Fearless Rick's College Football Picks Week 1, 8/31/06

Fearless Rick's College Football Picks

Fearless Rick's College Football Picks - Week 1 - 8/31-9/04/06

Rick Gagliano | 8/29/06

I'm back for my 25th year of pro and college football analysis and game prediction. Week 1 is always full of knock-overs and routs, but the NCAA has actually provided some big, key games. Let's get right to the action.

Thursday, August 31

Boston College (-12, 42) at Central Michigan - In 2002, BC beat the Chippewas 43-0. So much for history. Central Michigan seeks to improve on their 6-5 record from 2005 and they return 16 starters. Last season, they started 1-3, but were 5-2 coming home, with narrow losses to Northern Illinois (31-28) and Western Michigan (31-24) the only blemishes late.

BC finished 10-3, including their bowl win over Boise State, and they are the superior team here, but will view this only as a tuneup (Clemson next week), while CWU will be all out and they are capable of moving the ball.

The Eagles will soar, but count on the Chippewas to keep it interesting.

Prediction: Boston College 35 Central Michigan 26

South Carolina (-7, 40) at Mississippi St. - The old ball coach gets a conference game right out of the gate and this should be a useful gauge for how good the Gamecocks are going to be this season. Even though the Bulldogs aren't very good (3-8 in 2005, including a 7-game losing streak before winning their finale over Ol' Miss), they are an SEC school, so the talent level is on par. A loss by SC would be a big setback, but don't worry, it's not going to happen as coach Spurrier gets his kids off on the right foot and sends a message to the rest of the conference.

Prediction: South Carolina 38 Mississippi St. 13

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Friday, September 1

Nevada at Fresno St. (-12, 53 1/2) - Anyone with a memory of last season in the WAC will recall what happened last time these two teams met. With at least a share of the conference championship on the line, the Wolf Pack stepped up and surprised Fresno, 38-35, and tied Boise St. for top honors in the WAC. This will be on Fresno's home turf, but Nevada (10-3 in 2005) returns seven starters on each side of the ball, including NFL prospect QB Jeff Rowe, who threw for nearly 3000 yards with 24 TDs and only 10 INTs last year.

Fresno surprised some big conference teams early in the 2000s, but the best team they play all year might be staring them in the face this weekend. Having lost QB Paul Pinegar and both of their starting running backs to graduation, they are in for a tough season, beginning with this huge upset.

Prediction: Nevada 45 Fresno St. 31

Check back Wednesday afternoon for Sept. 2, 3 and 4 picks, including Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech and Florida St. vs. Miami.

As always, point spreads and over/under numbers are provided for entertainment and analysis purposes only.

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