The weekend is light for the WAC, with three teams playing last night, one off, and the last playing on Monday. Pity our friends in New Mexico who have to sit this week out.
7:00 PM- Utah State at #8 Oklahoma: Fitting, perhaps, that we move from Sun Belt blowouts on to this game. I think Utah State should be an improved team this year, but kicking it off at Oklahoma is not a great way to get the ball rolling. Line: Oklahoma by 33. Last year Oklahoma posted wins of 64, 45, and 55 points when the opportunities presented themselves, so 33 is certainly within range. Let’s say 48-7.
7:00 PM- San Jose State at #1 Alabama: SJSU is not going be as good as Utah State, and while I’m not so sure about Alabama as #1, this game will never be in doubt. Line: Alabama by 38. Again, we look to last year to see what kind of restraint Saban might use. Non-BCS wins of 26, 46, and 45 (FCS). Yeah, I’d say he’ll be more than happy to push the margin close to 50. 56-7.
7:00 PM- Louisiana Tech at Grambling State (FCS) (Neutral Site): Grambling went 8-5 last year. This game is in the warning zone for an FCS upset- La Tech is coming in with a new coach and wasn’t especially good last year anyway. No line.
10:00 PM, ESPN2- Cincinnati at Fresno State: This might be a good one. Fresno loses Ryan Matthews to the NFL but returns a lot of talented players otherwise, and Cincy too is rebuilding a bit after Brian Kelly left for Notre Dame. Line: Fresno is favored by 2.5. Before I looked that up, I thought I was going to pick the Bulldogs in an upset, but apparently not. Still, I think they win it 31-28.