Now that we got that out of the way, let me introduce myself. My name is Elliott Lapin. I am 22 years old and a proud graduate of Stanford University (class of 2016!).
I am a huge college football fan. I was looking for a way to test me knowledge, but simply knowing whether I was right or wrong appeared quite low-risk.
So, I decided that I am going to put my college football online out in the open for everybody to see.
Here's what I am going to do: Each week I will pick five college football games against the spread. I will pick the five games that I am most confident in, and I will give the reasons for my picks.
The guidelines are: I am only allowed pick games that feature two FBS teams playing against each other. I am allowed to pick non-Saturday games.
Now that all of that has been established, here are my predictions for week one (which has somewhat limited options since many FBS teams are playing against FCS teams):
*lines come from CBSSports.com
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/scoreboard/FBS/2016/week1 (all times Eastern Time Zone)
1. Indiana -9 vs. Florida International (Thursday at 7:30)
I know I'm going to open myself up to some criticism with this comment, but I tend to like power 5 conference teams when going against non-power 5 teams. However the biggest reason why I like Indiana minus the points in this matchup is the Hoosiers' offensive line. Their likely O-line contains four redshirt seniors, three of whom have significant playing experience. They have all previously played together as a unit, and at an average size of 304 pounds, they outweigh the average Panther defensive lineman by almost 50 pounds. FIU will also be replacing three of their starting defensive linemen from last season. In football, everything starts up front, and I think Indiana's advantage in experience and size gives them a decisive edge. Hoosier daddy!?
2. Stanford -15.5 vs. Kansas State (Friday at 9 P.M.)
This may be a sentimental pick, but I think Stanford is a strong pick this week. The Cardinal are replacing four year starter at quarterback Kevin Hogan, but they have the biggest X-Factor in all of college football in Christian McCaffrey. (side note: I got to know Christian this past year when we lived in the same dorm, and he is a super nice guy). I had the chance to see live what Christian can do. This is a home game for Stanford. Helped by the fearsome and noisesome Red Zone (Stanford's student section) :), the Cardinal have lost only three home games over the past four seasons, all to ranked teams. One does not simply walk into Stanford Stadium. Going against a Kansas State team that finished 106th in offense in the FBS in 2015 and 113th in defense, the Cardinal should win handily. Fear the Tree!!
3. San Jose State + 5.5 vs. Tulsa (Saturday at 7 P.M.)
I will pick one game every week that features two non-power 5 conference teams going head to head. This week features the Golden Hurricane and the Spartans (if you know which mascot goes with which school, you can consider yourself a real college football fan). Tulsa finished 126th in the FBS in defense last season (there are 128 FBS teams). San Jose State scored at least 30 points in 11 or their 13 games in 2015. A high scoring offense going against an extremely weak defense, I give the edge to San Jose State. I'm going with Sparty this week (just not the Sparty that most people talk about).
The Crimson Tide have been the most dominant FBS team I've seen for the past couple years by a wide margin and betting against Nick Saban is never a good idea. Alabama controls both sides of the line of scrimmage. Even though they lose great players to the draft every year, they replace them with incredible recruiting classes. Alabama will dominate on defense and offense. I'm not going to mention anything about USC because I believe that doesn't matter. Roll, Tide, Roll!!
5. Clemson -7.5 vs. Auburn (Saturday at 9 P.M.)
In the battle of tigers, I am going with Clemson. Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson was an incredible dual-threat quarterback last year, and I expect him to be even better this year. Nine returning offensive starters for the #2 team from 2015 makes Clemson an offensive machine. Auburn is only returning five starters from their 72nd ranked defense last season. Even away from Death Valley, I'll take Clemson to win big.
Game I would most like to be at in person: Oklahoma at Houston. USC and Alabama at JerryWorld is a close second, but I'd rather be about 200 miles south in NRG Stadium on Saturday. Students have been camping out for weeks to get a ticket. With Heisman hopeful Greg Ward Jr. at quarterback, UH's expectations are sky high. With the big name #3 Sooners coming into a city that loves football, should be the place to be on Saturday.
Let the games begin!
