Week 1: Bets To Get You PAID

Missouri -12 vs. Illinois
Don't worry too much about the loss of Derrick Washington for Mizzou, their offense will continue to put up big numbers behind big time QB Blaine Gabbert. The Zooker is in trouble at Illinois and revamped his coaching staff in an effort to save his job and that usually doesn't end up well. It doesn't help that Illinois lost their two biggest offensive playmakers, Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn, to the NFL from a 3-9 team in 2009.

Texas -31.5 at Rice
Texas has never been known to let off the gas pedal when they get up on opponents and much of that is due to the fact that they run 2 and 3 deep with players more talented than anything Rice has seen in decades. Big win for the 'horns.

Notre Dame -10.5 vs. Purdue
Brian Kelley wins everywhere he goes and I don't think ND will be any different. He may not take the Golden Domers to a BCS game this year but he will get to 9 wins and one of those will be their home opener against the Boilermakers. The Irish win and cover and the hype machine gets geared up.

Kentucky at Louisville +3
Maybe I've been living in Louisville too long... You ask me a week ago and I tell you the Cards don't have a chance and they are a horrible team who would struggle to beat most mid-majors. All that may still be true. That being said, Kentucky named the uninspiring Mike Hartline as the starting QB and Charlie Strong knows very well how to stop Joker Phillips' offense from his days at Florida. Louisville took UK to the wire last year with a worse team, a horrible coach and in Lexington... tomorrow they pull off the upset.

Clemson -27 vs. North Texas
This line should be much bigger. North Texas is one of the worst teams in FBS and Clemson returns a good amount of talent from last years team which reached the ACC Championship game. The Tigers roll big time and the rest of the country meets the players who played behind Spiller and Ford last year.

Memphis +21 at Mississippi State
MSU will be a much better team in 2010 and they were even a decent squad in 2009 but there is no doubt the Bulldogs have been looking ahead to their week two match up with Auburn. MSU wins comfortably but look for Memphis to cover the spread due to some lapses in concentration by Mullen's bunch.

Washington +2 at BYU
BYU is a good team but I am a Sarkisian believer. He's got possibly the best player in college football leading his offense in Jake Locker and QBs like that find ways to win games. The Huskies should be much improved in year two with a quality head coach like Sarkisian and we will begin to see that with this road upset of BYU.

Oregon St. +13.5 at TCU
TCU is a quality mid-major and a legitimate contender to go undefeated but the Beavers are one of the most underrated teams in the nation. OSU Head Coach Mike Riley may also be the most underrated coach in the country. Recently the Beavers have struggled on the road early in the year but even if they don't win this game, look for them to keep it closer than the 13.5 points they're getting.

LSU -7.5 vs. North Carolina
Going into this season everyone knew UNC had a mediocre offense but their defense, loaded with early NFL picks across every level was going to keep them in every game. Take away possibly the top two players, Robert Quinn and Marvin Austin, plus multiple other starters on 'D' and their top offensive player, WR Greg Little, and you've got a team that will struggle to reach a bowl game. UNC is in shambles after their embarrassing off season and the Bayou Bengals should win by 2 TDs or more.

Boise State vs. Virginia Tech +1.5
It could be wishful thinking but I believe the Hokies are going to run over BSU in this "neutral field" game played at FedEx Field. Virginia Tech will, as always, have a stout defense under coordinator Bud Foster. Tyrod Taylor should be coming into his own in his third year as a starter and he has the best duo of running backs in the country outside of MAYBE Tuscaloosa. I know the Broncos have fared well against BCS level opponents recently (beating Oregon twice and the Fiesta Bowl upset of Oklahoma), but they still don't have near the talent that a team like VT has (who has churned out a very quiet seven straight 10-win seasons). Cinderella's story ends early in 2010.

Best of luck and don't tease.