NCAA College Football Week 1 Picks - Late Games
NCAA Week 1 Late Games
All times Eastern
Saturday, August 31
12:00 pm Northern Iowa at Iowa State (-18 1/2, 41 1/2) - This game is for show only. The Northern Iowa Panthers are a decent football team but they're not division 1, whereas the Cyclones were a great treat in the Big 12 last season, going 8-2 after losing to Iowa and Oklahoma the first two weeks of the season. Their 28-26 loss to Washington State in the Alamo Bowl was not an embarrassment. They are one of the most talented teams in the nation and should rip their in-state foes a new one.
Coin Flip: Northern Iowa
Prediction: Cyclones 49 Panthers 9
The Wildcats are the real deal, with some awesome defense and enough offense to get the job done. This may not be very close fro very long.
Coin Flip: Kentucky
Prediction: Wildcats 35 Rockets 10
Coin Flip: Alabama
Prediction: Crimson Tide 45 Blue Devils 24
South Carolina finished 7-6 last season, but lost a couple of close games in the SEC - 26-23 to Texas A&M, 35-31 at Florida. They have more than enough talent to kick of the Tar Heels.
Coin Flip: South Carolina
Prediction: Gamecocks 34 Tar Heels 21
Northwestern struggled early going 1-3, but then finished up 8-2, taking the Holiday Bowl over Utah, 31-20. They're good enough to hang with the Cardinal, especially on the road, where they were 5-0 last season.
Coin Flip: Stanford
Prediction: Wildcats 24 Cardinal 21
The Seminoles kind of stank last season, going 5-7, and they're only favored here on reputation, which doesn't usually win football games. Expect the Broncos to take it to them in a big way.
Coin Flip: Boise State
Prediction: Broncos 34 Seminoles 24
The Ducks, well, let's say they've had their day in the sun. They were not a factor in the PAC-12 last year, with a 5-4 conference mark, though they finished overall, 9-4. They beat Bowling Green, Portland State, and San Jose State to start the season. This is a different opponent and they're likely to get walloped.
Coin Flip: Oregon
Prediction: Tigers 40 Ducks 17
The Panthers went 7-7 but lost some close calls and played well against the likes of Notre Dame (lost, 19-14) and Stanford (lost, 14-13, Sun Bowl). Being at home, Pitt may have an answer.
Coin Flip: Pittsburgh
Prediction: Panthers 24 Cavaliers 17
7:30 pm Houston at #4 Oklahoma (-22 1/2, 82 1/2) - The powerhouse Sooners were 12-2 last season, losing in the CFP Semifinal to Alabama, 45-34. Of course, they don't have Kyler Murray any more, but he was replacing a guy by the name of Baker Mayfield. Can the Sooners reload again? Sure enough, the Sooners welcome former Alabama QB, Jalen Hurts, to the fold. Hurts will help make Oklahoma a national contender again.
Houston's had a top-notch team for the past three years, but last season their defense fell apart, allowing far too many points to foes such as SMU, Temple, and Memphis before finally collapsing in a 70-14 loss to Army in the Armed Force Bowl. That's going to take more than one off-season to fix.
Coin Flip: Houston
Prediction: Sooners 56 Cougars 20
#9 Notre Dame (-20, 55) at Louisville - um, mismatch, much?
Louisville was 2-10 last season, an absolute disaster. Their only wins were against Indiana State and Western Kentucky. Then they lost nine in a row.
At the same time, Notre Dame was running up a 12-0 record before being stopped cold in the CFP Semifinal by Clemson, 30-3.
Anybody taking Louisville for the win here is very hopeful, but maybe not that smart.
Coin Flip: Louisville
Prediction: Fighting Irish 60 Cardinals 3
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Week 1 Early Games
12:00 pm Toledo at Kentucky (-12, 59) - The Rockets (7-6 in 2018) may be also-rans in the Mid-American conference, while the Wildcats proved they belong in the SEC, positing a 5-3 mark in conference and a 10-3 record overall. They even beat Penn State, 27-24, in the Citrus Bowl on January 1.
3:30 pm Duke at #2 Alabama (-34 1/2, 58) - Duke was 8-5 last season, but got thumped, 35-6 by Clemson and 59-7 by Wake Forest to finish the regular season. They did have a field day in the Independence Bowl, ripping Temple, 56-27. Despite those two blowouts, the Blue Devils will show up here and keep this close enough to cover the sucker line.
3:30 pm South Carolina (-7 1/2, 63) North Carolina - Border war, though for the Gamecocks, this may be only a minor skirmish. The best athletes go to North Carolina to play hoops, not football, thus their 2-9 record from 2018 speaks volumes.
4:00 pm Northwestern at Stanford (-6 1/2, 47) - Stanford lost to four quality opponents last season - Notre Dame, Utah, Washington State, and Washington. Other than those, they were 9-0.
7:00 pm Boise State at Florida State (-5 1/2, 54) - The Broncos were runners-up in the Mountain West, losing the championship game to Fresno state, 19-16, in OT, and their Bowl game vs. Boston College was cancelled due to weather, so the upperclassmen on Boise State are probably thinking big things after a 10-3 season in 2018. They won't have Mark Rypien at QB, but they have a solid squad, always.
7:30 pm #11 Oregon at #16 Auburn (-3 1/2, 56 1/2) - The Auburn Tigers play one of the roughest schedules in the country, year in, year out. They went 8-5 last season, including losses to Alabama, LSU, and Georgia. In the Music City Bowl, they hammered Purdue, 63-14, showing their class.
7:30 pm Virginia (-2 1/2, 46) at Pittsburgh - The Cavaliers were a pleasant surprise last season, with an 8-5 mark, including a 28-0 win in the Belk Bowl over South Carolina.
Sunday, September 1
Monday, September 2
