Thursday Pick’Em Post – Week One

Posted by Brandon Rink on September 2, 2010 under ACC Football | Comments are off for this article

Picking all 12, yes, 12 ACC games this week straight-up and ATS below…

• 9/02/10  Presbyterian Blue Hose @ Wake Forest / ESPN3 / 6:30 p.m. ET

The Lead: New QB for Wake, bad Blue Hose team – the Deacs open the college football season and it might be interesting for a quarter or two before the better games come on.

Watch 4: Rushing yards, lots of them

Wake won’t completely open the playbook for this one, but I expect a number of guys to carry the ball and successfully.

The Pick: Deacs 45 Blue Hose 10

• Florida A&M Rattlers @ Miami Hurricanes / ESPN3 / 7:30 p.m. ET

The Lead: The ‘Canes open their 2010 campaign against a team they steamrolled in 2009 – not going to see a change of scenery a year later.

Watch 4: How Jacory Harris performs

He should be alright, but Harris is coming off thumb surgery – we’ll see how well he performs and how long he stays in the game.

The Pick: ‘Canes 52 Rattlers 13

• 09/04/10 Samford Bulldogs @ Florida State Seminoles / ESPNU / 12:00 p.m. ET

The Lead: FSU opens their ‘10 slate with the underdog Samford Bulldogs – ‘Noles hoping to not see a performance a la Jacksonville State ‘09.

Watch 4: FSU to air it out

Establishing QB-WR unity before the big trip to Norman next week will be at  a premium – look for Ponder to post some numbers in this one.

The Lead: Noles 45 Bulldogs 13

• Weber State Wildcats @ Boston College Eagles / ESPN3 / 1:00  p.m. ET

The Lead: The Eagles kick off their SleeperDarkHorse ACC campaign against the solid Big Sky team – Eagles should roll though.

Watch 4: Who Shinskie targets at receiver

Will it be Flutie? Pantale? We’ll see who and how often he fires the pigskin too on Saturday.

The Pick: Eagles 49 Wildcats 13.

• SC State Bulldogs @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets / ESPN3 / 1:00 p.m. ET

The Lead: Georgia Tech begins the defense of the ACC title in the ATL against a solid Bulldogs team.

Watch 4: Growing pains with the new 3-4 defensive scheme of Groh’s

It won’t be a shutout – SC State may even score a couple TDs as they have a decent roster for an FCS team, but overall, nothing to worry about for the Jackets.

The Pick: Jackets 52 Bulldogs 17.

• North Texas Mean Green @ Clemson Tigers / ESPNU / 3:30 p.m. ET

The Lead: The Tigers open their season with another Sun Belt squad (beat MTSU 37-14 last year) – Kyle Parker steps on the field for the first time since he decided to come back to lead the Tigers to another Atlantic conquest.

Watch 4: Who Parker connects with at receiver

Dwayne Allen at TE will be a top target, but who will Parker hit at WR? He has a variety in size and speed at the position and we’ll see who gets open and catches the ball.

The Pick: Tigers 45 Mean Green 13.

• Western Carolina Catamounts @ NC State Wolfpack / ESPN3 / 6:00 p.m. ET

The Lead: We get our first look at what should be a prolific NC State offense behind a third-year starter in Russell Wilson – and a defense looking to fill key spots where graduation and injury have hurt them.

Watch 4: NC State to try to establish the run, and have success

The Catamounts finished 109th in rushing defense in the FCS last year – NC State should be able to run whoever Coach O’Brien chooses to run out there.

The Pick: Pack 52 Catamounts 14.

• Richmond Spiders @ Virginia Cavaliers / ESPN3 / 6:00 p.m. ET

The Lead: After leading the Spiders to a FCS title in ‘08 and a strong year in ‘09, London is on the other side of the field at his alma mater to open the season for the ‘Hoos.

Watch 4: Virginia’s D to lock down – get enough offensive effort to take the day

I can’t even begin to tell you how not confident I am in the UVA QB situation, but the defense will be strong and the ‘Hoos should be able to score enough on a Spiders team in transition.

The Pick: ‘Hoos 28 Spiders 13.

• Elon Phoenix @ Duke Blue Devils / ESPN3 / 7:00 p.m. ET

The Lead: No Thad Lewis – no problem? We’ll see how Renfree does in his debut as the guy in Durham against an upset-minded Elon team.

Watch 4: Duke’s D to impress

Elon is a top ten team in the FCS, but the Blue Devils’ D will have something for them.

The Pick: Devils 31 Elon 13

• LSU Tigers @ North Carolina Tar Heels / ABC / 8:00 p.m. ET

The Lead: The offseason brought us Club Liv, nanny-gate, and ESPN/Joe Schad reports now of up to 16 players not making the trip to Atlanta for this game for the Tar Heels – just crazy, and yeah, we still have a game Saturday night.

Watch 4: UNC just to be out of sync

Whether with a full squad, partial squad, or just some walk-ons mixed with male cheerleaders – UNC won’t be at 100% regardless with all this turmoil.

The Pick: Bayou Bengals 27 Heels 16.

• 09/06/10 Navy Midshipmen @ Maryland Terrapins / ESPN / 4:00 p.m. ET

The Lead: The Terps/Midshipmen stoke up a bit of rivalry in Baltimore – we’ll see if Friedgen can get Maryland off on the right foot against the testy triple option.

Watch 4: Maryland’s offense to be decent – just not enough to win it

Robinson and co. will put up points, but just not with the consistency that gets the W.

The Pick: Midshipmen 31 Terps 24.

• Boise State Broncos @ Virginia Tech Hokies / ESPN / 8:00 p.m. ET

The Lead: Best game of the weekend – best game of the season? We shall see as the Broncos come East to take on the Hokies in a not-so-neutral site tilt in D.C.

Watch 4: Points, and the Hokies to grind out win

See, I like Boise – they have 20 returning starters off a team that hasn’t lost since 2008. I like Chris Peterson – he’s a great coaching mind. But, I have this nagging feeling that Boise won’t come out on fire on Monday, and the Hokies just pull it out in a battle of top-flight offenses.

The Pick: Hokies 27 Broncos 23.

ATS Section

• Clemson and over 24.5 vs. North Texas

Take to Bank %: 75%

North Texas’ defense isn’t good at all, and Clemson’s defense will be shooting for a shutout as their DC Steele is a perfectionist – expect the Tigers to roll.

• Maryland and under 7 vs. Navy

Take to Bank %: 15%

We’re not terribly confident in the Terps, but they have had all offseason to prepare for the triple option – they have a good shot at keeping it under a TD.

• LSU and over 6.5 vs. North Carolina

Take to Bank %: 80%

This one’s off the board at the place I usually get these lines so I had to go searching for this one. All of the turmoil involved here is at least worth a TD.

• Boise State and over 2.5 vs. Virginia Tech

Take to Bank %: 5%

I wouldn’t suggest putting anything on this game – so many unknowns. If I had to put imaginary ACC Blogger funds on it (quite imaginary), I’d take Boise as the better complete team on paper, but again, have that nagging feeling that Virginia Tech finds a way to pull it out.

Be sure to follow our coverage of ACC football live on Twitter @ACCBlogger this weekend!