College Football Picks: Expert Predictions for Every Game in Week 1
College football's Week 1 slate for the 2021 season features 84 games, and our NCAA experts are ready with their predictions and picks. The Week 1 action begins on Wednesday night with UAB and Jacksonville State meeting in Montgomery, Ala. The action continues on Thursday with 16 games, including Temple-Rutgers, Ohio State-Minnesota and Boise State-UCF. Eight games are on tap for Friday, with North Carolina at Virginia Tech and Michigan State at Northwestern headlining the action. A full slate of Saturday action kicks off with Oklahoma-Tulane, Penn State-Wisconsin, Stanford-Kansas State and Western Michigan-Michigan in the first window. The afternoon schedule includes a showdown in Atlanta between Miami and Alabama, West Virginia-Maryland, Indiana-Iowa, Louisiana-Texas and San Jose State-USC. The night wave of games features the huge meeting between Clemson and Georgia in Charlotte, along with Texas Tech-Houston, UTSA-Illinois and LSU-UCLA. BYU-Arizona and Nevada-California headline the last slate of games on Saturday. Florida State takes on Notre Dame on Sunday, with Louisville and Ole Miss meeting in Atlanta to close out Week 1 on Labor Day.
Each week, Athlon Sports’ editors will pick every game in the FBS ranks. Follow us on Twitter: (@AthlonSports)
College Football Picks: Expert Predictions for Every Game in Week 1
| Game | Steven Lassan | Mark Ross | Ben Weinrib |
|---|---|---|---|
UAB at Jacksonville State (Wed.) | UAB | UAB | UAB |
Temple at Rutgers (Thurs.) | Rutgers | Rutgers | Rutgers |
The Citadel at Coastal Carolina (Thurs.) | Coastal Carolina | Coastal Carolina | Coastal Carolina |
LIU at FIU (Thurs.) | FIU | FIU | FIU |
Boise State at UCF (Thurs.) | UCF | Boise State | UCF |
Western Illinois at Ball State (Thurs.) | Ball State | Ball State | Ball State |
Wagner at Buffalo (Thurs.) | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo |
Weber State at Utah (Thurs.) | Utah | Utah | Utah |
USF at NC State (Thurs.) | NC State | NC State | NC State |
ECU vs. Appalachian State (Charlotte, N.C. - Thurs.) | Appalachian State | ECU | Appalachian State |
UC Davis at Tulsa (Thurs.) | Tulsa | Tulsa | Tulsa |
Ohio State at Minnesota (Thurs.) | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State |
Bowling Green at Tennessee (Thurs.) | Tennessee | Tennessee | Tennessee |
UT Martin at WKU (Thurs.) | WKU | WKU | WKU |
Houston Baptist at New Mexico (Thurs.) | New Mexico | New Mexico | New Mexico |
Eastern Washington at UNLV (Thurs.) | Eastern Washington | Eastern Washington | UNLV |
Southern Utah at Arizona State (Thurs.) | Arizona State | Arizona State | Arizona State |
North Carolina at Virginia Tech (Fri.) | North Carolina | North Carolina | North Carolina |
Duke at Charlotte (Fri.) | Duke | Charlotte | Duke |
Old Dominion at Wake Forest (Fri.) | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | Wake Forest |
Saint Francis (Pa.) at Eastern Michigan (Fri.) | Eastern Michigan | Eastern Michigan | Eastern Michigan |
South Dakota at Kansas (Fri.) | Kansas | South Dakota | South Dakota |
Michigan State at Northwestern (Fri.) | Northwestern | Northwestern | Michigan State |
Northern Colorado at Colorado (Fri.) | Colorado | Colorado | Colorado |
South Dakota State at Colorado State (Fri.) | Colorado State | South Dakota State | South Dakota State |
Tulane at Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Oklahoma |
Penn State at Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Penn State |
ULM at Kentucky | Kentucky | Kentucky | Kentucky |
Colgate at Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College |
Western Michigan at Michigan | Michigan | Michigan | Michigan |
Holy Cross at UConn | UConn | UConn | UConn |
Stanford vs. Kansas State (Arlington, Texas) | Kansas State | Stanford | Kansas State |
Army West Point at Georgia State | Georgia State | Georgia State | Georgia State |
Fordham at Nebraska | Nebraska | Nebraska | Nebraska |
Fresno State at Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon |
Rice at Arkansas | Arkansas | Arkansas | Arkansas |
Lafayette at Air Force | Air Force | Air Force | Air Force |
Alabama vs. Miami (Atlanta) | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama |
Miami (Ohio) at Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati |
Indiana at Iowa | Iowa | Iowa | Iowa |
Marshall at Navy | Marshall | Marshall | Marshall |
West Virginia at Maryland | West Virginia | West Virginia | Maryland |
Louisiana Tech at Mississippi State | Mississippi State | Mississippi State | Mississippi State |
Central Michigan at Missouri | Missouri | Missouri | Missouri |
UMass at Pitt | Pitt | Pitt | Pitt |
Montana State at Wyoming | Wyoming | Wyoming | Wyoming |
Northern Iowa at Iowa State | Iowa State | Iowa State | Iowa State |
Louisiana at Texas | Texas | Texas | Texas |
San Jose State at USC | USC | USC | USC |
Campbell at Liberty | Liberty | Liberty | Liberty |
Gardner-Webb at Georgia Southern | Georgia Southern | Georgia Southern | Georgia Southern |
Akron at Auburn | Auburn | Auburn | Auburn |
Eastern Illinois at South Carolina | South Carolina | South Carolina | South Carolina |
Monmouth at Middle Tennessee | Middle Tennessee | Middle Tennessee | Middle Tennessee |
Syracuse at Ohio | Syracuse | Syracuse | Ohio |
Oregon State at Purdue | Purdue | Purdue | Purdue |
Texas Tech vs. Houston (NRG Stadium) | Texas Tech | Texas Tech | Houston |
Missouri State at Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State |
Baylor at Texas State | Baylor | Baylor | Baylor |
Nicholls at Memphis | Memphis | Memphis | Memphis |
Abilene Christian at SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU |
Norfolk State at Toledo | Toledo | Toledo | Toledo |
Central Arkansas at Arkansas State | Arkansas State | Central Arkansas | Arkansas State |
Southern at Troy | Troy | Troy | Troy |
Georgia vs. Clemson (Charlotte, N.C.) | Clemson | Clemson | Georgia |
FAU at Florida | Florida | Florida | Florida |
Northwestern State at North Texas | North Texas | North Texas | North Texas |
UTSA at Illinois | Illinois | Illinois | Illinois |
Northern Illinois at Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech |
William & Mary at Virginia | Virginia | Virginia | Virginia |
Kent State at Texas A&M | Texas A&M | Texas A&M | Texas A&M |
Montana at Washington | Washington | Washington | Washington |
ETSU at Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt |
Southern Miss at South Alabama | Southern Miss | Southern Miss | Southern Miss |
Duquesne at TCU | TCU | TCU | TCU |
LSU at UCLA | LSU | LSU | LSU |
Bethune-Cookman at UTEP | UTEP | UTEP | UTEP |
Nevada at California | Nevada | Nevada | California |
BYU vs. Arizona (Las Vegas) | BYU | BYU | BYU |
New Mexico State at San Diego State | San Diego State | San Diego State | San Diego State |
Utah State at Washington State | Washington State | Washington State | Washington State |
Portland State at Hawaii | Hawaii | Hawaii | Hawaii |
Notre Dame at Florida State (Sun.) | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Atlanta - Mon.) | Ole Miss | Ole Miss | Ole Miss |
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