Saturday Predictions: Week 1

It begins. Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Hallelujah! Rejoice in the season that has come! After wandering through the desert, humanity has arrived in the promised land. And what is the season? What is the land? It's college football season in America, and the first game will be played this Thursday at 6:00 PM in Charlotte, North Carolina. Having never watched any of this season's teams play a game, I can only approximate their respective skill levels. Fortunately for me, the predictor, there will be relatively few competitive games in which I will likely make an incorrect prediction. Unfortunately for me, the football fan, there will be relatively few competitive games to enjoy. Even so, being college football, there's still a lot to be interested in this weekend and you're sure to bet that a few unexpected events will occur on Saturday. And this is just the beginning!

The 2015 season begins when the South Carolina Gamecocks play the North Carolina Tar Heels, continuing their intermittent border-rivalry. Around the same time, FIU plays UCF in Orlando to decide which in-state team will be the first to win a game. Over 30 other teams kick off their seasons this Thursday, including Oklahoma State, Jim Harbaugh's Michigan, and second-ranked TCU.

Another 18 teams begin their seasons on Friday. Like TCU (who open their season against Minnesota in Minneapolis), fourth-ranked Baylor and fifth-ranked Michigan State start off on the road. Baylor will head to north to Dallas to face overmatched rival SMU while Michigan State will take a bus westward to face WMU in Kalamazoo.

Notre Dame hosts Texas in their season opener.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Like always, college football begins in full-force on Saturday. One of the first games is between #21 Stanford and Northwestern. If the Wildcats can keep it a low-scoring, defensive game at home, they just might pull of the first upset of a ranked team this season. At about the time the first round of games complete, Louisville kicks off their season against Auburn in the Georgia Dome. This is the first matchup between two of last season's most successful teams. Around the time the sun sets on the East Coast, Arizona State will be set to play Texas A&M in College Station. The Sun Devils will have a chance to prove their high ranking with an impressive win in a hostile environment.

The Florida Gators play their first game under head coach Jim McElwain at night in the Swamp. Their opponent, the New Mexico State Aggies, appear overmatched, despite shortages in Florida's offensive line and linebacker corps. The Gator defense should be sufficient to hold NMSU to a low score. Shortly after that game begins, Alabama and Wisconsin face off in the only game between two ranked opponents this week. That game will be played at the Dallas Cowboys' home stadium in Texas.

One game will be played on Sunday (between Marshall and Purdue) and another will be played on Monday. The latter game features top-ranked, defending-champion Ohio State and the only team they lost to last year, Virginia Tech. The Buckeyes seek to avenge last season's loss on the road in Blacksburg. Unusually, all of the top-five ranked teams will be playing their season openers away from home. Don't count on such an occurrence happening again in your lifetime, as it is exceedingly rare.

Note that the records indicate last season's results.

State of Florida:

• UCF (9-4) over FIU (4-8), 31-14
• Florida Atlantic (3-9) over Tulsa (2-10), 35-28
• Miami (6-7) over Bethune-Cookman (9-3), 48-7
• South Florida (4-8) over Florida A&M (3-9), 38-13
• Florida (7-5) over New Mexico State (2-10), 45-3
• 10 Florida State (13-1) over Texas State (7-5), 52-20

Southeastern Conference:

• South Carolina (7-6) over North Carolina (6-7), 30-24
• Vanderbilt (3-9) over Western Kentucky (8-5), 31-28
• 9 Georgia (10-3) over Louisiana-Monroe (4-8), 56-13
• 17 Mississippi (9-4) over Tennessee-Martin (6-6), 52-6
• 18 Arkansas (7-6) over UTEP (7-6), 38-10
• 6 Auburn (8-5) over Louisville (9-4), 38-28
• 24 Missouri (11-3) over Southeast Missouri State (5-7), 49-14
• 25 Tennessee (7-6) over Bowling Green (8-6), 41-17
• Texas A&M (8-5) over 15 Arizona State (10-3), 45-38
• Kentucky (5-7) over Louisiana-Lafayette (9-4), 28-21
• 14 LSU (8-5) over McNeese State (6-5), 56-17
• 3 Alabama (12-2) over 20 Wisconsin (11-3), 38-24
• Mississippi State (10-3) over Southern Mississippi (3-9), 42-17

Top 25:

• 1 Ohio State (14-1) over Virginia Tech (7-6), 45-28
• 2 TCU (12-1) over Minnesota (8-5), 52-28
• 4 Baylor (11-2) over SMU (1-11), 63-10
• 5 Michigan State (11-2) over Western Michigan (8-5), 35-10
• 7 Oregon (13-2) over Eastern Washington (11-3), 59-24
• 8 USC (9-4) over Arkansas State (7-6), 52-13
• 11 Notre Dame (8-5) over Texas (6-7), 24-17
• 12 Clemson (10-3) over Wofford (6-5), 52-3
• 13 UCLA (10-3) over Virginia (5-7), 38-17
• 16 Georgia Tech (11-3) over Alcorn State (10-3), 48-14
• 19 Oklahoma (8-5) over Akron (5-7), 45-14
• Northwestern (5-7) over 21 Stanford (8-5), 21-17
• 22 Arizona (10-4) over UTSA (4-8), 35-17
• 23 Boise State (12-2) over Washington (8-6), 35-24