Mr. CFB's Pick Six: Week 1

Utah at Florida is the best game on my board

When people ask for advice on picking games, I have a stock answer: If I REALLY  knew how to pick games against the spread I wouldn’t be doing this for a living. There is a reason why the smart guys in the desert live in big houses and drive nice cars. They know stuff.

Still, I am game for another season of picking games against my boys on the website. Know that most of the time I’m going to stick with the SEC because that’s what I know--or at least that's what I think I know.

So, let’s carry on:

ARKANSAS giving 6.5 vs. Cincinnati

Cincinnati returns a lot from the team that went to the College Football Playoff last season. But noticeably missing is quarterback Desmond Ridder, the first-round choice of the Atlanta Falcons. After winning nine games last season and returning quarterback K.J. Jefferson, there are a lot of people who are high on the Hogs. I’m one of them. Arkansas covers

GEORGIA giving 17 vs. OREGON in Atlanta

The defending national champions lost 15 players in the NFL Draft, including five defenders who went in the first round. Still, the Bulldogs are in everybody’s top five going into the season and they should be. It will be the first game as Oregon’s head coach for Dan Lanning, who built Georgia’s national championship defense last season. That number looks a little high to me but I still think Georgia gets a late touchdown for the back-door cover.

Utah giving 3 vs. FLORIDA

Utah is the defending Pac-12 champions and returns one of the nation’s best quarterbacks in Cameron Rising. It will be a tough assignment for Billy Napier, Florida’s first-year head coach. The key will be the play of quarterback Anthony Richardson. If Richarson takes care of the football, the Gators probably find a way to win this game in the Swamp. I like the Utes as a dark horse candidate to make the CFP. Utah wins and covers.

LSU giving 3 vs. Florida State in New Orleans (Sunday).

New LSU coach Brian Kelly makes his debut against a Florida State team that needs a big year. For LSU, all eyes will be on quarterback Jayden Daniels, who started 29 games at Arizona State before enrolling in Baton Rouge. Remember this name: Kayshon Boutte. He may be the best wide receiver in college football. LSU wins and covers the three.

SOUTH CAROLINA giving 12.5 vs. Georgia State

The Gamecock faithful will be even more jacked up than usual because this game marks the debut of quarterback Spencer Rattler in a South Carolina uniform. Rattler was a Heisman trophy favorite at Oklahoma in 2021 before losing his job to Caleb Williams. Now he gets a fresh start in Columbia. He could be the most athletic quarterback the Gamecocks have ever had. This game will be more competitive than people think. The Panthers are coached by Shawn Elliott, the former interim coach at South Carolina. Gamecocks get a late score to cover.

KENTUCKY giving 16  vs. Miami (Ohio)

Chris Rodriguez, the top returning rusher in the SEC, was not on the two-deep released by Kentucky on Monday. That can only mean that Rodriguez has been suspended. He’s been in Coach Mark Stoops’s doghouse since pleading guilty to a DUI charge in July. Reports said that the suspension will be for multiple games. But returning is quarterback Will Levis, who could be the first SEC quarterback taken in next April’s NFL Draft. Kentucky wins but the Wildcats don’t cover.

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

RECORD ATS: 0-0