Steve Janus
Louisiana Tech +35½
I believe Oklahoma is getting way too much love from both the media and the books in their opener against Louisiana Tech. A lot of people want to praise the Sooners for their upset win of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last year, but that win didn't impress me at all.
Alabama was crushed from that crazy loss to Auburn in the regular season finale, which prevented them from getting a chance to win their 3rd straight BCS title. There's just no way the Crimson Tide were going to be motivated for that game. Had that been for the national championship, I strongly believe Alabama would have won that game by 3+ touchdowns.
Oklahoma should win this game and do so rather easily, but I don't see them winning by more than 5 touchdowns. I know Louisiana Tech went just 4-8 last year, but they were in the first season under head coach Skip Holtz and had a mere 7 starters back from 2012.
I look for big improvements from the Bulldogs in Holtz's second season all across the board, but most importantly at the quarterback position. Louisiana Tech added in Iowa transfer Cody Sokol to take over as the starter and an improved passing attack should lead to a big year from junior running back Kenneth Dixon, who averaged 6.1 yards/carry last year.
Even if Oklahoma proves me wrong and jumps out to a big lead early, there figures to be all kinds of opportunities in the 2nd half for the Bulldogs to pull off a backdoor cover. I don't see us needing that, but it's a big plus with a spread like this.
Jim Feist
LSU vs. Wisconsin
Play: Under 50
A lot of new faces are on offense for these teams and the defenses are often ahead of the offenses in Week 1 of the season. The under is 6-1 in the Badgers last 7 games in August. Both teams have outstanding talent on defense, and in the case of LSU they are loaded with NFL-caliber defense. LSU is inexperienced at several key positions, most notably quarterback and receiver, but they can run the football, which chews up yards and the clock. The under is 11-5 in the Wisconsin Badgers last 16 non-conference games and this shapes up as a defensive duel.
Freddy Wills
Clemson vs. Georgia
Play: Under 54½
Clemson and Georgia are returning a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball and will have arguably top 5 defenses or at least top 5 front 7 units. The score of last year's game was a 38-35 shootout, but both teams had 3 year starting QB's in their senior years. I would make this a larger play if I didn't have a lot of respect for each team's offensive coordinator, because they are among the elite, but replacing a 3 year start at QB along with having to replace 3 offensive linemen is not easy early in the season when defenses usually are a bit ahead of the offenses. This game is important to both teams and I expect it to stay under the total here.
Tony Karpinski
Ohio State vs. Navy
Play: Navy +15
Navy needs to keep the line in check by keeping them honest. And truth of the matter is, is that Navy is much better than most people give them credit for. They run that nasty triple option, which keep defenses constantly moving and takes away a defenses full abilities. Even with Braxton Miller hurt, which is a huge blow for OSU, I think that Navy could keep it interesting for some time. Maybe some believe Navy has a realistic chance in this one, I dont expect them to win but they'll cover grabbing the 15 points in this one.
UCLA vs. Virginia
Play: UCLA -20
Virginia lacks any legit scoring power, and playing in a weak ACC conference isn't helping their outlook in this game either. UCLA and its success this season are all contingent upon the line meshing quickly, they have a very nice team coming in, possibly the best UCLA team in many years. UCLA will run away with this one, literally with Brett Hundley and his skill set will be a nightmare for Virginia to try and contain. UCLA is one of my TOP 5 teams this season and I beleive they have a solid shot at running the table this year and it starts with a BURIAL of Virginia here with the early Saturday kickoff.
Jesse Schule
Florida State vs. Oklahoma State
Pick: Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State won 10 games last year, and many of those came against tough opposition in the Big 12 Conference. Their most impressive victory came against #3 ranked Baylor, in a 49-17 thrashing at home. None of their three losses came by more than 10 points, yet they are getting almost double that number in their season opener against Florida State.
The Seminoles are the defending national champions, but let's not forget that they needed to come from behind to beat Auburn by a score of 34-31 in the Championship Game in January. They lost five key starters on offense to the NFL draft, but Jameis Winston is back, and Florida State is still loaded.
Winston put up video game type numbers in 2013, and many people expect him to match those stats this season. I wouldn't be surprised to see Famous Jameis take a giant step back this year though. He seems to have a knack for finding trouble, and would appear to be a prime candidate for letting success go to his head.
With a less experienced receiving corps, it would also be no surprise to see Jumbo Fisher lean more on the run in this first game. At the end of the day, it's an awful lot of points to cover against a quality team from one of the tougher conferences in the country.
Rob Vinciletti
UCLA vs. Virginia
Play: UCLA -19.5
UCLA is loaded on both sides of the ball and brings back 16 returning starters for a team that should challenge for the PAC 12 Title this season. They go cross country here today against a Virginia team that struggled vs top echelon caliber teams. UCLA Could start a bit slow here with th travel effect. However they should open this one up in the second half. We note that opening game favorites from 10-5 to 21 have been solid money makers through the years if they outscored their opponents by 7 or more points last season and return 8 or more defensive starters this year. The Bruins have won and covered 7 of the last 8 vs Non conference teams and 13 of the past 16 season openers. Virginia has failed to cover in 6 of the last 7 at home vs Non conference teams. Lay it with UCLA.
Stephen Nover
NY Yankees -122
Even if Jacoby Ellsbury can't play because of an ankle injury, the Yankees have enough going in the starting pitching matchup to lay this road price.
The Yankees are playing well winning seven of their past nine to get back into the wild-card race. They have the best record in days games at 28-17. Toronto is having a brutal August losing 17 of 24. The Blue Jays have a losing record in day games and are averaging only 3.3 runs per game this month. Now Toronto faces a rejuvenated Michael Pineda.
Pineda is making his fourth start since being out nearly four months. Pineda has allowed just four runs in three starts since returning. He has a 1.95 ERA on the year and his arm strength is increasing.
The Yankees should do plenty of damage against Drew Hutchinson, who is 2-6 with a 6.33 ERA in nine day starts and has a 6.75 ERA during his past three overall starts. Hutchinson is 1-3 with a 7.08 ERA in four starts against the Yankees this season.
Bruce Marshall
So Mississippi at Mississippi State
Pick: Mississippi State
We know the fellow who voted this year for MSU to win the league at SEC Media Days. And that chap might not be off his rocker as some have suggested, given the slew of starters (16) who return in Starkville, including star-in-the-making QB Dak Prescott. Remember, who was talking Auburn and Mizzou as eventual SEC division champs last summer? Meanwhile, USM has been inhabiting depths heretofore explored only by Jacques Cousteau and the Calypso during its shocking recent fall from grace (Golden Eagles 1-23 SU and 6-18 vs. line since 2012!).
Jack Jones
Georgia -7.5
The Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a disappointing 8-5 campaign in 2013. They had made it all the way to the SEC Championship in 2012 and were just a few plays away from playing in the national title game. However, injuries all over the place and poor play defensively really derailed their season last year.
Clemson is coming off a second straight 11-2 season. It beat LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl, and then came back last year and topped Ohio State in the BCS Orange Bowl by a final of 40-35 last year. Those two high-profile victories have certainly done wonders for head coach Dabo Swinney as he enters his seventh year at Clemson.
As stated before, Georgia was simply decimated by injuries last year. It lost QB Aaron Murray, RB’s Toddy Gurley and Keith Marshall, and it also had key injuries at wide receiver. The defense was extremely young with only three starters back as well, which is why the Bulldogs allowed the second-most points per game (29.0) in school history.
Now, 14 starters return, including eight on what will be one of the most improved defenses in the country. The Murray injury actually allowed Hutson Mason to get some playing time last year, and he played pretty well for the most part, completing 60.9 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and three picks. Mason will have the luxury of handing the ball off to the best RB duo on the country in Gurley and Marshall, so he won't have to do as much for this team as Murray did.
Clemson’s losses this season are huge. It parts ways with all of its top skill players from last year, and it brings back only 12 starters in all. Gone is the school’s all-time leading passer in Tajh Boyd, 1,000-yard rusher Roderick McDowell, and the top two receivers in Sammy Wakins (101 receptions, 1,464 yards, 12 TD) and Martavis Bryant (42, 828, 7 TD).
The Clemson offense is going to struggle against an improved Georgia defense, especially in a hostile atmosphere in Athens. After all, the Tigers have not won in Athens since 1986. Georgia is also 22-9 ATS in its last 31 games against ACC opponents. Bet Georgia Saturday.
Ray Monohan
LSU vs. Wisconsin
Play: Wisconsin +5
This is going to be a humdinger of a ball game that should feature two very good running games...and very inexperienced quarterbacks. Assuming that both of those factors kind of cancel it makes a lot of sense to grab Wisconsin and those 5 big points. This opened smaller but 5 seems like a great spot to get down because I am not sure how much more this number is going to move. I am super intrigued by the elusiveness of newly names Badgers QB Tanner McEvoy who will add some elusiveness we don’t usually see from the Great White North.
Kyle Hunter
Washington vs. Hawaii
Play: Hawaii +17½
The Washington Huskies get started Saturday night in the Chris Petersen era. Washington has plenty of talent, but they also have plenty of question marks. Cyler Miles won't play due to a suspension, and he is seen as the Huskies next quarterback with loads of potential. Washington is going to miss Keith Price and Bishop Sankey this year. While I'm confident that Washington is going to have a very good program under Petersen, it might take some time to get things running smoothly. Hawaii is a very tough place to play. Not many college teams can fly to Hawaii and stay focused on the game, because let's face it, it's hard to focus on the game when you are in a place like Hawaii. Hawaii plays teams tougher than expected here, and Norm Chow's team should be much improved this season. Hawaii isn't going to win this game, but I expect it to be closer than the line suggests. Take the dog.
Brad Diamond
Florida State vs. Oklahoma State
Play: Florida State -18
Not afraid to lay the wood against ? OKS, considering who are facing an experienced unit that just happens to be the BCS Champion, Florida State. The Sems 12-3-1 ATS on neutral fields and 6-of-7 ATS coming into action. Where Florida State will do damage is on offense against the inexperience of the Cowboys defense. OSU was hurt greatly by graduation.
Jimmy Adams
UCLA vs. Virginia
Play: UCLA -19
The money has come in on Virginia in this one and it’s flat out the wrong side. The sole reason for backing Virginia has to be the fact that UCLA is traveling across country for an early game. The Bruins are by far the better team. They have 17 starters back from a 10-3 campaign last season. Highlighting those returning is Heisman hopeful QB Brett Hundley. Hundley is extremely talented and will have more than enough weapon available to tear apart this Virginia team.
As for the Cavaliers, Mike London has just done an awful job. Many thought that London would be just what the team needed to turn things around. He’s now 18-31 in his time at Virginia and it’s looking like this will be his final season. London runs a tight ship and doesn’t let his players get away with much nonsense. The downside to that is he’s not getting the quality of recruits necessary to compete in the ACC. They’ve also had some injury concerns and don’t have anything special at quarterback. This team only won 2 games last season and were just getting their doors blown off at the tail end of the year.
Jonathan Jorcin
Clemson vs. Georgia
Play: Clemson +7½
This game last year was a back and forth shootout that ended in a Clemson 38-35 win, and this year the two quarterbacks at the helm will be different quarterbacks in the same situation. Both starters will first time starters, and they are both seniors. They have been with the program 4 a solid years, and we able to learn the system. Todd Gurley from Georgia will be a Heisman front runner barring he stays healthy. Keith Marshall will also be a solid one-two punch provided by this running back core, and those two together could be the best back field in the entire country.
The new quarterback will be Hutson Mason who was able to start a few games last year due to Aaron Murray and his ACL injury. He was solid in his starts, and with a healthy offense leading the way this team should be better than last year. While the Bulldogs have a new quarterback, so do the Clemson Tigers. Cole Stoudt is also a senior and was in Dabo Swinney’s offense the entire time. The loss of Sammy Watkins and Tahj Boyd will surely be a loss for this offense, but Stoudt will be a nice surprise. He is also a strong arm with legs that can get out of trouble. Swinney loves running quarterbacks and has been quoted that he will try and run Stoudt as often as possible. This will be another back and forth game, close enough to take the underdog in a 7 plus spread.
Art Aronson
Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Play: Pittsburgh Pirates -140
The visiting Reds will send out Alfredo Simon (13-8, 3.26 ERA) to toe the rubber; Simon is coming off his best start of the second half where he allowed one run over seven innings in a win over the Braves. Note though that we shouldn’t get too excited about him as he came into that game with a 5.40 ERA over seven starts prior. Note that Simon is 3-3 lifetime versus the Pirates but this is his first full year as a starter. The home side will counter with Vance Worley (5-4, 3.14 ERA) who is looking to get back on track after a tough strart, allowing four runs in six innings in a loss to the Brewers his last time out. The Pirates are a very strong team at home and with the pitcher’s matchup pretty much a wash in my opinion, I like the home side to come out on top. The Bucs come in with a 43-27 record at PNC Park after yesterday’s 2-1 win over the Reds. To be more succinct, the Pirates are a major league-best 23-9 at home since June 19th, just behind San Francisco and St. Louis for the top two spots in the wild-card standings. The Reds meanwhile are just 30-38 on the road. Keep an eye out for Pirates slugger Josh Harrison, the All-Star has been coming up with clutch hits all season and did again in yesterday’s win.