Week 1 of the college football season is already off to the races.

The SEC had a strong showing as the Swamp Queens of University of Florida came up just short to perennial powerhouse Utah. This loss is a prime example of why Florida has not had a non conference road opener outside the state of Florida since 1991. It’s worth noting that Florida is one of the toughest games on defending National Champion Georgia’s schedule. I’m sure they’ll have a tough road back to the CFP.

Big 10 football also made it’s debut featuring Nebraska at Minnesota. In Matt Rhules debut as the Corn Huskers Head Coach, he impressed with a stout offense that was firing on all cylinders. His brief stop in the NFL is already paying dividends as Nebraska dominated on offense with 10 points. Despite Nebraska’s valiant effort, they came up short in a high scoring 13-10 loss. But, hey, Nebraska will always have that badass sold out volleyball game.

Now, let’s take a look at the Saturday slate and see which games will be filling our pockets…

Stanford (-3) @ Hawaii

I’m sneaking this pick in as a Saturday pick because it’s an 11:00PM Friday start, but I wanted a piece of this action.

Hawaii started off it’s season with a loss on the road to Vanderbilt 35-28. Hawaii came into the bout as a 17.5 point underdog and put up a fight to the final whistle.

They look to regroup at home as they host the Stanford Book Readers.

Stanford is no longer the football program of old. They turn to first year coach Troy Taylor to get them back on track, and boy does he have a job to do. Stanford was awful on the offensive side of the ball, and even worse on the defensive side in 2022. Aside from a 16-14 win against Notre Dame, their 2022 season was a complete failure finishing 3-9.

With that said, I think the Pine Trees are poised to start the season off with a win. This isn’t because I think Stanford is great, but I think Hawaii is pretty bad.

Both defenses leave a lot to be desired, but the addition of Coach Taylor, who is known for his offensive efficiency, will give Stanford the slight edge in what I believe will be a high scoring game.

I’m taking Stanford -3 and I will find out if that hits first thing in the morning because there is not a SHOT I’m staying up to find out in real time.

Pick: Stanford -3

Colorado @ TCU (-20.5)

If you’re looking for advanced analytics on this one, you won’t find it. I simply cannot stand Deion Sanders. I think what he did at Jackson State was amazing, but his arrogance and holier than thou attitude drives me insane.

I couldn’t tell you a single thing about TCU, but I’m picking them at 20.5 simply because I don’t like Deion. Sue me.

Pick: TCU -20.5 hopefully they put up 100.

Ohio State (-30.5) @ Indiana

Call me Marge’s husband, but I think Ohio State blows Indiana out of the water. There are question marks around this buckeye squad. The O-line is iffy at best and the QB battle is still alive and well.

However, Ohio State returns some elite weapons in WR’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, along with RB TreVeyon Henderson (sneaky Heisman candidate). They also look to be more polished on the defensive side of the ball as DC Jim Knowles aims to improve on their 2022 efforts.

While Ohio State looks to find their way back into the CFB Playoffs, Indiana will be doing some soul searching. It’s possible that some of the additions to their front 7 via transfer portal give the inexperienced Buckeye OL some issues, but in the end I don’t think it will be enough to stop the various weapons Ohio State has at it’s disposal.

30.5 points is a lot, but I think the buckeyes find a way to put up a 50 burger with the help of some defensive takeaways and a strong showing by Kyle McCord and Devin Brown.

Pick: Ohio State -30.5

Final Thoughts

It felt good to write this article. I’m excited to be back at it. In the future, I’ll be better on the research side. This was, for the most part, something I just threw together last minute. Truth be told, I feel more comfortable on the NFL side of things, but I still love watching and betting on college sports. Who doesn’t love losing money because a 19 year old kid missed a 38 yard chip shot field goal?

My one promise is that if I release these picks, you can guarantee I’m taking them. I place the same amount on each game (1 unit) and you can track those bets on the action network app. My username is @MatthewWerner.

Till next time,

Matty Blogs