I am so ready for the college football to begin!
This offseason saw a bunch of head coaching changes and WAY more transfers than any other year that I can recall. I’m all for college kids to be able to go somewhere for a fresh start without any punishment, so I hope this is the new norm.
The same teams are expect to contend for a College Football Playoff spot. Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma are the consensus four-best teams right now. Will all four make the CFP at the end of the year?
We at ‘America’s White Boy’ pick 25 college football games against the spread in Week 1 of the 2019-20 NCAA Football season (August 31st,, 2019). We also pick some smaller conference games.
UCLA at Cincinnati (-2.5) – My pick is Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati ruined Chip Kelly’s UCLA debut last season. This year’s UCLA team still isn’t on par with any of his past Oregon teams. He is still building a team to efficiently run his up-tempo offense. Cincinnati are coming off an 11-2 season and return many of their playmakers. I expect a very good year for Cincinnati and if they amass double-digit wins (which I think they will), head coach Luke Fickell could look to move to a larger program. The Bearcats should be able to score on UCLA’s defense. The Bruins were near the bottom of the Pac-12 in that category last season and I don’t see a huge leap on that side of the ball. I’m taking the Bearcats to cover on Thursday.
Boise State at Florida State (-4.5) – My pick is Florida State Seminoles
Florida State is coming off their worst season in decades. They hired the son of former Baylor head coach Art Briles, Kendal Briles will take over the offense. It looks like they are going back to QB James Blackman to start. He beat out a couple of transfers this offseason. The Seminoles have the talent to make a bowl game or better, so it would surprise me greatly if they were even close to last season’s poor outings. Boise State is usually among the cream of the crop when it comes to teams outside of the power conferences. They will be good this season, but I worry about them starting true freshman Hank Bachmeier at quarterback. He has upperclassmen all around him, but it’s a huge task to travel to the state of Florida and play against the Seminoles in his first college game. He should improve as the season progresses, but I can’t bet on him this week. I look forward to FSU’s up-tempo offense and think they should cover in Jacksonville.
Northwestern at Stanford (-6.5) – My pick is Stanford Cardinal
The Wildcats are coming off a Big Ten West championship and were a fun team to watch in 2018. They lost long-time QB Clayton Thorson and replaced him with Hunter Johnson, who transferred from Clemson. He’s a talented guy, but Thorson was such an underrated quarterback in the Big Ten. I feel like they will really be hurt in the long run. Stanford is coming off a 9-4 season, but most of the weapons they used to win games last season are now playing on Sundays. They do return QB K.J. Costello, who should be one of the better QBs in the Pac-12 this year. The Cardinals also return some weapons on defense with CB Paulson Adebo being one of the better players. Stanford has a tough schedule and need this win to keep morale up if they slip against one of their early season match-ups. Northwestern has too many question marks right now, so I’m taking Stanford to cover
UMass at Rutgers (-15.5) – My pick is Rutgers Scarlet Knights
I can’t remember the last time I bet on Rutgers (as a favorite) to cover a college football game. Rutgers head coach Chris Ash hasn’t had any success there (especially not within the Big Ten), and needs to win all the winnable games he can to save his job. He has some new talent at QB with Texas Tech transfer McLane Carter as the assumed starting quarterback. He has a good arm and a much better overall player than their other quarterbacks. Rutgers were also able to intice a few other transfers this offseason from UCLA, Michigan and Boston College. UMass has a new coach in former Florida State offensive coordinator Walt Bell. It will be a rough start for Bell as the Minutemen are very low on talent. I expect them to be one of the worst teams in college football, which is really the only reason I’m taking Rutgers as a 15.5-point favorite…UMass is just THAT bad right now.
Ole Miss at Memphis (-5.5) – My pick is Memphis Tigers
Ole Miss lost a lot of talent from last year’s squad, especially at wide receiver and quarterback. They have some talent to take over those positions, but they aren’t at the same level. Their offense had to bail out their defense a lot last season and I fear the offense won’t be there to do that this year. Memphis is a fun team and should have an explosive, run-heavy offense. They lost two running backs to the NFL, but they have a lot of depth there. They should have a productive game against Ole Miss’s poor run defense. Ole Miss should be better in that area this season as they return a lot of players on that side of the ball, but I can’t imagine that they make a huge leap against the run. I’m taking Memphis to cover.
Eastern Washington at Washington (-21) – My pick is Eastern Washington Eagles
This game should be very interesting. Washington is a Top-25 team and they should dominate any FCS team they face, right? Well, Eastern Washington is one of the best teams in the FCS nearly every year. They have a Walter Payton Player of the Year award favorite QB Eric Barriere leading an explosive offense. They arguably have the best offense in the FCS. Washington lost a ton of talent to the NFL and four-year starter QB Jake Browning. Georgia transfer Jacob Eason hopes to have just as much success as Browning had at Washington. The Huskies will most likely win, but the 21-point favorite is a bit too much, so I’m taking the points.
Fresno State at USC (-13.5) – My pick is USC Trojans
USC head coach Clay Helton is on the hot seat. Any USC head coach that doesn’t win Pac-12 championships will always be on the hot seat. They hired former Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell to implement the Air Raid offense. QB JT Daniels should really get a work out every weekend with their new pass-heavy offense. Fresno State has a prolific offense of their own. They had to replace arguably their best players on both side of the ball, but they should be able to hang with just about every team in their conference. USC has the talent to make the Air Raid offense work in a big way. I have to bet on USC until I see the offense fail. I realize that isn’t a huge endorsement, but I’m intrigued to see it work for the Trojans.
South Carolina at North Carolina (+10) – My pick is North Carolina Tar Heels
South Carolina is waiting for head coach Will Muschamp to build a winner and the best he has done is a 9-4 team in 2017. People thinking this year’s team could be his best, but I just don’t see a double-digit game winning team. Gamecocks QB Jake Bentley is too turnover-prone to lean on in a crunch and was exploited many times last season. The Tar Heels have their own QB issue, but they are turning to true freshman QB Sam Howell. UNC head coach Mack Brown was able to flip him to North Carolina shortly after being named the new head coach of the Tar Heels. They still need bodies and lack true depth at impact positions, but they should hang with most ACC teams this year. This USC/UNC showdown pairs two former coaches that used to be on the same sidelines at Texas. South Carolina may win this game, but I don’t see their offense pulling off a ten-point win at Bank of American Stadium, so I’m taking the points.
Georgia Tech at Clemson (-36.5) – My pick is Clemson Tigers
Georgia Tech dumped head coach Paul Johnson and hired Temple’s Geoff Collins to take over the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech will no longer be a triple-option offensive team…which made them a huge betting favorite of mine for years. It’s not the most flashy offense, but it would just confuse and frustrate opposing defenses enough to sway over/unders. It was such an advantage to have that in your back pocket. Clemson is coming off an unbelievable championship season and come into this year as the preseason #1 in the country. QB Trevor Lawrence is the Heisman favorite and should carve up Georgia Tech’s defense on Thursday…and he will probably be resting on the bench for most of the second-half. I’m taking Clemson to cover a lofty over/under of 36.5 points.
Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina (+6) – My pick is Eastern Michigan Eagles
This is where we pick a game between smaller conference teams. Actually, a few years ago, it was the area in which I would pick against Eastern Michigan nearly every single week. They’ve been a surprise the last two seasons and I’ve actually been betting on them for a change. Their defense helped them become a bowl-level team, but they don’t have as much talent on that side of the ball this season. Luckily this week, they face a team with one of the worst defenses in the FBS…and their offense comes into the season with mostly new faces. It could be a rough start for the Chanticleers, so I’m taking Eastern Michigan to cover.
QUICK HITS
Utah at BYU (+5.5) – My pick is Utah
Campbell at Troy (-35.5) – My pick is Troy
Syracuse at Liberty (+18) – My pick is Syracuse
East Carolina at NC State (-16.5) – My pick is NC State
Wagner at UConn (-17.5) – My pick is Wagner
FIU at Tulane (-2) – My pick is Tulane
Utah State at Wake Forest (-3.5) – My pick is Utah State
Purdue at Nevada (+10.5) – My pick is Purdue
Indiana at Ball State (+17) – My pick is Indiana
Oklahoma State at Oregon State (+14.5) – My pick is Oklahoma State
BONUS PICKS!
Houston at Oklahoma (-23.5) – My pick is Houston
Middle Tennessee at Michigan (-34) – My pick is Michigan
Miami (OH) at Iowa (-21.5) – My pick is Iowa
South Dakota State at Minnesota (-13.5) – My pick is Minnesota
Colorado State at Colorado (-13) – My pick is Colorado
Sweetbob’s college football picks against the spread record in previous seasons:
2013: 134-79-8
2014: 148-118-4
2015: 149-118-3
2016: 196-145-6
2017: 183-159-13
2018: 177-157-6
2019: 0-0-0
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.