Oklahoma Sooners Football: College Football TV Schedule & Gambling Picks - Week 1

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON IS HEEEEEEEEEEERE!

I’m just so excited, y’all. This really is the most wonderful time of the year, and we’re going to try to have as much fun with this as we can.

Oklahoma’s matchup with UTEP may not be a sexy one, but I feel like there’s a decent amount to be learned from it. There are plenty of talented, yet unproven commodities on both sides of the ball. Freshmen CeeDee Lamb and Kenneth Murray along with inexperienced sophomore Parnell Motley have us all excited, but let’s see how they react in front of 86,000 crimson-clad fans on Saturday.

I couple of quick notes about our game day (and game week) coverage this season:

• Graham and Steve were the two game day guys last season, but they have different roles in 2017 due to the demands of their day jobs. Our guys this season are Austin Brown (you may have already read some of his stuff) and a brand new contributor by the name of Sam Camp. They’ll be doing posts and interacting with you guys on the thread this season, and I’m sure y’all will love them. Steve will be controlling our Twitter account during most of the games this season, and he’s always done a fantastic job with that.
• Speaking of the game thread, this TV schedule/gambling picks thing that I like to do will not be the thread this time around. Kartik will post that on Fridays along with his weekly Final Thoughts post.

Without further ado, here are my gambling picks for Week 1! I’m sure they’ll be super accurate.

• Tulsa at Oklahoma State (-18) - OSU isn’t really in danger of losing this one, but Tulsa is going to score some points in Stillwater. The Cowboys have some unproven guys on defense and Phillip Montgomery’s offenses are good at exploiting weaknesses. Gambling pick: The -18 line in this one is kind of tricky for me, but I think Oklahoma State covers on Thursday night. Over 69.5
• Ohio State (-20.5) at Indiana - After being let go by Indiana following the 2016 regular season, former IU head coach (and former OU offensive coordinator) Kevin Wilson is now in charge of the Ohio State offense, adding a layer of intrigue to this matchup. Wilson built a pretty decent product at Indiana by the time he was done there, so the cupboard isn’t exactly bare in Bloomington. Gambling pick: Indiana will put up a fight and keep it somewhat close for a half, but I think the Buckeyes blow the doors off of them in the second half. Ohio State covers with a 24-point victory. Over 57.0
• Colorado State vs. Colorado (-5.5) in Denver - This one of the more interesting and under-the-radar rivalries in college football. In Boulder, you have an incredible music scene and a lot of other “distractions”, and it’s often tough to get the locals and students excited about CU football. In Fort Collins, you have a slightly more conventional, salt-of-the-earth type of crowd that loves the Rams and strongly dislikes the Buffs. Gambling pick: The Rams absolutely steamrolled Oregon State last weekend, and the Buffs no longer have defensive mastermind Jim Leavitt to make them look good. I have Colorado State covering the spread and winning the game. Under 66.5
• Maryland at Texas (-18.5) - The Longhorns were their usual disappointing selves last year, but Maryland was absolutely atrocious down the stretch in 2016 despite making it to a bowl game. Texas should at least do well enough to make a bowl game in 2017. The same can definitely not be said for the Terps. Gambling pick: Shane Buechele connects on some deep balls and helps Texas beat the spread. Under 56.0
• UTEP at Oklahoma (-43) - Imagine Baker Mayfield running into the locker room at halftime with his services no longer needed. Now imagine Kyler Murray running onto the field in the second half to replace him. Gambling pick: Give me Oklahoma plus the points. Over 63.0
• Michigan (-5.5) vs. Florida in Arlington - Malik Zaire is a nice upgrade at quarterback. Oh wait! He won’t even start! Sure, he’ll get to play, but he was unable to beat out the likes of the likes of Feleipe Franks (who might actually be good) and Luke Del Rio (who is bad). Also, 10 players, including Antonio Callaway and Jordan Scarlett, are out with suspensions for the Gators. Gambling picks: I’m taking Michigan plus the points here. Under 43.5
• Florida State vs. Alabama (-7.0) in Atlanta - What an incredible matchup for the first weekend of the season. There will perhaps be no other game this regular season with this much overall talent on the field, and the physicality will be off the charts. I’m interested to see how Deondre Francois (who I’m a huge fan of) will do against Alabama’s pass rush. The dude took an absolute beating in 2016, but his offensive line should be a lot better this season. If they aren’t, he could be in major trouble. Gambling pick: This will resemble a quality prize fight for 3.5 quarters before Bama does Bama things at the end of the game. Alabama covers with a 31-21 win. Over 49
• West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech (-4.0) in Andover, Md. - This has the makings of an incredibly entertaining game at Samaje Perine’s new home field. It’s also a pretty huge game for the Big 12, and I expect Will Grier and West Virginia to represent. Gambling pick: West Virginia covers and wins the game. Over 52
• Tennessee (-3.0) vs. Georgia Tech in Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, not Bobby Dodd) - I want to pick the Jackets so badly, but they just recently dismissed their starting B-back (fullback/interior runner in Paul Johnson’s offense) who was last season’s leading rusher, so I just can’t do it. Regardless, it should be a pretty awesome atmosphere inside that new stadium, and GT will certainly find a way to make it interesting. Gambling pick: Tennessee wins by a touchdown and covers. Over 56