College Football Picks Against The Spread Early September 2, 2017

TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 7: The National Championship Trophy during the College Football Playoff National Championship Media Day on January 7, 2017 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

College Football Picks Against The Spread Early September 2

The first full weekend of the 2017 College Football season is upon us. I have been waiting for this for months! Yes, I am a MLB and NBA fan as well, but college football is still my favorite. It contains the passionate fanbases that seem to be lacking in most major league sports. And never underestimate the chaos created with 128 teams at the highest level as opposed to 30-32. And the best part? The regular season means something!

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For those of you that are new here, I put myself out there every week. For the last six years, I have picked every single college football game. Sounds easy, right? I thought so too. So I have picked them all against the spread. That significantly increases the degree of difficulty.

I take the average of the odds from the six major Vegas casinos and round that to the nearest half point. There will be no ties here. Ties are for the other football.

Some site will sell you top ten picks for a fee. Some will even give you a couple of free picks to lure you in. This is every game picked, all for free.

This contains the picks for FBS vs. FBS games only. It is too hard to get an accurate spread on games that involve 1-AA teams.

I will assign a point value “bet” on each game, between one and five points. That way you can see just how confident I am in each pick. Look for those at the end of each line. I am down 43 points over the last two seasons, but I fully plan to be back to even before the end of of September.

This is for entertainment purposes only! I cannot be responsible for you losing any of your worldly possessions, significant others, or limbs to a loan shark. I am a simple person. I cannot have that on my conscience.

We have 87 games this weekend, but only 40 if them are FBS vs. FBS matchups. There are 24 FBS vs. FBS games on our first football Saturday. 12 of them kick off before 3:30 eastern. Let’s get to those!

CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 19: Wes Lunt #12 of the Illinois Fighting Illini throws the ball on the run during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Memorial Stadium on November 19, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Kent State at (5)Clemson(-40.5)(1): Uhhh….wow. This is a lot of points. For an offense that lost its quarterback, starting running back, and leading receiver. I know Clemson is going to win, but it could take a couple of quarters for them to really get going. Give me Kent.

Akron at (6)Penn State(-30.5)(1): I have a lot of faith in Saquon Barkley, but I don’t know about the rest of the offense. Akron is a solid team. Penn State wins handily and lets off the gas. I’ll take the Zips.

Maryland at (23)Texas(-18.5)(2): Charlie Strong built a really good team down there in Austin. However, we have seen teams struggle early with new coaches. I’ll go with Maryland to keep it closer than the spread says.

Ball State at Illinois(-6.5)(4): Illinois has several future NFL players on defense. This line is falling, and it shouldn’t be. The Illini are better than people realize. Illinois rolls.

Wyoming at Iowa(-12.5)(2): There is an interesting storyline here. Craig Bohl’s former team, North Dakota State, beat the then 13th ranked Hawkeyes in Iowa City last September. Can Bohl’s current team pull off the same feat? I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Give me Wyoming.

Bowling Green at Michigan State(-17.5)(3): Bowling Green is going to have all sorts of trouble trying to stop L.J. Scott and Gerald Holmes. Madre London, who was going to be a starter last year, is Sparty’s third string running back. Michigan State pulls away here.

California at North Carolina(-12.5)(2): The Tarheels haven’t officially announced who will replace Mitch Trubisky. That makes me a little nervous about this line. I’m still taking Carolina, but I’m lowering the bet.

North Carolina State(-4.5) vs. South Carolina at Charlotte(5): If you read my pick em picks, you know I picked South Carolina straight up. This line is backwards. This looks like easy money!

UTEP at (7)Oklahoma(-43.5)(2): Let’s be real here. Oklahoma has a new offense and lost their top two running backs and by far their best receiver from last year. The Sooners are likely to experience some growing pains here. They win big, but not this big. Give me UTEP.

(11)Michigan(-4.5) vs. (17)Florida at Jerry World(1): Neither team has announced a starting quarterback, which essentially makes this a fool’s bet. Both teams have very good defenses and solid running games. This is going to be very low scoring. I’m taking Florida, but not because I think they are going to win. I think this is a 13-10 game.

Temple at Notre Dame(-18.5)(3): Hey, remember two years ago when this was a huge game? It seems like much longer than that considering the Irish won only four games last year. Temple wasn’t a lot better. This line is too high. Give me the Owls.

Nevada at Northwestern(-24.5)(1): Huh? Okay then. I’m not sure Northwestern could cover anyone by this. I’m taking Nevada.

Troy at Boise State(-9.5)(3): Is Boise this far down? That they can’t even beat Troy by double digits? I don’t buy it. Brett Rypien is still under center. That alone is worth ten pionts over Troy. Give me the Broncs on the Smurf Turf.