It’s August 31, 2016 – we’ve already been treated to a delightful kickoff when Cal defeated Hawaii to the tune of 51-31 last Friday. But, make no mistake, the season’s kicking off in earnest tomorrow night (9/1). You’d be hard pressed to find a better opening weekend in college football history, with Alabama-USC, Ole Miss-Florida State, Georgia-North Carolina, Oklahoma-Houston, Clemson-Auburn, UCLA-Texas A&M, and more.
Nonetheless, this Thursday kickoff has become a nice little tradition in recent years, and it’s going to be great to have meaningful football back in Tennessee. Vanderbilt-South Carolina and Tennessee-Appalachian State headline an otherwise insignificant slate of games tomorrow night. Kansas State-Stanford is billed as Friday’s main event. Saturday is loaded with games – load up on the beer and snacks. Sunday belongs to Texas-Notre Dame. Ole Miss-Florida State wrap up week one on Monday.
Is that a good enough primer for the return of America’s favorite weekly degenerate football gambling column? I hope so, ’cause it’s all yer gettin’ folks.
Stoney’s Picks
Vanderbilt -3.5 vs. South Carolina
I’m not ready to completely bury the Gamecocks just yet. A lot of the experts are claiming this is a 3-4 win team, but they’ll have a decent enough defense to keep them in games like this one. Still, the Commodores defense is going to be stout and should be able to shut down mediocre offenses. With Ralph Webb running the ball, Vanderbilt should be able to control the clock and shut down South Carolina’s offense, winning a 17-10 type of game. Take the -3.5
West Virginia -9.5 vs. Missouri
The Mountaineers were competitive in the shoot-out that was the Big 12 last season, and 2016 doesn’t look to be much different. It’s all about offense in the wild, wild West (B12), and West Virginia will be able to score at will against a Mizzou team that continues its downtrend after back-to-back SEC East titles in 2013 & 2014. This should be a 45-28 type of win for West Virginia.
Florida State -4.5 vs. Ole Miss
The ‘Noles are absolutely loaded, and the Rebels are laden with distractions and question marks. Chad Kelly hopes to find himself in the Heisman hunt, and Hugh Freeze will surely figure this team out, but not in week one. Not against the steamroller that is Dalvin Cook. This will be statement game for Florida State, and an eye-opener for Ole Miss, who lost a ton of talent to the NFL. Seminoles win 38-31.
Texas A&M -3 vs. UCLA
The Aggies are one of my sleeper picks in the SEC. Kevin Sumlin is a fine coach, and if the team realizes that it does have to play defense too, the sky’s the limit. Thankfully, they won’t have to play defense against UCLA. This is going to be a sprint to the finish, but ultimately, Texas A&M holds off the Bruins in a shoot-out, 52-48.
Houston +10 vs. Oklahoma
Last year, this Houston team boasted an average margin of victory of +12 over quality opponents. Guess what! Greg Ward Jr. (who is on my preseason Heisman watch list) is back, guiding the Cougars offense. The key to this game is going to be how Houston’s defensive line frustrates a reshuffled Oklahoma offensive line. If they can do that and inconvenience the Sooners’ punishing run game, it’s Fly Ward Fly all morning. Even if they don’t, this will be much more competitive than 10 points. Take Houston.
Interesting Lines
Tennessee -20.5 vs. App State – I’m staying away because App State has the running game to keep the Vols offense off the field in the event the defense is unprepared for a scrappy Mountaineers team.
Northwestern -5.5 vs. Western Michigan – Yuck. Just yuck. What do you do with this? I’m buying in on Western Michigan being a dark horse in 2016, and I’m not buying in on the Wildcats being a dominant force in the Big Ten. 5.5? Run.
Wake Forest -17 vs. Tulane – Two 3-win teams from 2015 going at it Thursday night. The Demon Deacons were competitive with a lot of good teams last season. The Green Wave scored a lot of points last season. I’m tempted to suggest Wake Forest here, but I’ll cautiously skip over this opportunity.
Alabama -10.5 vs. USC – This ain’t Matt Leinart’s USC, that’s for sure. Still, the Trojans are poised for a good season. Alabama hasn’t been tested in any of these marquee season openers, so perhaps karma takes effect here. Clay Helton is a master motivator who will have USC up for the challenge. Bad Juju coming. Literally, USC has a bad receiver named Juju Smith-Schuster. I’m exercising caution in this one.
Notre Dame -3.5 vs. Texas – What does Vegas know that we don’t? How is Notre Dame not at least a 10-point favorite here? There’s clearly some black magic at hand that we don’t know about. Run, run, run.
’til next week!
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley,@PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo
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