Table of Contents
By Alex Lauzon from the “Course of Life” podcast
Week One: The Playoff Chase Begins
College football fans – rejoice! We’ve made it to Labor Day weekend, which is not only my birthday weekend but the true dawn of the college football season. We’ve clamored for this moment for months where the board of games is chock full and hope is endless for CFB programs to carve out their best season, win their respective conference, or if lucky enough…compete for a National championship. Week one features a debut that;s PRIME for entertainment, a matchup of two top-ten programs with playoff hopes, and a slew of intriguing non-conference matchups to dive in and digest. It’s wall-to-wall college football from morning till midnight.
Week Zero’s seven-game slate brought some fairly predictable results, as Notre Dame trounced Navy and Caleb Williams and the Trojans marched to their first W’s. Our picks were marginal but the wins were authoritative and we’re seeing the board clearly. It’s great to have college football back, and this weekend is the official coronation.
Must Watch “Main Screen” Games
Colorado @ TCU (-21) – 12:00 pm ET – PRIME TIME gets a midday start to the next chapter in his coaching career. Coach Prime aka Deion Sanders heads to Fort Worth for a study matchup against the national runners-up in the TCU Horned Frogs, now missing many of their stars from last year’s team. Coach Prime’s son Shadeur is likely to start at QB and it will be fascinating to see how they stack up against the big dogs of college football.
#21 North Carolina @ South Carolina (+2.5) – 7:30 pm ET – A classic neighbor-state rivalry that dates back over 100 years, it’s their 60th meeting and this should be hotly contested. It’s also a big-time “show me” spot for UNC Quarterback and first-round draft prospect Drake Maye, who is taking one more season in Chapel Hill under Mack Brown before likely heading to the NFL Draft.
#5 LSU @ #8 Florida State (+2.5) – 7:30 pm ET (Sunday) – College football does a great job of saving a couple of doozies for Sunday night and Monday, just in case the Saturday marathon doesn’t fill you up appropriately. This year is no exception, as two top-ten programs with lots of hopes kick off their hopeful playoff runs with a big matchup. My eyes are on FSU quarterback Jardon Travis, who could become a Heisman favorite in a matter of weeks if he starts off as hot as he finished 2022.
Tier Two “Second Screen” Games
Florida @ #14 Utah (-5) – 8 pm ET (Thursday) – Might as well start the party Thursday night since we all know the Friday before Labor Day weekend is a joke of a business day. Could it be Cam rising and PAC 12 champion Utes defending their title for potentially the last time? They start their season off with a rare visit from an SEC program in the Gators, who now look to Graham Mertz (Wisconsin transfer) as the starter in a post-Anthony Richardson world.
Boise State @ #10 Washington – 3:30 pm ET – If you’re on the Michael Penix Jr. bandwagon like I currently am, you’re thinking his coming out party begins in a nationally televised spot against a Boise State team that’s nothing to sneeze at as far as a mid-major program. Penix should have his slingshot of an arm and escapability on full display and it’s a good week one barometer for the UW offense.
West Virginia @ #7 Penn State (-20.5) – 7:30 pm ET – The debut “BIG Ten Saturday Night” broadcast on NBC features Happy Valley, where Coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions are forever trying to climb over the top of the Ohio State/Michigan chokehold on the conference. This should be an easy walk for the Lions, who go against an outmatched WVU team that already has its coach Neal Brown on the hot seats before anything has been kicked off.
South Alabama @ #24 Tulane (-6) – 8 pm ET – Stepping outside of Power Conference play. You can contend that these are two of the best mid-major programs in the country right now. Tulane is ranked off of their thrilling Cotton Bowl victory, and South Alabama is annually a team looking to win 10 games and capture a Sun Belt championship.
The “Tablet Game” Night Capper
Coastal Carolina @ UCLA (-14.5) – 10:30 pm ET – Who doesn’t love a night capper from the Rose Bowl? Two things that surprise me about this are 1. The fact that Chip Kelly has lasted this long as UCLA and 2. Grayson McCall is again back as a starter for Coastal.
Week One Plays To Watch
Colorado +20.5 – Don’t be surprised if the late Coach Prime money flows in from the public, and the line should only drop
LSU -2.5 – The line seems a bit fishy, and I think the SEC vs ACC elite battle in the trenches could show the gap between the conferences.
Utah -5 – Florida should continue to struggle to find an offensive identity, much like part of last season.
Penn State -20.5 – Giving a little of Notre Dame- Navy vibes – one team is versatile and the other is reeling on offense.
Coastal Carlina +14.5 – A nice cushy number for a pesky road team that should surprise in the late-night action of week one.
CFB FAQs
How are college football bowl games determined?
Only bowl-eligible teams are selected for College Football Bowls. At the NCAA Division I FBS level, the standard by which teams become available for selection in bowl games varies. For example, in 2018-19 season, the team had to have at least as many wins as overall losses. Wins against non-Division I teams do not count toward the number of wins.
How do you play college football pick'em pools?
Simply pick winners from the games each week selected by the Pool Commissioner, either straight up or against the spread. Whichever member has the most points at the end of the season wins
What is a football pool?
"Football Pool" is a broad term for a group of people competitively guessing the outcome of one or more football games. There are many types of formats, each assigning winners differently. They can be played informally between friends or through a more formalized system. They are often considered a great alternative to fantasy football given the ease of playing, although there are fantasy football pools as well.
How to run a football pool?
How you decide to run a football pool varies greatly depending on the game type. In each case, however, you'll want to determine the rules and settings before you begin inviting members to join you. You'll want to clearly establish how score will be kept, how tiebreakers work, and how winners are decided before anything else.
How to play squares football pools?
Football squares are played by creating a grid, in which Team 1 takes the column and Team 2 the rows. In some cases, participants may claim as many squares as they like. In others, commissioners limit them to one. At the quarter times and end of the game, the winner is decided at the point the scores final digit intersect.
How do you setup a college football bowl pool?
To set up a college football bowl pool, you'll need to first choose if you will include all the games or specific ones. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As commissioner, you'll implement rules to ensure everything runs smoothly during the bowl games. Many use pool sites like RunYourPool to make the process easier.
What is a college football squares pool?
In a college football squares pool, a commissioner starts with a 10x10 grid of 100 squares (though commissioners decide to use smaller 5x5 pools). Members pick one or more squares in that grid. Winners are determined based on the score of each team after each quarter and at the end of the game.
How many squares in a football pool?
In a traditional football squares pool, a grid is sectioned off into 100 squares with 10 columns and 10 rows. This accounts for a direct relationship between each possible digit from 0 to 9 on both the X and Y axis. For smaller square grids like 5x5, multiple numbers can be assigned to each column and row.
How to read a football squares pool sheet?
In Squares formats, football pool sheets include a grid, where one team is the column and one is the row. Winners are determined at the end of each quarter when the last number in the team’s score (on each side) is matched to the numbers on the grid, and the intersecting square wins.
How do you setup a college football bowl pool?
To set up a college football bowl pool, you'll need to first choose if you will include all the games or specific ones. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As commissioner, you'll implement rules to ensure everything runs smoothly during the bowl games. Many use pool sites like RunYourPool to make the process easier.
How do you win college football confidence bowl pool?
The winner of a college bowl confidence pool is the member with the most points after all games have ended. Members rank each game based on how confident they are in their pick (44 points = most confident, 1 point = least confident). For each game picked correctly, members receive the number of points they assigned.
What is a college football bowl confidence pool?
Players try to pick the winner of every bowl game, assigning a point value to each game. Picks are made "straight up," not using a point spread system. Members rank each game based on how confident they are (44 points = most confident, 1 point = least confident). A winner is determined by totalling the point values assigned to correctly picked games.
How do you setup a college football bowl pool?
To set up a college football bowl pool, you'll need to first choose if you will include all the games or specific ones. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As commissioner, you'll implement rules to ensure everything runs smoothly during the bowl games. Many use pool sites like RunYourPool to make the process easier.
How do you win college football bowl pick'em pool?
As you might expect, the player who selects the most bowl winners will win their pick'em pool. You can win your college football bowl pick'em pool by choosing winners wisely, based on past performance, player starting status and other "intangibles."
What is a college football bowl pick'em pool?
In a College Bowl Pick'em pool members attempt to pick the winner of every College Bowl game (or a subset of games determined by the Pool Commissioner). Picks are made using the point spread system or "straight up", as assigned by the Pool Commissioner.
