College Football Week 1 Thursday

The wait is over and its college football week.

Let's get right to the picks.

Top Pick

BYU -12 vs Washington St

Leans

Vanderbilt +6.5 vs South Carolina
Akron +23.5 vs Central Florida
UNLV +8.5 vs Minnesota

Writeups

BYU- The Cougars are bringing quite a few starters back this year and continue to get better year after year under HC Mendenhall. I look for BYU to be a top 20 team this year when it is all said and done. Washington St is firmly in a rebuilding mode and although I like their head Coach- Mike Leach- it will take him a while to turn this program around. He does not have the players in place to run his system well and Wash St will not be able to keep with BYU in this one.

Curiously enough the money seems to be coming in on Wash St so it may be worth waiting to see if the line drops further.

Vanderbilt- This could be a trick spot for S. Carolina. They have struggled recently with Vandy and Vandy will be fired up for this one. I like what the Vandy coach has done over the last two years. I like Vandy to be well prepared and keep this one close.

Akron- Another home dog. there has not been a lot to cheer about in Akron recently however they have a brand new coaching staff with a lot of big names. Although the talent differential is pretty great I do like the Zips to get the cover...barely.

UNLV- This is a big game and season for UNLV coach Bobby Hauck. He had great success in past jobs but has not got going at UNLV. Now in his third season he has his system firmly in place and his players by and large. Minnesota is better talent wise but they are an inexperienced team and I think giving 8.5 on the road opener is too high. Take the points in this one.