Opening weekend is finally here!

I miss college, but at least I can watch college football almost anywhere in the world these days. Well opening weekend is here and I am already on the plus side for the season (Thank you Wake Forest and Vanderbilt!). I am still working on some more picks, but i have some sure winners you might want to include in your picks this weekend.

The first week of college football is excitingly unpredictable. A lot of teams are playing I-AA teams, or teams that probably should be I-AA, and this results in spreads that can be 4,5 or even 6 touchdowns! I tend to shy away from anything over 4 touchdowns. There is just not enough history with these teams to know what will happen. Will New England University come out, play their first string the entire time and put up 100 against The Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too University (aka Boston College.....just joking)??? Anyway, there are just too many unknowns. Don't play games with more than a 4 touchdown spread and try and stay away from the super hyped up teams who have not down anything for the past two years.

Ok, enough; here are my picks for the 1st weekend of college football.

1. Texas -23.5 against Florida Atlantic. Texas always comes to ready to play and I am especially excited about their new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Get ready for a high scoring affair here in Austin. I admit, I am also a little intrigued by the over/under of 65.5, but that seems a little high for me.
2. Illinois +8.5 against Missouri in St. Louis. I think this early season match up of two teams coming off good seasons last year will provide for a good, close match. Zook has been recruiting like mad and I am long on Illinois for the season.
3. Auburn -26 against Louisiana-Monroe. Since the year 2000, Auburn has played them 3 times (02,03, and 04). Each time they beat them by at least 31 points. The spread was 35,37, and 36 respectively. Auburn will come out again this season and beat them by at least 4 touchdowns. This one did get close to my 4 touchdown rule!!
4. Over 43 in the Southern Cal/Virginia match up. I really wanted to go with Virginia +19 (maybe even on the money line), but I don't feel good about that one so I am going to take the over here and think these two teams will put up more than just 7 TDs between them.
5. Over 51.5 in the Wisconsin/Akron game. The weather is still good this time of the year and opening games always have lots of points. Badgers win, both teams score at least 3 touchdowns.
6. Louisville -3.5 against Kentucky. They may not be the same Louisville we have known the past few years, but they will do enough to beat Kentucky by more than 4.
7. TCU -6.5 against New Mexico. The favorite has covered the past 5 meetings between these two teams. TCU wins this by a TD or more.

Those are my seven picks for this week sans NFL. You can play them any way you want. I recommend you dont play anything larger than 3 team parlays and don't put more than 5% your bankroll one any one outcome.

That is all i have for now. Please share any thoughts, wins, or losses you have.

Good luck and have a good Friday,

$NDIRISHJER€

P.S. Sarah Palin just walked out to the music from "Rudy".