Bigman's Week 1 Picks

Hey, Covers cappers....trying my luck at (officially posting) college football picks for the first time this season!  Last year was a roller coaster ride, but nothing on the forums means a 0-0 record to kick off* 2018.  I've learned a lot from the great cappers on here (DoubleUp, Nostradamus, TD, Bookieassassin, BubbaGump, BWS come to mind....plenty of others on here with proven records) so here goes nothing in Week 1, the unofficial start to the season.  BOL to all as we wreck the bookies

*What if the phrase "kick off" becomes obsolete when the NFL inevitably bans kickoffs?

Rules I Try to Live By:

1. Don't talk about fight club.

2. I generally don't bet on games involving Ohio State.  They've been my favorite team since forever (hate on me if you want ), and one of the things I don't feel like doing is allowing bias to get in the way of my picks.

3. I buy the hook when I can.  Might not be worth it to some, but I've lost too many games by half a point to sweat over the marginal loss in profit with a true cover.

4. I enjoy a good conspiracy theory, but I don't tend to buy into the "trap game" talk.  Lines are set so they are theoretically a coin flip to begin with.

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way claiming to know any more than the bookies, other cappers, or even the average college football fan.  In fact, most of my plays are many times nothing more than gut feelings - I do research to an extent, but not so much that I have spreadsheets up on a dual screen monitor in my basement....mad props to those who do more to help us lazy folk out!  My Saturdays are dedicated to college football, just a regular working man the rest of the week.

The reasons for my picks are not necessarily well thought out; they might seem elementary at times.  I don't go too in depth.  Yeah.

GO BUCKS AND GO CYCLONES (also GO PIONEERS, not that anyone cares about my D-III alma mater).

Without further ado....

2U PLAYS

MARSHALL -1 (-115) : Last year, the Herd were a solid team to bet on.  They return 18 starters from that team, and Doc Holliday should have them ready against the RedHawks, who they seemingly slept on in their 9-win 2017 season.

AKRON +25 (-120) : I like Nebraska to improve under Scott Frost, but 25 seems like a lot to lay for a team who seems to always struggle early on....much less against the MAC runners-up, who have a solid defense.

ARMY +14 (-120) : Maybe I'm missing something, but this line looks inflated.  Sure, Duke is deservedly the favorite, but 2 TD's?  I'll roll with West Point and hope they don't get behind early....I love me some Triple Option.

COLORADO -7 (-125) : Give me Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, a game where they almost always show up to play.  While Colorado State has the advantage of having played a game, that is overshadowed by them getting their tails whooped by Hawaii (!) on national television.  By no means a gimme, but I like what I see.

1U PLAYS

MICHIGAN STATE -23 (-120) : A little risky betting on Sparty to cover a big spread, but I don't think it's too much to ask for them to win by 24 over Utah State.  They are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the juggernaut B1G East.

VANDERBILT -3 (EVEN) : Probably too close to call, but I'll throw it on here because Vandy has won the past few matchups and they just look like the better team overall.  I expect a big game from Kyle Shurmur, who has improved from where he began.

No 3U max plays in Week 1....everything is too much of a toss-up without having seen 95% of these teams play a down of football yet.

May look to add more plays later in the week as more info comes out....

Stay winning, my friends

GL to you bro. My biggest play this week is a 5u play on Duke lol.... We on opposite sides but i respect your game and would buy you a beer afterwards no matter the result  

Said no to Thursday night action, although Northwestern was tempting I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger....congrats to Ball State, who had people cheering at the bar during their beatdown of Central Connecticut State. Is the MAC West for real?

ADDING:

1U PLAYS

IOWA -10 (-110) : Iowa will definitely have a tough test against the NIU Huskies, and I foresee a close game early on with Iowa's pure grit enabling them to pull away for a 2-TD victory.

PORTLAND STATE +28 (-110) : I'm taking the points in this pillow fight of a game, simply because Nevada shouldn't be favored by 28 over anyone....not even an FCS squad who went 0-11 last year.