Welcome back!! The return of college football and the best time of year! Finally, a more normal season, with stadiums full of screaming fans, the marching bands back playing their tunes, and all kinds of crazy games!
Week 1 is filled with top level matchups, perfect to get everyone back into college football mode. There are games Thursday all the way through Tuesday.
The only negative is the hazy cloud hanging over the CFB landscape, with conference realignment looming. The SEC is going to become overpowered, the Big 12 could fall apart, and the other power five schools have formed an alliance. But forget about all that, because actual football is on!
My Playoff Predictions:
1. Ohio State
2. Clemson
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
( I really hope this isn’t actually the case because it will be boring)
My Predictions for this Week:
Ohio State at Minnesota: The Buckeyes have named CJ Stroud their starting quarterback to throw to the best wide receiver class in the country. He will be going up against Minnesota's veteran QB Tanner Morgan, who seems to have been around forever. I think Ohio State will win this game, but maybe not cover the spread. I am interested to see how Minnesota rebounds from a bad 2020 (they did have serious COVID issues).
UNC at Virginia Tech: A test right out of the gates to see if North Carolina and Sam Howell are legit. Virginia Tech is always a wildcard, and a Friday night game could catch UNC off guard. I think UNC will come out on top, mainly due to their offense, but it will be a close game. Cue Enter Sandman for a crazy night in Blacksburg.
Michigan State at Northwestern: Northwestern took a major hit when star running back Cam Porter suffered a season ending injury during camp. The Wildcats were great last season, but I do not expect them to continue that success. Their starting QB is Hunter Johsnon, which was surprising, as many figured the South Carolina transfer Ryan Helsinki would win the job. They also lost RB Cam Porter and OL Zachary Franks for the season. To be honest I don’t know much about Michigan State, but I am going to pick them to win this game because Northwestern has been historically bad at the beginning of seasons.
Penn State at Wisconsin: Can PSU recover from last year’s awful showing? Is this Wisconsin’s year to make a push for the B10 Title? This is the perfect game to open up the weekend, as it should be super close. Graham Mertz returns as Wisconsin's QB, while PSU will start Cincy native Sean Clifford. I don’t trust Clifford enough to pick them over the Badgers, who are supposed to be very good.
IU at Iowa: I am excited for this game because it will show if IU is overhyped, or Iowa is too under the radar. IU had a historic year they are looking to duplicate, while Iowa was sneakily really good in 2020. I think I am actually going to go with the Hawkeye upset here just because I think IU may be a little overhyped, especially since Penix is returning from yet another injury.
Alabama vs Miami: If you were completely shocked that Alabama scheduled a respectable opponent for a non-con game, don’t worry, they are back to Mercer and Southern Miss the next two weeks. I don’t see this game being very close after the first half, but Alabama does have a brand new QB, Bryce Young, that could possibly screw things up a little (very unlikely unfortunately). If Miami were at full strength this could be slightly close, but QB King hasn’t played since his ACL, and has missed so much time. Alabama should win easily.
Louisiana at Texas: Texas just named their starting QB, redshirt freshman Hudson Carr, for this game, but did say that backup Casey Thompson will also play. Billy Napier has done a phenomenal job with the Louisiana program, and they have one of the highest returning player rates in the country. Unfortunately for them, this will be Sark’s first game as a Longhorn coach, and he will have so much to prove in front of the home crowd full of wealthy boosters. I think Texas will win in a close game.
Georgia vs Clemson: GAME OF THE NIGHT!! Could there be a better matchup Week 1? Pretty much whoever wins this game is going to the playoffs. Both teams have super easy schedules after this, so this is their chance to prove themselves. Clemson is entering a new era with Trevor’s exit, but DJ has already shown that he can step into the big shoes Lawrence left. Georgia has been hit with some major injuries over the summer, lowering their stock a little. However Georgia consistently has a strong defense, something that could rattle DJ. Ultimately, I think Clemson will win this game at the last second because Georgia just hasn’t proven themselves yet in the big moments and has too many injury concerns.
LSU at UCLA: LSU has had to evacuate Baton Rouge and relocate to Birmingham due to Hurricane Ida. They will fly out to UCLA later this week, which will have big implications on the game because LSU will not get a normal week leading up to gameday. Since Myles Brenen went out with an injury during camp, Max Johnson will be LSU’s starting quarterback. UCLA, who destroyed Hawaii last weekend, has Dorian Thompson Roberts throwing, but his receivers will be up against LSU cornerback Derek Stingly, a projected top ten pick. Although LSU has a lot going on around them, I think they will win this game in a close contest.
Notre Dame at Florida State: There are lots of changes with ND, from having to replace QB Ian Book with Jack Coan (Wisconsin transfer) to bringing in Marcus Freeman as the DC from Cincinnati. However, I don’t think Florida State can take advantage of all these changes. The Seminoles are very average and have yet to have a quarterback win the starting job. I expect Notre Dame to blow out the Noles.
Louisville at Ole Miss: Ole Miss is going to put up so many points that despite how bad their defense may be, Louisville will struggle to keep up. If Ole Miss can actually play some defense it will make me excited for the rest of their season. I think they will win this game by at least a touchdown.
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