FAU. However, all of the position players that are starting at FAU are going to be pretty much all new. I think Michigan State has a lot better chemistry, and that will lead to them getting the win, 28-14. Odds: MSU -14, O/U 45.5
- SDST @ (17) Oklahoma State – Just like North Dakota State, South Dakota State has had a strangle hold on the FCS in recent times. They’ve won the last 2 FCS national championship games, and in 2020 they made the national championship game. They’ve won 29 straight games, and their only loss in 2022 was the 7-3 loss to Iowa. Mark Gronowski is still their starting QB, and after he threw for 3,060 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 5 picks last year, he could be the Walter Payton Award winner again, which is basically like the Heisman Trophy for the FCS. Gronowski won the award last year as well. He also ran for 400 yards and 8 touchdowns last year. SDST does have to replace 3 offensive line starters, but Marcus Hicks is transferring in from Oklahoma, so he should be a huge help, just like his 6’5”, 305-pound frame. His wide receivers, namely Griffin Wilde and Grahm Goering need to step up if they want to upset Oklahoma State. As for Oklahoma State, we all know the deal. Ollie Gordon II is the best running back in college football, and maybe even run for 2,000 yards this season. I wrote about him in Heisman post, so go ahead and read that after this. Quarterback Alan Bowman was a glorified game manager last season, throwing for 3,460 yards, but 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He spent 3 years at Texas Tech, 2 years at Michigan, and now 2 years at Oklahoma State, so he is experienced. However, I’m not sure how much that’s going to help the team while Ollie Gordon will carry the ball – and the team. Mike Gundy already said that Gordon will not miss time due to his DUI arrest, and that will lead Oklahoma State to a 45-31 win. South Dakota State won’t win, but they will go down with a big fight. Odds: OKST -9.5, O/U 53.5
- Miami of Ohio @ Northwestern – This will be the first game the now iconic and memed Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium, or the Northwestern Practice Field. The fans will still get a good view of the Lake, but that’s about it. Its going to be a bad stadium and even worse football. Mike Wright will transfer in and start this season after barely playing last year for Mississippi State. Wright played meaningful snaps in about 5 games last year, finishing the year with 450 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 3 picks. He also ran for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns. If he can cut down on the turnovers, Northwestern could be a surprise team in the Big Ten. The team around him have improved, and the defense should be strong, just like they were last year. After a great 2023, finishing 11-3 and with a MAC Championship, Miami of Ohio retained their quarterback, Brett Gabbert. They lost him halfway through the season, too. After getting injured last season, he finished the season with 1,634 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 5 picks. He also didn’t play a full season in 2022, but back in 2021, he finished the season with 2,420 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. If Gabbert cam stay healthy this season, the RedHawks will once again be MAC champions. Their top receivers and running back did leave for SEC schools, but a steady mix of running backs and Cade McDonald at WR1 will be able to fill those holes. With a fully healthy Brett Gabbert, I think Miami of Ohio upsets Northwestern, 23-16. Odds: NU -3, O/U 39.5
- Wyoming @ Arizona State – It’s a start of new eras at both Wyoming and ASU. This is Wyoming’s first game with Jay Sawvel as their head coach, while this is Arizona State’s first game as a member of the Big 12. For ASU, they are hoping to finally make progress after 2 straight 3-9 seasons. Sam Leavitt will be the starting QB for Arizona State, beating out Mr. Turnover Machine Jeff Sims, so it must not have been that hard. Leavitt played a bit for MSU last year, throwing for 139 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Leavitt showed some flashes of talent last year, but they were very little. Most of the top receivers left for the transfer portal, which could hurt Leavitt, but in a game this early in the season, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. The defense has also improved, which should lead to an improved season. As for Wyoming, Evan Svoboda will be the first starting QB for Jay Sawvel. He barely played last year, throwing for 200 yards and a pick, but he did run for 2 touchdowns. His top target will be John Michael Gyllenborg, who’s a tight end. However, the top 3 receivers are gone, making the top returning receiver Alex Brown, who had 8 catches last year. Things will be sparce for Wyoming starting out, and ASU gets the win, 28-14. Odds: ASU -7, O/U 47.5
- UCLA @ Hawaii – After blowing out Delaware State last week, Hawaii turns to a much bigger and better team, UCLA. Brayden Schager led Hawaii to a win last week, throwing for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, he did complete just 50% of his passes, going 17-34. He made up for it as he ran for 40 yards and 2 touchdowns. One of those touchdown runs came from 15 yards out as well. The other touchdown cam from Tylan Hines, as he returned a punt 44 yards. Hawaii finished the game with 331 total yards, throwing the ball for 203, and running the ball for 128. Landon Sims led Hawaii on the ground with 58 yards on 10 carries. Pofele Ashlock led the Rainbow Warriors with 5 catches for 81 yards. Dekel Crowdus and Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala both had touchdown catches. As for UCLA, Ethan Garbers will finally get a full season to start after waiting 3 years for this day. He did play half the season last year as the starter. Throwing for 1,136 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 3 picks after taking over for Dante Moore. If Garbers can play like that again this season, UCLA could exceed their expectations. However, that was under Chip Kelly. We have to wait until Saturday to see if Garbers can replicate his play under DeShaun Foster. He will have top receiver J. Micharl Sturdivant to throw to, but with Forster and OC Eric Bieniemy, UCLA is going to run the ball a lot. This will lead to an UCLA win, 34-10. Odds: UCLA -14, 54.5
- Fresno State @ (9) Michigan – After losing their top player at pretty much every position and their head coach, Michigan will try to rebuild their chemistry and once again win the National Championship, and it starts Saturday night against Fresno State. After JJ McCarthy won a national championship, we all expected Alex Orji to become the starter. However, he didn’t separate from his competition, a former walk-on named Davis Warren. I think Orji should still start this game, but it hasn’t been announced and if Orji struggles, Warren could come in. Donovan Edwards will carry the team though, and after disappearing foe what felt like the whole season last year, he showed up in the national championship game with a bang. Although he only had 6 carries, 2 of them went for touchdowns, and he finished the game with 104 yards. His touchdown runs came from 41 yards and 46 yards. If Edwards can play like that this season, Michigan will be a top 4 seed in the college football playoff. As for Fresno State, they have to be able to move the ball on the Michigan defense. When they scored 27 or more points last season, they went 9-0. When they didn’t, they went winless. Quarterback Mikey Keene was a big reason why Fresno State was so good last season, throwing for just under 3,000 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 picks. He’s back this year, and should have Fresno State have another good campaign, even with a new head coach. Fresno State did have trouble running the ball last year. Malik Sherrod did have 172 carries for 966 yards and 9 touchdowns, but as a team Fresno State averaged 3.7 yards per rush. They also had 1,372 yards as a team, meaning no one out side of Sherrod contributed anything valuable to the running game. Maybe that will change under Tim Skipper. However, Michigan is the defending champion, and their win streak increases to 16 with a 34-17 win. Odds: MICH -21, O/U 45.5
- New Mexico @ (21) Arizona – Can Brent Brennan keep the magic going? After Jedd Fisch left for Washington, Arizona hired Brennan from San Jose State. Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan are going to best the QB-WR duo this year, and last year just backs it up. Fifita threw for 2,870 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions after taking over for Jayden de Laura. McMillan caught 90 balls last year for 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns, and with Jacob Cowing gone, he should have well over 100 catches. Fifita and McMillan bring the fire power, but New Mexico already played a game this season. Let’s see how that went. Ok, starting up 17-0 is good. They let Montana State come back in, but they pulled away. Nice. Its looks like New Mexico got an easy week 0 win. After all, they were up 31-14 at the end of the third. Theres no way they can lose this game, right? A 93 YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN????!!!!! HOW DO YOU LET THAT UP???? At this point, New Mexico doesn’t deserve the win. Rightfully so, and they lost 35-31. If you couldn’t tell by my raw emotion conveyed by text, New Mexico is not good. In fact, they were the furthest thing from good. You blow a 17-point lead TWICE. Not once, but twice. Its not even like their offense did something either. Two of their touchdowns came from fumble returns, and their kicker had to drill a field goal for 45 yards out. Plus, this is too Montana State. I don’t care how good the FCS team is and how bad the FBS team is, the FBS team should never lose to an FCS team. I’m not going to even go over New Mexico stats. If you want professional and robotic college football content, then to bad. Arizona wins 45-10. Odds: ARIZONA -31, O/U 58.5
- Western Michigan @ Wisconsin – After a disappointing 2023 for both the team and Tyler Van Dyke, they’re going to meet and the middle and hopefully put together a CFP-worthy season. Last year, Wisconsin went 7-6, losing their bowl game. They only played 1 ranked team all regular season, that being Ohio State, and they got destroyed 24-10. They also fell to Washington State and Iowa before they were ranked. Van Dyke was on Miami last season, throwing for 2,700 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 picks. If he can try to replicate his 2021 season in Wisconsin’s Air Raid offense. As for Western Michigan, Hayden Wolff is returning as the starter for the Broncos. He threw for 1,505 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 5 picks. With a new OC, Wolff could shake things up. However, Wisconsin still gets the win, 35-3. Odds: WIS -23.5, O/U 56.5
- FIU @ Indiana – After transferring in from Ohio, Kurtis Rourke will try to work well with Curt Cignetti in order to bring Indiana their 4th winning season of the 21st century. Rourke has a few new transfers at wide receiver, Elijah Surratt from JMU, who has 82 catches for 1,200 yards and 8 touchdowns. Myles Price will be an inside threat, while Zach Horton will be the starting tight end. On defense, the James Madison influence is real. Aiden Fisher and Jalin Walker are 2 JMU linebackers that transferred in, James Carpenter and Mikail Kamara will start on the defensive end, and D’Angelo Ponds will start in the secondary. Kamara had 7.5 sacks and 18.5 TFLs last year. Ponds had 2 picks. This defense will give a lot of trouble to FIU starter Keyone Jenkins, who had a sub-par season last year. He threw for 2,422 yards, but 11 touchdowns and 11 picks. He did run for 6 touchdowns, but they all came from inside the 10-yard line. It will be hard for him and the rest of the Panthers, but with a decent receiver corps, FIU should contend early. I think IU will be sneaky good this season, and they get the win, 35-7. Odds: IU -21.5, O/U 51.5
- Ohio @ Syracuse – Ushering in anew era for Ohio is Parker Navarro, who will take over for Kurtis Rourke who transferred to the team that I just talked about, Indiana. With a bad receiving core, it will be tough for Navarro to throw the ball, but he should stay upright, as Ohio has a pretty good O-line. However, most of their offense and defense were destroyed by the transfer portal, so there will be a lot of growing pains this game. As for Syracuse, Kyle McCord will get to prove the haters wrong, and he’ll do it long with a new head coach. The ‘Cuse had the third worst offense in the ACC last year, and with a new OC, they’ll hope to turn it around. After getting hurt last season, Oronde Gadsden II is back and will be a big boost to McCord. At the end of the day, there are too many growing pains for Ohio, and Syracuse wins, 38-10. Odds: SYRACUSE – 18, O/U 46.5
- UTEP @ Nebraska – After finally settling on a place to commit, Dylan Raiola will be the starting quarterback for Nebraska this season. He had thrown just 1 single interception last year, and with some good wide receivers, it should be easy for Raiola to start the season off on a good foot. Isaiah Neyor didn’t play at all last season, but he did have 12 touchdowns the year prior. On the ground, Gabe Ervin will have a tough task, as he has to carry the running game after now backup QB Heinrich Haarberg won’t be playing as much. Without him and Mr. Turnover Prone himself, Jeff Sims either not playing or not on the team at all, Nebraska should turn the ball over much less. As for UTEP, it looks like the starting QB won’t be announced until before this game. Cade McConnell played in 7 games last season, and Skyler Locklear barely played his entire college career. It’s going to be an uphill battle for UTEP, one I don’t see them winning. Nebraska wins, 35-14. Odds: NEB -27.5, O/U 49.5
- Temple @ (16) Oklahoma – The Jackson Arnold era starts this Friday, and Oklahoma could not have a better starting matchup for him. They finished last year 3-9, and went 1-7 in the American. It looks like Forrest Brock will be the starting quarterback for the Owls, and he only threw for 60 yards and a pick last season. He should have a solid receiving core for Temple standards, but that’s not going to help when they go on the road to Oklahoma. Brent Venables is defensive mastermind, and his defense has been steadily impressing while he’s been the head coach at OU. Danny Stutsman will run rampant through Temple’s offense, a great receiving corps should help Jackson Arnold win his first start, 63-7. This game should be interesting because a lot of storylines of this season for both teams will start here. Odds: OU -42, O/U 57.5
- ODU @ South Carolina – Old Dominion finished last season 6-7, and if they want to build upon that finished above .500, it starts here. After an alright 2023, Grant Wilson will try to put together a season that will have him on draft boards in the near future. He won the offseason job after playing 11 games last season. However, he does have some major issues in front of him. He was sacked 51 times last year, and he also lost his top deep threat, Reymello Murphy, to Arizona via the transfer portal. There are still solid receivers at ODU, and they have a new transfer running back, Aaron Young, who came from Rutgers. On Defense, star middle linebacker Jason Henderson should give LaNorris Sellers, a first-time starter, some trouble. Sellers was supposed to be the QB1 going into spring camp, and he came out with that title. However, the receiving corps is not looking the best. Freshman Mazeo Bennett is supposed the being playing a lot, and a Louisville transfer isn’t with the team anymore. Obviously, they lost Xavier Legette and Tight End Trey Knox to the NFL. However, South Carolina got a big transfer from the running back position in Raheim “Rocket” Sanders. Although Sanders was injured for most of last season, only rushing for 209 yards, he lit it up back in 2022 for Arkansas. In 2022, he ran for 1,426 yards and 10 touchdowns on 219 carries. We’ll see on Saturday if he can still perform at the same level. Even though South Carolina won’t be the best team this season, they still get the win, 28-13. Odds: SC -21, O/U 52.5
My top 5 Heisman Candidates:
I already did my way-too-early top 10 Heisman Candidates this offseason, my top 5 has remained the same. Go read it here: https://649ccc20648f7.site123.me/articles/my-way-too-early-top-10-heisman-trophy-contenders