No. 10 Texas vs. Louisiana Tech
Latest Odds: Texas -21 | Total 55
I’m a very big fan of Tom Herman, and I think Texas is going to have a big year. Still, I got burned the last two years in the openers for Texas against Maryland, as the Longhorns lost both contests outright. This year, No. 6 LSU is waiting in the wings in Week 2, which might be the biggest game in Coach Herman’s tenure at Texas. Can Texas fire out of the starting blocks and blowout an opponent early in the season?
Skip Holtz and La Tech are coming off a nine-win season and a massive bowl victory over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl. You might remember me being on the wrong side of that game, too. Tech was down by only three points at LSU last year in the fourth quarter. In 2017, the Bulldogs nearly won at South Carolina, losing by one that year. This a live dog, folks.
Tech brings an offensive that is led by QB J’Mar Smith and wideout Adrian Hardy. Their offensive line returns six players who started games last season. While Tech scored only 22.2 points per game last season, they threw the ball 53% of the time. That was 18th in the country. Texas gave up over 262 yards per game passing last year.
The weakness of the Bulldogs will be their defense and the fact that they have to try to replace the all-time sack leader in NCAA history. Jaylon Ferguson had 17 sacks last year and left college for the NFL with 45 in his career. He was the anchor of a defense that ranked in the top 25 in the country last year. However, this year’s team does have outstanding corner Amik Robertson Jr. to lean on.
For Texas, it’s time for QB Sam Ehlinger to become one of the best signal-callers in the nation. The Longhorns scored 31.1 points per game last year, and Ehlinger threw for nearly 3,300 yards. He accounted for 41 touchdowns and will have a superstar backfield with him this season in sophomore Keaontay Ingram and freshman Jordan Whittington. UT has the firepower on offense to carry this team.
The issue for Texas is their defense, which has to replace nine starters. The secondary is good, but young, and there are some real questions at linebacker. There isn’t much time to get on the same page with LSU sitting there in Game 2. I like UT a lot this year, but I don’t think they blow out La Tech in the opener.
Pick: La Tech +21
No. 20 Michigan State vs. Tulsa
Latest Odds: Michigan State -22.5 | Total 47
Michigan State is playing in a division in the Big 10 that is full of quality teams. Games like this against Tulsa must be used to sharpen the Spartans before they get into conference play.
The Spartans defense will once again be the star of this team as they will attempt to follow up last year’s dominance. MSU gave up 21 points….
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