NCAAF: Quick Hits – College Picks
The first few weeks of the college season can set you up for the rest of the year or even pad your pocket for NFL Sundays. A good, hard look at the numbers reveals some very enticing odds to make you money as oddsmakers try to get a handle on how teams will perform.
We had our guy Cras make picks last year and he made lots of money with his early season selections. Here’s where he’s putting his money this weekend.
#17 Virginia Tech Hokies (-9.5) vs. East Carolina Pirates
Virginia Tech struggled against East Carolina in their 2007 season opener, squeezing out a 17-7 win on an emotional day in which the victims of the school shooting were remembered. After getting blown out the next weekend against LSU, the Hokies went on to win 10 of their next 11 games.
Senior quarterback Sean Glennon improved throughout the season, finishing with a 137.6 rating and is one of the reasons why the Hokies are the ACC favorites at 3:1.
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Whether Virginia Tech players were overcome with emotions or simply took East Carolina for granted, you can bet they’ll be better prepared for the Pirates this year.
Pick: Virginia Tech -9.5
Utah Utes (+3.5) vs. Michigan Wolverines
Everyone knows what happened to the Wolverines on opening day last season; the Appalachian State Mountaineers embarrassed them in the Big House. Oddsmakers are giving the Utes a chance at another opening day upset in Ann Arbor, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Michigan’s new head coach, Rich Rodriquez, has his work cut out to get an offense set without Chad Henne at quarterback or Michael Hart at running back. There are plenty of questions heading into Michigan’s season and we’ll see how they respond against one of the best from the Mountain West. In the end, Rodriquez’ debut will be a successful one though.
Pick: Michigan -3.5
Boston College Eagles (-9.5) vs. Kent State Golden Flashes
For all the talk that quarterback Matt Ryan got, you may not have noticed that Boston College had second-ranked run defense in the country and was 19th in total defense last season. Lineback Brian Toal returns after a medical redshirt last year while B.J. Raji is back at defensive tackle after missing last year for academic issues.
Those two seniors will make it even tougher to run the ball against this team and Kent State will need to get its work done through the air, something they couldn’t do last year as they finished 111th in the NCAA with just 166.4 passing yards per game. The Boston College offense has plenty of new faces but don’t let that scare you this weekend.
Pick: Boston College -9.5
Fresno State Bulldogs (+5) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Coach Pat Hill has turned Fresno State into a team that has shown they are capable of playing with the Big Dogs, challenging Pac-10 teams over the past three years and narrowly losing 47-45 to Texas A&M last season.
Senior quarterback Tom Brandstater is back with the Bulldogs, along with a host of receivers in what should be a great offense. The Bulldogs averaged more than 32 points a game last year and should only improve. Rutgers finished last season with an average of just over 32 points per game as well but lost its big weapon from the past two seasons, Ray Rice.
Pick: Fresno State +5
One reply on “NCAA Football Week 1 Sportsbook Free Picks”
” … and Kent State will need to get its work done through the air, something they couldn’t do last year as they finished 111th in the NCAA with just 166.4 passing yards per game.”
Do you do realize that Kent State had to play 4 QBs last year due to injury ? They relied on the run because that’s all they had, and Eugene Jarvis was pretty darn good; returning as the leading rusher from last season.
Look for Kent State to use their new senior TE Jameson Konz a lot as a possession receiver. Kent State had no one they could rely on to catch the ball consistently last year. That will change this year.
BC may win – maybe – but they won’t cover that spread with their youth and on being the road for the 1st game of the season.