Gentlemen (and ladies of course),,,,, we are unbelievably back. The dog days of summer have come and gone, and with their passing comes the anticipation of 60 degree weather, College Gameday, tailgating, and letting the outcome of a 60 minute game between 18-21 year olds completely affect your mood for the ensuing 48 hours. Personally, that last one doesn’t apply to me, as I am a levelheaded and grown man who knows that the performance of my team doesn’t directly affect me.
Before we get into Week 1 and all it’s glory, let me tell you exactly how this season is going to play out.
- Big 12
- The Pick: The Baylor Bears
- Runner Up: Utah Utes
- Acknowledging that the Big 12 is “wide ass open”, I like the Bears to get it done. Let me tell you why – they ended the season on a 6 game win streak, return key offensive starters in QB Sawyer Robertson and RB Bryson Washington, and were aggressive in the transfer portal in bringing in depth and talent on both sides of the ball. With a favorable home schedule and the aforementioned “wide ass open” nature of the BIG 12, gimme the Bears.
- Big Ten
- The Pick: Ohio State Buckeyes
- Runner Up: Penn State Titty Lions
- Not too difficult here. Sure, they lost a few guys to the NFL, including 6 key offensive players (QB1, WR2, RB1 & RB2, OT1 & OT2), but they are going to reload. Transfer QB and former 5 star Julian Sayin is turning heads and has been named the starter, while the backfield consists of West Virginia transfer RB CJ Donaldson and highly recruited James Peoples. Oh and yeah, they do have two of the best players in all of college football in WR Jeremiah Smith and DB Caleb Downs, who are already being talked about as Top 5 picks in the way future 2027 NFL draft. The Buckeyes have a Week 1 date with Texas coming to town, and should be a fun litmus test for the program heading into the season.
- ACC
- The Pick: Clemson Tigers
- Runner Up: Miami Hurricanes
- Here we are in 2025 and I am putting all of my proverbial eggs in the Dabo Sweeney basket. I don’t like this pick, I LOVE it. I am a Cade Klubnik truther, and I think this is the year we see him take the next step. This Clemson team is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball – with first round projected prospects DE TJ Parker and DT Peter Woods leading an experienced defense, and WR Antonio Williams being mocked as high as Top 10. I think the Tigers win the battle for the Valley of Death and the momentum carries them all the way to the CFP.
- SEC
- The Pick: Georgia Bulldogs
- Runner Up: LSU Tigers
- To be perfectly honest with you, this could be the Dawgs or the Longhorns, but with the recent domination of the Longhorns BY the Bulldogs, I’m giving them the edge. We will see what Arch Manning and Steve Sarkisian are made of in Week 1 as they head to Columbus, and I’m forecasting the 11/15/2025 meeting in Athens will be a preview of the SEC championship. The Dawgs will have a few difficult tests this season, with 5 preseason Top 25 opponents on the schedule, and the biggest question mark will be QB Gunner Stockton and how he operates this offense with lofty expectations. I trust the best head coach in all the land to steer this ship back to the SEC Championship, and I have them beating the Nuss Bus and his band of Tigers after they clinch the SEC championship game spot by beating Alabama in Week 11.
- Group of 5
- Sun Belt
- The Pick: James Madison Duke Dogs
- Runner Up: Georgia Southern Eagles
- I kinda sorta love the Dukes this year man. They had two heartbreaking 2 point losses last year and I just know they are looking to rectify those mistakes. Outside of Louisville (stinky), they have a pretty straightforward schedule, including multiple key home Sun Belt matchups against Georgia Southern, App St. and Louisiana. They are returning the 3rd most production, including stud dual threat QB Alonzo Barnett III. The Fun Belt will be awesome to keep an eye on this year, but I think the Dukes run the table and boast a 1 loss record that propels them into that 12th seed.
- American
- The Pick: South Florida Bulls
- MAC
- The Pick: Miami (OH)
- Mountain West
- The Pick: UNLV
- Sun Belt
- Cade Klubnik – QB Clemson (9-1 Odds)
- No secret he is my favorite here. Obviously this goes without saying but I am very high on this Tiger team, and I think Klubnik has an opportunity this season to cement himself as the Top QB in the nation.
- Jeremiah Smith – WR Ohio State (12-1 Odds)
- Plain and simple here with this pick. He’s arguably the best offensive player in the country at 18 years old. His chances are pretty heavily dependent on his volume and relationship with new QB Julian Sayin, but they’ve been playing together since high school 7 on 7 so I think he’s due for another big year.
Sleeper Picks
- Jeremiah Love – RB Notre Dame (30-1 Odds)
- The last RB to win the Heisman was Mr. Derrick Henry in 2015. J Love will be the focal point of an experienced Irish offense, and could put up some big numbers.
- Julian Sayin – QB Ohio State (20-1 Odds)
- This is the other side of the Jeremiah Smith coin, assuming he puts up crazy numbers, I think Sayin has the potential to thrive in this offense as well.
- Jayden Maiava – QB USC (65-1 Odds)
- Sneaky one here but he is a Lincoln Riley QB with a lot of talent. With a favorable schedule and plenty of opportunity in that system, I think he’s worth a look.
Now, to the meat and potatoes. We have one hell of an opening weekend, so let’s get straight to it.
Friday 8/29
Auburn @ Baylor (AUB -2.5 T: 57.5) 8pm on FOX
If you can read, then you know I picked Baylor to win the Big 12, and that starts with a statement win over an SEC program. Does this have anything to do with my disdain towards Auburn HC Hugh Freeze? More than likely, yes, but I also believe in this Baylor team and HC Dave Aranda. Auburn has recruited well, and even went out and grabbed some great talent in this seasons transfer portal, with the addition of #1 WR Eric Singleton and #3 QB Jackson Arnold. Arnold is a former 5 star with a lot of potential, he just is yet to show any development of all that aforementioned potential. If Arnold is stinking it up, I wouldn’t be surprised to see highly touted true freshman QB Deuce Knight step in for the Tigers. Maybe he’s the spark this team has been looking for? Who knows, gimme the Bears to win outright.
Saturday 8/30
#1 Texas @ #3 Ohio State (OSU -1.5 T:47.5) Noon on FOX
Our first taste of a ranked matchup this season is an absolute beauty, even if it’s being broadcasted on Enormous Noon FOX kickoff. You could show this at 4am on PBS with Beth Mowins and the carcass of Lee Corso on the call and I’d be sitting on my couch with a beer in my hand like I was kid on Christmas. There is a lot to say about this game, and I promised my 3 year old son Chris I’d play catch with him tonight, but it’s football season bud, let’s be as detailed as possible, eh? His step dad is unemployed so I’ll make the call and get him up and moving around in the bullpen. Anyway, back to the matter at hand.
Is Arch Manning the next coming of Jesus Christ? Is Jeremiah Smith a better version of Julio Jones? These were just a few of the many dumbass questions being spewed all over social media in the last 6-8 months, and at last we will have all of our questions answered. Both Texas and Ohio State lost 10+ players to the NFL draft, but have been recruiting at the highest level in the country, so the math says they have the talent to step up and reload, right? Yeahhhh, pretty much. Among some of those returning, are OSU DB Caleb Downs (projected top 10 pick in 2027 NFL Draft), Texas LB Anthony Hill and Edge Colin Simmons (5 stars who have already made huge impacts), and of course OSU WR Jeremiah Smith and our sweet prince Texas QB Arch Manning (both of whom are in the Top 5 favorites for the Heisman Trophy). With all that talent on the field, we should be in for a hell of a game. Vegas has decided to give Ohio State the slight edge, and I’m chalking it up to the home field advantage bump. With the known unknowns at QB for both teams, I’m not super sure which way to go here, so I’m cheering for points. The 47.5 total feels low, but these defenses will likely both finish in the top 10, so maybe I’m misguided with the pick but I don’t care. Give me glory and give me death, but most importantly GIVE ME THE OVER (and a great game please).
Syracuse @ #24 Tennessee (TENN -13.5 T: 50.5) Noon on ESPN
Look away SEC fans, because I’m picking against Tennessee here. One of the larger off-season story lines in the CFB world was the departure of former 5 star Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava. As his name suggests, he isaleavin. After NIL contract negotiations between Tennessee and Nico’s camp went sour, he decided to head out west to join the UCLA Bruins. The Vols wasted no time finding his replacement by bringing in former UCLA and App State QB Joey Aguilar (lil QB swap never hurt anybody right?). How will this new offense under HC Josh Heupel look with Aguilar at the helm? No clue, to be perfectly honest with me, I’m essentially a weather man just feeding you guess conjecture.
On the other side, Syracuse also suffered the loss of starting QB Kyle McCord to the NFL draft, and brought in Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli as his successor. We’ve seen flashes of Angeli and his potential whilst at ND, playing in 21 games for the Irish in his 2 years there. I’m interested to see how his play style and arm talent will fit into the Orange’s face paced gun n run offense. With all of these question marks, I’m leaning on the 1 thing I do know – Fran Brown is a winner. The second year head coach was active in the portal, and has already had success in taking down ranked opponents. I think a 2 touchdown spread is a bit much, so I like Cuse to cover the 13.5.
#8 Alabama @ Florida State (BAMA -13.5 T: 50.5) 3:30pm on ESPN/ABC
Well, after the Seminoles nightmare season last year, things can only get better, right? Head coach Mike Norvell sure hopes so or else he’ll be bagging groceries by Christmas. If you read or consumed any Alabama media recently, you know 2 things: 1) they don’t have many question marks this year, but the one they do have (new QB), is a big one. 2) If 2nd year Coach Kalen DeBoer doesn’t take this team to the CFP, he will be right there next to Novell bagging groceries.
When I looked at these returning rosters, I was pretty surprised by the talent that FSU has across the board. Norvell really went out and found a few tens of millions of dollars and waved it around at portal players like Dodge Chargers keys to a UGA player. He was able to bring in 24 total transfer, including Boston College dual threat QB Thomas Castellanos, USC WR Duce Robinson, and Tennessee speedster WR Squirrel White. The offense should be fun to watch compared to the DJ Oogeybadoogie stink show we were all victim to last year. For the Tide, they have talent everywhere. The former 5 star QB Ty Simpson steps into the starting role, and I have no clue to what to expect from him. My sources (Twitter) tell me he’s got a big arm and is “sneaky athletic”, aka he is white. He’s surrounded by talent at the WR position, an experienced OL, and maybe the best front 7 in CFB on the other side of the ball. Bama will go as he goes, so for that reason I’m gonna take the tide to cover the 13.5. I want to pick FSU, but after that stinker of a season last year, I’m gonna need to see it first.
#9 LSU @ #4 Clemson (CLEM -3.5 T: 57.5) 7:30pm on ESPN/ABC
My favorite game of the week is this beautiful battle for Death Valley. Two guys who will both be in New York for the Heisman ceremony come December, with two of the best WR cores in all of CFB, and two prime time head coaches, one of which by the way, has literally killed a guy before, so a lot happening here.
No need to bury the lead, I’m all over Clemson this season, and in this game. WR Antonio Williams is projected to be a first round pick and the 1st WR off the board next year, sophomores TJ Moore and Bryant Wesco are poised to have huge seasons, and Klubnik is in year 2 with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. I just love the matchup considered LSUs poor history in Week 1 games (Brian Kelly is 0-5 in the last 5 years), and their inability to stop the run all of last season. Now, it’s only fair to acknowledge all the talent that LSU has. QB Garrett Nussmeier is a Heisman favorite for a reason, and this WR core is full of talent. It’s no secret LSU pumps out 1st round receivers like a rabbit in heat, but this offseason they went and grabbed thunder and lightning. Thunder – aka former Oklahoma WR Nic Anderson – is a 6’4 veteran possession WR, and Barrion Brown – former Kentucky WR – one of the fastest players in the country, is lightning. It’ll be fun to watch Nussmeier sling it around the field to all these playmakers, as he plays his signature style of football that I like to so eloquently call “Fuck it and Chuck it”. I foresee a very fun, potentially high scoring game that comes down to a few defensive plays by the Clemson Tigers defense sealing the win. Gimme the home field Tigers and Dabo to defend the land and win this cat fight.
Sunday 8/31
Virginia Tech @ #13 South Carolina (USC -7.5 T: 52.5) 3:30pm on ESPN/ABC
I’m gonna keep these next few short and sweet for you guys, I know you guys can only read so much in one sitting before your legs fall asleep while you’re on the toilet.
Nothing too crazy going on here, just an ACC opponent traveling to hostile SEC territory (Atlanta, Ga) to take on a young and upcoming QB and his merry band of Cocks. USC QB LaNorris Sellers is going to be one of the most exciting players to watch this season, due to his dual threat ability and knack for making crazy plays. Expect a healthy dose of Beamer ball to be played, whether that’s funky special teams plays, or just overall wild turnovers. For the Hokies, they return an experienced roster with a very fun QB, Kyron Drones. Drones and Sellers are very similar in play style and play making ability, but I think the SEC speed will be too much for the Hokies to keep up with. Gimme the Cocks to win and cover the -7.5.
#6 Notre Dame @ #10 Miami (ND – 2.5 T: 49.5) 7:30pm on ESPN/ABC
To all my Notre Dame and Miami fans, I already promised all the Deucers I’d keep this nice and short, so here we go.
Notre Dame wins this game. The Irish return plenty of talent, have the best RB in the country, have a young and talented WR core, and a Top 10 (maybe Top 5) defense in the country. Most importantly, Carson Beck is not Cam Ward. I think the offense he is in is better suited for his play style and occasional affinity for throwing interceptions, and I think he will eventually thrive in it doing just that. The Irish Catholics march down to the land of sin and lock the convicts up for 60 minutes. Irish win and cover.
Other Notable Games I don’t feel like previewing but you should really tune in and watch because I think they will be sneaky good:
– Friday Night: Georgia Tech (-4.5) @ Colorado at 8pm on ESPN
– Saturday Night: Utah (-5.5) @ UCLA at 11pm on FOX
– Monday Night: TCU (-3.5) @ UNC at 8pm on ESPN
Not much else to add here fellas (and ladies, of course). Let’s enjoy the long weekend and cherish this unbelievably good slate of games we have upon us.
I’ll leave you with a few parting memes, including a beautiful list of some of the best names in College Football (Yes, they are all real).
Love you guys,
TWD
