College Football Picks Against The Spread Early September 3

Sep 19, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers mascot Mike the Tiger crowd surfs during the third quarter of a game against the Auburn Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

College Football Picks Against The Spread Early September 3

Do you want the college football picks for every game? I’m sure a few internet searches could give you what you are looking for. How about against the spread? Now it gets a little tricky. You have several sites that will show you a handful of picks. You have more that will sell them to you. Here you will get every spread for every 1-A vs. 1-A football game. All season long!

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Last year, I went 400-366 for a 52.2% success rate. Picking every game, that isn’t such a bad rate. The more accurate rate was by the confidence point meter. I finished with 123 points on the season. I assign all games a rank from least confidence (1) to most (5). Look for those at the end of every line to see just how confident I am in each pick.

In case you don’t know what I do here, I pick every college football game of the season. Against the spread. Trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds! I take the average of the odds from all of the Vegas casinos. I then round to the nearest half. There will be no ties here. Ties are for the other football (soccer).

A large number of the games in the first week feature games against 1-AA schools. These games will not be picked because it is too hard to get an accurate spread. Most casinos wont post a line on these games anyway.

There are 15 1-A vs. 1-A games in the first half of Saturday. The rest of the picks will come your way by Friday evening. I want to get as accurate of a spread as possible. It is in your best interest as well as mine.

This is for entertainment purposes only! I cannot be responsible for you losing any of your worldly possessions (or limbs) because of my picks. These are a guideline that you can use to help you with your picks. I am a simple man. I can’t have that on my conscience.

Just in case you missed any:
Thursday-Friday

Away we go, with the early picks for Saturday!

Next: The Early Picks Are Here!

Dec 31, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Greg Ward Jr. (1) throws a pass against the Florida State Seminoles in the fourth quarter in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. Houston defeated Florida State 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

Georgia Tech(-3.5) vs. Boston College at Dublin, Ireland(3): A 7:30 AM Eastern kickoff for all of you early risers. Enjoy it! It wont happen again this year. This line opened at -3, and has not moved, which is rather unusual. I will give the half because I see Tech winning by at least a touchdown. Give me the Bees.

(3)Oklahoma(-11.5) at (15)Houston(3): This line is too high. Oklahoma lost a whole lot on defense from last year, and they struggle with athletic quarterbacks. Look at what Jerrod Heard did to them last year. How about Patrick Mahomes? Greg Ward will do the same. I don’t think Ward has enough around him to pull the upset, but Houston is plenty good enough to scare the hell out of the Sooners, and to beat them if they come out flat. I am much more scared of Oklahoma losing this game than I am confident they will cover this. Give me Houston. This one stays close.

Bowling Green at (6)Ohio State(-28.5)(4): Okay, if this was Youngstown State, then maybe, but Bowling Green? Come on! This is too many. The game wont be in question, but I will be surprised if the Buckeyes win by more than three touchdowns.

Western Michigan at Northwestern(-5.5)(3): This seems a bit low. Northwestern is almost always tough at home. Just ask Stanford. I think the Broncos hang around, but the Wildcats should win by at least a touchdown.

Hawaii at (7)Michigan(-40.5)(1): Yeah, this is a good pick em game. One with a 41 point spread. Vegas is confident that they got this right. The line didn’t even move after the Cal game. I do think Michigan is capable of covering this, but this is a lot of points. If the Wolverines struggle at all with a new quarterback, they probably wont cover. Hawaii already burned me once, so they will probably lose by 41. I just wouldn’t bet on it. Give me Hawaii, I guess.

Boise State(-19.5) at Louisiana-Lafayette(2): I don’t like this line. First thing first: Boise isn’t going to lose this game. The question is how much they will win by. 20 really isn’t that much, but they are on the road. Still, Boise is the mark by which all non power five schools are measured. They don’t have that reputation for nothing. I’ll take Boise.

South Alabama at Mississippi State(-28.5)(2): The Bulldogs lost their best player in my lifetime in Dak Prescott. This is a big line for a team playing with a brand new quarterback. Mississippi State is so much more talented at every position. That has to come through at come point, right? Give me Mississippi State.

Missouri at West Virginia(-10.5)(3): I doubt Missouri’s offense will be any better than last year, and West Virginia didn’t lose much from their high powered attack. Rushel Shell was already cutting into Wendell Smallwood’s time last year. Now he has the backfield to himself. This is too low. I have the feeling that the Mounties are going to roll here.

Rutgers at (14)Washington(-26.5)(3): Rutgers was equally bad at home and on the road last year. I don’t see where they got any better. This is a big line for Washington, but they have a good defense and a couple of electric players on offense. I’m hoping the Huskies don’t let off the gas. Give me Washington.

(16)UCLA at Texas A&M(-2.5)(3): This should tell you all you need to know about preseason rankings. UCLA was never favored in this game as far as Vegas is concerned, and if you read my pick em column, you know I agree. I haven’t wavered. I still think A&M takes this at home.

(5)LSU(-10.5) vs. Wisconsin at Green Bay(4): Once the novelty of a college game in one of the most iconic NFL Stadiums wears off, we will see this game for what it is: a blowout. Wisconsin does not match up well with LSU at all this year. The Tigers are better at nearly every position than they were last year. The Badgers? They are nearly worse at every position. LSU rolls!

Kent State at Penn State(-21.5)(2): The only thing I know for sure is that Penn State will be better without Christian Hackenberg. For whatever reason, despite all of the praise heaped on him by scouts, he could never get it together on the field. The loss of Geno Lewis will hurt, but this is Saquon Barkley’s team. Kent is going to find that out early and often. Give me Penn State.

Miami (OH) at (17)Iowa(-27.5)(1): Another Big Ten(14) team, another large line. Offenses aren’t built to move fast in this conference. That is why you see very little confidence in these picks. However, the Redhawks were one of the worst teams around last year. That hasn’t changed. Iowa has a bad habit of scheduling poor out of conference teams, then almost losing to them. That trend would continue if they had scheduled anyone with a pulse. I think I have to take Iowa.

Texas State at Ohio(-20.5)(1): Both are small level schools from a recruiting hotbed. The Bobcats are still a fledgling program, but they showed signs of getting better last year. This is going to be a huge road test for them. I think Ohio wins, but I doubt they cover. They don’t have the talent that they had three or four years ago.

Louisiana Tech at Arkansas(-25.5)(2): The Hogs lost most of their ground attack, but they are a SEC team. They will reload. Louisiana Tech lost QB Jeff Driskel and RB Kenneth Dixon. They will rebuild. There is a big difference there, and it is larger than 25 points. Give me Arkansas.

Next: ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 1

Don’t forget to come back for the rest of the Saturday picks! If you want to challenge the rest of the Fantasy CPR readers, here is the College Pick Em group! Claim your dominance!