College football is back! It’s been a long wait for college football, but enjoy all the great action here in Week 1.
I’m going to be putting together a weekly article on college football team totals selections. One point I think that's crucial to understand is that team totals prices vary far more than the standard betting spread.
What does that mean? It means it's important for you to have as many books as possible, and you must shop around for the best prices. The fastest way to improve as a sports bettor is to get the best price possible.
Let’s get things started with a few plays for Week 1.
Marshall vs Penn State Team Total Pick
The Matt Campbell era starts in Happy Valley on Saturday. Penn State has been a pretty popular pick to make the College Football Playoff.
Is that because Penn State is an elite team? Or is it because the Nittany Lions play the easiest schedule in the Big Ten? I think it's more the latter.
Marshall offensive coordinator Rod Smith is bringing what he calls the “hyper fast” tempo to the Thundering Herd offense.
Smith was in charge of the Jacksonville State offense a couple of years ago, and that Gamecocks offense played at the fastest pace of any team in the country.
Marshall is planning to crank up the tempo this season.
Quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson really impressed me last year. Del Rio-Wilson showed he's capable of making good decisions, and he's a real threat both in the pass and run game. He had a 17:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio last season.
Marshall’s wide receiver group is my favorite receiver unit in the Sun Belt. The Herd added transfers from North Carolina and West Virginia while also returning three of their top four guys from a year ago.
Penn State’s defensive front is much weaker than a year ago, so Marshall’s offensive line should hold its own in pass blocking. I think there will be quite a few possessions in this game, and we only need the Herd to score two touchdowns.
Pick: Marshall Team Total Over 13.5 (-120 · FanDuel)
ULM vs Mississippi State Team Total Pick
Kamario Taylor and the Mississippi State Bulldogs have an extremely difficult schedule this season. It’s entirely possible that the Bulldogs could be a much better team than last year, but still not win more games than last season.
ULM is a bottom-feeder in the Sun Belt, and it has made some big changes in the offseason. I think this creates a real possibility for a blowout in this one.
ULM brings in Jesse Montalto as the new offensive coordinator after he spent eight years as the head coach at Iowa Central Community College. The identity of his offense is to play at a very quick pace and use the spread option.
They hope to take some shots down the field. While this change might work in the long run, I’m not convinced they have the players needed to succeed right away.
Mississippi State wants to play quickly under Jeff Lebby. The Bulldogs won’t have many chances to pile up the points this season, but this is the perfect opportunity.
ULM is very weak on the defensive line and in the secondary. The Warhawks' plan to play quickly while likely being inefficient creates plenty of opportunities for the Bulldogs' offense.
Pick: Mississippi State Team Total Over 41.5 (-111 · FanDuel)
Clemson vs LSU Team Total Pick
We have a marquee matchup in Baton Rouge on Saturday night. Expectations are sky-high for the LSU Tigers with Lane Kiffin coming to town and bringing quite the influx of talent on both sides of the ball.
Whit Weeks is one of the best defensive players in the country. Weeks is always all over the place, and he should be a big problem for the Clemson offense on Saturday night.
TJ Dottery is a leader at middle linebacker as well, and DJ Pickett is an elite cover corner.The pickup of Ty Benefield from Boise State will really help at the safety spot too.
Defensive coordinator Blake Baker is a great defensive mind, and he has more talent at his disposal this season.
While LSU will play at a quick pace on offense, I think the Tigers will run the football more than many expect. The clock should keep moving quite a bit in this game.
What can we expect from Clemson’s offense? I haven’t seen anything from quarterback Christopher Vizzina that impresses me at quarterback. The Clemson offensive line has also consistently underachieved season after season.
I don’t think the Tigers will hold up well against this LSU pass rush, which also picked up an elite end in Princewill Umanmielen.
I like LSU to take care of business here. I think the weakest unit on the field here is the Clemson offense, so I'll fade that unit.
Pick: Clemson Team Total Under 20.5 (-111 · FanDuel)
