Givanni Damico |September 7th, 2019
Welcome to the first week of my game picks. In this series, I will pick every single game that is being played on Saturday’s (plus any good games on Fridays). For the sake of my reader’s eyes not glazing over, I will only give my reasoning on picks for five games and they will always be the first five games in the article. Let’s get into it.
Army at 7 Michigan
My Pick: Michigan
Michigan is 22 point favorites in this game, but I am picking Army to cover the spread with ease. I was not impressed with Michigan’s offense nor was I impressed with their defense against Middle Tennessee State. They may be on upset watch, but I am going to take the safe pick for this game.
21 Syracuse at Maryland
My Pick: Maryland
Maryland put up 79 points last week, granted it was against Howard University, but their offense is explosive nonetheless. Syracuse doesn’t do anything exceptional on either side of the ball. I expect them to lose this game by six points.
12 Texas A&M at 1 Clemson
My Pick: Clemson, by 10 or less
Texas A&M nearly pulled off the upset last season and they have the opportunity to do it again this season. Trevor Lawrence was still shaking off the rust last week which the Aggies could take advantage of. Their main focus should be stuffing Travis Etienne to the best of their ability. I’m going to play this one safe as well, but Clemson could get upset this week.
25 Nebraska at Colorado
My Pick: Colorado
Am I the only one who is not all aboard the Nebraska hype train? I love Scott Frost, but I don’t think this program is ready to contend yet. Colorado will have a sold-out crowd rooting for them and Steven Montez at quarterback will give them a very good chance to win this game. Nebraska didn’t perform too well last week and they could very well end up losing today.
6 LSU at 9 Texas
My Pick: LSU
This game will come down to one possession, but LSU should pull it off. I am not sold on Joe Burrow at all, but I’m also not a huge fan of the Texas defense, albeit it has improved from past years. Texas will have a good offense against a good LSU defense while LSU will have a good offense against a mediocre Texas defense. Advantage: LSU, but barely. Texas needs to prove themselves early by making some stops on the defensive side of the ball, but I’m going to take LSU by a field goal.
Cincinnati at 5 Ohio State
My Pick: Ohio State
Miami at North Carolina
My Pick: Miami
Ohio at Pittsburgh
My Pick: Pittsburgh
California at 14 Washington
My Pick: Washington by three scores
22 Stanford at USC
My Pick: Stanford (how is USC favored?)
Rutgers at 20 Iowa
My Pick: Iowa
Old Dominion at Virginia Tech
My Pick: Virginia Tech
UAB at Akron
My Pick: UAB
Kennesaw State at Kent State
My Pick: Kennesaw State
Southern at Memphis
My Pick: Memphis (who are 39.5 point favorites by the way)
West Virginia at Missouri
My Pick: Missouri
This is a good game for watching a couple transfer quarterbacks. Austin Kendall didn’t look great last week, but Kelly Bryant fit right into the Missouri offense. Mizzou by six.
Charleston Southern at South Carolina
My Pick: South Carolina
Vanderbilt at Purdue
My Pick: Purdue
Bowling Green at Kansas State
My Pick: Kansas State
W Carolina at NC State
My Pick: NC State
Northern Illinois at 13 Utah
My Pick: Utah
Fordham at Ball State
My Pick: Ball State
USF at Georgia Tech
My Pick: USF
Tennessee Tech at Miami (OH)
My Pick: Miami (OH)
Southern Illinois at UMass
My Pick: UMass
Charlotte at Appalachian State
My Pick: App St.
Grambling at Louisiana Tech
My Pick: Louisiana Tech
Richmond at Boston College
My Pick: Boston College
Illinois at UConn
My Pick: Illinois
Eastern Illinois at Indiana
My Pick: Indiana
Southern Miss at Mississippi State
My Pick: Mississippi State
State is on upset watch.
New Mexico State at 2 Alabama
My Pick: New Mexico State, obviously (but it’s Alabama by 40)
Murray State at 3 Georgia
My Pick: Georgia
UTSA at Baylor
My Pick: Baylor
Western Illinois at Colorado State
My Pick: Colorado State
San Diego State at UCLA
My Pick: San Diego State
Northern Colorado at 22 Washington State
My Pick: Wazzu
UL Monroe at Florida State
My Pick: Florida State
NC A&T at Duke
My Pick: Duke
Gardner-Webb at East Carolina
My Pick: East Carolina
Maine at Georgia Southern
My Pick: Maine
South Dakota at 4 Oklahoma
My Pick: Oklahoma, Jalen Hurts 500 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns
18 UCF at FAU
My Pick: FAU
Furman at Georgia State
My Pick: Georgia State
Jackson State at South Alabama
My Pick: USA
Wyoming at Texas State
My Pick: Texas State
Western Kentucky at FIU
My Pick: WKU
Tennessee State at Mid Tennessee
My Pick: MTSU
North Texas at SMU
My Pick: North Texas
Even line on this game. Mason Fine against Shane Buechele, two quarterbacks that I’ve scoured heavily. Advantage goes to Fine
Eastern Kentucky at Louisville
My Pick: Louisville
BYU at Tennessee
My Pick: BYU
Coastal Carolina at Kansas
My Pick: Kansas
McNeese at Oklahoma State
My Pick: Oklahoma State
Tulane at 10 Auburn
My Pick: Auburn
UT Martin at 11 Florida
My Pick: Florida
Buffalo at 15 Penn State
My Pick: Penn State
Nevada at 16 Oregon
My Pick: Oregon
Western Michigan at 19 Michigan State
My Pick: MSU, for the sole reason that they’re the home team
Eastern Michigan at Kentucky
My Pick: Kentucky
Arkansas at Ole Miss
My Pick: Ole Miss
Stony Brook at Utah State
My Pick: USU
Liberty at Louisiana
My Pick: Louisiana
PV A&M at Houston
My Pick: Houston
UTEP at Texas Tech
My Pick: Texas Tech
Tulsa at San Jose State
My Pick: Tulsa
Arkansas State at UNLV
My Pick: UNLV
Northern Arizona at Arizona
My Pick: Arizona
Oregon State at Hawaii
My Pick: Hawaii
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