SATURDAY

Friday’s scores:

• Florida State 24, UConn 4, Florida State leads series 1-0
• Tennessee 11, Evansville 6, Tennessee leads series 1-0
• North Carolina 8, West Virginia 6, UNC leads series 1-0
• Virginia 7, Kansas State 4, Virginia leads series 1-0

Saturday’s schedule (All times ET):

• Tennessee vs. Evansville, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)
• Florida State vs. UConn, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
• Georgia vs. NC State, Noon (ESPNU)
• Clemson vs. Florida, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
• Texas A&M vs. Oregon, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
• Virginia vs. Kansas State, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
• Kentucky vs. Oregon State, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
• North Carolina vs. West Virginia, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL ODDS

I know it is too early to get too excited about August 24 and August 31 games, but I got some odds sent to me so I am sharing them with you. I do not have a McNeese vs Tarleton State line just yet, but I would guess it will be somewhere between 10-13 points. I do know that the first two games on August 24 are Florida State -17 over Georgia Tech and SMU is 21.5 over Nevada. The TV schedule has a tripleheader with McNeese stuck between these two games.

The most anticipated games to get down on early are Georgia – 13.5 over Clemson and Miami -3 over Florida. LSU has opened as a 6.5 favorite over USC, but the Over and Under maybe the play. Would you take the total of 90 points scored? Other big games during the first couple of weeks are Notre Dame +1 at Texas A&M, Texas 4.5 over Michigan, and Georgia over Alabama +4. Personally, I think all of these big opening games will adjust closer. I believe LSU will end up around 4-5 points and Notre Dame will become the favorite over the Aggies. Many experts have Notre Dame in the Top 6 teams in 2024. The Aggies fired their coach last year, so this is not a team ready to go 11-1.

Texas is favored by almost 5 points in a 11AM kickoff in front of 105,000 against the defending national champions at the “BIG HOUSE”. I do not believe when Vegas starts betting this game they will allow Michigan to get 5 points at home. Just my opinion. I admit my skills are not sharp on June 8, but this game will become closer. If you like blowouts, Ohio State is opening at 50.5 over Akron.

I am not ready to do a future bet on the SEC champion. However, I always find it interesting to see how Vegas puts futures. They don’t give away money, so they have an unbiased opinion which seems to be impossible these days. If you get your news or sports all from one source, you will lose a lot of money this year. Diverse opinions are a good thing in framing an opinion. I have a lot of work to do between now and August 24.

SEC ODDS GIVE US A PEAK AT WHAT A NEUTRAL OPINION LOOKS LIKE

If you were to bet $100 on your team to win the SEC Championship game, here is what you would win.

Georgia $200

Texas $260

Ole Miss $600

Alabama $900

LSU $1000

Tennessee $1200

Missouri $1500

Texas A&M $2000 (This is why the Aggies should not be favored over Notre Dame)

Oklahoma $4000

Auburn $6000

Florida $10,000

South Carolina $10,000

Arkansas $15,000

Mississippi State $30,000

Vanderbilt $50,000

The way I interpret these numbers is that it will be a two-team race. However, you can expect a lot of “long shot” theorist who will try to hit a grand slam taking Ole Miss and Alabama. Imagine putting $10,000 on either of these two teams and them winning the title game. I think the odds are much better than the lottery.

One caller to ESPN College Football Radio Show said they were glad to see LSU playing two Pac 12 schools in one year. The host said “Sir, LSU is playing two Big 10 teams in one year”. These changes are going to be hard to get used to. I do know that if Oklahoma, LSU, Auburn, Florida, Arkansas, and South Carolina lose five ball games, there will be some heads chopped off. I think you can bank it that UF, Arkansas, and South Carolina will lose 5 ballgames. The fanbases at OU, Auburn, and LSU will be hard to handle if they lose five ballgames, With Tuscaloosa burning to the ground and losing all of their players, a win over Auburn would be damning to Auburn. Same thing in Baton Rouge if Bama were to shock the world and win on the road.

I don’t know which job is worst this year for Lincoln Riley. He could be at OU and have Tennessee, at Auburn, at Texas (Dallas), at Ole Miss, at Missouri, Alabama, at LSU. However, his USC team has LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Washington, and Notre Dame. Plus, the rival game with UCLA and a trip to Minnesota and Maryland which are not “give-me’s”.

Athletic Directors and fans want to have super schedules, but we have not seen the likes of fan’s chanting “fire the coach” like we will see this year. Not only do I predict chaos this year, but injuries galore and the portal having 10,000 names by Thanksgiving. These schedules are going to force coaches to play fewer players due to the challenges, and then at the end of the season, back-to-back to back emotional rival games are going to be a killer. In other words, a team like Auburn could face Alabama on the last playing date, go to Atlanta to play UGA, then make the playoffs and have Michigan or Washington in the first round, win and have Ohio State, Texas, or Penn State in the second round. The third round will be the best team in the country, and I wonder who will be left standing to play.

Players are reporting this week for summer workouts. Games start as early as August 24. They will play 12 games in 14 weeks and then have conference championship games on Dec. 12-13, first round playoff games on December 20 and 21, second round playoff games December 31 and January 1. Semifinals are set for January 9th and the championship game is set for January 20. This could very well mean 16 or 17 games for some teams. This will not be FCS playoffs when some teams get easy wins during the first two or three weeks. This will be brutal on the players and coaches. Will fans be able to afford tickets that will go for $200-$1000 for playoff games plus hotels, etc.? It will become a game of attrition much like the NFL. Oh, by the way, finals are in December and a new semester starts in early January. Spring ball starts in March.