Year2's Week 1 Picks

Last season: 94-17 straight up, 54-39-2 against the spread

I don't know about you, but last night got me even more excited about this season. The reason? I apparently know nothing. I picked South Carolina and Vandy to win in my preseason picks, and I thought Ole Miss wouldn't struggle so badly with Boise State for as long as it did.

Despite being someone who writes about this stuff and is supposed to be correct more often than not, I actually like finding out that all of the offseason study I did ended up wrong. It makes the season more exciting and gives me hope that I might be too pessimistic on Florida. So yeah, being wrong can feel good sometimes.

As always, the lines come from the Yahoo! pick 'em game, which if you're reading this before noon ET on Saturday, it's not too late to join.

Alabama (-26.5) over West Virginia 33-13

With the report being that Bama will be playing both quarterbacks, it tells me that there's still quite a bit of uncertainty on offense. The Tide will be able to mash out plenty of rushing yards with its deep stable of backs to win, but I'm going to need to see something from them before I pick them to cover this large a line even against a middling team like WVU.

Auburn (-19.5) over Arkansas 40-24

I don't think this will hit the point totals of A&M-SC because both teams will keep the clock moving with the run game, but it'll have a similar feel. The Hogs will hang in there for a while, but the better team will prevail.

Clemson (+7.5) over Georgia 38-35

I'm sticking with my preseason predictions, but to be honest, I'm kind of leaning right now towards a UGA win. In any event, I can still see a Tiger victory thanks to all the holes throughout the Bulldogs' lineup.

Florida (-36.5) over Idaho 40-3

Even with Will Muschamp basically treating this game like a practice, Idaho is incredibly bad. The Gators won't cover until late, but they'll do it thanks to the backups getting real reps instead of just running out the clock.

Mississippi State (-30.5) over Southern Miss 55-20

When Dan Mullen has the opportunity to run up the score, he does.

LSU (-5) over Wisconsin 27-17

It's going to make you hurt just watching it and almost nothing will be pretty. In other words, Les Miles will be in his element.

Utah State (+6) over Tennessee 30-27

It's going to be a long season in Knoxville.

The Bakery

Kentucky over UT-Martin 38-10

Missouri over South Dakota State 62-17