The Locksmith's Pick 6: Week 1
It took some coaxing from friends, but the Locksmith has reluctantly returned for another season.
For openers -- at least week 1 openers -- several heavy favorites look to be strong plays. That's always risk because of the uncertainty, more so now in the era of the transfer portal, but the top tier programs benefit just as much from the new faces as the rebuilding ones (see Colorado).
One can't miss game on Saturday's schedule: North Carolina travels to South Carolina, where we get to see two of the better quarterbacks in the sport: UNC's Drake Maye, the ACC Player of the Year after throwing for 4,321 yards and 38 TDs while rushing for a team-leading 698 yards, vs. Spencer Rattler, who is coming off a 3,026-yard passing season. Rattler finished strong in upsets of Tennessee and Clemson.
On to the picks for Saturday:
TCU over Colorado, giving 20 1/2
Raise your hand if you have Deion Sanders fatigue (both hands go up here). It's great that he turned over the Colorado roster completely, brought in his talented son Sheduer to play quarterback from Jackson State along with standout WR/CB Travis Hunter, but this team was 1-11 a year ago and was last nationally in points allowed per game. Didn't TCU make the playoffs last year too? Eager to see the Chandler Morris era to start in earnest for the Horned Frogs. He started the opener at QB last year after beating out Max Duggan before being sidelined by a knee injury.
WISCONSIN over Buffalo, giving 28
Luke Fickell gets a home game for his debut as Badgers head coach, and the transformation in Wisconsin's approach from run-heavy to pass happy will be interesting to watch. New OC Phil Longo is known for being a pass-first guy and he appears to have the right QB in SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai. Badgers still feature an all-Big Ten caliber RB in Braelon Allen, too. This looks to be a daunting task for Buffalo and QB Cole Snyder, who can be mistake prone and lacks a consistent running game to help.
Ohio State over INDIANA, giving 30
Pretty simple here. The Buckeyes are oozing talent. The Hoosiers aren't very good after a brief run at being competitive in the Big Ten. Indiana's choice at QB consists of two players with a combined 10 pass attempts in their careers. Looking at 52-10 in this one.
SOUTH CAROLINA over North Carolina, taking 2
From a QB standpoint, this is as good as it gets. But what happened to the Tar Heels after their 9-1 start that ended at 9-5? It's hard to forget how good Gamecocks QB Spencer Rattler was in upsets of Tennessee and Clemson (a combined 798 yards with 8 TD passes) and then how solid he was in the bowl game against Notre Dame. Top WR target Antwane Wells, Jr. returns as Rattler's go-to receiver.
PENN STATE over West Virginia, giving 20 1/2
Finally, we get to see what the fuss is about in Happy Valley over QB Drew Allar. Here's the thing: In this offense he doesn't have to be great because of the presence of RBs Nicholas Singleton (1,061 rushing yards, 12 TDs) and Kaytron Allen (867 yards, 10 TDs). Mountaineers, picked for last in the Big 12, have a coach on the hot seat (Neal Brown is 22-25 after four years) and a quarterback (Garrett Greene) with two career starts. That won't cut it here.
Texas Tech over WYOMING, giving 14
Sneaky-good Red Raiders (8-5 last year) return 16 starters, with 10 on offense, where QB Tyler Slough is healthy again. Slough showed his potential with 436 passing yards against Oklahoma and then by passing for 242 yards and rushing for 111 in Texas Tech's bowl game. Run-dominant Wyoming sees its best chance at an upset through ball control and clock control. But this is a big ask for the Cowboys, even at home.
Home team in CAPS
