One more week to play the USC home game vs. non-conference opponent total trend...

Can the Sun Devils pose an upset threat in College Station on Saturday?

An FCS team is favored at an FBS opponent?

Can my Wildcats pull the upset in Provo?

Is the 49ers rushing attack a good play for the opener in Australia?

In the Super Bowl, Seahawks tight end A.J. Barner caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown as New England's secondary successfully shut down Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Look for a similar outcome in Week 1, with Christian Gonzalez and New England's defense scheming to slow the Seahawks' star wide receiver. That should leave Barner some room to operate in the intermediate area of the field. He was over this line in 7 of the Seahawks' last 11 games in 2025-26 and should be able to once again find success on Wednesday night in the 2026-27 opener.

I'm not entirely comfortable with betting Reynaldo Lopez coming off the IL on Wednesday for Atlanta but it's not as if Griffin Jax is all that much more trustworthy for Tampa Bay. If Lopez can give Atlanta four solid innings, I like their chances with a rock solid bullpen. The Braves are 48-25 at Truist Park this season, only a half game behind the Brewers for the best in baseball. But Atlanta has lost 3 of its last 4 games and needs this one to remain at least four games up on Philadelphia in the National League East. Expect a much better performance from the home team after being walloped on Tuesday night by Tampa Bay.

Aaron Judge was rusty on Tuesday in his first game since May 31st. The great slugger was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts against the Rockies but I have a strong feeling that changes on Wednesday. Against Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano, Judge is 7 for 9 lifetime with three home runs. Look for at least one extra base hit as Judge gets ready for the postseason with a few weeks to play.

Sandy Alcantara has made six starts at home since June. He has thrown at least 6.2 innings (20 outs) in each one. Also, Alcantara's home ERA of 2.58 is considerably lower than his road ERA (4.32). I'm comfortable riding those trends once again as he takes on the Mets on Tuesday night.

San Francisco had to fly across country from New York in the last 24 hours. St. Louis arrived in the Bay Area from Colorado, maybe a three hour flight or so. The Giants are the second worst team in the National League. The Cardinals are still in the Wild Card hunt and have won 4 of their last 6 games on the road. Logan Webb hasn't made it out of the 3rd inning in 2 of his last 3 starts for the Giants. St. Louis has won 5 of Michael McGreevy's last 6 starts. With all of those things going for them and against San Francisco, give me the Cardinals to win on Monday night.

I'm having a hard time seeing how this game at Lambeau Field is actually close. While Wisconsin should be improved, Notre Dame is elite. I believe the Badgers will be a bowl team this season but Sunday night will be rough. I’m not sure how Wisconsin slows down Notre Dame's balanced attack led by preseason top Heisman contender, quarterback C.J. Carr. And on offense, I don’t see the Badgers doing much against one of the best defenses in the country. Notre Dame 34, Wisconsin 7.

I'm comfortable backing MacKenzie Gore and the Rangers to avoid the sweep on Sunday afternoon. After all, Texas has won each of his last five home starts and the left hander owns a shiny 2.89 ERA at home (compared to 5.63 on the road). Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has lost each of Ian Seymour's last four outings and 7 out of the last 10 games when he has pitched. Seymour's 4.71 road ERA doesn't impress me much either. Texas needs this one and I think they will get it.

Overall, this is a really tough spot for Clemson considering the atmosphere. Night games in Baton Rouge are always tough for the LSU opponents, not to mention it's Lane Kiffin's debut and Clemson is breaking in a new quarterback. Expect Blake Baker's defense to dominate Dabo Swinney's offense. On the other side, I'm not expecting LSU to be a well-oiled machine offensively just yet. In another low-scoring affair between these two teams, I like LSU to win at home. LSU 23, Clemson 10.

I can't believe I'm backing the worst team in the National League again but here we are. The Rockies blew a lead in the 9th inning on Friday night and look to even the weekend series on Saturday. But this is mostly a fade of Cardinals left hander Matthew Liberatore, as St. Louis has lost five consecutive of his starts and 8 of the last 10 when he's on the mound. Plus, current Rockies hitters are a combined 13 of 29 (.448 average) against him. I'll take a shot with the home 'dogs on Saturday night.

This is way too many points for Vanderbilt to be laying against the FCS #14 ranked team, Austin Peay. The Governors have a dynamic dual threat QB in Chris Parson and enter off a 35-17 win over Gardner-Webb in Week 0. With the Commodores breaking in a new QB as Diego Pavia's eligibility finally expired, look for this one to be interesting well into the second half. Vanderbilt 30, Austin Peay 14.