2018 College Football Week 1: Picks

Here are my picks for week one of the 2018 College Football season.

Thursday, August 30th

(21) UCF at Connecticut; 7:00, ESPNU
Pick: UCF

Central Connecticut at Ball State; 7:00, ESPN+
Pick: Ball State

Kennesaw State at Georgia State; 7:00, ESPN+
Pick: Georgia State

New Mexico State (0-1) at Minnesota; 7:00, BTN
Pick: Minnesota

Northwestern at Purdue; 8:00, ESPN: This should be a fun game between these two conference rivals. I wouldn't be shocked if the winner of this game wound up in a bowl game. Give me the Boiler Makers at home.
Pick: Purdue

Wake Forest at Tulane; 8:00, CBSSN: Wouldn't be overly shocked of an upset here, but give me the Demon Decons on the road.
Pick: Wake Forest

Savannah State at UAB; 8:00, ESPN+
Pick: UAB

Missouri State at Oklahoma State; 8:00, FS1
Pick: Oklahoma State

Weber State at Utah; 8:00, Pac-12N
Pick: Utah

Southeastern Louisiana at Louisiana-Monroe; 8:00, ESPN+
Pick: Louisiana-Monroe

Northwestern State at Texas A&M; 8:30, SECN
Pick: Texas A&M

UC Davis at San Jose State; 10:00: I wouldn't be surprised if the Aggies kept this close, but give me the Spartans go get perhaps their only win this year.
Pick: San Jose State

Friday, August 31st

Syracuse at Western Michigan; 6:00, CBSSN: Wouldn't overly shock me if the Broncos kept this game close.
Pick: Syracuse

Monmouth at Eastern Michigan; 6:30, ESPN+
Pick: Eastern Michigan

Utah State at (11) Michigan State; 7:00, BTN
Pick: Michigan State

Army at Duke; 7:00, ESPNU: Would not be shocked if the Black Knights kept this thing close, but I like the Blue Devils at home.
Pick: Duke

WKU at (4) Wisconsin; 9:00, ESPN
Pick: Wisconsin

San Diego State at (13) Stanford; 9:00, FS1: The Aztecs upset the Cardinal last year. It ain't happening again this year on the Cardinal's home turf.
Pick: Stanford

Portland State at Nevada; 9:00
Pick: Nevada

Colorado vs Colorado State (0-1; 0-1)- (Denver); 9:30, CBSSN: The Rams dropped their opener at home against Hawaii and I don't see them winning here against their in-state rivals, who will be a tough out for superior Pac-12 opponents this season.
Pick: Colorado

Saturday, September 1st
Oregon State at (5) Ohio State; 12:00, ABC: No Urban Meyer, no problem. Buckeyes win big.
Pick: Ohio State

FAU at (8) Oklahoma; 12:00, FOX: The Owls will be one of the better Group Of 5 teams this season, but I don't see them beating the Sooners in Norman.
Pick: Oklahoma

Southern at (16) TCU; 12:00
Pick: TCU

9/1- (23) Texas vs Maryland (Landover); 12:00, FS1: I don't see the Terapins upsetting the Longhorns a second straight season even though this game is on a neutral closer by.
Pick: Texas

Kent State at Illinois; 12:00, BTN: Don't be shocked if the Golden Flashes keep this close even though they are among the worst teams in the sport and the Illini are among the worst in the Power 5.
Pick: Illinois

Texas State at Rutgers; 12:00, BTN
Pick: Rutgers

Coastal Carolina at South Carolina; 12:00, SECN
Pick: South Carolina

9/1- Ole Miss vs Texas Tech (Houston); 12:00, ESPN
Pick: Ole Miss

James Madison at NC State; 12:00, ESPNU: The Dukes are one of the better FCS teams but I like the Wolfpack here at home.
Pick: NC State

Villanova at Temple; 12:00, ESPNEWS
Pick: Temple

Houston at Rice; 12:00, CBSSN
Pick: Houston

Furman at (2) Clemson; 12:20, ACCN
Pick: Clemson

Alcorn State at Georgia Tech; 12:30, ACCN
Pick: Georgia Tech

UMass at Boston College; 1:00, ACCN
Pick: Boston College

Stony Brook at Air Force; 2:00
Pick: Air Force

Howard at Ohio; 2:00, ESPN+
Pick: Ohio

Austin Peay at (3) Georgia; 3:30, ESPN
Pick: Georgia

9/1- (9) Auburn vs (6) Washington (Atlanta); 3:30, ABC: This is perhaps the biggest game of the weekend with these two preseason playoff contenders facing off. The Huskies might be the better team, but the fact that the game is in SEC territory has me liking the Tigers in this spot.
Pick: Auburn

Appalachian State at (10) Penn State; 3:30, BTN: The Mountaineers are one of the better Group Of 5 teams, but the Nittany Lions are just so much better.
Pick: Penn State

Tennessee vs (17) West Virginia (Charlotte); 3:30, CBS: Many folks are high on the Mountaineers this season and for good reason. Will Grier will be a Heisman contender and he'll lead the way for the 'Neers in this game against an SEC program that won't be very good this season.
Pick: West Virginia

Albany at Pittsburgh; 3:30, ACCN
Pick: Pittsburgh

Marshall at Miami-Ohio; 3:30, ESPN+
Pick: Miami-Ohio

Central Michigan at Kentucky; 3:30, ESPNU
Pick: Kentucky

Northern Illinois at Iowa; 3:30, BTN
Pick: Iowa

Washington State at Wyoming; 3:30, CBSSN: The Huskies are poised to take a step back this season and I like the Cowboys here at home.
Pick: Wyoming

UNLV at (15) USC; 4:00, Pac-12N
Pick: USC

North Carolina at California; 4:00, FOX
Pick: California

UT-Martin at Missouri; 4:00, SECN
Pick: Missouri

Eastern Illinois at Arkansas; 4:00, SECN
Pick: Arkansas

(22) Boise State at Troy; 6:00, ESPNEWS: Here we have two of the better Group Of 5 schools. The Broncos just have more talent and I like them in this spot on the road.
Pick: Boise State

Old Dominion at Liberty; 6:00
Pick: Old Dominion

Fordham at Charlotte; 6:00, ESPN+
Pick: Charlotte

North Carolina A&T at East Carolina; 6:00, ESPN3
Pick: East Carolina

Elon at South Florida; 6:00, ESPN3
Pick: South Florida

Richmond at Virginia; 6:00, ACCN
Pick: Virginia

Delaware State at Buffalo; 6:00, ESPN3
Pick: Buffalo

SC State at Georgia Southern; 6:00, ESPN+
Pick: Georgia Southern

Grambling at Louisiana; 7:00, ESPN3
Pick: Louisiana

VMI at Toledo; 7:00, ESPN3
Pick: Toledo

Southeast Missouri State at Arkansas State; 7:00, ESPN+
Pick: Arkansas State

Mercer at Memphis; 7:00, ESPN3
Pick: Memphis

Central Arkansas at Tulsa; 7:00, ESPN3
Pick: Tulsa

Louisiana Tech at South Alabama; 7:00, ESPN+
Pick: Louisiana Tech

Jackson State at Southern Miss; 7:00, ESPN+
Pick: Southern Miss

Cincinnati at UCLA; 7:00, ESPN: Chip Kelly's team won't be good this season, but they'll get a win in his debut.
Pick: UCLA

Indiana at FIU; 7:00, CBSSN
Pick: Indiana

Nicholls at Kansas; 7:00, ESPN3
Pick: Kansas

South Dakota at Kansas State; 7:00, ESPN3
Pick: Kansas State

(14) Michigan at (12) Notre Dame; 7:30, NBC: Here's the other game you can argue is the biggest of the weekend. ESPN's College GameDay will be on hand in South Bend for the first time in six years and I expect the atmosphere to be ruckus. I absolutely love the Irish here at home in a low scoring, close game.
Pick: Notre Dame

Charleston Southern at Florida; 7:30, SECN
Pick: Florida

Stephen F. Austin at Mississippi State; 7:30, ESPNU
Pick: Mississippi State

Middle Tennessee at Vanderbilt; 7:30, SECN
Pick: Vanderbilt

SMU at North Texas; 7:30
Pick: SMU

Northern Arizona at UTEP; 7:30, ESPN3
Pick: UTEP

9/1- Louisville vs (1) Alabama (Orlando); 8:00, ABC: If Lamar Jackson was still the Cardinals quarterback, this game would have been more enticing. The Tide will be rolling big.
Pick: Alabama

Bowling Green at (24) Oregon; 8:00, Pac-12N
Pick: Oregon

Akron at Nebraska; 8:00, FOX
Pick: Nebraska

Abilene Christian at Baylor; 8:00
Pick: Baylor

South Dakota State at Iowa State; 8:00
Pick: Iowa State

Incarnate Word at New Mexico; 8:00, ESPN3
Pick: New Mexico

Idaho at Fresno State; 10:00
Pick: Fresno State

UTSA at Arizona State; 10:30, FS1: I don't love this Sun Devils team or the hire of Herm Edwards, but they'll get a win here.
Pick: Arizona State

BYU at Arizona; 10:45, ESPN
Pick: Arizona

Navy at Hawaii (1-0; 1-0)- 11:00: The Rainbow Warriors pulled off a good upset last week over the Colorado State Rams, but I like the Midshipmen here on the road.
Pick: Navy

Sunday, September 2nd

(8) Miami vs (25) LSU (Arlington); 7:30, ABC: This should be a fun game between these two ranked teams. The Hurricanes have a chance to be a playoff team this season if things break right and I like them here to get a big neutral site win to kick off their season.
Pick: Miami

Monday, September 3rd

(20) Virginia Tech at (19) Florida State; 8:00, ESPN: This should be a fun ACC game to start the season. The Seminoles look to bounce back from a disastrous season a year ago and I like them to start the Willie Taggart era with a win.
Pick: Florida State