Welcome back to college football! You've heard it said all offseason: this season will be like no other season ever before. We will get the first glimpse of the newly realigned conferences, the 12-team playoff, and the first season without Nick Saban since 2006 when he was head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Plus, you can't forget the annual coaching carousel that shakes up recruiting and the transfer portal like a snow globe. We truly are in for an amazing few months of football.
Before we go any further, I should start by introducing myself. As you can see from the byline, my name is Drake Williams. I am not the man behind the mask of the Sidelines-MTSU X (formerly Twitter) account. I am however the biggest Blue Raider fan you may ever meet. I have known Jonathan for many years and when he asked if I would like to help out, I immediately said yes without second thought. When we first met, we were actually covering Middle Tennessee on a now-defunct Twitter account called HasBeenBoro. It's funny how life can come full circle sometimes.
We are going to be at every home game this year. The plan is to have a few articles each week. One article covering our picks of the week, another focusing on the press conferences leading up to the game, and a game recap for all home games. The PotW article will be pretty informal just like this one, the other two will be more formal sports journalism. This season is a big one for MT and we are committed to doing everything in our power to provide you with the best coverage possible. With all of that being said: let's get to the picks.
Week 1 Picks
Every week we will pick each CUSA game and a selection of games we find interesting on the national slate. Maybe we think there will be an upset. Maybe we think it will just be a really fun game to watch. Maybe it is a game with playoff implications. Who knows what games we end up picking? There is no set number of games on the national slate that will be included. It really just depends on how the season goes. I will keep track of our picks every week and a winner will be crowned at the end of the year, with a prize TBD.
Conference USA Games
Date and Time (all times Central) | Game | Drake's Pick | Jonathan's Pick |
Thursday Aug 29th 7:00 pm | Coastal Carolina @ Jacksonville State | Jacksonville State | Jacksonville State |
Saturday Aug 31st 2:30 pm | FIU @ Indiana | Indiana | FIU |
2:30 pm | UTEP @ Nebraska | Nebraska | UTEP |
2:30 pm | Kennesaw State @ UTSA | UTSA | UTSA |
5:00 pm | Campbell @ Liberty | Liberty | Liberty |
6:00 pm | Tennessee Tech @ Middle Tennessee | Middle Tennessee | Middle Tenessee |
6:00 pm | Western Kentucky @ Alabama | Alabama | Alabama |
6:00 pm | Sam Houston @ Rice | Rice | Sam Houston |
7:00 pm | Nicholls @ LA Tech | LA Tech | LA Tech |
8:00 pm | Southeast Missouri State (1-0) @ New Mexico State | New Mexico State | New Mexico State |
Other Notable Games
Date and Time (all times Central) | Game | Drake's Pick | Jonathan's Pick |
Thursday Aug 29th 7:00 pm | North Carolina @ Minnesota | North Carolina | Minnesota |
7:00 pm | North Dakota State @ Colorado | Colorado | North Dakota State |
9:00 pm | Sacramento State @ San Jose State | Sacramento State | San Jose State |
Friday Aug 30th 9:30 pm | TCU @ Stanford | TCU | Stanford |
Saturday Aug 31st 11:00 am | (14) Clemson @ (1) Georgia (in Atlanta) | (1) Georgia | (1) Georgia |
2:30 pm | (19) Miami(FL) @ Florida | (19) Miami(FL) | Florida |
6:30 pm | (7) Notre Dame @ (20) Texas A&M | (7) Notre Dame | (7) Notre Dame |
Sunday Sept 1st 6:30 pm | (23) USC @ (13) LSU (in Las Vegas) | (13) LSU | (13) LSU |
Favorite Pick of the Week
My favorite pick this week is on the national slate in the form of an FCS over FBS upset. Sacramento State is the number 10 ranked team in FCS going into the season following a very good season last year. They don't have quite the notoriety of South Dakota State or North Dakota State but are not to be underestimated. I think the Hornets will really test San Jose State's team, who are only a 1.5-point favorite at home(via ESPN BET as of the time of writing the article). Give me the underdog to win a close one.
Be on the lookout for our post-game article Saturday night and a full week of coverage next week.
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