Week 1 Thursday and Friday:

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Thursday:

I can keep this one short and sweet. Temple had an absolute awful time last year and put up bad numbers. As for Rutgers, they are bringing back a lot of offensive weapons from last year and I don’t see how Rutgers lose this game. But as it comes to leaning one way or another, I really like the Under at 52.

Pick: I’m taking Under 52.

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Boise State is not the team anymore that is pulling off the statue of liberty play and upsetting nationally ranked teams anymore. And they are traveling a long way to face off against a team that is begging for respect and will do anything to show that they belong. UCF is electric on offense and last year averaged 42 points a game while Boise averaged only 33. I see both teams scoring their fair share of points but I UCF celebrating a victory and a long ride home back to Boise.

Pick: I am taking UCF -5.5 and -2.5 in the 1st Half

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What a great Big 10 matchup to start off the year for these two schools. Although I don’t see how Minnesota keeps it close with the Kings of the Big 10, especially when the forecast doesn’t call for real Minnesota weather with snow and ice. Plain and simple to me, Minnesota doesn’t have the firepower to keep up with Ohio State.

Pick: I am taking Ohio State -14 and -7.5 in the 1st Half

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Appalachian State is returning a lot of starters and has a dominant defense. On top of that their QB is Chase Brice, the backup QB at Clemson who transferred to Duke and is now at App State. I have App State running away with this one.

NC State is predicted to have one of their best offensive seasons maybe ever this year. They have a solid quarterback who is surrounded by offense weapons. This is maybe the one team this year in the ACC who could give Clemson a run for their money. USF absolutely stinks and they are traveling a long ways to find out what its like to get blown out in a packed stadium.

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Friday:

The line in this game is up to North Carolina -6. And I do not like that one bit. I think North Carolina wins this game but something feels wrong about it being -6. And I say that because I think Carolina has no problems winning this game by two scores. With all the hype they have around their quarterback again this year, the North Carolina offense will have a lot of high hopes surrounding them. Virginia Tech is always tough to play at home and they almost always have some tricks up their sleeves so this should make for one heck of a ball game.

Pick: I am taking North Carolina -6.

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Felt only right to continue on with the ACC. Being an ACC guy myself, I have confidence (sort of) in Duke being able to beat Charlotte by at least a touchdown. I think its a good line and if Duke wins by less that 7 or loses outright, I’ll be embarrassed for them.

Pick: I am taking Duke -6.5.

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A Big 10 matchup late on a Friday night, who doesn’t love that. That said, I see this game being a slugfest. The offenses these two teams have I see a low scoring defense battle, especially with the game being @Northwestern. Not sure what it is, but their field may be the slowest in the country. Just looking at it makes me feel slow and I’m just sitting on the couch. The over/under is set at 46 and I am leaning heavily towards the under for this matchup. As for Northwestern covering at -3, I cannot make up my mind.

Pick: I am taking U 46.

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Saturday:

Check back later for Saturday picks!

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Matchup	Picks
Temple @ Rutgers	U52
Boise State @ UCF	UCF -5.5
Ohio State @ Minnesota	OSU -14
North Carolina @ Virginia Tech	North Carolina -6
Duke @ Charlotte	Duke -6.5
Michigan State @ Northwestern	U46
USF @ NC State	NC State -19.5
East Carolina @ Appalachian State	App State -9.5

Matchup (1st half)	Picks
Boise State @ UCF	UCF -2.5
Ohio State @ Minnesota	OSU -7.5
East Carolina @ Appalachian State	App State -5.5

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Matchup (Parlays)	Picks
Boise State @ UCF Ohio State @ Minnesota	UCF -2.5 1H OSU -7.5 1H
Ohio State @ Minnesota Duke @ Charlotte	OSU -14 Duke -6.5
USF @ NC State East Carolina @ Appalachian State	NC State -19.5 App State -9.5