2014 College Football Week 1 Pick Em

College Football is finally here and there is no shortage of exciting games in the opening week. Below are my picks for the opening week.


#21 +Texas A&M University vs #9 +South Carolina Gamecocks

The post Johnny Manziel era will begin for the Aggies on Thursday when they open SEC play on the road against the Gamecocks in Columbia.  The Aggies are hoping their replacement for the Heisman Trophy winner can bring the same elusiveness and play making skills that Manziel brought for two years under coach Sumlin's offense. 

QB Kenny Hill will get the start at quarterback for the Aggies, beating out highly touted freshman recruit Kyle Allen for the first crack at taking the reigns of the Aggie offense. Joining Allen will be a plethora of returning skill players including RB's Tra Carson and Trey Williams along with WR's Ricky Seals-Jones,  Josh Reynolds and the highly touted freshman Speedy Noil. Most important for Allen will be the fact that he will also have a very experienced offensive line in front of him to help protect him. 

The Aggies offense should be able to move the ball pretty well in this game given their offensive talent. The real question is will they be able to stop the Gamecocks attack.  Last year, A&M had one of the worst defenses in football giving up on average over 476 yards per game along with over 32 points per game. While the Aggies return nine starters on defense, if they have trouble stopping teams this year, it would be wishful thinking at best to think that Hill would be able to rescue them as many times as Manziel did over the past two seasons.  

In this game, A&M will need to stack the box and stop the Gamecock running game. If the Aggies can stop the run and limit South Carolina's drives, then they will be in good position to win on Thursday.

South Carolina will try and replace their own legend on the defensive side of the ball in hopes of stopping the run and gun Aggy offense. With Jadeveon Clowney now in the NFL, the Gamecock defense will have to play more as a cohesive unit and won't be able to rely on a freak of nature to disrupt the opposing offenses.  

While the unit might be young, the Gamecocks return six starters on defense and some believe the defense might even be better without Clowney. Time will tell whether they are or not, but they have the speed and will punch you in the mouth, so this will be a very exciting matchup.  

On the offensive side of the ball, the Gamecocks will rely on RB Mike Davis to carry the load for them. Davis is a preseason dark horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy that has the ability to put the team on his back.  Joining Davis will be QB Dylan Thompson, who has seen a lot of game action with the injuries to Connor Shaw the last two seasons, and WR Shaq Roland, who can stretch the defense out and will definitely be playing on Sundays real soon. 

Much like the Aggies, the Gamecocks are returning a very experienced offensive line, quite possibly the best offensive line in the country. If the offensive line of the Gamecocks can push the Aggy front seven around and open some holes, it will be a long night for the Aggies.



Prediction: While the Aggies will undoubtedly stack the line of scrimmage to neutralize the Gamecocks running game, Thompson can make them pay with some play action and target some one on one opportunities on the outside with Roland. While Hill will make some plays and keep the Aggies in the game, the Aggy defense won't be able to get a stop when they need it against the Gamecock's rushing attack near the end of the fourth quarter.

+South Carolina Gamecocks 31 - +Texas A&M University 27



#16 +Clemson Tigers  vs #12 +Georgia Bulldogs

The Clemson Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs meet again on Saturday and will look to provide an exciting encore to last year's barnburner of a contest.  The Tigers will look to replace some of their offensive weapons including QB Tajh Boyd, WR Sammy Watkins and RB Roderick McDowell. 

Replacing Boyd under center will be senior Cole Stoudt. Stoudt showed some promise last season in limited action, completing nearly 80% of his passes and accounting for seven scores with no turnovers. Stoudt will need to bring that kind of efficiency with him on Saturday if the Tigers expect to beat the Bulldogs in Athens. 

Joining Stoudt in filling in the offensive holes are WR's Adam Humphries and Mike Williams along with RB D.J. Howard, who will need to step up big this season now that RB Zac Brooks has been lost for the season. 

The Tigers will also look to improve on defense after having trouble stopping some of the upper echelon offenses like Florida St, Ohio St and Georgia last season. The Tigers bring back seven starters on defense and hope to wreak havoc on Georgia's new QB Hutson Mason. 

If the Tigers are going to win on Saturday, they must first and foremost stop Todd Gurley from running all over them like he did last season. Secondly, they will need to avoid giving up the big play through the air and maybe even force a turnover or two from Mason. Lastly, if the Tigers can produce even half of the success they had on offense last year, they will be in a good position to win even with all the new additions to the offense.

Georgia enters this season as many pundits' dark horse to possibly win the SEC and make it to the college football playoff.  The Bulldogs will have quite possibly the best backfield in the country with RB's Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall returning to build upon the rushing success they had last season. 

Both Gurley and Marshall will be leaned on heavily to begin the season with new QB Hutson Mason trying to break himself into the Bulldog offense. Mason won't be asked to do much.  If he can manage the game and protect the ball, much like his predecessor Aaron Murray, then Georgia will have a chance to avenge last season's loss to the Tigers.  

Much like the Tigers, the Bulldogs will return eight starters on a defense that struggled at times last season.  Georgia gave up more than 30 points eight times last season and will have to improve drastically on defense if they expect to make a run at the college football playoff.

Prediction: Georgia will come out early and try to establish dominance via the running game while Clemson will no doubt stack the box and force Mason to beat them through the air.  Both teams will have trouble early moving the ball with the new pieces on offense and the game very well might be decided by a turnover from one of the inexperienced quarterbacks.  

With the experience the Dawgs have in the backfield, it is hard to pick against them, especially when you consider how much Clemson has to replace on offense.  Make no mistake, this will be a close game, like most rivalry games, but in the end, the Bulldogs ground attack will be too much for the Tigers to handle.


+Georgia Bulldogs 28 - +Clemson Tigers 20



#14 +Wisconsin Badgers vs #13 +LSU Football

The Badgers will look to grind out a tough win against a game opponent in LSU. Wisconsin will start a new QB in Tanner McEvoy who beat out the incumbent Joel Stave in spring practice.  McEvoy brings some dual threat ability, which should help him elude the Tigers speed. RB Melvin Gordon returns as well and will look to continue the trend of smash mouth football the Badgers bring in year in and year out. 

The Badgers will bring in some inexperienced wide receivers into this game so it will be interesting to see how the offense will attack the Tiger defense. This very well could be an SEC type game with the Badgers employing multiple tight end sets and attempting to pound the ball on the ground while occasionally going with some play action on the man to man coverage on the outside. It will be curious to see how Coach Andersen attacks the Tigers defense. 

It will also be interesting to see how the Badgers attack the Tiger offense given that the Badgers only return three starters on defense. Wisconsin plays the run very well year in and year out and given that LSU is breaking in a new quarterback of its own, it should be expected that the Badgers will stack the box and force the Tigers to beat them through the air.  If Wisconsin can run the ball effectively and force a couple of turnovers, then it will be in great position to win the game.


LSU is flying under the radar a bit this season after the departures of Zach Mettenberger, Jeremy Hill, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. The Tigers will be quite a bit inexperienced on offense this season, but return a dual rushing attack in RB's Kenny Hilliard and Terrance Magee along with a pretty steady offensive line. 

Anthony Jennings will look to fill the shoes of Mettenberger and look to attack an inexperienced Badger defense.  Jennings should be able to find some favorable match ups as the Badgers will focus on stopping the Tiger running game. Jennings could also open the Badger defense up by using his legs and forcing the defensive ends to play both he and the running back. 

The Tigers will try and support Jennings by forcing some turnovers and giving him a short field with their talented defense.  LSU's front seven is very experienced and plays the run very well, which could make it hard for Wisconsin to move the ball down field. If LSU can force Wisconsin into long drives and have success running the football, than it will be in a very good position to win on Saturday.


Prediction: This will be a slow, smash mouth run oriented kind of game. Both defenses will force the opposing quarterback to beat them through the air or with their feet early in the game. Field position will be very key as both of these teams will have trouble scoring with long drives, but can put points up if given a short field. 

While Wisconsin enters this game as the favorite, it is hard to see how it will match up with LSU's speed.  Wisconsin can match LSU's physicality, but LSU has speed at practically every position and all of Wisconsin's strengths play into the Tiger's strengths. This game will come down to the final minutes with LSU being given great field position after a defensive stop. Jennings will make some plays with his legs and set his team up in position for the game winning field goal in the final seconds.

+LSU Football 17 - +Wisconsin Badgers 14



+Miami Hurricanes vs +Louisville Cardinals Athletics 

Al Golden and the Hurricanes will look to spoil Bobby Petrino's return to Cardinal sideline when they meet on Monday.  The Hurricanes will look to get revenge after losing to Louisville in the bowl game last season.  What started off as a promising season for the Hurricanes ended up turning awry after a losing three of the final five regular season games.  

The Hurricanes will be breaking in a new QB with the graduation of Stephen Morris and will turn to true freshman Brad Kaaya to take over the offense. Kaaya won't be asked to do a whole lot given the Hurricanes ability to run the ball, so it should be expected that he won't take too many shots down the field early in the season, but instead check it down either to a back out of the backfield or to a receiver running a short route. 

Essentially, he will be asked to do something that Stephen Morris couldn't do, which is take care of the football and don't force the issue.  Too many times last season Morris would make a boneheaded throw that made you ask yourself what is he doing. With a solid offensive line in front of him and a very good running back behind him, expect Kaaya to play it safe and rely on the running game to beat the Cardinals on Monday.

The Cardinals start this year off with high expectations with the return of Coach Petrino.  Petrino will take over an experienced offensive unit that was able to attack defenses both through the air and on the ground last season and will look to replicate that attack this season. Like the Hurricanes, the Cardinals will have to replace their starter at QB with Teddy Bridgewater leaving for the NFL. 

QB Will Gardner will step into the role and lead the Cardinals offense on Monday. Gardner didn't see much action last year with Bridgewater at the helm so it will be interesting to see how he handles the spotlight against the Canes. Louisville will return both RB's Dominique Brown and Michael Dyer to help take some of the pressure off the youngster. 

The Cardinals will be a little thin at receiver with the loss of DeVante Parker to a broken bone in his foot so it could be tough sledding through the air for the Cardinal offense. This could actually be a blessing in disguise as the Hurricanes ranked 77th against the run last season, so it could lead the Cardinals to ride Brown and Dyer even more than they were originally planning.

Prediction: This game will come down to who can run the ball with more effectiveness and who will win the turnover battle. With two young quarterbacks at the helm, it should be expected that both will make some mistakes, but the question will be will those mistakes lead to turnovers or just missed opportunities.  

While Gardner only has limited game experience, it is easier to expect him not to get caught up in the moment as opposed to Kaaya, who will be making his first ever college start on the road against a pretty good team.  This game will be won in the fourth quarter when Kaaya has to try and make a play to keep his team in the game, which will ultimately lead to a turnover. The Cardinals will then run the clock out with both Brown and Dyer topping over 100 yards rushing for the day.

+Louisville Cardinals Athletics 27 - +Miami Hurricanes 21




Upset Special:


+Colorado Buffaloes vs +Colorado State University

The Rocky Mountain Showdown takes place again this Friday when Colorado takes on its in state rival Colorado St.  The Buffaloes will look to start the season off on the right foot after a disappointing 2013 campaign that saw them lose eight out of their last ten games. 

The Buffaloes return eight starters on both sides of the ball including QB Sefo Liufau, RB's Christian Powell and Michael Adkins and WR's Nelson Spruce and D.D Goodson and will look to improve an offensive attack that struggled at times to put the ball in the end zone last season.  Colorado scored 30 points or more in only four games last season, with two of those games coming against FCS opponents. 

If the Buffs expect to compete in the Pac-12 gauntlet this season, they will need to improve not only their scoring efficiency, but also their rushing attack, which ranked 108th last season. A more experienced offensive line and another year learning coach MacIntyre's system should help. Expect the Buffaloes to attack the Rams through the air as Colorado St ranked 114th against the pass last year while also being one of the best teams defending the run. 

If Colorado can put the ball in the end zone rather than settling for field goals and have some sort of success on the ground, than it will be in good position to win on Friday.

Colorado St will look to avenge last year's loss to the Buffaloes and is riding a wave of momentum after winning four of its last five games to close out last year, including a 45-42 win over Washington St in the bowl game.  Colorado St had quite a balanced attack on offense as it ranked in the top 30 in passing yards, rushing yards, and points per game a season ago.  

The offense will have to adjust this season after losing star running back Kapri Bibbs to the NFL, but will return senior QB Garrett Grayson along with WR's Rashard Higgins and Joe Hansley along with an experienced and physical offensive line. Grayson will look to improve on his 2013 campaign that saw him throw for 3700 yards and 23 touchdowns. Grayson will have to carry a heavier burden unless the Rams can get some production on the ground from Kivon Cartwright. 

The Rams also return seven starters on defense that will look to pressure Liufau and the Buffalo offense. The Rams defense accounted for 32 sacks last season and while the defense could be exposed in the air at times, the pressure blitz packages normally got to the opposing quarterbacks.

Prediction: This will be a grind it out kind of game in the early going with each team moving the football, but not capitalizing on opportunities.  Both teams return experienced quarterbacks that can light up opposing defenses and will start to let it loose after some early stalled drives. 

This game will come down to which team will be able to run the football with the inexperience at RB for the Rams and the rushing ineptitude of the Buffaloes last season. While Colorado returns practically the entire offensive unit, until it can show that it can run consistently and effectively, it is hard to pick them against the experience of Grayson and the Rams' physical, smash mouth style of football.

+Colorado State University 27 - +Colorado Buffaloes 21


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