This week marks the first full weekend of college football season!!
With that in mind, our roundtable focus will shift to what will happen on the gridiron this fall.
Q. What is your bold prediction for week 1?
Bart Doan
On Twitter: @TheCoachBart
It sure seems like every year, left with the same narrative of too much to replace, not enough talent, but they’ll get the most out of it either way … fits Kansas State once again. Issues with the passing game and offense overall. Good defense without a ton of flashy, high-star recruits.
Surely, they can’t go into Stanford and win, right?
Wrong. Wildcats over the Cardinal is your big upset this coming weekend. Why not? The big strength of this KSU team is the defense, specifically the Elijah Lee-led linebacking corps. It’s not a far fetched fantasy that they’ll be able to deal with Christian McCaffery such that he can be dealt with by anyone.
And you really don’t know where the Cardinal passing attack is. That’s one of the more intriguing unknowns going into the season. KSU just seems to play above their heads all the time, which means they’re not playing above their heads, that’s just who they are and we’re not doing a good job of noticing.
On a side note, remember the name Byron Pringle, wide receiver and JUCO star (of course!). That’s a name you may not know now, but KSU’s success will force you to remember.
Kevin Causey
On Twitter: @CFBZ
I’m going with the homer pick.
One of the best games of week one will be the Fighting Fedora’s of North Carolina against the debut of Kirby Smart’s version of the Georgia Bulldogs.
Points will be scored.
Gene Chizik’s UNC defense placed dead last in the ACC last season against the run. Georgia has a pretty good running back named Nick Chubb. Chubb is coming off of an injury but as the game gets closer and closer it seems like he is going to be playing with no restrictions.
My “bold” prediction is that coming off of a significant knee injury, Nick Chubb will lead Georgia to victory by rushing for over 200 yards against UNC on Saturday.
Terry Johnson
On Twitter: @SectionTPJ
I’ve already made a few bold predictions about week 1. In our Top 50 Previews, I’ve called for North Carolina to beat Georgia in the season opener. I’m also predicting that Northern Iowa will upset Iowa State, and Texas will beat Notre Dame.
Since that’s the case, I’ll go with BYU over Arizona.
Make no mistake about it: the Cougars are a much better team this year with a healthy Taysom Hill under center. He’s an absolute nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators to plan for because he can beat you in so many ways. He has turned in some monster games against Power 5 teams in the past, recording over 300 yards of total offense against the likes of Nebraska, Washington, Texas, Utah, and Georgia Tech. As long as he’s 100% the BYU offense will move the ball up and down the field.
Even if – and it’s a big if – the Cougar offense should struggle, the defense is good enough to carry the team to victory. BYU welcomes back eight starters from last season’s squad that ranked 23rd nationally in total defense, 13th in tackles for a loss, and fifth in sacks. Those numbers could actually improve under the leadership of head coach Kalani Sitake, who is one of the best defensive minds in college football.
Look for his tenure to get started off on the right foot.
