From paycheck games to can’t-miss TV, Week 1 runs the spectrum in the world of college football. SEC Media Days may have wrapped down in Tampa, but the hype train hasn’t left the station.
That will change after a few name brands drop the hammer in Week 1.
Let's dive into my college football picks and NCAAF predictions for East Carolina vs. Alabama and Clemson vs. LSU.
East Carolina vs Alabama Pick
| East Carolina Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+27.5 -106 | 54.5 -110o / -110u | +2000 |
| Alabama Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-27.5 -114 | 54.5 -110o / -110u | -7000 |
Kalen DeBoer may have a shiny new contract that makes him the fourth-highest-paid coach in the sport at a whopping $12.5 million per season, but let’s not kid ourselves. In the SEC, contracts, like hearts, are made to be broken.
Despite a playoff win, Alabama’s 2025 season was bookended by embarrassing losses.
In the opener, the Tide were dominated by what turned out to be a 5-7 Florida State team. And the Rose Bowl was a reminder of how far the program has fallen since the Nick Saban days. That 38-3 humiliation at the hands of Indiana was Alabama’s worst loss in 28 years (42-6 to Arkansas in 1998).
Sandwiched in between those major letdowns was an 11-win season that saw DeBoer’s bunch take down five ranked opponents.
Kane Wommack’s defense finished inside the top 20 nationally in a handful of meaningful metrics like scoring, passing defense, tackles for loss and total defense.
Wommack returns 61% of his defensive production, headlined by the one-man blitz package Yhonzae Pierre and a secondary loaded with experience.
This brings us to East Carolina, an established brand at the G6 level fresh off of a nine-win season. The only problem for the Pirates is that they’ve been gutted in the offseason.
Both coordinators were poached, and 21 players who started at least six games last season are gone. That includes quarterback Katin Houser, the entire offensive line (125th in returning experience) and explosive playmakers like Anthony Smith and Yannick Smith.
This is a Year 0 rebuild for Blake Harrell and the Pirates, while Alabama needs a statement win to satisfy the boosters.
I expect 45 or more points from Alabama, and the full range of plays when DeBoer rotates in either Keelon Russell or Austin Mack at quarterback. The Tide will run this one up.
Pick: Alabama -26.5
Clemson vs LSU Pick
| Clemson Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+9.5 -102 | 50.5 -120o / -102u | +315 |
| LSU Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-9.5 -120 | 50.5 -120o / -102u | -410 |
Clemson has gone 4-4 in the ACC in two of the last three seasons. Its overall roster talent was rated seventh by 247Sports in 2025, but that was after returning 81% of its production — a mark that led the nation.
If you’re only treading water with talent and continuity like that, the fall-off is coming.
Clemson’s talent drops off considerably this season, and you can track that on the recruiting trail. The Tigers' last three high school classes averaged a national ranking of 22nd, and their portal work was far worse (69th in the last two cycles).
Cade Klubnik will be holding a clipboard for the New York Jets this fall, which means Clemson enters with an open question at quarterback. Christopher Vizzina has some experience, but he has yet to clearly separate from true freshman Tait Reynolds.
Chad Morris returns to Clemson to call plays after holding the offensive coordinator position from 2011-14, and he has a great receiving corps to target now that Dabo Swinney and his staff retained Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore.
But Morris hasn’t been in the captain’s chair as a play-caller in six years, and the offensive line is replacing both starting tackles.
That last concern — offensive line play — is why I’m on LSU in this game.
The Bayou Bengals paid top dollar for Princewill Umanmielen (13 TFLs in 2025) and four-star edge Jordan Ross in the hopes of spicing up their pass rush. They’ll both be licking their chops against green tackles in this one.
Offensively, the college football world has no choice but to give Lane Kiffin the benefit of the doubt. From Alabama to Florida Atlantic to Ole Miss, he has created high-scoring offenses everywhere he’s been.
And now he has an insanely explosive receiving corps and an athletic quarterback to work with.
If the Portal King — LSU boasts the No. 1 transfer class — works his magic with this new group, the Tigers will win this one going away.
Pick: LSU -10.5
