2011 Week 1 NCAA Football Free Picks for Friday Night & Saturday Games

Alright, so the college football season has jumped right in front of me like a 2-ton moose steps in front of a Toyota Prius. Bring the ruckus. Maybe it’s because I start my graduate school in 10 days or because the high school football team I coach has their first game tomorrow night! whatever it is, I’m not as prepared as I’d like to be. Still, I’ve researched these 10 games, and I’m feeling good going into Week 1. Football’s here, and it’s about to get wild! Good luck to us all!!!!

Friday Night College Football
TCU Horned Frogs (-4.5) @ Baylor Bears: I almost think Baylor’s talent should win this football game. They didn’t lose as many starters and they were decent squad last year that put up point on anybody they played. However, TCU is about as well coached as any team in the Nation, and that means getting ready for opening night, and that means I like them if it’s less than a TD against mid-level team like Baylor.

Saturday College Football Games
Oregon Ducks (-3) @ LSU Tigers: LSU was better than I expected them to be last season, as they went undefeated at home losing only to Auburn (in a tight one) and Arkansas during a dang good season for the Tigers. Oregon was just a little better, losing just one game, by three points, in the National Championship to Auburn. Unfortunately, this game is marred by some stuff that went down off the field and that’s why one of the best defensive players on Oregon’s side (CB Cliff Harris) and one of the best players on LSU’s offense (QB Jordan Jefferson) won’t be on the field for the high-profile match-up. I think I’d like the Ducks either way, but this is going to be a tough one. I know I usually don’t give the Pac-10 any love, but Oregon plays their own style of football, and this early in the year it could really wear the Tigers out.

Boise State Broncos (-3) @ Georgia Bulldogs: The Bulldogs finished as a pretty good football team in 2010, at least in the regular season. Sure, they fell to Central Florida in an ugly 6 to 10 Bowl Game, but before that they finished the season 5-2 with losses to just Florida and Auburn. Taking Boise is not good value – but value be darned (cleaning up the verbiage in 2011). But I made a promise to myself a few years ago that I would never pick against the Broncos over a long break. They could be one of the best coached teams in the sport, and a long time to prepare gives them a distinct advantage over just about anybody. Kellen Moore is just icing on the banana bread!

UCLA Bruins (+3) @ Houston Cougars: The Bruins are going to be much better than people think. Neuheisel is a good coach, and after two subpar seasons it looks like he’ll be back over .500 and keep his job at UCLA. That’s how I see it and I call ‘em how I see ‘em.

San Jose State Spartans (+30.5) @ Stanford Cardinal: It’s going to be tough for San Jose State to score more than 10 points in this game. The Cardinal return their top 4 tacklers and what should amount to a very solid defense. So I’m thinking, can Stanford throw up 42 points after graduating their 2 starting receivers and and 3 key offensive linemen? A key statistic that sticks out to me is that SJSU returns 10 guys on either side of the ball with starting experience last season. That’s an experienced team and getting 30 points in Week 1 seems like a good bet to me.

East Carolina Pirates @ South Carolina Gamecocks (-20): East Carolina doesn’t have enough defense to slow what looks to be a high powered Gamecocks’ offense. I don’t like that Steve Spurrier hasn’t named Stephen Garcia the starting QB and he plans that “both player will play for a few possessions in the first half” – he’s always been a game player, that crazy old coach. Despite all that, I expect Garcia to be the man this season, and I expect the season to be a great one for him and his teammates.

South Florida Bulls (+10) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish: I like the Irish to win a close one at home in the opener against a solid South Florida Bulls team. The most impressive college player on the field might be South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels. He’s had a bright future for a couple years, but I like him to put it all together in 2011. The Irish are well coached and return talent at a few key positions. I give them the nod, but 10 is too many.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (+24) @ USC Trojans: I think the Gophers are getting too many points here. I know USC has been loaded with talent for years, but those days are over for now, as new blood hasn’t been infused at the same rate because of NCAA violations and sanctions put on the program. They’ll win this one, I’m pretty sure of that, but the Gophers will likely bring a few touchdowns to the table, and that makes +3.5 touchdowns too good to pass up.

Fresno State Bulldogs (+10) @ California Bears: While both teams often come out of the gates well, the Cal Bears are the ones that do their best work on home soil. As the second team listed, they are certainly the home team, but Fresno State has sold plenty of tickets to San Francisco’s Candle Stick Park for this “neutral” game location. It won’t have that home game feel. Derek Carr (David Carr’s little brother) will start his first game at his older brother’s former school, and while I’m sure his future is bright, a first game starter scares me a little bit. I’m taking the Bulldogs early, if only because that’s when they usually do their best work.

Colorado Buffaloes (+7) @ Hawaii Warriors: Sure, now that Colorado has joined the Pac 10 they should probably get a little softer and struggle on the road, it is the norm out West. However, I think this Colorado team gets a lot better from last year and beats some good teams. The Warriors won’t find Alex Green in their backfield or Greg Salas out wide, two of their very best players from last season’s success. The Warriors can put up points, but like last season, I think they struggle against Colorado – even at home. I like the road dogs.

BYU Cougars @ Ole Miss Rebels (+3): I’ll take Ole Miss in this one. The Rebels will be better than expected this year, and it starts in Week 1 with an easy home win over the Mormon college. Oh ye faithful Cougar followers, thinking your team of youngsters will upstage a solid SEC opponent in Week 1 – you’re giving too much credit to a 2010 season that saw your best win be a field goal victory over San Diego State.