Week One Picks

I must apologize, it is hard for me to focus on the college football, considering the effects of Katrina on the sport and on our great country. The analysis for the picks will be much better next week, especially on the surefire picks. -mdg

The Biggest Games(ranked by significance)

1. Miami at Florida State- One of the biggest rivalries in college football, has taken a step back. The winner of this annual showdown will have a leg up early in the season in the national title race. Florida State will start a freshmen quarterback that will be making his first college start. Miami will start a sophomore quarterback making his first college start. Florida State has the better round game of the two, which will give the Seminoles a chance to control the tempo. Miami has one of the best defenses in the country, and defense wins championships. Should be a low scoring defensive battle. Miami tops Florida State 16-14.

2. Texas A&M at Clemson- This game has all the makings of a classic shootout. Reggie McNeal and Charlie Whitehurst are two of the best senior quarterbacks in the nation. Defense will take second fiddle in this contest. In a high scoring shootout A&M outscore the Tigers 38-35.

3. Virginia Tech at North Carolina State- Hokie quarterback Marcus Vick makes his first start. Unfortunately, it is against the best defensive line in college football. Tech is good enough to handle the Wolfpack, but the game is in Raleigh. Vick will make a couple of mistakes, but will make a couple of plays that will make you say,"Wow". NC State pulls out the biggest upset of the opening weekend, barely, 14-13.

4. Boise State at Georgia- Easily the most intriguing match up this Labor Day weekend. Boise State will carry the flag for every non-BCS team in Athens, but Georgia has too much size and speed. Boise makes it close in the end, but it was never really that close, UGA 41-31.

5. Georgia Tech at Auburn-Underrated match up, winner could be a national title sleeper. The Wreck is that good, but "War Eagle", Tigers are too tough on the Plains. Auburn 21-13.

6. Notre Dame at Pittsburgh-A fun matchup that could go in two different directions. A Pitt blowout will make Irish fans question the hiring of Charlie Weis. On the other hand a Notre Dame upset will have the same Irish fans thinking BCS, either way it will be let down for the South Bend faithful. Weis pulls the upset in his debut, ND 28-24.

3 Potential Upsets........

What will happen- North Carolina State beats Virginia Tech. See Above.

What might happen- San Diego State over UCLA. If UCLA is caught sleeping, Lynell Hamilton could run all over the Bruins.

What is unlikely to happen- Kentucky upsets Louisville. Remember 2002, nationally ranked Louisville was upset by rival Kentucky, 22-17. The Wildcats are not that good, but anything can happen in a rivalry game.

A Betting man? Surefire Picks!

Bowling Green(+2.5) at Wisconsin- BG wins straight up.

Washington(-3) vs Air Force @ Qwest Field in Seattle- Huskies will have no problem covering.

Syracuse(-2) vs West Virginia- Both teams are rebuilding, but the Orange will cover at home