The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook released its lines for College Football Week 1, and there are several interesting lines. The first six games kick off on Aug. 29, and run through the Labor Day weekend. The weekend ends with Notre Dame at Louisville(+19) on Monday, Sept. 2.
There are 36 games on the sheet, with Saturday, Aug. 31 the busiest day. There are 26 contests scheduled for that day. Some of the highlights on that day are Virginia Tech at Boston College (-2.5), and Boise State (+4) at Florida State.
We took a look at some of the games, and offer some possible insights to make picking winners a bit easier.
UCLA at Cincinnati -4
The UCLA program was spinning out of control with Jim Mora, and Chip Kelly was hired for the 2018 season to save it. Kelly, who previously was at Oregon and the Philadelphia Eagles, didn’t do much better his first season. The Bruins finished 3-9, more losses than Kelly had in four years total at Oregon.
There have been reports of instability within the program and one player told Inside the Team that: “Nobody likes him but everybody is scared to stand up. He lies and has no player relationship. Only about 10 people on the team have his phone number. Abuse of power. A lot more.â€
Cincinnati is also rebuilding, but there process seems to be going better. They finished 11-2 last season, and their only losses were against Temple and Central Florida.
The Bearcats defeated UCLA last year by six on the road, and should be able to cover the four points at home this year.
Georgia Tech at Clemson -24
Georgia Tech has the unenviable task of visiting the defending National Champions at home in a game that could be the first blowout of the college season. The Tigers are favored by 24 and that might not be enough for the Yellow Jackets.
Clemson went to Georgia Tech last year and won 49-21 in Trevor Lawrence’s first game at quarterback. They are at home this year, and Lawrence is another year older, and has a lot more experience, including winning a national title game.
This game should be no contest, and could be an even bigger blowout than last year.
Colorado State at Colorado -10
This will the last game between the two instate rivals until 2023, and the last one at Mile High Stadium, home of the Denver Broncos. Colorado defeated the Rams, 45-13 in last season’s game.
While CSU was not supposed to be any good, and they proved that going 3-9 on the season, the Buffaloes were supposed to challenge elite teams in the Pac-12. When that didn’t happen, Mike MacIntrye was fired, and a new coach was brought in to try and turn the program around.
CU brings back quarterback Steven Montez, and his main target, wide receiver Tony Shenault, but there is a lot of unknowns with the team. Can new coach Mel Tucker, who was a defensive coordinator for Georgia, make the Buffaloes relevant again? A good start would be beating the Rams.
That should be an easy task. The only skill player returning for CSU is quarterback Collin Hill. It looks like it will be a long season for the Rams.
