My picks are bold.
North Carolina at South Carolina -12.5 Larry Fedora started the trend of talented coaches making their way up the ranks after a start at Okie State. He's an up and comer who may be the man to fix the Tarheels but it isn't happening Game 1. Add Bryn Renner to the list of quarterbacks who will fear Mr. Clowney.
Texas Tech -6.5 at SMU Can Kliffy start things off with a one touchdown win? He better or things are about to get messy in Lubbock. I'll take Tech by 7.
Georgia -2 at Clemson I really like Clemson's squad but I've got them pulling a Clemson right out of the gate. I just like Georgia's two headed monster at running back and Aaron Murrary will be able to manage a big game scenario. Georgia will make the SEC look good in Week 1 and Clemson will rebound and finish 10-1.
Alabama -20.5 vs. Virginia Tech You know why Nick Saban is so good in bowl games? Because if you give him a month to prepare then its Game Over even before it starts. Much has been made about the Hokies finishing last season strong but those late season games were against some paltry opponents. Expect the Tide to roll large even with the big spread.
LSU -5.5 vs. TCU I may be reading too much into what is probably no more than a self serving decision but I think Les Miles may have outsmarted Gary Patterson in the whole Jeremy Hill kerfuffle. No you've got guys in Fort Worth asking if they think the non-suspension of an oppoising player is fair. Not to mention they've already got to deal with the distraction of their possibly now sober quarterback and some random Johnny Football questions. LSU will rally around Miles whether Hill plays or not. I like LSU in about a 10 point game.
Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma State -13 I was actually planning on going to this game in Reliant Stadium but I forgot I have my fantasy football drafts this weekend. Oklahoma State is definitely the better team but the growing pains of the developing defense and the revolving quarterbacks are going to make this interesting. I'll take Mississippi State and the points.
USC -23.5 at Hawaii Last year in Southern California the Trojans beat Hawaii by 39. The Warriors couldn't get things together and went 3-9 in 2012. Norm Chow is familiar with Lane Kiffin as the two have both served as Pete Carroll's offensive coordinator but Kiffin has Marqise Lee on his side and Chow has zilch. USC is going to play both quarterbacks, Max Wittek and Cody Kessler, which could present a problem for the offense but nothing big enough for Hawaii to take advantage of. USC wins big again.
Penn State -8 vs. Syracuse Syracuse is sporting a new look this year as former DC Scott Shafer takes over as head coach with Doug Marrone taking over the Buffalo Bills (Marrone may wish he could go back now). Both teams will be starting new quarterbacks. In fact, Penn State will not announce its starter before Saturday so whoever trots out for the Nittany Lions will be a surprise but at least whoever he is will have Allen Robinson as a target. Advantage PSU. Bill O'Brien seems to get the best out of his guys. At this point I don't know if that is the case for Scott Shafer. I'll give Syracuse the 8.
BYU -1 at Virginia No pick em's this week but this is the closest thing to one. It's a matchup of two teams sporting new coordinators. BYU replaced its offensive coordinator in the offseason and Virginia replaced both its OC and DC. I'll take the team that only replaced one coordinator and the one whose coach is named Bronco. BYU wins on the road.
Northern Illinois at Iowa -3 Three reasons to take North Illinois here. One, the Huskies keep cranking out big time stat, dual threat quarterbacks and have another one back this year in Jordan Lynch. Two, Iowa is always one of those teams that struggles with a directional school in the first week and three, Iowa sort of sucks in general right now. Northern Illinois is the team I feel best about this week so inevitably it won't happen but I'm picking it anyway.
Louisiana Monroe at Oklahoma -21 Big Game Bobby Stoops picked Trevor Knight to be the next QB to lead the Sooners and never has he made a poor decision there. But will the new guy struggle Game 1? It could happen. Louisiana Monroe beat Arkansas is the first game of 2012 and put some fear into Auburn and Baylor in the following two weeks, which is hinesite doesn't seem as impressive. I'll take Oklahoma and give the 21 points, one of which at least will be a Belldozer TD run.
Washington State at Auburn -16 A matchup of offensive geniuses. This game would have been amazing if both were still coaching the best incarnations of their best teams. But it's a stalled Cougar program vs. a rebuilding War Eagle group. I'll give Guz Malzahn the edge because many of the Auburn players are actually guys he was involved in recruiting as the former OC, while Mike Leach is still sorting out which of his players he should start or lock in a shed. I've got Auburn by three touchdowns.
Boise State at Washington -3 Pardon an extremely tired cliche but this is the game where the rubber meets the road for the Steve Sarkisian era at Washington. The Huskies have a rabid fan base that will be watching this game in a very swanky new stadium. Boise State is obviously the best non AQ program in the country but if Washington wants to take the step toward competing for conference titles and finishing in the Top 25 then it has to win this game. It won't and the final chapters of Sarkisian will start being penned.
Northwestern -5.5 at California Another home dog, another road team I'm picking. Pat Fitzgerald is a great coach that has a good group coming back, including two impressive quarterbacks and a burner at running back. Sonny Dykes may help California rebound during his tenure but this a one TD win should be in the bag for the Wildcats.
Florida State -10.5 at Pittsburgh Jimbo Fisher finally shared the worst kept secret in college football when he announced that Jameis Winston would be the new starting QB for the Noles this week. Last season Pitt dropped the season opener to Youngstown State. Things won't be that bad this season but even a Florida State team trying to replace 11 NFL Draft picks can beat the Panthers by 12. I like FSU giving 11.5
Good luck. As Frank Reynolds would say...
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