2014 Week 1 CFB Game Picks
The 2014 college football season is finally here in earnest, so it is time for the Last Word On Sports Week 1 Game Picks. Things get going tonight with a high-quality tilt in the SEC featuring Kevin Sumlin’s Texas A&M Aggies traveling to Columbia, SC for its first ever (!) meeting against the Ol’ Ball Coach’s South Carolina Gamecocks. In the first of what will be a weekly feature, I will be predicting the winners in this weekend’s key contests, including the aforementioned SEC West versus East battle. I expect some of the LWOS CFB writing staff to join me in making their own picks in the weeks to come. For this week, though, it’s just me, so feel free to mock comment on my picks and make some of your own in the comments section. This week’s picks will just be straight up winners and losers, although we may integrate a reputable line to include versus-the-spread picks as well. Let’s get to it.
Texas A&M @ South Carolina (Thursday, August 28, 7:30 p.m., ESPN)
The Aggies head east in a match up of well-respected coaches with brand-new QBs in Week 1. TAMU’s defense was atrocious last year, and the Gamecocks are at home.
Pick: South Carolina 28, Texas A&M 17
Clemson @ Georgia (Saturday, August 30, 5:30 p.m., ESPN)
Two traditional rivals, but also both breaking in new signal callers. Good luck stopping Todd Gurley III, Clemson
Pick: Georgia 24, Clemson 14
West Virginia Mountaineers vs Alabama Crimson Tide (Saturday, August 30, 3:30 p.m., ESPN)
New QB for the Tide. Which one, though? Won’t matter. Tide rolls.
Pick: Alabama 35, West Virginia 10
Penn State Nittany Lions vs UCF Knights (Saturday, August 30, 8:30 a.m., ESPN2)
(Way) away game for both teams, in Ireland. Gotta pick the team with the returning QB.
Pick: Penn State 31, UCF 24
Wisconsin Badgers vs LSU Tigers (Saturday, August 30, 9:00 p.m. ESPN)
HUGE game for Bucky (and for the B1G), routine opening game for the Bayou Bengals. LSU has better athletes and significantly less pressure.
Pick: LSU 24, Wisconsin 17
Arkansas Razorbacks @ Auburn Tigers (Saturday, August 30, 4:00 p.m., SEC Network)
The Razorbacks figure to be better than they were last season. Not this much better, though. LWOS is VERY bullish on Auburn this season.
Pick: Auburn 38, Arkansas 14
Fresno State Bulldogs @ USC Trojans (Saturday, August 30, 7:30 p.m., FOX)
USC will face Fresno state with returning starting QB Cody Kessler, but without hero/fibber/who-knows-what-else CB Josh Shaw. The former is a bigger deal than the latter in Week 1.
Pick: USC 38, Fresno State 21
UCLA Bruins @ Virginia Cavaliers (Saturday, August 30, 12:00 p.m. ESPN)
There’s a lot of preseason hype surrounding Brett Hundley and the rest of Jim Mora’s Bruins. Saturday, they’ll show us all why.
Pick: UCLA 52, Virginia 21
Florida State Seminoles vs Oklahoma State Cowboys (Saturday, August 30, 8:00 p.m., ABC)
The Noles start their title defense in Jerry World against the Pokes. Oklahoma State will be but the first of FSU’s many overmatched regular season opponents.
Pick: Florida State 48, Oklahoma State 28
California Golden Bears @ Northwestern Wildcats (Saturday, August 30, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2)
Sonny Dykes’ Bears try to bounce back from a disastrous 2013 campaign. This game won’t give the Cal faithful a ton of optimism.
Pick: Northwestern 35, California 7
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