Six Pick: Week One

And we're BACK! College football has returned, and riding sidecar is the Six Pick. For those unfamiliar, I pick the six TV games that interest me the most each week. I write a bit about each and then I pick the outcome against the spread. The readers are encouraged to discuss the games and pick the outcomes as well in the comment section. We'll do a weekly running tally and the winner at the end of championship week gets to name Joe's first born kid or a night of drinking at Whitlow's on the TKP staff. Now that the formalities are over, let's get it on!

The 8 month offseason is officially over and week 1 is upon us. Checking out old favorites, the new faces, the scheme tweaks and the coaching overhauls, gives me that teenage crush feeling without the braces and awkward stares. Optimism is high at every school, unless in the unlikely event you are Terrapins football fan. There are so many questions that are to be answered in the next four months:

• Is this the year the ACC doesn't crap the bed?
• Will Nick Saban smile?
• Can Lane Kiffin or Brian Kelly do anything remotely likeable?
• Can Logan Thomas not run 10 yards on a QB sneak?
• Is FSU back?
• Will the Big XII regret the wvu invite after their first visit to morganhole?
• Is this the year the Oregon plug n play offense falters?
• How will ESPN Gameday fair without Erin Andrews as eye candy?

To quote Neo from The Matrix, "... I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin ..."

Thursday, 8/30/2012

South Carolina -7 at Vanderbilt 7:00 PM ESPN

Death, Taxes and Sakerlina football starts the Thursday night before Labor Day. This is an interesting matchup because Vandy doesn't look to be the league's punching bag anymore. For those a bit younger than me, Sakerlina was just as God awful at pigskin as Vandy until a few years after SEC admission. Head coaches Lou Holtz and now Steve Spurrier changed the culture in Columbia. Can history repeat itself in Nashville? A tough task to ask in the SEC especially for a smaller private school, but with most of the power in the SEC West, it's not impossible. Vandy head coach James Franklin has energized the program and given the team some fire, now can he build on his limited success?

Pick: Vandy getting the points. I don't think the Gamecocks program is in the elite reload territory with LSU and Bama, they'll need time to gel. With all world running back just 10 months removed from an ACL tear and quite a few losses to the NFL, Sakerlina is going to have to feel themselves out a bit for a couple of games. Vandy will come out running the ball with a chip on their shoulder and be ahead late, only to lose.

Friday, 8/31/2012

NC State vs Tennessee -3 6:30 PM ESPNU

High five if you miss me yet.

Remember the excitement when this game was announced a couple of years back? ::crickets:: Yeah, neither did those in Atlanta, so in an attempt to generate interest, the Kickoff officials added another game to be played the same weekend. By adding another game, this one was regulated JV status with all the pomp and circumstance that DirectTv channel 208 (ESPNU) delivers. Jokes aside, this is a pretty solid matchup and one the ACC could win. The game features two very good quarterbacks in State's Mike Glennon and Tennessee's Tyler Bray, a very good State secondary and some delusional bro with bright orange pants and fantastic hair. This is a very important game for both. For State it's about giving the conference a good win and the giving the Wolfpack confidence for FSU and Clemson. For UT it's about keeping Tammy from calling in the Finebaum Show and asking what a NC State is? What I really hope for and not because I have an irrational Vols hatred is for UT to get spanked. I want to watch the 30k fans in overalls and puke orange get angry, burn the city down and chase head coach Derek Dooley back to La Tech.

Pick: State to cover and win outright. Tennessee is transitioning from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense, lost first team all SEC wr Da'Rick Rogers to weed last week and their head coach Derek Dooley said, "I think NC State could blend right in in our league and be able to whip anybody in our league." Either that's over the top coach speak or softening the landing when the Vols crash.

Boise State at Michigan St -7 8:00 PM ESPN

Everyone knows how good Boise head coach Chris Peterson is, he's a legit boss and everyone expects him to field another excellent team even amidst all the personnel losses. However Mark D'antonio is really damn good in his own right and is probably overlooked nationally. If Mark wasn't a big asshole, would anyone even know who he was? Needless to say this is a very nice week one matchup as the Broncos love playing big games in their season openers. For Boise State this will be the first time in 4 years QB Kellen Moore is not leading their oustanding attack. The new guy will be Joe Southwick, he's a better athlete who can scramble to make things happen. It's going to be fascinating to see what tweaks are made to the offense to fit his skill set. If the offense barely misses a beat, then this all but cements Pederson as the no. 2 coach in all the land in my humble opinion.

Pick: Michigan State to cover. Against historical, better judgment I am going against Boise State. It's not that I expect them to be bad, but I do think they have to find themselves. I know MSU just lost Kirk Cousins, one of the best to play for Sparty, but the difference is Michigan State's offense and team isn't built around the triggerman and their defense will still be quite nasty.

Saturday, 9/1/2012

Auburn vs Clemson -3 7:00 PM ESPN

Will the real CFA Kickoff Classic please stand up? Part two of the Big Peach money maker and couple of thoughts entered my head; will the Georgia Dome employees have enough time to have clean up after the Volunteer fans and haven't we seen this game a thousand times already? I thought this game was about exciting rarely seen matchups. I'll stop complaining, it could be worse like seeing one of the Gators OOC games. This game lost a little luster when all world wr Sammy Watkins got busted with weed and was suspended for two games. However, there should be enough skill players for Clemson to still rack up points, but only if their new offensive line figures out how to block SEC defensive lineman. Ruh-Roh. Lots of new schematic looks for this game, with Clemson now sporting a new defensive coordinator and Auburn also with both coordinators replaced. I don't think anyone knows what to expect from Auburn other than seeing Head Coach Gene Chizik's sweet ass white sideline jacket.

Pick: Auburn getting the points. Quite simply it comes down to the big uglies, Auburn's are bigger, uglier and better. All other arguments are irrelevant.

Alabama -13 vs Michigan 8:00 PM ABC

This is the marquee game of the weekend. Like Boise State, Alabama is a big fan of kickoff games vs top opponents. There isn't much that gives Nick Saban more pleasure (though he is unlikely to show it) than spending all summer figuring out a way to suffocate his opponent on primetime tv, then talk about it being a process or some bullshit after. The Crimson Tide as a program are expected to come out the gates as world beaters, never mind the youth and inexperience, it's whip ass time 247 in T-Town. Brady Hoke has no such luxuries at Michigan. While the Michigan cupboard wasn't left bare after Dick Rod was shown the door, it certainly doesn't have the next guy up depth that Alabama has. This game could go the way of last year's Cowboy Classic, but without as much showmanship, just a grind it out tap out.

Pick: Alabama and the points. I know this is a large number, very large, but does anyone think Saban and DC Kirby Smart haven't already figured out a way to exploit Blue's weak points? Then they'll systematically take everything Michigan likes to do away from them. The electric Denard Robinson last seen being made to look like a windup toy vs Bud Foster's Hokie defense, might think facing James Gayle and Co. was a holiday. Denard is going to get a lot more of the same, it'll just with bigger, faster and with worse intentions.

Monday, 9/3/2012

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech -7.5 8:00 PM ESPN

One might ask why would the ACC schedule the top 2 teams in the Coastal to play against each other to start the season? I imagine the conversation that led to this at the scheduling meeting went something like this.

John Swofford: (Looking at his reflection in the glass as he practices his golf swing): I hate being compared to the Big East, how can we differentiate ourselves from them?
Random employee with UNC degree: Well one way is to schedule differently, we are in NASCAR country, we could play our most important coastal division game to start the season, likely crushing one team's division chances and sending them crashing out of the top 25 poll.
John: Brilliant! What else can we set up for week one to view on the ACC Network since we own all the third tier rights to everyone?
Chad Swofford: I was thinking Murray State plays at FSU, but I decided Elon at UNC would make for a much better game. It will really showcase our improved media capability and really generate ratings.
John: Perfect, the large UNC football fan base will devour this game. I guess we could farm out the FSU game to someone right?
Chad: How the hell do I know, I haven't looked into it, I don't actually do any work either, I'm usually playing golf with you, remember?

Joe and French will discuss the game later this week, but as always this will be a knuckle dragging, hard fought affair. The winner will have earned it and will be the heavy favorite for Charlotte 13 weeks later.

Pick: GiT getting the points. I believe VT wins the game, but Paul Johnson tweaks to triple option scheme will ensure the Jackets score points. I expect this game to be close and certainly within a touchdown.

Beer of the Week

Stone Enjoy by 9.21.12 will be consumed on Monday and it will be an amazing IPA. Enjoy by 9.21.12 distribution is limited to 3 regions, San Diego, Chicago and New Jersey and meant to be drank in a 35 day window. We are talking about a fresh, fresh beer. Much, much thanks to TKP reader Chazz Michael Michaelzz (@CharlesAThomas) ... for taking the time to buy one and send it to me to be enjoyed during the GT tailgate. BCO was done a SOLID, that will need to be repaid.

Quick Recap

Remember, these picks are against the spread.

South Carolina -7 at Vanderbilt
NC State vs Tennessee -3
Boise State at Michigan State -7
Auburn vs Clemson -3
Alabama -13 vs Michigan
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech -7.5

Thanks for reading, I look forward to everyone's picks and comments. Good luck.