After months of wondering if the College Football season would be played this fall, we are now just 1 day away from the action. Week 1 of College Football will consist of 6 Top-25 matchups, with teams from the ACC and Big 12. Conferences like the SEC will start their matchups on September 26th. With the first dose of football ahead of us, our team at Blue Collar Media Group will go through Week 1's most intriguing contests.
Graeme's Predictions
Syracuse @ 18 North Carolina
Game time: 12:00p EST
Venue: Kennan Stadium - Chapel Hill, NC
Network: ACC Network
Line: North Carolina -22
This year's Tar Heel team is coming into this season with plenty of hype. North Carolina's very explosive offense with fair well against the Syracuse defensive line. I expect Mack Brown to have Sam Howell prepared to lead one of the best offenses in College Football. Without a doubt, Syracuse has the talent to keep up with the Tar Hills, but how will the Syracuse secondary hold up against the tall and speedy receivers of UNC?
Prediction: 41-17 North Carolina
Louisiana @ 23 Iowa State
Game time: 12:00p EST
Venue: MidAmerican Energy Field - Ames, IA
Network: ESPN
Line: Iowa State -11.5
The Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana are coming off of a very successful season last year. They went 11-3 overall, plus they capped off their season with a bowl game win. With Iowa State, they have always been able to compete with the top school in America, but have had hiccups against unranked opponents. Will this trend of ISU falling short of defeating inferior competition? It is very possible. Louisiana is expected to be one of the best rushing teams in FBS this season. However, Iowa State is predicted to be one of the best passing teams this year. So, which team will play to their strengths the best? It is hard to say, considering the small sample size each team has gotten with offensive reps this pre-season. Many experts are taking the Iowa State Cyclones. In order for the Ragin' Cajuns to win this game, they will have to dig deep, especially on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. To me, Louisiana is more than capable to keep up with a top-25 team, which is why I am calling my first upset of the year.
Prediction: 45-38 Louisiana
Logan's Predictions
1 Clemson @ Wake Forest
Game time: 7:30p EST
Venue: Truist Field - Winston-Salem, NC
Network: ABC
Line: Clemson -33
There are only 6 ranked teams playing this week but in those six teams is the number one ranked, Clemson Tigers. The Tigers are looking to win big against Wake Forest come Saturday night. Clemson currently has won 11 games in a row against Wake Forest and is favored to win by a huge margin in this upcoming matchup. With the Tigers star QB, Trevor Lawrence returning for his Junior season, it would take a miracle for Wake Forest to grab the win. The spread for the game is 33 points and understandably so. In the 2019 season, Clemson's average margin of victory was 43 points per game, playing teams like Louisville, Ohio State, LSU, and Florida State. With that in mind, Clemson should have no problem whatsoever blowing out Wake Forest on their path to another ACC Championship.
Prediction: Clemson 46 - Wake Forest 6
Duke @ 10 Notre Dame
Game time: 2:30p EST
Venue: Notre Dame Stadium - Notre Dame, IN
Network: NBC
Line: Notre Dame -20
Now we come to what will most likely be the most entertaining matchup on Saturday. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be making their debut in the ACC against an unranked, Duke. Notre Dame is starting off the season at a very debatable position being ranked 10th overall. Duke and Notre Dame have only matched up against one another 6 times and Notre Dame owns the most recent win, defeating Duke 38-7 in 2019. One factor that could contribute to a Notre Dame victory is their senior quarterback, Ian book. Ian Book had 34 touchdown passes along with only six interceptions in 2019. The brutal reality for this game is that Duke has a very small chance to win. The majority of experts have predicted the spread to be extremely high and an average of all their predictions comes out to a 20-point win for Notre Dame. I believe that Notre Dame will dominate in their season opener and take their first victory of the season
Prediction Notre Dame 41 - Duke 10
Paul's Prediction's
UTEP @ 14 Texas
Game Time: 8:00
Venue: Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium - Austin, TX
Network: Longhorn
Line: Texas -43
Well the UTEP Miners got a win last week, that matches their win total for the last two campaigns! Texas and Sam Ellinger aren't Stephen F. Austin! UTEP is awful, but I don't advise anyone to lay 43 points. Texas will jump all over them but will take their foot off the gas and leave the backdoor wide open. This has blowout written all over but I think its more like 45-10 or something like that.
Pick: UTEP +43
Missouri State @ 5 Oklahoma
Game time: 7:00
Venue: Memorial Stadium - Norman, OK
Network: Fox Sports
Line: Oklahoma -40.5
Oklahoma has a ton of talent to replace on the offensive side of the ball, starting with QB Spencer Rattler. The talent is there and Lincoln Riley is a brilliant offensive mind, so while I'm not a fan of laying big points, I like the Sooners here. Missouri State was 1-10 last year and start on the road against a Sooner team in desperate need of a tune-up. The Sooners tune them up for a 56-10 victory.
Oklahoma: -40.5
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