It’s been a long time coming, but finally I have something worth posting about! That’s right Dragon’s College Football Picks are back. Welcome back college football, how I have missed you. Also I’m working on building a new house and the potential cash influx you bring is a vital part of this process. For Dragon, week 0 games count.
Notre Dame -20.5 vs. Navy Over 48.5
Starting the season off in Dublin Ireland as all good college seasons should. It’s not often the ND Irish play second fiddle, but with the Irish national rugby team wrapping up their World Cup warm up season with a 2:45pm kick that might just be the case for the Domers. Lucky for them plenty of “Irish” fans made the trip across the pond and will be there to support. On the field I’m a big fan of Marcus Freeman as a head coach and after a rocky start he guided the Irish to a 9-4 season. The Irish were also busy in the transfer portal Suring up what was a shaky offense. ACC fans will remember Sam Hartman from his time at Wake Forest, and now he is lining up under center for the Irish. Getting the handcuffs of the slow-mesh offense taken off could free him up for a big season. Defensively, Notre Dame is stout. They returned the bulk of a very good defense from last season. On the surface Navy had a solid season last year, but the reality is their offense struggled and the defense feasted on subpar competition. I don’t think they will be able to control the clock enough to keep the Notre Dame offense off the field and with them on it, the Domers win by 3 TDs.
Notre Dame -20.5 Over 48.5
USC vs. San Jose St. Over 66.5
Can you hear the Heisman hype train coming round the bend? If you can’t you surely will after Saturday when reigning Heisman winner and current front runner Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans get done with SJSU. The Trojans offense averaged 41 ppg. a year ago and finished only second to Tennessee with 76 TDs scored last season. The Mountain West is not ready for this. These are the type of games where players inflate their Heisman resumes. The 31.5 spread is too much for me, but I do expect plenty of fireworks.
Over 66.5
Hawaii +17.5 vs. Vanderbilt
Commadores vs the Rainbow Warriors this is what Week 0 is all about. Last year Vandy put the greater Nashville area on notice when they went on the road and humbled Hawaii 63-10. That was the start of a 5-7 campaign which is pretty good by Vandy standards. This year Hawaii makes the long trip and Timmy Chang’s group will look to exact some revenge. Chang rose to fame on the island 20 years ago as a stud quarterback in the Run -n- Shoot system passing for over 17,000 yards in his career. Now he is the man calling the plays and he is returning the Warriors to their pass happy roots. Results were slow last season but by the end of the year Hawaii was playing decent ball. Saturday they will take the another step, while I don’t think they can win outright I do like them to stick around this time. It also helps that Vandy’s coach Clark Lea is 0-5 against the spread at home against non-con opponents (there’s a gamblers stat for ya.)
Hawaii +17.5
UTEP -2 vs. Jacksonville St.
Yep I’m doing this. Why? Because Jacksonville State played one FBS team last season and got worked by giving up over 600 yards of offense and 54 points. Who was the powerhouse that boat raced the Gamecocks? A Tulsa squad that went 5-7. Are the UTEP and Tulsa on the same level? I honestly don’t know. But I do know from a size differential UTEP is towering compared to Jacksonville State. The UTEP O-Line averages over 300lbs to a man, Jax St has 2 players over 300 lbs. On the edges? size advantage Miners. There is size and the potential for gamebreakers at almost every position. Also who knew Rich Rod was coaching at UTEP now? Talk about a fall from grace remember when he was going to be the man to lead the Wolverines 15 years ago?
UTEP -2
