College is my strong suit.
Started 2-0 on season with Miami covering 7.5 points and Hawaii was easy money with game in Honolulu and being given 11.
My 5 strongest games this week are:
KY -12 vs Toledo. KY coming off 10-3 season and finished season ranked #10. They lost some talent, but Stoops is livid with lack of respect. Toledo was 7-6 last year and can be game opponents, but I like KY to send a message.
LSU -27.5 vs Ga Southern. I just think LSU has the horses on both sides of the ball to dominate this game beginning to end,
Syr -18 vs Liberty. Liberty’s off-season has been a mess with Hugh Freeze legitimately running the program with walkie talkies from his hotel to practice field bc he’s been dealing with back issues. Dino Babers has Cuse going in right direction and I think Cuse handles business.
Hou +23 vs OU. Prob my least confident pick but Hou has some talent and I love getting 3 TDs +.....could see OU starting a little slow. D’Eriq King brings some tough elements for a recently historically bad OU defense.
TX -20.5 vs La Tech. I think Herman wants to send an early message and get these guys in national discussion. I think covering the spread is important to him for perception. I like TX at that line even tho LA Tech runs a solid mid major program.
I’m 2-0 on season. I feel like I’ve got a strong slate with these 5 picks.
Nice little 7-0 start to season.
Already scoping out games for next week.
Want to do a bit more research on injuries, but early leans are:
KY -14 vs Eastern Michigan
Stoops has done a nice job with that program. They're pretty stout defensively even with their losses from last year, and have enough talent on offense. Like last week against Toledo, I think KY opens it up in second half. I think Toledo is better than Eastern Michigan and Kentucky would've covered -14. At home for KY again which is big.
UCF - 10 vs FAU
Game is at FAU, so some cause for concern, but FAU didn't show me much offensively against OSU, and FAU is likely without their best RB. UCF will score on that defense, and while I expect FAU to put some points up, I don;t think they can stay within 10 of UCF.
Bowling Green +24 vs Kansas St
I don't have a ton of info on this game other than Bowling Green's solid week 1 performance. Kansas St handled Nichols St 49-14 in week 1, but Nichols State isn't as good as Bowling Green. 24 just feels like a lot to me. I know Bowling Green was brutal last year, but I think Loefller does enough to keep Bowling Green respectable in this one.
Washington -13.5 vs Cal
I love Chris Peterson in this one. He has his most NFL talented QB in Jacob Eason, that I can recall (in terms of arm strength) and their defense should be solid again. Game is at home so added comfort. Cal struggled through a 27-13 win vs UC Davis last weekend. I think Washington covers pretty easily.
Auburn -19 vs Tulane.
Tulane is a solid mid-major and a respectable team. But I like Auburn here, riding high off a huge win vs Oregon. I think Malzahn has enough outside weapons and Bo Nix is capable of managing the game. Tulane will struggle putting points up in this one, and I think Auburn will physically dominate just about every part of this game.