Interesting Lines for Week One

Since we have a little competition going with respect to top 25 games, I will try and limit my picks to non 25 teams for the upcoming season (with maybe 1-2 picks that I just HAVE to throw out there...). In fact, I won't even make them every week. Having said that, this first week presents quite a few interesting lines amongst the top 25 including Boise State (+7) at Georgia, Miami(OH) (+14.5) at Ohio State, and Georgia Tech (+7) at Auburn. My favorite one, however, is below...

1) Texas A&M (-1) at Clemson: I borrow from Simmons, "When in doubt, take one last look at the QBs". McNeal threw 4 INT's last year against 14 TD's, Whitehurst threw 17 INT's last year against 7 TD's. Plus, the coaching matchup is a bloodbath. Hhm. I know this is a road game, and I know Franchione has a history of dropping an early game, but it's hard to get excited about this Clemson squad... Texas A&M 28 Clemson 13.

2) Bowling Green (+4) at Wisconsion: Time for Omar Jacobs to prove whether he's for real. Wisconsion teams from the past have shown weaknesses even at Camp Randall to unranked foes (UNLV, Cincinatti), and this is by no means a strong Wisconsion squad. If you are looking for a MAC upset of a Big 10 squad, this is a good place to look (though i do recognize that it's a trendy pick). In fact, be brave and play the money line... Bowling Green 28 Wisconsion 24.

3) Baylor (-4) at SMU: Baylor actually looked decent at times last year including the stunning upset of Texas A&M. If Baylor played in a mid-major like SMU, they might actually win 6 games. SMU's defense took tiny steps of improvement last year, but the offense was lifeless. Look for Baylor to double up on their markedly weaker foe. Baylor 31 SMU 16.

Unfortunately, most of the games on which I want to comment involve top 25 teams. Other non-top 25 games that might be interesting to tease include Arizona (+7) at Utah and Central Florida (+18.5) at South Carolina. Mike Stoop's Arizona squad (a strong defense to begin with bolstered with top notch recruite) is likely to at least stay within double digits of a headless Utah squad (if not win outright) and I'll take Steve Spurrier at 2 TD's over a squad that finished 0-11 the previous year any day of the week.

To recap, take:
1) Texas A&M (-1) at Clemson
2) Bowling Green (EVEN) at Wisconsion [or Bowling Green +4 at Wisconsion if you want to be "safe"]
3) Baylor (-4) at SMU

AND
1) Any combination of the above three in teaser formats (generally best to use favorites on teasers, so take the extra points for Texas A&M and Baylor)
2) Arizona (+13) at Utah with Central Florida at South Carolina (-12.5)