Week one of the college football season officially begins this Thursday and I’m already depressed. Sure, it’s great to have football back. But when your team loses in Week Zero, as an 11 point road favorite, it certainly casts an air of negativity on the season Labor Day.
What happened to my Arizona Wildcats in Hawaii? Poor execution, bad coaching, and a general lethargic performance contributed to the Rainbow Warriors’ 45-38 victory last Saturday night.
Unlike last year’s crushing opening night home loss to BYU, I’m not sure I see the 2019 version of the Wildcats rebounding and winning even a handful of games.
Coach Kevin Sumlin’s seemingly careless attitude has me concerned that he’s simply phoning it in at Arizona. We’re 13 games into his tenure, the team is 5-8, and I’m on the verge of calling it a borderline disaster.
Unless the Wildcats somehow sweep September with home games against NAU, Texas Tech, and UCLA mixed in with a bye week before the Pac-12 conference opener, this season might be lost before cool air is felt in Arizona this Fall.
On to a large slate of Week 1 picks from our experts who didn’t fare so well last weekend…
Week 1 Picks
| Eric Cohen | Jon Bell | Steve Malina | Wesley Franco | |
| Twitter: | @cohencurse1580 | @koshercoach | @stevenmalina | @producerwes |
| Last Week (SU) | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Last Week (ATS) | 0-2 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 0-2 |
| Season (SU) | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Season (ATS) | 0-2 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 0-2 |
| Kent State at ASU (-24.5) | ASU 40-14 | ASU 27-10 | ASU 44-17 | ASU 42-10 |
| UCLA at Cincinnati (-2.5) | UCLA 27-24 | UCLA 24-17 | UCLA 31-27 | UCLA 35-27 |
| Utah (-5.5) at BYU | UTAH 23-13 | UTAH 31-20 | UTAH 27-21 | BYU 23-20 |
| Wisconsin (-12.5) at South Florida | WISC 30-20 | WISC 31-16 | WISC 31-17 | WISC 45-31 |
| Colorado State vs. Colorado (-13.5) in Denver | COL 34-17 | COL 38-17 | COL 24-17 | COL 35-27 |
| South Carolina (-9.5) vs. North Carolina in Charlotte | SC 30-24 | SC 24-10 | SC 31-20 | UNC 17-14 |
| Northwestern at Stanford (-6.5) | STAN 24-14 | STAN 20-17 | STAN 27-20 | STAN 40-20 |
| Virginia Tech (-4.5) at Boston College | BC 20-17 | BC 24-20 | VT 20-13 | VT 21-7 |
| Boise State vs. Florida State (-4.5) in Jacksonville | FSU 27-23 | FSU 22-20 | FSU 23-21 | BSU 35-31 |
| Virginia (-2.5) at Pittsburgh | VA 27-20 | PIT 35-24 | VA 28-24 | VA 45-35 |
| Auburn (-3.5) vs. Oregon in Dallas | AUB 34-30 | ORE 31-30 | ORE 31-27 | AUB 52-42 |
| Fresno State at USC (-13.5) | USC 27-20 | USC 27-14 | USC 38-27 | USC 38-17 |
| Houston at Oklahoma (-23.5) | OK 41-27 | OK 41-23 | OK 44-14 | OK 35-14 |
This Week’s Bold Predictions
EC: The only loss among the AP Top 25 teams will come in the Auburn-Oregon game in which both teams are ranked. No unranked team will beat a ranked team during Week 1.
JB: The hot seat flames up after Week One and usual occupant Gus Malzahn gets some new company. AJ Dillon rushes for over 200 yards, vaulting himself into early Heisman contention, and Boston College beats Virginia Tech, putting a bullseye on Justin Fuente’s back.
SM: Two FCS teams beat FBS teams this weekend.
WF: With an anxious offseason to figure out a new team, I’ll start this year with my Sun Devils. ASU’s true freshman QB Jayden Daniels picks up where he left off in high school, scoring TDs in bunches! He racks up FIVE total touchdowns in his first collegiate game (passing and rushing combined)!
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Cohen's Corner 