This year has flown by and it’s now time for college football!

This year will be a fruitful year for us here at the site. I lost my long-time dog Nugget at this point last year. It devastated me and I wasn’t able to put the focus on writing my weekly sports betting and fantasy football articles. I was barely able to just post my picks and I wasn’t able to give the same insight that I have in the past. I’m in a much better place in my life and have a new dog Goober (see picture) that brings me joy.

I want to thank everyone for sticking with me and still visited the site. I didn’t half-ass my picks, as I did all the work on the back-end, but I promise to ‘full ass’ my picks and articles this season.

We at ‘America’s White Boy’ pick 25 college football games against the spread in Week 1 of the 2024-25 NCAA Football season (August 31st, 2024).

Clemson vs Georgia (-13.5) – My pick is Georgia Bulldogs

Clemson hasn’t been the same since QB Trevor Lawrence left for the NFL. They’ve had issues at quarterback and the overall talent level hasn’t been there. They hired Garrett Riley has the new offensive coordinator and hope QB Cade Klubnik takes a big leap. He will need some of his young receivers to step up to do that. The defense is a clean slate with many graduating or leaving to the NFL. Head coach Dabo Swinney did not hit the portal, so I expect a regression on defense.

Georgia is the consensus #1 team in the country. They are very deep and have studs at every position. The SEC got even better this season with Texas and Oklahoma joining, but Georgia is still a level above the rest. QB Carson Beck will have all the time in the world to make decisions. He will line up behind the best offensive line in the country, and added RB Trevor Etienne (Florida) from the portal. Georgia’s defense will rank among the best in the country, so they will be a beast on both sides of the ball.

Clemson just isn’t the same program they were just three or four years ago. Clemson needed to hit the transfer portal to add to their defense and give Klubnik some established receivers. It’s a necessary evil that good football programs need to do today. Clemson is not a top-tier team in 2024, but Georgia sits at the top of that tier. I am taking Georgia to cover in Atlanta.

Penn State at West Virginia (+8.5) – My pick is West Virginia Mountaineers

Penn State is dealing with ‘middle child syndrome.’ They haven’t been able to overcome Ohio State or Michigan , thus they’ve been on the outside of the College Football Playoff. They hired former Kansas offensive mind to be their new offensive coordinator. They hope QB Drew Allar can excel against the best in the Big Ten, if that happens, the Nittany Lions could find themselves in the Playoff. Former Big Ten head coach Tom Allen is Penn State’s new defensive coordinator. He takes over a talented group and comes in with a full cupboard.

West Virginia was expected to finish among the worst in the ACC in ’23, but they surprised us all. Head coach Neal Brown finished 9-4 and QB Garrett Greene led the offense to a big improvement. Greene will have a talented running back group and a solid offensive line again this year. West Virginia will need to outperform their talent level on defense if they hope to compete with the top teams in the ACC.

Penn State is the better overall team, but West Virginia will be able to run the ball well. They could help with time of possession and shorten the game. I expect PSU QB Allar to put up good numbers, but this came will be closer than expected. I’m taking the points 

Colorado State at Texas (-32) – My pick is Colorado State Rams

Colorado State had a bounce-back year in 2023. QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and WR Tory Horton put up great numbers last year, and the Rams were able to keep them away from the transfer portal. Their defense will be a work-in-progress after losing talent to the portal, but EDGE rusher Nuer Gatkuoth should get to the quarterback a lot (when he’s healthy).

Texas lived up to their preseason hype and made an appearance in the College Football Playoff. QB Quinn Ewers was able to brush off Arch Manning breathing down his neck. He benefited from top-tier receivers (Xavier Worth & Adonai Mitchell), who they lost to the NFL. They scored some studs via the portal, but it’s impossible to replace those two receivers. The Longhorns defense could have issues against the best SEC teams this year, but they should improve once many of the new faces get more reps.

Texas is a consensus top-five team heading into this season. They will win this game, but a 32-point spread is bloated, which is to be expected. Colorado State hasn’t been a known national, bettor-friendly team in many years. I’m taking the points in this game.

Miami (FL) at Florida (+2.5) – My pick is Miami Hurricanes

Miami thought they had their quarterback situation handled with QB Tyler Van Dyke. He regressed over the last two seasons and they didn’t have consistent play from the position. It has cost them, as they only won seven games last year. They did score two gems on the transfer portal. They swiped QB Cam Ward away from Washington State and RB Damien Martinez from Oregon State. They are my personal favorite to win the ACC, as their schedule is the easiest among the contenders. The Hurricanes biggest issue this season will be pass defense. They come in with an inexperienced secondary.

Florida has fallen in the rankings since hiring head coach Billy Napier. They are coming off a five-win season, and Napier has a red-hot seat. QB Graham Mertz played well in his debut season for the Gators. He wasn’t forcing home-run plays like he was back at Wisconsin. As long as he has a balanced offense, he will be fine. On defense, they loaded up on transfers to put band-aids on their leaky defense. It could be another struggle on that side of the ball.

The Hurricanes made a big, necessary splash in the transfer portal and will pay dividends. I love Ward and believe he will have a big year against a list of soft opponents. I’m down on Florida this year and think their defense will struggle against Miami. I’m taking the Hurricanes to cover on the road.

UCLA at Hawaii (+13.5) – My pick is Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 

UCLA saw head coach Chip Kelly leave to take the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State. It was a smart move by him as it would have been difficult to keep his job if he had another seven-win season. Honestly, I don’t see this year’s UCLA team sniffing seven wins in ’24. Former NFL offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy takes over the offense, but I’m not sold on his ability to lead a productive offense without QB Patrick Mahomes. The Bruins hope QB Ethan Garbers takes to the new offense well, and RB T.J. Harden takes a lead in his development. On defense, UCLA doesn’t have the same level of talent as they did a year ago.

Hawaii can move the ball through the air, but come up short when it comes to putting points on the board. QB Brayden Schager is a great talent for head coach Timmy Chang’s pass-heavy offense. They return their top-six receivers from last season, so their offense should be better this year. On defense, they were a mess in ’23, but luckily, it’s almost impossible for them to have been worse (41.4 ppg).

UCLA QB Garbers should start the year with a great stat line, but I think Hawaii could sneak up on the Bruins in this game. Hawaii’s offense didn’t look fantastic against Delaware in Week 0, but Hawaii will sneak up on some opponents. It will happen in Week 1 against UCLA. I’m taking the points at home for Hawaii.

Notre Dame at Texas A&M (-3) – My pick is Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame had their choice of transfer quarterbacks on the portal. They scored QB Riley Leonard (Duke), and he’s a great fit for their offense. He has all the tools to excel in a pro-style offense. If he has a big year for the Irish, you will hear his name on Day 1 of this coming year’s NFL Draft. On defense, their strongest unit is their secondary. Safety Xavier Watts will be the next safety from the school to have success on Sundays.

New head coach Mike Elko takes over in College Station after a successful season at Duke. He needs to win in a hurry as the school paid a huge sum of money to ship former head coach Jimbo Fisher out of town. QB Conner Weigman is coming off a missed season due to injury. He hasn’t played in more than five games in a season, so he’s a big question mark. He does have talent to help out as RB Rueben Owens and WR Moose Muhammad will make life easier for him. On defense, the Aggies will be able to get to the quarterback this season. They will rely on some transfer talent in the secondary, but I’m high on the group.

I’ve seen preseason power rankings that have the Irish as low as #7 and as high as #26. There isn’t much variance in top-ten teams, but the Irish has the largest spread. I’m middle-of-the-road when it comes to Notre Dame. I think they are a top-fifteen team. Their secondary will be the difference this week. They will make it difficult for Weigman to put up points. I’m taking the points in this game.

LSU vs USC (+4) – My pick is LSU Tigers

LSU had a huge task in replacing the offensive talent they lost to the NFL. QB Garrett Nussmeier won’t put up the insane numbers of former QB Jayden Daniels, but he does need to be among the FBS leaders in most categories. He has an amazing offensive line, so he will be upright this season. The issue with LSU will be on the other side of the ball. They struggled on defense last year and hired new defensive coordinator Blake Baker from Missouri. He’s a talent defensive mind, so the defense should be better, but to what extent?

USC is in the same boat as LSU, as they needed to replace a former Heisman-winning quarterback. The Trojans are sticking with QB Miller Moss, who played in their bowl game last year. He played outstanding in that game, and easily won the job over UNLV-transfer Jayden Maiava. Their offense won’t be as explosive this year, but that is to be expected. On defense, USC was a disaster in ’23. They canned defensive coordinator Alex Grinch and brought in UCLA DC D’Anton Lynn. It will take more than a year to right the ship on that side of the ball, but it would be hard to be worse.

Defense will be a large role in the outcome of this game. I like LSU’s hire of DC Baker and think he will have the Tigers prepared. The game is in Vegas, so I am taking LSU to cover at the neutral site.

Boston College at Florida State (-17.5) – My pick is Boston College Eagles

Boston College had an eventful offseason. Former head coach Jeff Hafley took an NFL job, and they then coaxed Bill O’Brien away from a coordinator job at Ohio State to lead the team. This happened much later in the normal turnover of coaching staffs than normal. He has a decent quarterback in QB Thomas Castellanos and a talented backfield. O’Brien has worked wonders with quarterbacks in the past, so he hopes to develop Castellanos into a great asset. On defense, BC had one of the worst defenses in the ACC in ’23. It’s going to take more than just one offseason cycle to make huge strides on that side of the ball.

Florida State is coming off a disappointing upset loss to Georgia Tech in Week 0 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Transfer-QB D.J. Uiagalelei did not play well and didn’t factor in any of their scoring plays. It remains to be seen if he can truly be a game-changing playmaker. Georgia Tech is an improved team, so this loss may not look so bad by the end of the year.

If the Seminoles still had former QB Jordan Travis under center, this betting line would have been a no-brainer. I just didn’t see the same explosiveness on offense with Uiagalelei. I’m taking the points in this game. 

North Dakota State at Colorado (-9.5) – My pick is North Dakota State Bison

North Dakota State are one of the best FCS teams in recent memory. Many have them as a top-four FCS team heading into this season. They have nine all-conference players returning and hit the transfer portal hard to give them more depth. QB Cam Miller is a veteran in their system and their other QB, they use both, Cole Payton is good enough to start on many FBS teams. Their defense returns a ton of seniors and were a top-20 defense in the FCS last season.

Colorado was one of the most-hyped teams coming into last season. Head coach Deion Sanders talked a lot of game and he brought over QB Shedeur Sanders and CB Travis Hunter from his previous team. They underperformed and their defense was non-existent (if you avoided Hunter). They hit the transfer portal hard once again. Their portal gem was snagging offensive tackle Jordan Seaton. They’re a bowl team this year, but I don’t expect a huge improvement on defense.

It’s not surprise that Colorado is overrated going into the season again. Coach Sanders is like a prize fighter than can talk people into believing him, but he was knocked out many times in 2023. Colorado may beat North Dakota State, but I don’t see them covering this spread. I’m taking the points in this game.

Eastern Michigan at Massachusetts (-1.5) – My pick is Eastern Michigan Eagles

This is the section where we pick a smaller conference game.

Eastern Michigan continues to be doormats against top teams early in the season, but will win enough games in the MAC to make bowl games. They needed to restock the offense after a big turnover due to graduation. They snagged QB Cole Snyder (Buffalo) and RB Delbert Mimms (NC State) off the transfer portal. On defense, like most MAC teams, struggled on that side of the ball. They will be better on defense, but don’t expect a big leap.

UMass is perennially one of the worst teams in the country. They are coming off a three-win season in ’23 (two wins came against FCS teams). QB Taisun Phommachanh was once a backup for Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, gives UMass their best quarterback in many years. He didn’t have much success last season, but his surrounding talent is poor. I hate to pile on the Minutemen, but they will struggle to match last year’s win total.

This game will be a tough watch, but I think Eastern Michigan has the better overall talent. UMass moves to a full-time MAC schedule next year, so they will test out if they can hang with one of the middle-of-the-road schools in the conference. I’m taking the points in this game.

QUICK HITS

Campbell at Liberty (-34.5) – My pick is Liberty

Coastal Carolina at Jacksonville State (-2.5) – My pick is Jacksonville State

Lindenwood at Kansas (-44.5) – My pick is Kansas

Miami (OH) at Northwestern (-2.5) – My pick is Northwestern 

Virginia Tech at Vanderbilt (+13) – My pick is Va Tech

North Carolina at Minnesota (+1.5) – My pick is North Carolina 

Southern Miss at Kentucky (-28) – My pick is Kentucky 

UTEP at Nebraska (-27.5) – My pick is Nebraska

New Mexico at Arizona (-31) – My pick is Arizona 

North Texas at South Alabama (-5) – My pick is 

BONUS PICKS!

FIU at Indiana (-21.5) – My pick is Indiana 

James Madison at Charlotte (-6) – My pick is James Madison 

UNLV at Houston (-1.5) – My pick is UNLV 

FAU at Michigan State (-14) – My pick is Michigan State 

Kennesaw State at Texas-San Antonio (-24.5) – My pick is UTSA 

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: 187-141-8
2020: 170-160-5
2021: 167-151-8
2022: 185-150-5
2023: 155-144-10
2024: 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 X at @Sweetbob