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Week 0 was full of blowouts. Of the 5 games involving an FBS team (1 FBS-FCS matchup), three margins of victory were 4 TDs or more. The UTEP-NMSU game just missed that mark at 27 points between the teams. Only Nebraska-Illinois was close, and it was a comfortable Illinois lead until a 75-yard TD run by Nebraska’s struggling QB Adrian Martinez got the game two 2 scores. The Huskers could only get one more TD then promptly failed the PAT.
Surprisingly, none of us were better than 3-2 nor were any of us worse than 2-3. The short slate ends with Week 1. With 0 SEC-SEC games, there are 17 games to be picked.
With some seemingly strange lines, there are 3 unanimous games (I do not recognize one of the logos though. Strange.) and 6 games with only 1 dissenting opinion. The Week 1 cupcakes are always interesting from an ATS perspective as you have fired up minnows facing potentially blasé bigger names. Big margins can go one way or the other based soley on whether the favorite wants to keep scoring.
Oh, and welcome to new writer Paul who debuted pondering about fixing attendance at football games.
The Rules
- Normally, the picks are for all SEC games with one dealer’s choice where I get to choose another game to make us pick. With two new teams set to join in “2025” (Who wants to bet that timeline holds up?), Texas and Oklahoma will have all of their games picked, too.
- The picks will be made AGAINST THE SPREAD. Too many games are easy to pick heads up. Also, this will serve as a PSA for why you should not get into sports gambling, which is especially important with sports gambling being legal in Tennessee now.
- The lines will be taken from Oddshark’s consensus spread some time Monday, so they may not match what is listed at the time this article is published.
The Standings
| WRITER | SEASON | WEEK 0 | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||
| CDA | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| Stan | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| VU '04 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| DotP | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| Import | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| Tom | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| Paul | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
The Picks
| GAME | DotP | Stan | Tom | VU04 | CDA | Import | Paul |
| ETSU (+21.5) @ Vanderbilt |
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| Bowling Green (+35.5) @ Tennessee |
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| UL Monroe (+31) @ Kentucky |
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| Rice (+19.5) @ Arkansas |
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| Alabama (-18.5) @ Miami |
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| LA Tech (+23.5) @ Mississippi State |
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| Central Michigan (+14.5) @ Missouri |
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| Akron (+37) @ Auburn |
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| Georgia (+3) @ Clemson |
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| FAU (+23.5) @ Florida |
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| Kent State (+28.5) @ Texas A&M |
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| LSU (-3) @ UCLA |
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| Louisville (+10) @ Ole Miss |
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| Oklahoma (-27.5) @ Tulane |
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| UL Lafayette (+8) @ Texas |
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| Penn State (+5.5) @ Wisconsin |
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| Eastern Illinois (+40.5) @ South Carolina |
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