Last week Moosetradamus was red hot (I feel like I can refer to myself in the 3rd person if I use my nickname). Had the Maple Missile not gone down early in the Ohio San Diego St. game, maybe I go 7 for 7? Alas, we are on to week 1. Week 0 was a beautiful appetizer for this fantastic slate of football coming our way week 1. Now there is no way that I’ll have time to write about every game (87 to be exact), but I’m going to pick my (7) favorite games and pick those!
Last weeks results
• 6/7 correct
o Surprise: Hawaii hung in there with Vandy, losing by only 7 pts.
o Best game: Jacksonville St. over UTEP. This game came down to the very end and some mismanagement of the clock cost the Miners in the end.
o Disappointment: Ohio QB getting hurt in the first quarter of the game. Although he’s cleared to play this week, fans feared the worst as the MACtion star went down early in the San Diego St. game.
Now to this week’s slate.
Florida at (14) Utah
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Cam Rising will be suiting up for this Thursday matchup, but with this being the first opportunity to see the new Florida team matching up with a gritty Utah team will still be fun. Utah will stick around but not for long as the Gators hit the death roll in the second half.
Florida 23 Utah 13
Colorado at (17) TCU
This will be the matchup of the unknowns. TCU is coming off of a disappointing National Championship performance and to add insult to injury, Broyles award winning coordinator, Garrett Riley left for Clemson, and the Horn Frogs lost (8) players to the NFL draft, including Heisman finalist Max Duggan. Now bad things come in 3’s so the Horn Frogs should be on the up and up, but there’s a lot of unknown on this roster. Now to the Bufs, who have been the belle of the ball during the off season with lighting rod head coach Deon Sanders. I think Colorado may turn some heads, but it won’t be enough for TCU.
TCU 42 Colorado 24
West Virginia at (7) Penn St.
The lopsided Penn State vs West Virginia rivalry is back! Penn St. is one of the most exciting teams this year with stud running back Nick Singleton and highly touted QB, Drew Allar. West Virginia doesn’t seem to have the most talented roster this year, but they will bring that coal mining, Mountaineer mindset to University Park. Although Nittany Lions are fictional animals, this team is very real.
Penn St. 55 West Virginia 20
(21) UNC vs South Carolina *in Charlotte, NC
This is my second favorite game of the week (unbiasedly the Clemson game is my favorite…). UNC is returning the head of last year’s prolific offense in Drake Maye, but their Achilles (tar) heel remains in their abysmal defense. This defense ranked in the bottom (100) nationally in almost every category – if they want to compete on the national stage this will have to change. South Carolina comes into this game as much excitement as any team in the nation. Spencer Rattler is coming off as hot of a ending of a season as anyone and the team adds Nyck Harbor, a WR with Olympic track speed, paired with a 6’5” 240lb frame (not fair). This game will come down to who plays better defense or who has the ball last. UNC gets the nod here in an exciting shootout.
UNC 56 SC 50
(18) Oregon St. at San Jose St.
San Jose St. and their mighty rushing attack will play host to the new look Oregon St. Beavers. The Spartans gave USC a run for their money in the first half, but the Trojans ended up being too much for them. However, the most exciting part about this game is how the newly named starter at, DJ Uiagalelei fares for the Beavers. Look for this game to be analyzed closely by all of the talking heads and for the Beavers to dam up the Spartans gameplan.
Oregon St. 36 San Jose St. 21
(5) LSU vs (8) FSU *in Orlando, FL
This game has the most hype heading into week 1 and for very good reason. Number (5) LSU and Heisman favorite Jayden Daniels come in with very high National Championship hopes. Florida St. and Jordan Travis come in with a plethora of transfers and as the favorites to usurp Clemson and take the ACC. This game will go back and forth, but I have LSU edging out the Noles in a thriller.
LSU 31 FSU 29
(9) Clemson at Duke
Clemson kicks off their season at Duke as the sole matchup on Labor Day night. Although this game is not a Cameron Indoor, I suspect that Duke will try and pack their stadium for the kickoff to one of the most hyped Duke football teams in recent memory. Riley Leonard and company are formidable foes, but I believe the Tigers will exorcise the Blue Devils and run away with this game in the second half.
Clemson 42 Duke 23
Thank you for getting to this part of the article. Read or not, it counts as a view, and I’m abundantly grateful for each and every one of those. Please leave your thoughts or heck, if you’re feeling spicy, throw me a follow on X @walkonmoose .
