Praise Baby Jesus, CFB Is Back!
The time has finally come, and the excitement in the air is palpable. Football is back for another season of unbelievable plays, drama, and mayhem. With this new year of football comes my first attempt at blogging through an entire season. I'll do my best to get as many posts up here as I can while also taking care of that God-forsaken thing known as "law school", but you can count on me posting one weekly CFB blog each week: The Four To Score, which will provide my four college football picks ATS every week, with an "Extra Point" selection as well. Hopefully you find this weekly piece both informative and entertaining, and should my picks fail you, feel free to give me all the grief that you deem appropriate in the comments section. Without further adieu, here are the picks for this week.
1st Down: Ole Miss -3 at Vanderbilt
Yes, you read that correctly. I'm taking the road chalk on the opening night of the college football season. Those of you who followed last season closely are probably exclaiming "Hey Jackwagon, Vandy covered at home last year against Clowney and South Carolina, so surely they'll get the cover or outright win here." However, this is a new year, and there is a lot to love about the Ole Miss Rebels, especially the fact that they return 19 starters. QB Bo Wallace is back with four upper-classmen lineman to lead the way up front, and the electrifying WR Donte Moncrief out wide. On the other side of the ball, the Rebels return last year's leading tackler in LB Denzel Nkemdiche, and they have added his younger brother DE Robert Nkemdiche, the highest-rated recruit in the country last year. This defensive unit returns 10 starters, and should improve upon last year's 27.6 points allowed per game. Additionally, Ole Miss was much better than their 7-6 record last year, as they nearly beat both LSU and Texas A&M while also going 9-3 ATS. Vandy does return 13 starters, but they have a new starting quarterback, and have to replace the school's all-time leading rusher Zac Stacy. I expect Ole Miss to come out very hungry in this one, especially when you consider how they lost to Vandy last year. Go against the grain, and lay the points in this one.
2nd Down: Washington -3.5 vs. Boise State
I'm usually a big backer of Chris Petersen and the Broncos, but I love the Huskies in this rematch of last year's Las Vegas Bowl for a number of reasons. First, Boise barely beat the Huskies last year with a late field goal in the fourth quarter on a neutral field. This year though, the game will be played in the newly-renovated Husky Stadium, giving Washington a big home-field advantage in addition to the revenge factor that is in play. Additionally, Washington is the more experienced team here, as they have twice as many returning starters as the Broncos. Among those returning for the Huskies are third-year starting QB Keith Price, and all-world TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who should be the first TE taken in next year's draft if he declares. Washington disappointed last season, and this mature lineup is eager to show it is much better than last year's record indicates. Also, don't forget that Sarkisian gets his team to play well in big games, as shown in their upset of Stanford last year, and against USC in previous years. An experienced, well-coached team returning to its home stadium, with the revenge factor in play is an automatic play to me with the short line posted on the board.
3rd Down: TCU +4.5 vs. LSU
If there was ever a time to pick against a top-tier SEC team in a big non-conference game, this would be it. LSU will bring plenty of fans to JerryWorld for this one, but I expect there to be a giant turnout of TCU fans and locals to cheer on the home underdog. Beyond the great atmosphere this game will produce, I think TCU has the advantage in a few key areas. First and foremost: COACHING. Gary Patterson is known for knocking off ranked opponents, as they have won 9 of their last 13 against ranked teams. Moreover, he is not the Mad Hatter, who at times looks like he has no idea about what he is doing during the crucial points of a game. On top of the big coaching advantage, TCU should have the advantage under center, with Casey Pachall returning to the team after being suspended for much of last year. For those of you who may have forgotten about Pachall, he is the #1 FBS QB in Pass Efficiency among active players. Finally, TCU's defense is loaded, bringing back nine starters from a team that was the second best defense in the Big XII last season, while LSU lost nearly everyone on that side of the ball. The Horned Frogs defense could be bolstered by the potential return of the suspended DE Devonte Fields, as it was announced that he will dress for the game, though Patterson was vague about whether he would play. Either way, this game should be a tight one all the way down to the wire, and thus the value is on the better-coached home dog.
4th Down: Oklahoma State -12.5 vs. Mississippi State
Like the TCU vs. LSU game, this one will also be played on a "neutral" field at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Unlike the TCU vs. LSU matchup, I don't see this one being close at all. Though Mississippi State brings back 12 starters, they were horrible last year against ranked teams. In four games against ranked opponents, they lost all of them by double digits, and lost three of them by 20 or more points. The defense was awful against quality opponents, giving up over 34 points in each of those contests, and over 350 yards in each game, including 693 against Texas A&M. Additionally, they lost every game in which they were an underdog, both straight up and ATS. Meanwhile, the #13 Oklahoma State Cowboys bring back 15 starters, including 8 from an offense that put up 45.7 points a game last year. Though they lost Joseph Randle to the NFL, Oklahoma State has produced six consecutive 1,000 yard RBs, so there shouldn't be much worrying about a drop-off in rushing production. When you look at the numbers from last season, the Cowboys were fantastic as favorites, going 7-3 when laying points, and 7-0 as a favorite at home or on a neutral field. Simply put, this Cowboys offense should run all over the Bulldogs in what will essentially be a home game for Oklahoma State.
Extra Point: Texas OVER 9.5 Wins
Since the season has not started yet, props for win totals are still available. Go ahead and call me a homer for this pick, but there is a lot to like about the Longhorns this season. Nineteen returning starters, an easy Big XII schedule, and one of the best OL and RB unit duos in the country should bode well for the Longhorns this year. Though he has received heavy criticism in the past few years, Mack has achieved ten wins in the regular season seven times since 2001. While I don't think Texas can go undefeated, I do think a ten wins is easily attainable for this squad given it's schedule, and is one of my favorite Season Win Total Props on the board.
That's all for this week. Hope you enjoyed the read, and are ready for a great season here at Rushing The Field!
I'm usually a big backer of Chris Petersen and the Broncos, but I love the Huskies in this rematch of last year's Las Vegas Bowl for a number of reasons. First, Boise barely beat the Huskies last year with a late field goal in the fourth quarter on a neutral field. This year though, the game will be played in the newly-renovated Husky Stadium, giving Washington a big home-field advantage in addition to the revenge factor that is in play. Additionally, Washington is the more experienced team here, as they have twice as many returning starters as the Broncos. Among those returning for the Huskies are third-year starting QB Keith Price, and all-world TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who should be the first TE taken in next year's draft if he declares. Washington disappointed last season, and this mature lineup is eager to show it is much better than last year's record indicates. Also, don't forget that Sarkisian gets his team to play well in big games, as shown in their upset of Stanford last year, and against USC in previous years. An experienced, well-coached team returning to its home stadium, with the revenge factor in play is an automatic play to me with the short line posted on the board.
3rd Down: TCU +4.5 vs. LSU
If there was ever a time to pick against a top-tier SEC team in a big non-conference game, this would be it. LSU will bring plenty of fans to JerryWorld for this one, but I expect there to be a giant turnout of TCU fans and locals to cheer on the home underdog. Beyond the great atmosphere this game will produce, I think TCU has the advantage in a few key areas. First and foremost: COACHING. Gary Patterson is known for knocking off ranked opponents, as they have won 9 of their last 13 against ranked teams. Moreover, he is not the Mad Hatter, who at times looks like he has no idea about what he is doing during the crucial points of a game. On top of the big coaching advantage, TCU should have the advantage under center, with Casey Pachall returning to the team after being suspended for much of last year. For those of you who may have forgotten about Pachall, he is the #1 FBS QB in Pass Efficiency among active players. Finally, TCU's defense is loaded, bringing back nine starters from a team that was the second best defense in the Big XII last season, while LSU lost nearly everyone on that side of the ball. The Horned Frogs defense could be bolstered by the potential return of the suspended DE Devonte Fields, as it was announced that he will dress for the game, though Patterson was vague about whether he would play. Either way, this game should be a tight one all the way down to the wire, and thus the value is on the better-coached home dog.
4th Down: Oklahoma State -12.5 vs. Mississippi State
Like the TCU vs. LSU game, this one will also be played on a "neutral" field at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Unlike the TCU vs. LSU matchup, I don't see this one being close at all. Though Mississippi State brings back 12 starters, they were horrible last year against ranked teams. In four games against ranked opponents, they lost all of them by double digits, and lost three of them by 20 or more points. The defense was awful against quality opponents, giving up over 34 points in each of those contests, and over 350 yards in each game, including 693 against Texas A&M. Additionally, they lost every game in which they were an underdog, both straight up and ATS. Meanwhile, the #13 Oklahoma State Cowboys bring back 15 starters, including 8 from an offense that put up 45.7 points a game last year. Though they lost Joseph Randle to the NFL, Oklahoma State has produced six consecutive 1,000 yard RBs, so there shouldn't be much worrying about a drop-off in rushing production. When you look at the numbers from last season, the Cowboys were fantastic as favorites, going 7-3 when laying points, and 7-0 as a favorite at home or on a neutral field. Simply put, this Cowboys offense should run all over the Bulldogs in what will essentially be a home game for Oklahoma State.
Extra Point: Texas OVER 9.5 Wins
Since the season has not started yet, props for win totals are still available. Go ahead and call me a homer for this pick, but there is a lot to like about the Longhorns this season. Nineteen returning starters, an easy Big XII schedule, and one of the best OL and RB unit duos in the country should bode well for the Longhorns this year. Though he has received heavy criticism in the past few years, Mack has achieved ten wins in the regular season seven times since 2001. While I don't think Texas can go undefeated, I do think a ten wins is easily attainable for this squad given it's schedule, and is one of my favorite Season Win Total Props on the board.
That's all for this week. Hope you enjoyed the read, and are ready for a great season here at Rushing The Field!
