\nThursday, September 1, 9:15 p.m. ET
\nNCAA football betting favorite: Wisconsin -35<\/p>\n
Naturally, this matchup is more Wisconsin versus the spread than Wisconsin versus lowly UNLV. I fear for the Runnin\u2019 Rebels\u2019 safety in this matchup. They\u2019re on the road, where they didn\u2019t win a game last season. They had a horrible run defense in 2010, ranking 116th<\/sup> in the country with 223.8 yards allowed per contest. Now, they face a Badgers team that went absolutely nuts against weaker competition with its rushing offense late last season. Tailback Montee Ball must be licking his chops and this is also a non-intimidating game to break imported quarterback Russell Wilson in. The Badgers won three games by 35 or more points last season and UNLV fits the bill as that type of victim.<\/p>\n Pick: Wisconsin -35<\/strong><\/p>\n Week 1 NCAAF Matchup: UCLA Bruins @ Houston Cougars<\/strong> Oddsmakers just don\u2019t respect the smaller conferences, do they? UCLA was 4-8 last season and took its share of beatings in the Pac-10 (now known as the Pac-12). Yet the Bruins are only 3.5-point dogs on the road against Houston, even though the Cougars had the country\u2019s 11th<\/sup>-ranked offense last season. [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n Guess who\u2019s back? Mr. Video Game Stats himself, Case Keenum. He\u2019ll reclaim the starting quarterback reins in his sixth year of eligibility as he crusades toward the NCAA\u2019s all time passing yardage and TD records. I think he and the Cougars will unleash hell on UCLA at home.<\/p>\n Pick: Houston -3.5<\/strong><\/p>\n Week 1 NCAAF Matchup: South Florida Bulls @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish<\/strong> Week 1 will give us a good taste of whether or not the Irish are overrated this season. South Florida was pesky last season, winning eight games under Skip Holtz, and fielded one of the nation\u2019s better defenses.<\/p>\n Since Notre Dame\u2019s \u201cD\u201d is expected to make big strides this year, the Irish could improve. But I\u2019m not sure they\u2019ll rout the Bulls in Week 1, especially with the Dayne Crist\/Tommy Rees quarterback battle not resolved yet. I see a win but a closer margin than 10 points.<\/p>\n Pick: South Florida +10<\/strong><\/p>\n Week 1 NCAAF Matchup: Fresno State Bulldogs @ California Golden Bears<\/strong> Fresno State was a respectable 8-5 a season ago but it isn\u2019t enough to earn the Bulldogs respect since they toiled to that record in the WAC of all conferences. California should be angry after tanking and ending a seven-year playoff run at the end of last season. Its offense could be a question mark with Shane Vereen gone but its \u201cD\u201d should handle Fresno State. After all, the Bears held Oregon to 15 points at Oregon last season. Impressive stuff.<\/p>\n I like Cal to cover.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/ncaa-football-power-rankings.jpg\" "\\"ncaa-football-power-rankings\\"")
\nSaturday, September 3, 3:30 p.m. ET
\nNCAA football betting favorite: Houston -3.5<\/p>\n
\nSaturday, September 3, 3:30 p.m. ET
\nNCAA football betting favorite: Notre Dame -10<\/p>\n
\nSaturday, September 3, 7:00 p.m. ET
\nNCAA football betting favorite: California -10<\/p>\n