While the COVID-19 epidemic initially changed the game’s entry schedule two weeks after the Power Five 2020 college football season began, the ACC and Big 12 are officially preparing to take part on Saturday, with almost every team in action. . The SEC is still two weeks away from starting its season (Sept. 26), and the Big Ten and Pack-12 are currently surveying playing in the spring of 2021, but major college football is still on the deck this weekend.
Preseason No. 1 Clemson will be in action on Saturday night, a nearly five-touchdown favorite over Wake Forest, while No. 10 is a temporary member of the ACC for Notre Dame – 2020, with all three featured as touchdowns the afternoon game favorite on the Duke. There are no marquee games on the Big 12 schedule, although No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 14 Texas will be in action in both games that will likely take place before the first quarter.
With the action taking place early in the day and late into the night, let’s take a look at Saturday’s biggest games on schedule as well as predictions of what will happen in our elections and those competitions. The football experts at our CBS Sports College College have chosen each sport exactly against the straight up and spread, giving you ample opportunity to decide how to make your choice ahead of the kick off. Eastern all the time
Syracuse at No. 18 North Carolina (-22.5) – Afternoon on ACC Network: This is a big, big number for a conference game that will be the first action for both teams after a limited-no-spring and socially distant bias camp. While I’m on North Carolina with one of the best offenses in the ACC this season, you have to leave room for a few weeks of swing in anticipation for this game. Those points may appear in low touchdowns, but should also be compromised for field goals when the high octane offense is in the scoring position and the field is compressed. Then I look at Tommy DeVito and wonder if, after a very disappointing 2019, he has taken steps to put a few touchdowns on the board against the North Carolina defense. Tar Heels will win by hand, but it’s big to have more than three touchdowns at this stage of the season. Pick: Syracuse (+22.5) – Chip Patterson
Duke at No. 10 Notre Dame (-20.5) – 2:30 p.m. on NBC: Picked games this year will be more difficult than before because we may not find players missing just before kickoff. Still, given what we know about these two teams going on Saturday, I’ve had a hard time not taking the Fighting Irish. The Irish beat Duke 38-7 last season in Durham, North Carolina, and I don’t think this year’s competition for both teams has changed as much as one would expect to run very differently. I feel like taking the Irish better than three touchdowns. Pick: Notre Dame (-20.5) – Tom Fornelly
Georgia Tech (-12.5) at Florida State – 3:30 p.m. on ABC: Both defenses should be due to their return talent and its true beginning and the fact that neither offense inspires confidence as a unit capable of performing a breakout in Week 1. It will take time for the seminals and everything new coach Mike Norwell wants to do. , And for that reason, it’s hard to see enough scoring dragging the state of Florida. Georgia Tech should produce enough punches to score at least a few times in the running game and keep the yellow jackets inside the spread. Pick: Georgia Tech (+12.5) – David Cobb
No. 1 Clemson (-33) at Wake Forest – 7 a.m. on ABC: National television will be a stage for the whole country to understand that Clemson’s defensive line is true for the year 2017-18 in terms of depth and dominance. Sofmore Tyler Davis is set to become one of the best internal defensive linemen in the country this season, teammate Soffmore KJ Henry is set to be the next great new Clemson Pass Rusher and Brian Brassey and Miles Murphy’s true new pair of “overdeliver” according to Clemson’s coach. That group is going to run five or six deep runs with a player who can start from any line in the conference, and that will cause all sorts of problems for Wake Forest in this matchup, even if Trevor Reyns goes out with his top goals from a slow start like 2019. But the defense would be so disruptive that getting any kind of rhythm would be tough for Damon Deacons offense. Pick: Clemson (-33) – Chip Patterson
UTEP (-14) at No. 14 Texas – 8pm on the Longhorn Network: Bookies predict this will be a blow, and I’m not trying to disagree. Personally, early season lines like this aren’t fun because it’s clear who the better team is – it’s just enough to cover whether they’ll put their foot on the gas pedal. The Miners have been bad for a while, winning just two games in the last three years. A 24-14 win over FCS-ranked Stephen F. Austin in Week 1 was not exactly a ton of confidence for this week’s cover. I think that lays issues. Pick: Texas-43.5 – Ben Kerscheval
