JACK JONES
South Carolina vs. NC State
Play: NC State -5
The NC State Wolfpack are coming off their third straight bowl season under Dave Doeren. They went 7-6 after their 41-17 win over Vanderbilt, but were better than that record. They had four losses by a touchdown or less.
Two of those were against two of the best teams in the country. They only lost 17-24 at national champion Clemson in overtime after missing a potential game-winning field goal. They also lost 20-24 to Florida State at home. This team proved they could play with the big boys.
Now Doeren has his best team yet as he enters his 5th season with the program. The Wolfpack return a whopping 17 starters this season. Everyone is talking about FSU, Clemson and Louisville in the ACC Atlantic Division, but don't sleep on the Wolfpack because they will be a surprise contender.
The offense has nine starters back, including QB Ryan Finley, each of his top four receivers, and four starters along the offensive line. The defense only allowed 22.8 points per game last year and has eight starters back, including one of the best defensive lines in the country.
South Carolina was extremely fortunate to make a bowl game in Will Muschamp's first season. The Gamecocks went 6-7, but their six wins came against mostly suspect competition, and all six wins came by 13 points or less, including four by 6 points or fewer.
The Gamecocks only beat UMass by 6, East Carolina by 5 and Western Carolina by 13, all at home. They played Clemson to give them a common opponent with NC State, and suffered their worst loss of the season in a 7-56 loss in their regular season finale. I expect this to be one of the worst teams in the SEC in 2017.
The Wolfpack are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 non-conference games, including 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games in September. Doeren has gotten them off to a fast start basically every season in his time here, and I think that will be the case with a blowout win over South Carolina in the 2017 opener.
JOHN MARTIN
Florida State vs. Alabama
Play: Alabama -7
Jimbo Fisher learned under Nick Saban. That's bad news for Florida State backers today. Saban is 10-0 against his former disciples who have come into head coaching positions. I think Alabama is still steaming over its loss to Clemson in the National Championship and will take out its frustration on Florida State in the opener. The difference in this game will be Alabama's defensive line against Florida State's offensive line. This is an FSU offensive line that allowed a whopping 36 sacks last year. They lose their two best offensive linemen from that team in a 2-time All-American LT and 2nd-team-All ACC LG. Alabama's D-line will be one of the best in the country and should get after Deondre Francois for four quarters, making life miserable on him. Jalen Hurts, Bo Scarbrough, Calvin Ridley and company will do enough offensively to get the win and cover.
DAVE PRICE
Western Michigan vs.USC
Play: USC -27½
USC can pretty much name its score today against Western Michigan. Sam Darnold is one of the Heisman Trophy favorites and leads a USC offense that scored 39.9 PPG during their 9-0 stretch to close out the 2016 season. They are loaded with talent on offense, and bring back seven starters on D. Western Michigan is coming off the best season in program history at 13-1. But now they lost PJ Fleck to Minnesota, and they only bring back 12 starters this season. They lose all of their best players on offense, including QB Zach Terrell and WR Corey Davis, who was a first-round draft pick. The Broncos led the country in turnover margin (+18) last year, but they won't be nearly as disciplined this time around without Fleck running the show. I believe the Broncos are in over their heads here and won't be able to stay within four touchdowns of a team as talented as this Trojans bunch.
DAVE COKIN
ANGELS AT RANGERS
PLAY: ANGELS -113
The Angels looked like they were going to notch their 40th comeback win of the season on Friday night. But this time the Rangers were able to turn those tables, and Texas escaped with a 10-9 win. A blown replay challenge in the ninth inning might well have been the deciding factor in this ballgame.
I see the Angels rebounding tonight. Texas is going to feel the loss of team leader Adrian Beltre and I’m clearly not a believer in AJ Griffin. His control is too shaky for my liking and he’s a guy who can also be vulnerable to the long ball.
It’s not like I’m wild about backing Ricky Nolasco, but I prefer the veteran righty in this matchup. More importantly, even though they came up short last night, I really like the relentlessness of this Angels outfit. They’ve stayed in the playoff chase thanks to their resiliency and now they’ve added two significant pieces in Justin Upton and Brandon Phillips.
Expect this line to go up as the Halos have been getting heavy play on almost a daily basis of late. At the current tag, I will side with the Angels.
Eric Schroeder
Meet Josh Allen, the Wyoming quarterback who everyone is talking about and nobody knows about. They're - and I mean critics - saying he could very well be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen, but for now, he's focused on the Cowboys and making everyone in Laramie happy.
The season gets underway with quite a test, as they travel to Iowa City to take on a Hawkeyes team that has some experience coming back, but I'm not too concerned about the eight starters on the defensive side. Yes, Iowa allowed a mere 18.8 points per game in 2016, but the Hawkeyes are going to underestimate Wyoming, which played in the Mountain West Conference championship last season.
Allen's 28 passing TDs last season rank third among the single-season leaders in school history. The Mountain West's preseason offensive player of the year accounted for 3,726 yards of total offense in 2016. I look for him to have a big game and keep this thing close for the Cowboys.
1* WYOMING
Tommy Brunson
Mark me down as buying into the "hype" surrounding Craig Bohl's Cowboys of Wyoming who feature pro-prospect Josh Allen at quarterback.
Wyoming will head to Iowa City to face an Iowa team that sputtered last season on offense, and has not settled on a definitive starting quarterback as this new season gets underway.
Iowa has been a real "money-burner" when opening the season the past 8 years, covering just one time in that stretch. Compare that to Wyoming's 8-1 mark their last 9 when getting points, and there you have another reason why I am sidling up to the road underdog in this opening weekend spot.
The Cowboys can also boast an 11-4 spread run overall their last 15 lined games, while the Hawkeyes have burned their backers to a tune of 4-10 when favored by double-digits their last 14 tries.
Iowa is likely too strong to lose this game outright at home, but Wyoming sure looks like they can put a real scare in the Hawkeyes and their faithful early on this Saturday afternoon.
Take, take, take the points and the 'Pokes!
4* WYOMING
Jack Brayman
I've never been a fan of Florida coach Jim McElwain, not even when he was at Colorado State, and in his third year at the helm, I don't see him starting this campaign with a win. McElwain, who suspended 10 players for this game, has been a cry baby about Michigan's decision to withhold a roster right up until the final week of the preseason. I can't believe he is so intimidated.
I am, on the other hand, a big fan of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and believe his Wolverines are going to win this one with relative ease. I love his antics and tactics, and how he won't let anyone ranting at him get under his skin, and he virtually ignores all the whining from other coaches, dating back to his days at Stanford.
The Gators have just five starters back on defense, and that won't bode well for a team that allowed only 16.8 points per game. Last season this team opened with back-to-back-to-back home games against Massachusetts, Kentucky and North Texas, and it allowed a total of 14 points. I wouldn't be surprised to see Michigan put a 30-spot on the board. There are five sophomores on the stop unit, so look for Michigan's Wilton Speight to have a big game under center.
Now this will sound hypcritical, but even though Michigan has just one starter back on defense, I'm not too worried given the age of this unit, not to mention the caliber of talent this team brings to Gainesville. The Wolverines may lack of experience, but they're laying points on the road and they still have a chance to win the third-best conference in college football.
Lay the road chalk.
5* MICHIGAN
Scott Rickenbach
South Carolina vs. NC State
Play: NC State -5
The Wolfpack are returning a ton of talent (including 17 starters) and the last two times they faced South Carolina (2008 and 2009) they lost by a combined score of 41 to 3. While that may seem like history since it wasn't even in this decade, you can believe that NC State's current team is well aware of those two season opening losses that were just the first defeat of tough losing seasons each of those two years. The Wolfpack are hungry to get some revenge against their neighbors to the south and to start this season right. While they only have Marshall on deck, the Gamecocks do have their SEC opener on deck. South Carolina does return a strong number of starters from last season's team but most are on the offensive side of the ball where the Gamecocks often struggled. That said, how much will the returning talent even help. The Gamecocks rely heavily on their defense but they lost some key pieces (particularly in the front seven). The Wolfpack have gone 8-2 ATS in non-conference action the past two seasons and also have gone 12-4 ATS as a fave the past 2 years. South Carolina is on a 1-3 ATS run as an underdog in a range of 3.5 to 10 points.
Brandon Lee
Diamondbacks vs. Rockies
Play: Rockies -107
I like the Rockies to bounce back on Saturday and put an end to the Diamondbacks 8-game winning streak. This is simply too good of a price to pass up on a playoff caliber team at home playing with revenge. I know Arizona starter Pat Corbin comes in red-hot with a 0.38 ERA in his last 3 starts, but he's just 4-8 with a 5.50 ERA and 1.493 WHIP in 13 road starts. He also has an ugly 5.14 ERA in 14 career starts against the Rockies. Last two times he's taken the mound at Coors Field, he's surrendered 14 runs on 16 hits and 6 walks in just 8 1/3 innings of work. Colorado will send out Jon Gray, who is also pitching well with a 1.93 ERA in his last 3 outings and is 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 5 home starts.
Rob Vinciletti
California vs. North Carolina
Play: North Carolina -12½
No Trubisky, no problem. UNC Will face a Cal defense that allowed over 45 points per game on the road last season and will struggle on offense this year relying on a ground game to score. Cal fits a negative system we use that plays against losing teams from last year on the road with a new coach vs an opponent that had 7 or more wins. Look for North Carolina to win and cover.
Doug Upstone
Kentucky vs. Southern Miss
Play: Kentucky -10½
Kentucky led over Southern Miss a year ago 35-17 at the half at home and was outscored 27-0 in the last two quarters. With a more experienced team that knows how to run, favorites of 10.5 to 21 points like the Wildcats, who averaged 5.25 or more rushing yards a carry, with an experienced QB returning as starter, are 40-12 AT the last 24 years.
Michael Alexander
Wyoming +11½
The Hawkeyes, for the 2nd consecutive year, enter the new season with the weight of a bowl embarrassment hanging over their heads. In the 2015 Rose Bowl they losst 45-16, to Stanford, and in the 2016 Outback Bowl they lost 30-3, to Florida (23 & 24 point spread losses). A year ago, this one would have seemed like a very easy to start the season, but the Cowboys have suddenly become formidable, averaging 37.7 points per game in their last 9 games. Iowa's attack was horrible as they came in a ranked #121 in total offense. The Hawkeye defense however was another matter as they ranked #23, but with Iowa State up next on the schedule, Iowa may have to be at its best and just put this one on cruise control.
Kyle Hunter
Troy vs. Boise St
Play: Troy +10
The Boise State Broncos lost a lot from their secondary last year. Boise State gets tested quickly here by Troy's Brandon Silvers and a tremendous passing attack from the Troy Trojans. I like the job Neal Brown has done here. Troy has a great offensive line and they are a team that believes in the process the coaching staff has put in place.
Troy nearly won at Clemson last year, and they are going against a Boise State team that clearly has more flaws than the Broncos teams of the past few seasons. Boise State is also looking to replace a star RB and there is likely to be a lot of a pressure on Rypien and the passing game to do a lot here.
Chase Diamond
South Carolina vs. NC State
Play: NC State -5
This game features the NC State wolf pack versus the South Carolina Game Cocks. NC State was awesome ATS last year going 9-4 and they have covered their last 2 including blowing out Vandy in their bowl game big time late steam move here has really pushed this line even though the money is about 50/50. Love NC State to make a statement today and blow out South Carolina.
Ben Burns
Diamondbacks vs. Rockies
Play: Rockies -107
The Diamondbacks won yesterday's opener and are red hot entering the weekend. Jon Gray figures to slow them down. In his last start, Gray tossed six shutout innings, at Atlanta. That gives him a dominant 1.93 ERA his last three starts. While two of those came on the road, for the season, he's also 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA here at home. The Rockies are 5-0 (+5.8 ) when he starts here. Gray last faced Arizona in June. All he did was strike out 10 hitters in six complete innings, the Rockies eventually winning by a 6-2 margin. The last time the Corbin faced the Rockies? He allowed eight earned runs in four innings! In his last two starts at Colorado, he's allowed a whopping 14 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings. He's served up four home runs while issuing eight walks. Yikes.