NCAA Week 1 picks

Yawn!  Time to wake up!  NCAA football starts a week early, as two games are held before Labor Day weekend.  Labor Day weekend now begins on Thursday, too, at least for the NCAA.

These first two weeks will feature lots of matchups between FBS and FCS teams.  While some of those usually end up in the FCS favor, I rarely pick the FCS team, as such victories deserve to be considered upsets.  Also, without rankings until Week 3 picks (my long-time readers know why; the rest of you can check the Archives) I will pick only Big Ten games and ones that are of particular interest.

Here we go...

Sat Aug 24
Miami Hurricanes at Florida Gators:  In the late 1980's and early 1990's this matchup was exciting, but not too much anymore.  Usually only one of these teams is having a good year, or neither of them are.  This year it looks to be the Gators' year.  FLORIDA

Arizona Wildcats at Hawaii Rainbow Warriors:  Hawaii is so hard to predict, especially this early in the season.  Typically they do well at home.  However, Arizona will not have that much of an effect from the time zone difference, and Arizona might be a decent team this year.  I'll go for the upset on this one.  ARIZONA

Thurs Aug 29
Florida A&M Rattlers (FCS) at UCF Golden Knights:  The Knights kick off another season pursuing an unbeaten record by smashing a poor pathetic FCS team.  UCF

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Clemson Tigers:  Clemson opens their title defense with the first conference bout of the season.  Georgia Tech is hoping to have a good year, but this isn't the way to start it.  If they learn from their mistakes, though, this could be a highly educational game!  CLEMSON

South Dakota State Jackrabbits (FCS) at Minnesota Golden Gophers:  The Jackrabbits are a good team, and could give the Gophers some early fits.  The Jackrabbits might even lead at halftime, but Minnesota will pull this one out.  This is likely to be closer than Minnesota fans would like, though.  MINNESOTA

Utah Utes at BYU Cougars:  The battle for Utah starts early, too, and I have to favor the Utes here.  BYU is improving, but not yet ready to tackle Utah.  UTAH

Fri Aug 30
The Big Ten take over Friday night, as half the games feature Big Ten teams.  Here they are...

Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Michigan State Spartans: Not a tough challenge for the Spartans.  With their defense, Tulsa may not score double digits.  MICHIGAN STATE

Wisconsin Badgers at South Florida Bulls:  This could be an interesting contest.  The Bulls have traditionally had a tough run defense, and Wisconsin will have to lean heavily on their running game.  The Badgers had to add some new faces to the offensive line, so will they be ready to deal with the South Florida defense?  I think so, but this game will be low-scoring and a tight one.  WISCONSIN

UMass Minutemen at Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  This might be one of the few games Rutgers wins all season.  Then again, maybe not.  UMass has slowly been improving.  This could go the other way.  RUTGERS

Purdue Boilermakers at Nevada Wolfpack:  I think Nevada will have a down year, which should allow Purdue to start their season with a road win.  They don't tend to get too many of those; they should savor this.  PURDUE

Sat Aug 31
Big Ten games:
Florida Atlantic Owls at Ohio State Buckeyes:  Nice easy win for Coach Ryan Day's first game.  OHIO STATE

South Alabama Jaguars at Nebraska Cornhuskers:  Nebraska gets a nice easy non-conference game, as some of their conference ones won't be so favorable.  NEBRASKA

Akron Zips at Illinois Fighting Illini: Oh, I hate this, but Akron might have a decent year, and Illinois hasn't had one in a long time.  I have to pick against my Alma Mater on this one, especially given the MAC teams' success against Big Ten opponents.  AKRON

Indiana Hoosiers at Ball State Cardinals:  On the other hand, Ball State will likely be down this year, so Indiana should start with a comfortable win.  INDIANA

Howard Bison (FCS) at Maryland Terrapins: Easy interdivisional contest for the Terrapins.  MARYLAND

Idaho Vandals at Penn State Nittany Lions:  The Vandals won't be able to steal a victory here.  PENN STATE

Northwestern Wildcats at Stanford Cardinal:  Another opening loss for the Big Ten, as Northwestern has to face a strong Stanford team.  This game might be close, though, as the Wildcats have a tendency to play up to (or down to) the level of their opponents.  STANFORD

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Michigan Wolverines:  This should be an offensive showcase for the Wolverines, as Middle Tennessee does not seem to possess a good defense.  MICHIGAN

Miami Ohio RedHawks at Iowa Hawkeyes:  Iowa looks to have a strong team this year, and they'll start by defeathering the RedHawks.  IOWA

Other Games of Interest:
Toledo Rockets at Kentucky Wildcats:  SEC fans may balk here, but Toledo frequently has good teams; they are simply ignored by the general press.  Kentucky often plays well in non-conference games and then folds early in conference play.  This year, I think they face a fierce challenge in their opener.  TOLEDO

Oregon Ducks at Auburn Tigers:  This could possibly be the most interesting game of the weekend!  Has Auburn shored up its defense enough to slow down the high-powered Ducks?  Their offense isn't good enough to keep pace, so a defensive performance would be necessary to pull out a win.  I don't think the Tigers defense is ready for the Ducks.  OREGON

Sun Sept 1
Houston Cougars at Oklahoma Sooners:  Most people expect this to be a blowout, but Houston can put points on the board quickly, too.  This game might push 100 total points, but I think Oklahoma will succeed in the end.  Maybe 62-51?  OKLAHOMA

Mon Sept 2
Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Louisville Cardinals:  Notre Dame gets an early win at the expense of the rebuilding Cardinals.  NOTRE DAME