Georgia vs. Clemson, Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M, 8/31/24 | College Football Today Hour 1

Champions do. It. Let's go. It's the first full Saturday of the 2024 college football season. Live right here on college football today on sports Grid. He is the mastermind of the college football pigskin that is Joe Lisi. He is okay dubs. That is Kevin Walsh. And I am Ben Stevens. We have 67 FBS college football games on this first full Saturday of the 2024 campaign. Let me repeat that one more time for the folks out there. Lisa Guys, 67 FBS college football games on this single Saturday. It is the second most on a single Saturday. We will have the entirety of the regular season, so there is a lot to get to here. Over our three hours up until noon eastern time, the marquee matchups, the two ranked versus ranked games that we have on this Saturday, continuing this five day consecutive run of college football to kick off week number one in the 2024 season. And we have top 25 battles, Ben, that will really dictate conference championships and more importantly, college football Playoff odds. We see Georgia and Clemson. Kevin squaring off at noon. We also have Notre Dame and A&M later tonight. And oh by the way that battle in the swamp with Napier and Mario Big chess crystal ball. Two coaches on the hot seat. Can't wait to see how this plays out. A lot of great games and there's a lot on the line in College Station, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, the easy Notre Dame schedule there, a field goal underdog to a ranked SEC team. I don't know what people are talking about, man, but that's never been an issue for old K dubs. It's always been Notre Dame. Plus the points. Might that be the case for Marcus Freeman starting year number three in the debut of the Mike Elko era in College Station tonight. But we start with big news entering one of the biggest games of this first full Saturday, a top 15 tilt in Atlanta. It's the top ranked team in the country entering 2024. Georgia taking on 14th ranked Clemson and Lisa Guy in the last half an hour. It was expected. And now confirmed. Trevor Etienne, the transfer running back from Florida now with UGA, has been suspended for this opening game of the season for Georgia. What does that do for Kirby Smart's dogs offensively? Well, I think it's you know, a system as usual because they are a very balanced offense. Last year they averaged 40 points per game. They ran it for 191 per game. And they threw it with their quarterback, Carson Beck, a Heisman Trophy frontrunner, for 305 passing yards per game. Physical offensive line. It's going to be running back by committee, Kev, but I don't think it changes the offensive philosophy in any way. They're going to look to pound the rock on that front seven and then utilize Carson Beck over the top later tonight. It's not great when you have to start a Georgia breakdown by googling who is suspended, but that's kind of the state of the Bulldogs right now. But they have plenty. I mean, if this team was going to lose at one position, you would probably want it to be running back. I know there's a couple of other spots, but let's remember this is a Georgia Bulldogs team that is not supposed to just sit back and run the ball and rely on the defense and win games 21 to 7. Is this supposed to be one of the best offenses in college football? There are going to be people out there who argue this is the best offense in college football. And when the best offenses n college football take the field, that means they're live to score 49 plus in any given game. The total in this football game is 48.5. With respect to Clemson, this total is way too low in my opinion here because Georgia, if they're rocking and rolling, can clear it on their own. Two years ago against Oregon in this building they did just that with 49 points. Last year they had multiple 50 point performances against ranked competition because nobody gets up for a big opponent like the Georgia Bulldogs, no Stanford, UT Martin to open it up this year. It is a neutral site game in Atlant, and there will be a lot of orange for those Tigers from Clemson, South Carolina. But in the ATL in Atlanta, there's going to be a lot of red today for Georgia. You mentioned the total 48.5. These two teams started the 2021 college football season against one another. And we drive every conversation through the odds perspective. So let's do a little bit of math here. Based on the numbers Kev, to start that 2021 season in Charlotte. Neutral site game between the Tigers and the Bulldogs. It was a top five tilt. And to really show you the trajectory of these two programs in the last three college football seasons to begin 2021, Clemson was a three point favorite to start 2024. Georgia, now listed as a 12.5 point favorite Kev. That is nearly three scores of movement between these two sides in just over three years. In the past three years, UGA has won two national championships in the past three years. Clemson after entering 2021 on a six year streak of reaching the College Football Playoff and winning an ACC crown, has not been back to the CFP. The thing is, since that game against Georgia, how many reps does Clemson have against the very best teams in college football? They haven't been able to make the CFP, and the ACC has not been loaded with top, top teams. The one you could mention is last year's Florida State team, and Clemson certainly hung in that game. Some would argue they deserved to win it. It went to overtime and they lost that game. But again, they lost that football gam. We've not seen Clemson flash that they are of that level. And look the Georgia level is completely different. I mean we're not sure if Clemson is on the call. It Alabama Ole Miss level of college football teams. And I know people will hear that and it will sound jarring. But it's not what we've seen from the Tigers. I know last year they rounded into form down the back stretch guys, but I didn't see enough from Cade Klubnik in those wins to give me confidence that Clemson is going to take advantage of what could be. Early results are in a weak ACC this year. Yeah. Great point. I think when you look at Cade Klubnik last year completed 62% of his passes, 19 touchdowns, nine interceptions to Kevin's point. They won five games by an average margin down the stretch of 10.6 points per game. But Klubnik was inconsistent, especially against Florida State. They had an opportunity to win that game in Death Valley holds the ball, too long. You get the scoop and score that tied it up and ultimately lost the ballgame in Death Valley, and that really started the season to be reeling after they lost week number one to Duke. They lost the first four games in regards to four conference games for the first time since prior to 2014. They need to step up and they need to put pressure on Georgia's defense. Georgia, as great as they are offensively, still had the number one ranked third down defense in all of college football, holding opposing offenses guys to 25% of third down opportunities. Clemson needs to sustain drives. We'll see if they could do it tonight for the Tigers. Last year, four conference losses in the ACC almost unheard of in Clemson, South Carolina, the most since Dabo. Second full year at the helm of this Tigers football program. That was way back in 2010. In the six straight years they won the ACC, got to the College Football Playoff and had two national titles to boot in 2016 and 2018. They were one of the ten best offenses in the country. One of the three best offenses in the ACC last year, less than 30 points per game. Offensively, it was year one with Cade Klubnik as the full time starter and year one with Garrett Riley, Lincoln's younger brother, as the offensive coordinator. If you are a Clemson backer, you are hoping for year over year growth. Kev. Now let's go to Georgia. They enter the year as the number one ranked team in the preseason. AP top 25 for a second straight season. They enter the year as well as the national title favorites, to make it three chips in the last four years, but they are trying o buck a very long standing trend in college football. 18 of the last 20 preseason number one teams have failed to win a national championship. Is this Georgia team capable of bucking that trend? They certainly are. Again, if this offense is as good as everyone says, what are we going to start picking on a Georgia defense? I think there are questions around that group. It is relative, though. It is still projecting to be one of the 5 or 6 best defenses in the entire country. But I do think that's what makes this game so interesting, because if you're going to catch that Bulldogs defense, it's probably early, a little more turnover in that secondary. Potentially some freshmen could play big minutes today. There's hype around the Clemson wide receiver room. Another reason I'm pushing towards the over in this game I am as well. And Carson Beck we talk about completion percentage 72% 24 touchdowns six interceptions. And Georgia did have the number one ranked third down offense in the country, 55%. So going to be a long day. But hopefully the weeks of preparation will pay off. Still a top ten defense last year for UGA, but the fifth best scoring offense in the country in 2023. More than 40 points per game, averaging nearly 500 yards per game as well. That's the CFT game of the week. But it's not the only ranked versus ranked matchup. We have plenty more to come up next. Mike Tomlin could have very easily put this to rest and say that Russell Wilson is the starting quarterback. Mike Tomlin is going to look at hey Russell Wilson led that clean drive. I think that separates him enough to give him the starting job. But I think you're right tht the leash is going to be pretty short. And if Russell Wilson doesn't look good, Steelers fans pretty quickly are going to be calling for Justin Fields because of his scrambling ability. Newswire only on sports grid. The leftover language would be the million shy of what Jefferson makes Jefferson a better player. If you want to believe that, I'm not sure I buy that he's that much better than CeeDee lamb. Tony Pollard's gone. He's now with the Titans. I was with the Titans a couplf weeks ago. He'll be their starting running back. They're they're going in a different direction in Dallas, but it's all about CeeDee lamb right now. The first of the other deals that they have to get done. Farrell coast to coast only on sports grid. If the US gets off to a bad start and they're down or close, I may double down on the second quarter because I know that that's when Steve Kerr is going to want to either a if it's close, like you know, open it up. If they're losing, you got to get the lead because you don't want teams like South Sudan to believe that they can win betting above the rim only on sports grid. Let's go. Welcome to the Liv Golf team championship. The golf has been mesmerizing. They are the Liv golf team champions. Team golf is back. Oh, yes. Are you ready? Let's go. That's what champions do. 67 FBS college football games on this first full Saturday of the 2024 college football season, but some stand out as marquee matchups in front of the crowd. That is the case in The swamp. This afternoon. A Sunshine State showdown between 19th ranked Miami and Florida. The Gators at home hosting the hurricanes as a home underdog. Kev, you see the line right there. It is less than a field goal, but in favor of Miami on the road. Just a two and a half point spread 54 in a hook. Is that over under this game I think along with some thae have seen already like in Boulder between Colorado and North Dakota State, will bring swift reactions and narratives that follow because it is year number three and it is put up or shut up. Time for both of these programs. Head coach Mario Cristobal at Miami, Billy Napier at Florida. Less than a field goal spread a rivalry in Florida on the road in the swamp. What do you make of this matchup to start? Well, let's talk about what some of those overreactions could be specifically as it relates to if Florida wins this game, it's very possible that before we hit 7 p.m, the ACC is viewed as a one bid league in the college football Playoff. What Florida State did in Dublin is indefensible. If you want to talk about a real national title contender, we'll get into Florida State, a lot more tomorrow. We're going to be here tomorrow. We'll get all into that when we have time. Again, if Clemson shocks the world, amazing. I think it's more likely they get smashed by Georgia because that's what we're accustomed to. And that's going to listen. Losing to Georgia is fine, but it's going to sting if they get rolled in that game. And if Miami loses to a Florida team who's bar for a lot of people this year is make a bowl game, please, Billy. Then when it comes time to debate how many ACC teams belong in, we might look back to week zero, slash week one and be like, yeah, well, none of the best teams in the ACC could realy hang with the best teams outside of the ACC. This game for Miami is not just important for them, it's important for the conference. It's important as well for perception. And to Kevin's point as well, nine and a half win total. Everybody's expecting Miami to be that team to be the 10 or 11 win football team this year. They get the benefit of Cam Ward that transfers in from Washington State, along with Damien Martinez. And just think about Mario Cristobal last year he had that team undefeated coaching bluff cost him against Georgia Tech. They come right back out the following week lose 4131 to North Carolina. They lose on the road to NC state. They lost four road games last year by an average margin of defeat of 9.6 points per game. Ben. And on the flip side, Napier is 11 and 14 overall in Gainesville, so something has to give if Miami loses this matchup, you're going to hear all of the boosters, the fan base calling for Mario Cristobal and this opens up. Then the ACC odds back for Florida State that last week zero. Of course this is a rivalry showdown in the Sunshine State. It is the 57th all te meeting between the hurricanes and the Gators. They have not played a ton since 2008. This will be matchup number four just three previous times in the last 15 plus college football season. Florida was the ranked team in all three and Florida won two of three. Of course, Joe, in the early 2000, this was a matchup we would see often from oh one to oh four. We saw it in critical bowl games to end out the year. Both teams were ranked in all four of those games. Miami victorious in all four. Now let's get to the game itself. Two and a half point spread 54.5 is the total Kev. If there is a critique of this Billy Napier, Florida team in his first two years in the swamp. Undisciplined. Bad. Defensively, Miami returns its entire starting offensive line in two key additions offensively. First, the quarterback from Washington State, Cam Ward, and then the running back alongside him, Oregon State transfer Damien Martinez. What do you think Miami does offensively to try to exploit UF once again? I think they're going to pound the rock here for anybody that missed, you know, our big preview show last week I'm a big believer in this Miami team. Beat them to win the ACC. Bet them to win a national championship. And cam Ward is a big part of this team's ceiling. But I think cam Ward is going to be ideally more of a luxury for Miami. And maybe a break glass in case of emergency type of weapon. When you look at this offensive line again, the ten best offensive line in the country are basically SEC, Big Ten, Miami and Oklahoma State. It's no surprise I'm all in on those other two programs, because when you can pack that type of punch at that level, it's going to make the difference. So they won't be mismatched. You're going up against SEC level competition. They will be able to win the battle in the trenches, and they'll be able to do that with Damien Martinez taking advantage. Who was a monster at Oregon State and Will be begging for a big workload. Miami last year didn't have a reliable back. If you take the performances from Chaney and Parrish, who both played 11 games and average them out, you're talking about 18.5 carries for about 103, 104 yards per game. Damien Martinez will take all of that and then some 70 plus rushing yards is on my betting card, and I think he's going to carry Miami in this game. Rushing attack is critical. The last two years in terms of losses, Miami two years ago when they lost, they only averaged 83 rushing yards per game. Last year. In their six losses, it was 132 yards per game. So they need a better effort tonight. Florida giving up 155 rushing yards to opposing offenses I'll take the other side. I think the most experienced quarterback because he's played in the scheme is Graham Mertz. Last year got hurt towards the end of the regular season, but he completed 72% of his passes, 20 touchdowns, three interceptions. He was very efficient. And when you look at Billy Napier in the Florida Gators past couple of years, they are nine and four under Napier at home. That matters. They're two and a half point dogs. It'll be close heading into the fourth quarter guys. But I like the Gators to pull this one out in year number one of Napier's tenure at Florida. That was back in 2022. The Gators were five and one against the number as an underdog last year. Not as great two and five ATS Lisa you know very well that when he was the head coach at Louisiana from 2018 to 2021, the Ragin Cajuns could cover some numbers 12 and five against the spread as an underdog. Let's show Florida's team board for this year, just so we can put this all into context, you are going to see a Florida Gators team with a win total of four and a half. Is it because Florida is expected to stink? Not necessarily. It's because the Gators have the most difficult schedule in all of college football. Eight preseason ranked opponents on the docket. It starts this afternoon, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time at The Swamp. As they host 19th ranked Miami. If there is a silver lining in that difficult schedule, I guess five of the eight ranked teams come at home. That's about it for Florida late night College Station. Up next. Rockwell and tries to cut through the middle. Oh, your gut says Miami is going to win and you should take the over. You could also said your NFT selfies would only go up in value. They didn't. But your head is on sports Grid and knows the QB is in concussion protocol. The backup has a 45 QBR against the zone coverage. The New York team has the most sacks in the league. So yeah, trust your head. It's smarter to be on sports gri. There is going to be an energy to game time decisions that you will feel night in and night out. We're going to go through every single thing and I've got a great team behind me that's going to help me get the job done. I want this to be the place that people come to. We are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about. There is not going to be a better place, I promise you, than game time decisions. We will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage. I'm Kevin Walsh. Tune in to game time decisions from 6 to 8 p.m. eastern on Sports Grid. Carlos Alcaraz has won the last two Grand Slam titles at the French Open on the clay and at Wimbledon earlier this summer. He enters as the favorite. You have a bunch of depth there. Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton They will likely play in rod three. The winner would play Djokovic most likely, which would be an incredible match. I like Ben Shelton as a sleeper. If Djokovic is hurt, you never know. I think Shelton should be the guy that gets hot. The conditions favor him. The early line only on sports grid. The sharpest football contest show in the land. The Las Vegas football contest show focuses on circus sports. Millions, circus survivor and the Westgate Supercontest handicapping the games and releasing our contest picks every week of the season with two former Super contest winners, Brady Cannon and James Salinas, a former NFL player Mike Pritchard, and over $1 million in contest prize money won. Combined, the Las Vegas football contest show will have you prepared this season like none other. This year, things are slightly different. Not only in college football, but on college football. Today, not just one game of the week, multiple games of the week. And when you have 67 on the first full Saturday of this 2024 college football campaign, how could you argue with that notion? The second ranked versus ranked matchup that we have on this Saturday, we head to Kyle Field, 110,000 of the faithful of the Aggies will be trying to bring all the 12th man energy they can in the debut of the Mike Elko era for 20th ranked Texas A&M, as they welcome in seventh ranked Notre Dame. Lisa, this game kind of represents where college football is in this era. It is the first game for Mike Elko as the head coach of Texas A&M, and in his first game at A&M, he will match up against his quarterback the past two years at Duke. Who's the new quarterback for Notre Dame? His name is Riley Leonard. He plays under Marcus Freeman again. It's a picture of what we have come to know in college football. Absolutely. And there's a lot of optimism again in Texas A&M with an eight and a half win total. They thought that Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies would win a national championship over the past couple of seasons. They didn't even win an SEC championship, let alone get to the College Football Playoff. But here they are. What's amazing when you look at this breakdown is that in the off season, Notre Dame was the favorite. It opened one and a half, two, and all of a sudden we've seen now Texas A&M fly in terms of money and sharp action Texas A&M in multiple books two and a half maybe three point favorites in this matchup. But again it comes down to Marcus Freeman and his ability to coach on the road. He's ten and four straight up over the past couple of seasons. I think the mobility and experience of Riley Leonard will shine through. And I really like Notre Dame in this matchup. It is a two and a half point spread in favor of A&M, a top 20 team at home even in the first game under a new head coach. That could make some sense, but Notre Dame is the seventh ranked team in the country, and they're getting points in their season opener. You taught me very early on when we started working together here at the Spears. Grizz, the number one motto in life is Notre Dame. Plus the points is that the thought entering 2024, here's the reality. The most unbiased man in the history of sports media, when we did, our predictions, left Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff. I've talked about the schedule being labeled so easy, and yet this spot here, clear as day shows, that's not the case. But Notre Dame plus the points comes from a place of understanding when it's disrespectful. Okay, maybe Notre Dame shouldn't be laying three in College Station. All right. You want to make it pick. That's fair. Bygones can be bygones. You said two and a half. Not where I'm looking. I'm seeing a full field goal, which means it is a clear and obvious Notre Dame. Plus the point spot. I have no choice. What? They're forcing my hand. Mike Elko. Mike Elko. Mike Elko. He's clearly better than Marcus Freeman. Marcus Freeman debuted in Columbus, held C.J. Stroud to seven first half points and 21 in the game cover, cover, cover. Last year, nearly took out Ohio State again. I've seen Marcus Freeman step up to the moment. Then you talk about Connor Wegman and what he can be, what he could be. I guess maybe he has one good game under his belt two years ago against Ole Miss, and he was bad last year against Miami. Riley Leonard is a big game player who's great on the ground in those big games, but this is the main selling point. I keep hearing about the Texas A&M defense. I'm not saying it's bad. I got you. You check that Notre Dame roster. Benjamin. Maurice. We'll see you on Sundays. Howard Cross, we'll see you on Sundays. Notre Dame is going to pack a punch on the defensive side of the ball. And all of the A and M things are fair. How did we get to a field goal. What happened here is what happened is they started disrespecting the Irish and you know it well. You know it because I talked to you over the summer and you said, be careful. I said, be careful. You are Notre Dame. Plus the points the kid, I'm with you. In regards to Connor Wegman, I know that people have said that if the draft was tomorrow, Connor Wegman would be a first round selection. I just don't see it. I'm terrible. I don't know, I would sell that pick immediately, but. But Connor Wegman again, you know, against better SEC opponents. He struggled last year against Auburn, certainly as a freshman and with a new scheme, new defensive scheme. I think people are just expecting what we saw last year from Duke. And that's why I'm going to take the more experienced team with Notre Dame. Listen, neither of these quarterbacks in their respective spots, of course, Leonard at Duke the past two years was really healthy. Last year, five fully healthy games. We'll look at his props a little bit later on. Connor Weigman played in four games last year, injured in that fourth and final game of his season, only three fully healthy games. He did average better than 326 passing yards per game in 2023, and did throw for a ton against Miami, two touchdowns, but also two interceptions, and added a rushing score. Mike Elko at Duke, 16 and nine as a head coach, Mike Elko also spent four years as the defensive coordinator in college Station, the final 1 in 2021 for A&M. They were the third best scoring defense in the country. It's why tonight's total is 47.5. The first full Saturday of the year rolls on on CFT. Rockwell and tries to cut through the middle. Oh, your gut says Miami is going to win and you should take the over. You could also set your NFT. Selfies would only go up in value. They didn't put your head is on sports grid and knows the QB is in concussion protocol. The backup has a 45 QBR against the zone coverage. The new York team has the most sacks in the league. So yeah, trust your head. It's smarter to be on sports gri. There is going to be an energy to game time decisions that you will feel night in and night out. We're going to go through every single thing and I've got a great team behind me that's going to help me get the job done. I want this to be the place that people come to. We are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about. There is not going to be a better place, I promise you, than game time decisions. We will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage. I'm Kevin Walsh, tune in to game time decisions from 6 to 8 p.m. eastern on Sports Grid. Carlos Alcaraz has won the last two Grand Slam titles at the French Open on the clay and at Wimbledon earlier this summer. He enters as the favorite. You have a bunch of depth there. Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton they will likely play in round three. The winner would play Djokovic most likely, which would be an incredible match. I like Ben Shelton as a sleeper. If Djokovic is hurt, you never know. I think Shelton should be the guy that gets hot. The conditions favor him. The early line only on sports grid. The sharpest football contest show in the land. The Las Vegas football contest show focuses on circus sports. Millions, circus survivor and the West Gate Super contest handicapping the games and releasing our contest picks every week of the season with two former Super contest winners, Grady Cannon and James Salinas, a former NFL player Mike Pritchard, and over $1 million in contest prize money won. Combined, the Las Vegas football contest show will have you prepared this season like none other. Welcome back to college Football today live right here on this first full Saturday of the 2024 college football season on sports Grid, Joe Lisi, Kevin Walsh and Ben Stevens. Let's go around the Big Ten and a couple of great nonconference matchups to start off this season. Back in the day. Penn State wasn't a Big Ten team. They were actually in the same conference as West Virginia and they played a ton 46 consecutive meetings. Lisa Guy from 1947 until 1992 and haven't played a ton in the last three decades, but did start off last season against one another. Penn State won by 2338 15, scored a touchdown with five ticks remaining. Some say that James Franklin knew the number. Some in Morgantown were not too pleased with that late touchdown, so the rivalry renews today in Morgantown between West Virginia and Penn State. The Nittany Lions, a seven and a half point favorite against the mountaineers, the total easy guy at 49 and a hook. There is optimism for both of these clubs entering this season. A golden opportunity for Penn State now with the easiest schedule in the Big Ten to finally get to the College Football Playoff under James Franklin and Neil Brown led WVU to nine wins, a season ago. How do these two teams match up to start off this season? Well, it's going to be a rivalry game, as you know, and James Franklin did stick it to them as a 20.5 point favorite. I was on West Virginia last year. He scored with five seconds left. They get the win in the cover, but it's going to come down Ben to Drew Allen and Garrett Green both quarterbacks in terms of this matchup. You look at Drew Allen last year three losses. We talked about it all off season to Ohio State Michigan and Ole Miss. He completed less than 50% of his passes. Garrett Green is a mobile quarterback new defensive coordinator. And Tom Allen taking over for Manny Diaz. They're going to have to contain Garrett Green on the ground. Best game for Drew Allen was two. It was the loss to Ole Miss. He threw for over 300. But it was week one against West Virginia 323 and three touchdowns. I think this game goes to the fourth quarter. I could see a 2420 Penn State. They tack on a late touchdown. They get the win the cover and the over comes in. I like Penn State here I think they can smash this team. There's not. Listen we all know I like to do my spread math right a little difficult when it's week one because our comparison points are it is simple except right here because we have a year over year bit of spread math that we can do. And essentially if you look at last year's line, move everything around with home field advantage, it says that these teams have grown a touchdown closer year over year. No way. I don't I don't see that at all. I understand West Virginia brings back a lot on their offense. The offense is a little fraudulent. Can we look at their top games from last season in terms of at least playing top defenses, 15 against this Penn State team rivalry spot against Narduzzi and Pitt? 17. Oh you held them to 20. So this is a team here against still what's going to be a really good Penn State defense Abdul Carter is going to wreak havoc. I mean Gary Green should drop back in this game. And you're going to see this team. I think top out at around 20 points. And then you get to the Penn State offense, which is going to be better. I know they lost some of the offensive line. And in that wide receiver room it is about Andy Kotelnicki. You're hearing the name a lot. You should be hearing it a lot. He took Kansas and made it a top 15 offense in college football. That is crazy. And now he's here at Penn State with Drew Aylor. I think this offense today is going to be able to get to 30, which is going to get this a double digit victory. And it's another reason why I'm going to play. Drew Fowler over 14.5 rushing yards, 28 or more yards on the ground in four of his last five games last season. And he's apparently leaned out during camp. James Franklin said he expects him to be more mobile this year. And that's something that Kotelnicki was used to at Kansas with Jalen Daniels and Jason Bean. Of all the props on my card today, drew over 14.5. Rushing is my favorite. One of my favorite coordinator hires of the off season, coaching Andy Kotelnicki from Lawrence and bringing him to State College as creative of an offensive mind, as you will see in college football, it should benefit Drew Aller tremendously. A very highly touted five star recruit that struggled in his biggest spots a year ago. Except for, as Joe mentione, against the mountaineers, 21 of 29 in the season opener in Happy Valley for more than 320 yards and three touchdowns. Now, where West Virginia buttered its bread last year was on the ground. They were the best rushing attack in the big 12, better than 229 yards per game. And all three of their leading rushers. That all put up more than 770 yards a season ago are back. Jaheim White, C.J. Donaldson those are the running backs. And Garrett Green, the quarterback, also running for more than 770 yards. But Penn State's going to be darn good on defense. And although Manny Diaz is not there, Tom Allen is a great defensive mind. Struggled the last few years as the head coach for Indiana in Bloomington, but a really sound defense that was the third best scoring and rushing defense in the country, allowing less than 70 yards per game a season ago. Abdul Carter is the name to know if you like Micah Parsons. Keep an eye on Abdul Carter. Now let's get to the title defense that begins today in Ann Arbor, a reigning national champs in college football. Michigan, starting its season in the big house as a three touchdown favorite against Fresno State and Kev, despite being the reigning national title winners. So much change and turnover this offseason from the very top. Jim Harbaugh, no longer the head coach in Ann Arbor, coaching in the National Football League for the LA Chargers, quarterback J.J. McCarthy is gone. Lead running back Blake Corum is gone. So much talent from the defensive side of the football. 13 Michigan Wolverines drafted in 2024 in the NFL, when you lose that much pro talent, there's a lot to figure out for the Maize and Blue, how does it look in the true debut of Sharon Moore today against the Bulldogs? We'll just say, and I don't want to downplay what they lost, especially because a lot of the guys they lost were contributors for multiple years, McCarthy and Corum being the most notable of that bunch. But the best teams in college football lose a lot and reload, right. And it's part of the reason why Ohio State and Georgia stand out. The way they do this year with all that they return. But Michigan is not a team that should. If they win seven games this year, that's not acceptable for Michigan football. And certainly my expectations are much higher than that. But here's the big thing with this game today. If they lose to Fresno, then we have to rewrite a completely different story. Is this team's quarterback battle where many were expecting Alex Orji to win it? Well, yesterday we were seeing, I don't know, maybe around 6 or 7:00 at night. Rumors bubbling on Twitter that Davis Warren was going to win this job. I took note at around 11 midnight last night that there were still some Alex Orji numbers out there. They were on DraftKings. Now they're doing props differently this year, but 105 plus passing yards was minus one 20. There are no unders to play. There was a -275 under one and a half passing touchdown number. Again I personally backed off. It could be one of those things. While -275 is a lot, what does it matter if this kid's one not a real thrower and two not the starting quarterback? I lean over in this game because it looks like this quarterback battle is going to continue, and that means that they're going to have to still try on offense here. Michigan. It's a low number, Joe, but seeing that this team's quarterback situation is still this cloudy, I didn't love that. Well, keep in mind as well. Week two they play Texas and Quinn Ewers right. They're going to push tempo as well. So it's critical to get that continuity as it relates toe quarterback wide receiver relationship. I will say in terms of the home cooking 22 and zero over the past two and two and a half seasons for Michigan in Ann Arbor. They won those games by an average margin of victory last year of 26.3 points per game. We know their their commitment to the rushing attack in two games that Sharon Moore coached at the end of the regular season against Penn State and Maryland, they rushed for 84 attempts. That's where it comes down to the offensive line. And Donovan Edwards a little inconsistent last year, guys, but they still averaged 169 rushing yards per game over the past couple of seasons, 12 and zero. Every time they pounded for over 200. To me, that's the difference. I think they can get over this number as well, and those will still be the building blocks for Sharon Moore, who was the offensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh. He was the o line coach. Michigan won the Joe Moore Award for the best O line unit in college football in two of the previous three seasons, and Donovan Edwards returns for Michigan. Their defense is also going to be darn good once again, the best scoring defense in the country last year, the only team to limit opponents to less than double digits, nine and a half points per game given up with two All-American candidates up front, it's Mason Graham on the D line in the secondary, it's Will Johnson, one of the best DBS in all of college football. There is plenty to get to here in this opening hour on college football today. Stay with us after the break. Rockwell and tries to cut through the middle. Oh, your gut says Miami is going to win and you should take the over. You could also said your NFT selfies would only go up in value. They didn't put your head is on sports grid and knows the QB is in concussion protocol. The backup has a 45 QBR against the zone coverage. The New York team has the most sacks in the league. So yeah, trust your head. It's smarter to be on sports gri. There is going to be an energy to game time decisions that you will feel night in and night out. We'e going to go through every single thing and I've got a great team behind me that's going to help me get the job done. I want this to be the place that people come to. We are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about. There is not going to be a better place. I promise you, than game time decisions. We will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage. I'm Kevin Walsh, tune in to game time decisions from 6 to 8 p.m. eastern on Sports Gri. Carlos Alcaraz has won the last two Grand Slam titles at the French Open on the clay and at Wimbledon earlier this summer. He enters as the favorite. You have a bunch of depth there. Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton They wil likely play in round three. The winner would play Djokovic most likely, which would be an incredible match. I like Ben Shelton as a sleeper. If Djokovic is hurt, you never know. I think Shelton could actually be the guy that gets hot. The conditions favor him. The early line only on sports grid. The sharpest football contest show in the land. The Las Vegas football contest show focuses on circus sports. Million circus survivor and the Westgate Super Contest, handicapping the games and releasing our contest picks every week of the season. With two former Super contest winners, Brady Cannon and James Salinas, a former NFL player, Mike Pritchard, and over $1 million in contest prize money won. Combined, the Las Vegas football contest show will have you prepared this season like none other. Let's stay with a focus on the Big Ten live right here on college football today. The two favorites entering this realigned conference that now has 18 teams, not Michigan, not Penn State. Despite the Wolverines winning the conference crown three consecutive years. It's the rivals, the Ohio State Buckeyes and the newcomers from Eugene, the Oregon Ducks. We start with a matchup in the state of Ohio today for Ohio State, and they are a hefty, hefty favorite. More than six touchdowns against the zips from Akron. It is a new era in Columbus. Ryan Day remains enters year six at the helm of the Buckeyes, but his former college head coach at New Hampshire in the former UCLA head coach, now the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, his name, of course, is Chip Kelly. Joe, what does the offense look like today for Ohio State? Who checks in not only as the Big Ten favorites, but the number two team in the nation entering 2024? I think a very run heavy offense today, even though they bring in will Howard from Kansas State, I think they're going to look to run it. That was a weakness of Ryan Day and that offense last year with Treveyon Henderson. They only averag9 rushing yards per game. You have Treveyon Henderson coming back along with Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins. That was an 1100 yard rusher, averaged seven yards per rush with 15 touchdowns on the ground. They should absolutely dominate the point of attack. There are four zero all time against Akron won those games by an average margin of victory of 31.5 points per game. And since 2009, Kevin Ohio State against Mac opponents 14 and zero. Straight up, they've won those games by an average margin of victory of 41.7 points per game. But oh, by the way, the last four times they've played Mac opponents, the average margin of victory of six is 61.5 points per game. I can't see any way Ohio State doesn't blow out Akron today. All right, so how I'm betting this game is very simple. I don't really even need to give the necessary notes to back this up, but I will though you won't really care about them. Treveyon Henderson and Keshawn Judkins in an anytime touchdown score parlay I bet at -126 it moved down to -120. I don't know really how it loses because if the if I can steal that breakdown from a good buddy of ours, it's they will do whatever they want to Akron. And this running back room is incredible and fascinating. In the age of the transfer portal, the idea that Quinshon Judkins would go to Ohio State while Treveyon Henderson is not leaving and create this situation is an oddity. I don't know if he needed to get out of Ole Miss. I've heard some rumor, but again, he didn't. He could have easily gone to Oregon and would have been a lead back with still all the opportunities in the world, but I think that we're at least for now, hearing nothing but positivity. Great relationships, rooting one another on. And I think we're going to see Ryan Day, make sure they both get into the end zone. Plus, history says they will both easily get into the end zone. Last year, Akron plays Kentucky. Both lead backs get into the end zone. Two years ago they play Michigan State. They had a running back with three touchdowns. Another running back with two touchdowns and another running back with one. And that same year they played Tennessee, who's top two backs, and Wright and Sampson both scored twice. They both might score twice -120 for them each to score once. Yes please. The Buckeyes averaged 30.5 points per game offensively a season ago, which for most teams in college football would be a heck of a year in terms of putting up points on the scoreboard in Columbus. It's a disaster. It was the first year since 2012 that Ohio State averaged less than 35 points per game. Yes, it is a high standard, but Chip Kelly is in to change all of that. We know a lot about Chip Kelly, both in college football and in the National Football League with the Eagles. And one thing that Chip Kelly does very well is mobile quarterbacks and running the football. Will Howard, the Kansas State transfer, is the starting signal caller for the Buckeyes. This year. I want to not even use UCLA. The last couple of seasons. Top 15 rushing offense in the country, 238 yards per game, which was sixth best back in 2022. I want to go back to when Chip Kelly was last in offensive coordinator in college football. That was oh seven and oh eight at Oregon, Jeremiah Masoli had more than 700 yards as the quarterback for Oregon. In 2008. They had the second best rushing offense in total, with more than 280 yards per game, but Gary LeGarrette Blount was there at the time. This is what Ohio State is going to look like this season, and they still might have the best wide receiver room in the country. Emeka Egbuka, Cornell Tate and maybe the best wide receiver or best true freshman in college football this year in Jeremiah Smith. And Kev, you talked about this last week as we were breaking down our College Football Playoff predictions. It might not even matter because the Buckeyes defense is going to be one of the very best in the country this season. Ohio State enters as the second ranked team in the country, a plus 145 favorite to win the Big Ten. The team that checks in at number three in the AP top 25. And with the second best price to win the Big Ten title. That's the newcomers from Eugene, Dan Lanning and the ducks. Oregon at a 2 to 1 number. Oregon also a hefty favorite today. Joe in their opener against FCS foe in Idaho. A Vandals team that has made the FCS postseason each of the past two years. But a 44.5 point underdog today inside Autzen Stadium, it's Oregon's debut as a Big Ten program. How does it look today for the ducks? Well, I think there's no doubt Oregon wins. They dominate Idaho straight up 52, three and four in regards to the meetings. They have a 23 game winning streak against the Vandals. And they have a new quarterback in Dylan Gabriel that transfers in 30 touchdowns, six interceptions and an offense that averaged 184 rushing yards per game. I think there's no doubt they win. I would lean to the cover in this matchup and that they go over the total. Kev. Biggest thing for me, too, is that nobody talks about it. We talk about Bo Nix, his progression last year, that offensive line only allowed five total sacks. The dominant unit. If they run the football today, it's going to be lights out. My take on this game is simple. I know some people will be upset about it. Good riddance to the Pac 12. When I saw that this game was on Big Ten Network, I was out of this world excited. I actually get to watch this game instead of not being able to watch top teams in the country like Oregon, like USC. This is absolutely wonderful. I know realignment has people scared, I get it. But in this instance alone, what a blessing that we can watch this game. The ducks, the second best scoring offense in the country last year, averaging better than 44 points per game, second best total offense, put up more than 531 yards. Dylan Gabriel, The new quarterback, is the Heisman Trophy favorite entering 2024. More with some of the new teams in the Big Ten next. Rockwell and tries to cut through the middle. Oh, your gut says Miami is going to win and you should take the over. You could also said your NFT selfies would only go up in value. They didn't. But your head is on sports Grid and knows the QB is in concussion protocol. The backup has a 45 QBR against the zone coverage. The New York team has the most sackn the league. So yeah, trust your head. It's smarter to be on sports grid. There is going to be an energy to game time decisions that you will feel night in and night out. We're going to go through every single thing and I've got a great team behind me that's going to help me get the job done. I want this to be the place that people come to. We are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about. There is not going to be a better place. I promise you, than game time decisions. We will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage. I'm Kevin Walsh, tune in to game time decisions from 6 to 8 p.m. eastern on Sports Grid. Carlos Alcaraz has won the last two Grand Slam titles at the French Open on the clay and at Wimbledon earlier this summer. He enters as the favorite. You have a bunch of depth there. Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton they will likely play in round three. The winner would play Djokovic most likely, which would be an incredible match. I like Ben Shelton as a sleeper. If Djokovic is hurt, you never know. I think Shelton should be the guy that gets hot. The conditions favor him. The early line only on sports grid. The sharpest football contest show in the land. The Las Vegas football contest show focuses on circus sports. Millions, circus survivor and the Westgate Supercontest handicapping the games and releasing our contest picks every week of the season with two former Super contest winners, Brady Cannon and James Salinas, a former NFL player, Mike Pritchard, and over $1 million in contest prize money won. Combined, the Las Vegas football contest show will have you prepared this season like none other. And. Live right here on college football today on this first full Saturday of the college football season in 2024, a first full Saturday that will highlight plenty of the changes to the landscape this year. We talked about Oregon's Big Ten debut. It's UCLA's Big Ten debut. It is Washington's Big Ten debut. 11 p.m. Eastern Time. Kick out in Seattle on the Big Ten Network. Welcome to the new era of college football. You're fired up. Sorry we can actually watch the game for sure. Watch the games. Oh, because of the Pac 12, Pac 12 network, you got to watch it on Calico Vision on the game test. This guy knows watching careful. Yeah. A lot of positions over there. So as we get ready for these two games today a lot was made. Lisa guy of the Bruins trip tonight which will actually be during the afternoon hours out to the islands and off the mainland in Honolulu against Hawaii. The rainbow Warriors in action week zero taking on Delaware State. Congrats to you. The first best bet of the year already hitting the Hornets, covering as a 40 point underdog. Did lose by three touchdowns, but Hawaii got nowhere close to covering as a 3514 victory. Checks off the first game of the year for Timmy Chang and Hawaii. Braden Schrager barely threw the football. Will have a tougher test against UCLA. Of course the Bruins a lot of turnover. We talked about Chip Kelly new OC at Ohio State. Deshaun foster, legendary running back for the Bruins in the early 2000s. Now the head coach for the Bruins. And Joe UCLA is greater than a two touchdown favorite in Hawaii. The Warriors talked about circling this game against a big Ten team, knowing that this was goingo be a true test to begin its 2024 campaign. Does Hawaii show up? What do you expect out of the debut of Deshaun foster fireworks in this matchup? And I agree, the fact that Hawaii has a game under their belt, Ben I think really matters in regards to this matchup. They struggled. They were up 14 to 7 against Delaware State. Walking through the motions. You mentioned Schrager about 250 passing yards. They couldn't really run it with Simms I think you get a much better effort in terms of this matchup UCLA Ethan Garbers is an experienced quarterback. Very run heavy last year with Chip Kelly. They averaged well over 190 rushing yards per game. And very good guys. In regards to the front seven, right, Lynn, that former DC held opposing offenses to 80 rushing yards per game. Kev But here's what it comes down to. It's a new scheme, right? They're going in regards to a very difficult road matchup. And not only that Hawaii with the experience of the quarterback, I like Hawaii with the points. But I'll tell you what I love the over 53.5, especially in a week. One environment that secondary having to read coverage against Schrager. That's the matchup to me. Give me Hawaii in the over. Yeah look I think it's a little zig zag personally Delaware State was good to us last week. Let's hope Hawaii can be good to us now. Yeah catching 14.5. That hook has appeared which is really important. Now get inside two touchdowns. And for Hawaii you can't be like oh they did a great job in the second half against the awful Delaware State team. But after giving up the touchdown on the opening drive for the Hornets of the second half, Delaware State can no longer move the football and Hawaii started to find some rhythm. We got to remember Hawaii went out there very vanilla. Was there waiting for UCLA, coming here on Island. And it's you know, everything about this is considered a timing offense. It got better as it went along. I know it's been an advantage for teams who are actually making their debut in week one against week zero. I think Hawaii is in a bit of a unique spot, though, because it's on Island and the way that they are, I think that they can at minimum mitigate that typical advantage we see. This is year number three under Timmy Chang, a Hawaii legend at the quarterback spot. Now the head coach 12 and ten against the spread or the Rainbow Warriors as an underdog under Chang these past two years, they will have their work cut out for them. TJ Hardin back in the backfield under Deshaun foster as well for UCLA and Delaware State, did put up more than a century mark last week on the ground. Two rushing scores against Hawaii, a game that you will now be able to watch. 11 p.m. eastern time tonight in Seattle. Jedd Fisch makes his debut as Washington's new head coach. It is not often you see the reigning national runner up enter a year with a win total of only six and a half. Following a national title game appearance the year previous, but so much turnover for UW as well. Kev only two returning starters, both on the defensive side of the football Weber State. FCS foe a good time for Washington to work it out as a 26.5 point favorite. I think it's just such an odd spot, man, when you consider all that Washington lost, which was going to happen naturally to the NFL, then the Kalen DeBoer and then the fact that fish didn't bring over you, these key guys from Arizona, which is such an odd thing, it's hard for me to lay here that type of number with such uncertainty. Last year, Weber State played Utah and actually lost that game by just 24. I would lean towards the points. I would lay it because of Will Rogers and how bad that secondary was for Weber State. They gave up 248 per game. Our number two of college football today on this first full Saturday comes your way up next. Rockwell and tries to cut through the middle. Oh your gut says Miami is going to win and you should take the over. You could also set your NFT. Selfies would only go up in value. They didn't put your head is on sports grid and knows the QB is in concussion protocol. The backup has a 45 QBR against the zone coverage. The New York team has the most sacks in the league, so yeah, trust your head. It's smarter to be on sports gri. There is going to be an energy to game time decisions that you will feel night in and night out. We're going to go through every single thing, and I've got a great team behind me that's going to help me get the job done. I want this to be the place that people come to. We are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about. There is not going to be a better place, I promise you, than game time decisions. We will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage. I'm Kevin Walsh. Tune in to game time decisions from 6 to 8 p.m. eastern on Sports Grid. Carlos Alcaraz has won the last two Grand Slam titles at the French Open on the clay and at Wimbledon earlier this summer. He enters as the favorite. You have a bunch of depth there, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton. They will likely play in round three. The winner would play Djokovic most likely, which would be an incredible match. I like Ben Shelton as a sleeper. If Djokovic is hurt, you never know. I think Shelton should be the guy that gets hot. The conditions favor him. The early line only on sports grid. The sharpest football contest show in the land. The Las Vegas football contest show focuses on circus sports. Millions, circus survivor and the Westgate Supercontest handicapping the games and releasing our contest picks every week of the season with two former Super contest winners, Brady Cannon and James Salinas, a former NFL player Mike Pritchard, and over $1 million in contest prize money