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Well, here's the first picks of the year for all four Week 0 games on the 24th.
Villanova vs. Colgate
Samford vs. Youngstown State
(7) Florida vs. Miami
Arizona vs. Hawaii
Here are my picks.
Villanova vs. Colgate (Don't know much about either team, although Colgate had a scary defense last year and looks to be great again, while Villanova seems to be on a downslide. I'll take Colgate in this one.) Samford vs. Youngstown State (I just took a guess here.) (7) Florida vs. Miami (I expect the Gators to win. However, while many things seem to go in Florida's favor for this one, there are two things i could see in Miami's favor - One; Another offseason of off-the-field distractions for Florida. Two; All the pressure is on Florida, while Miami has little to none. There's not a whole lot of expectations, at least on a national scale, for Miami this year. This is Manny Diaz's first game, so Miami losing would be expected. While on the other hand, if Florida loses, there's going to be a lot of questions asked, and the good chance that Florida may be one of 2019's biggest disappointments. Miami's players love Diaz, and they have been preparing for this game, i expect, since the beginning of the offseason. However good Miami can be, we're gonna see that against Florida. They're gonna go out there and give everything they have in this game, as they have just about nothing to lose. But i just don't think it'll be enough.) Arizona vs. Hawaii (I think this will be a surprisingly good game, considering that trips to Hawaii can sometimes mess a team up and cause them to catch a loss you wouldn't expect. But i'll give the Wildcats the benefit of the doubt here, and take them in a close matchup.)
I thought that Florida-Miami game was awesome. The media focus began Saturday with Gameday at Disneyworld. Then the game itself was wild with back-and-forth lead changes, turnovers, emotional penalties, fan frenzy, etc. The camera would occasionally focus on football stars and coaches of years past. The close-up on Spurrier was priceless when the pass was called on 1st down despite being up. I think everyone was expecting the run call to burn out the clock and protect the ball. Then the last Miami drive was insane. It was about 4th and 34 and Miami got a first down due to pass interference. They had similar breaks then fell aparts with a sack. I could just see the humid heat bearing down on both teams with the mental errors, cramped legs, facial expressions of exhaustion, etc. So, to me it was a great game - an instant classic.
But some (not all) Florida Alumni are angry about the "poor" performance meaning they wanted a game with no mistakes and a victory by about 3 or more touchdowns. To me, that is not a "must" this early in the season. The teams are in week 0 and have plenty of time to improve before they get to the heart of their schedule. Despite the loss, I think Miami has proven it has more than enough to make it to the ACC title game. Meanwhile, Florida will be examining game film to fix mistakes. But based on Mullen's history, they will. Improvements for Florida are not unreasonable to expect. I am looking forward to the SEC conference games and may fly back from the southwest to watch a home game late in the fall.
I thought that Florida-Miami game was awesome. The media focus began Saturday with Gameday at Disneyworld. Then the game itself was wild with back-and-forth lead changes, turnovers, emotional penalties, fan frenzy, etc. The camera would occasionally focus on football stars and coaches of years past. The close-up on Spurrier was priceless when the pass was called on 1st down despite being up. I think everyone was expecting the run call to burn out the clock and protect the ball. Then the last Miami drive was insane. It was about 4th and 34 and Miami got a first down due to pass interference. They had similar breaks then fell aparts with a sack. I could just see the humid heat bearing down on both teams with the mental errors, cramped legs, facial expressions of exhaustion, etc. So, to me it was a great game - an instant classic.
But some (not all) Florida Alumni are angry about the "poor" performance meaning they wanted a game with no mistakes and a victory by about 3 or more touchdowns. To me, that is not a "must" this early in the season. The teams are in week 0 and have plenty of time to improve before they get to the heart of their schedule. Despite the loss, I think Miami has proven it has more than enough to make it to the ACC title game. Meanwhile, Florida will be examining game film to fix mistakes. But based on Mullen's history, they will. Improvements for Florida are not unreasonable to expect. I am looking forward to the SEC conference games and may fly back from the southwest to watch a home game late in the fall.
I thought it was exciting but one of the fugliest wins I've seen in a long time.
I'll put it down to 1st game cobwebs.
Franks got some karmic balance after face timing the camera after scoring, then throwing that "wt*" interception.
I'd like to see Florida contest the SEC - esp if it would mean ruining the party for Alabama.
I don't see any reason to believe Miami is a lock to make the ACC title game based on that performance. They don't have a good O-line, and most ACC offenses will be as good or better than Florida's.
I don't see any reason to believe Miami is a lock to make the ACC title game based on that performance. They don't have a good O-line, and most ACC offenses will be as good or better than Florida's.
Who makes it in their place?
VT could. Virginia's being talked up, but.. The odds are, the winner of the Coastal, regardless of who it is, is just cannon fodder. Or Tiger food.
I thought that Florida-Miami game was awesome. The media focus began Saturday with Gameday at Disneyworld. Then the game itself was wild with back-and-forth lead changes, turnovers, emotional penalties, fan frenzy, etc. The camera would occasionally focus on football stars and coaches of years past. The close-up on Spurrier was priceless when the pass was called on 1st down despite being up. I think everyone was expecting the run call to burn out the clock and protect the ball. Then the last Miami drive was insane. It was about 4th and 34 and Miami got a first down due to pass interference. They had similar breaks then fell aparts with a sack. I could just see the humid heat bearing down on both teams with the mental errors, cramped legs, facial expressions of exhaustion, etc. So, to me it was a great game - an instant classic.
I thought the game was extremely sloppy even by college standards. The Gators gave Miami every chance to beat them and the Canes still couldn't get the job done.
IMO Florida should drop out of the top 10 and Miami should join the top 25. Florida looked horrible and the refs gave Florida that game becaue they blew the last pass interference call.
UCLA vs. Cincinnati
(16) Utah vs. BYU
(18) Wisconsin vs. USF
UMass vs. Rutgers
Utah State vs. Wake Forest
Purdue vs. Nevada
Ole Miss vs. Memphis
Toledo vs. Kentucky
James Madison vs. West Virginia
North Carolina vs. South Carolina
(14) Northwestern vs. (23) Stanford
Virginia Tech vs. Boston College
(20) Boise State vs. Florida State
Nicholls vs. Kansas State
SMU vs. Arkansas State
(22) Auburn vs. (10) Oregon
(25) Missouri vs. Wyoming
Virginia vs. Pittsburgh
(15) Fresno State vs. USC
Houston vs. (4) Oklahoma
(11) Notre Dame vs. Louisville
Pick Overall Record: 1-3
Here are my picks.
UCLA vs. Cincinnati (While i do believe UCLA will be a little bit better than they were last season, Cincinnati looks to be quite a ways ahead of them.) (16) Utah vs. BYU (As hard-fought and hate-filled as this rivalry is, and as much as Utah has tended to choke when it comes to high expectations in recent years, i can't take BYU to beat them until it's actually happened.) (18) Wisconsin vs. USF (Now that Sterlin Gilbert's gone at USF, not as easy of a matchup as you think. This to me is a potential upset, and Wisconsin has to win this game. Otherwise, i feel like they'll be win for another rough season.)
UMass vs. Rutgers (As terrible as Rutgers is, they did at least smack around Texas State last year. I went back-and-forth on this for a while, but i'm going to give the advantage to the home team. Although it's not a pick i'm entirely confident in.) Utah State vs. Wake Forest (Tough game to pick a winner. Looking at Wake Forest's schedule this season, any week where there in the list of games to pick, i'm going to have a hard time being confident on most of them. They're not going to be a garbage team, however, getting 6 wins will be a difficult task. I feel like that they'll be down in 2019, however.) Purdue vs. Nevada (Underrated matchup...going to give the advantage to Purdue, though.)
Ole Miss vs. Memphis (Yes, Ole Miss has better coordinators than last year, but Matt Luke's a horrible coach. Unless the Rebels show quite a bit of improvement on the field, i have a hard time taking them here. Plus, i feel like if just enough things go their way, a 12-0 Memphis is not out of the question.)
Toledo vs. Kentucky (I don't feel like Kentucky's going to fall off the map...i don't see another 9-3 season, but Mark Stoops seems to get the best out of what he has.)
James Madison vs. West Virginia (I hope Mountaineer fans aren't overconfident about this game. Sure, James Madison's an FCS team, but they're among the upper-tier of that group. They almost beat NC State last year, too. This will be close, but i think West Virginia pulls it out.)
North Carolina vs. South Carolina (Each team has one key advantage - South Carolina has better talent, North Carolina i feel like has better coaching. I think Mack Brown, after sitting in a bowl of dust for the last 5 years is going to come out wanting to prove a point. However, i don't feel as though it'll be enough.)
(14) Northwestern vs. (23) Stanford (I'm not too high on Stanford anymore. But at the same time, i feel like my own preseason ranking of Northwestern is going to bite me here. Although i feel Northwestern is under-rated once again, and i think they're definitely in contention for the B1G West, i don't see this game going their way. Virginia Tech vs. Boston College (This is a crucial season for Fuente if he wants to keep his job at VT. Another season like the last, and he will definitely be at risk at being shown the door in 2020 or 2021. I'm not really hot on Boston College this year either, though.)
(20) Boise State vs. Florida State (I originally was very adamant that Boise State would win this game. However, i've done some more thinking as this week draws closer, and factoring in that this is at Jacksonville, practically home for Florida State, there will definitely be more Florida State fans, and while i'm no Taggart fan, i feel like Kendal Briles will help mask some of those problems in 2019...i smell disaster for Boise.)
Nicholls vs. Kansas State (This is not an easy game to predict. Nicholls is 1-2 against their FCS opponents in the last 3 seasons, however, in those losses, they lead Georgia 14-13 at one point and lost 24-26, and were tied with A&M into the 4th quarter before losing. They needed OT to beat Kansas last season, however, Kansas didn't turn out to be absolute garbage despite that loss, getting two blowout wins and an upset over TCU. I picked Nicholls to beat Kansas last year. This time, unlike the state's flagship school from last year, i'm giving K-State the benefit of the doubt.) SMU vs. Arkansas State (As terrible as i feel for Blake Anderson losing his wife, i have more confidence in SMU here than i do the Red Wolves.)
(22) Auburn vs. (10) Oregon (I am of the opinion that Malzahn is gone after 2019. I don't really feel like this will be one of Auburn's better seasons in recent memory, either 6-6 or 7-5 is my pick. And i'm higher on Oregon than some others are. It's going to be a close game, but i think the Ducks pull it out.) (25) Missouri vs. Wyoming (I forgot why i put this game here. I feel like Wyoming's going to be better this year, but while the elevation may be a bit tricky for Missouri, i think they pull away in the 2nd half.)
Virginia vs. Pittsburgh (15) Fresno State vs. USC (Trojans really should have done a lot more last year with that roster. I'm not implying playoff or national championship contenders, but they should have done better. 5-7? Inexcusable at USC with the talent. Unless they show me otherwise, i think USC bottoms out this year and disposes of Clay Helton at the end of the season.)
Houston vs. (4) Oklahoma (Holgorsen is 0-7 against Oklahoma all-time. Don't expect a 2016 repeat...Oklahoma's defense won't be absolute trash, although they won't be in the upper-tier of the nation, either. But i don't see a high-scoring shootout here.) (11) Notre Dame vs. Louisville (Were it not for the fact that this game is on a Monday night, i wouldn't have even put it on here.)
You missed UVA vs Pitt, and Clemson vs G Tech (Thursday).
I'm surprised there are so many ACC games the first week.
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