GC College Pick’em Week 1

Gator Country members, now is the time to book your trip to Las Vegas. The Gator Country staff is here to give you some money making predictions on every weekly game across the Top 25 and SEC. The staff will also provide some insider takes on the toughest decisions to make each week.

Be sure to check Gator Country every Thursday this season to see who we like.

To make things interesting, we will also keep a tally of which staff member correctly picks the most games each week.

Nick de la Torre

These are some boring picks, but with the slate of games that week one presents, it’s pretty safe to take a lot of chalk in my opinion. I only have one underdog (Nevada) winning and just five away teams picking up wins this week (FSU, USC, UGA, Northwestern and Nevada).

My biggest blow out prediction goes to Oregon this week. Say a prayer for Nicholls State because when the Ducks’ offense gets running, there will be no stopping it this weekend.

A couple games that I wasn’t brave enough to pick upsets in but think that the favorite should be on upset alert are Arkansas, Boise State and Northwestern.

David “PD” Parker

Short and sweet this week.

South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier always works extra hard to beat UNC.

Florida earns a conservative, controlled win by 3 touchdowns.

Dan Mullen’s Mississippi St. team isn’t quite ready for the prime time.

Virginia Tech would have given Alabama a run for their money ten years ago, but not this time. Washington State is not terrible but Auburn will be a little better this year and they want to establish their new offense with authority.

The Georgia vs. Clemson game will look a lot like the Clemson vs. FSU game last year, where both offenses are dominating until one of them starts shooting itself in the foot in the fourth quarter. I’m guessing UGA does just enough and their defense is just enough. Their defense is young and inexperienced, but very talented…Clemson’s defense is just plain bad because all of their best skill players are on offense.

LSU is going to be better this year. They lose a lot of talent but a lot of attitude problems. Younger talent will play together better.

Andrew Spivey

I’m going with the favorites this week simply because I don’t see an upset. The hardest game for me to pick was the Arkansas game but I’m going to lean with Bert (Bret Bielema) and the Razorbacks.

Daniel “DK” Thompson

I am picking almost all chalk this week. During week one, there are not usually many upsets. I did pick Louisiana-Lafayette over Arkansas as my lone by big upset. I like what ULL has with Coach Mark Hudspeth and I think they will win the Sun Belt with quarterback Terrence Broadway leading the way. They played Florida tight last year and I think they will pull the upset this week.

In regard to the two big games (UGA v. Clemson and Virginia Tech v. Alabama), I had no problem easily picking the SEC to win. I like Aaron Murray and their stable of running backs, and while their defense is young, it is very talented. Alabama is Alabama, they will have no problem beating Virginia Tech by two touchdowns.

Finally, while I think Auburn wins, Washington State will keep the game a lot closer than most pundits think.

Seth Puglio

To kick things off, I think North Carolina will present a formidable challenge to South Carolina on opening night but Clowney will take over, he almost always does. The Vanderbilt and Ole Miss matchup should be one of the better games of the week. I thought the Rebels were right on the cusp of really breaking through last season and I expect them to finally do so this time around. I also see Louisiana-Lafayette stealing one in Fayetteville and sending the piggies home quietly.

The game everyone is looking forward to  is Georgia vs. Clemson. I’m really excited to watch this matchup and I think the home-field advantage will prove to pay big dividends. This will be a game full of high-powered offenses taking advantage of suspect defenses. Getting your feet wet in “the other Death Valley” is not a good place to start. I think Clemson pulls out a close, back-and-forth game.

Richard Johnson

Don’t adjust your sets, I am indeed taking Louisiana Lafayette to beat Arkansas, because going out on a limbs is fun! Look the Hogs are doing what Florida did in 2011 — when the Gators transitioned from a spread offense to a pro style one — only they’re doing it with less talent. No Dennis Johnson or Knile Davis at running back, no Tyler Wilson at quarterback no Cobi Hamilton at wide receiver. Also it’s the season opener against a team that brings back a talented dual threat quarterback that marched into Gainesville last season and almost forced Florida into overtime. Yea, I smell an upset. Ragin’-Cajuns spoil good ole’ Bret Bielema’s first home game.

I took Vanderbilt because despite all the lofty preseason hype heaped upon Ole Miss, I don’t think they’re ready for prime time just yet. I like Bo Wallace at quarterback (a lot) but until I see otherwise, I think he’ll gun sling the Rebels into a few disadvantageous turnovers. #AnchorDown on opening night.

I flipped a quarter to make the hardest decision I had this week. Mr. Washington told me the ‘Dawgs are going to march into Death Valley and pull a victory from the jaws of the Tigers. Inexperienced defensive interior be darned! Aaron Murray has a huge game in what may become a contest of who has the ball last. The Gurshall monster at running back salts the game away at the end, and Georgia gets it done.

Disclaimer: Gator Country in no way condones betting or suggests using these picks as a betting guide in any way. These are for entertainment purposes only.