Against the Spread | Sorting through expected Week 1 blowouts | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Welcome back, college football.

You know what that means, right? Not temperature checks, masks and a ban on tailgating. Let’s take a break from the serious stuff for one column.

It means it’s time to remind everybody how challenging it is to pick winners against the point spread — unless you’re a Labrador retriever.

If you followed Against The Spread last season, you watched Ruby, my Labrador, crush Eric Crawford and (especially) me at picking college football games against the spread.

Ruby picked games by letting a coin fall off her concrete noggin. By the season’s end, she was the only one in the trio who finished over .500. Here are the final results:

Ruby 46-35-2, .566 correct.

Eric 46-50-2, .480 correct.

Rick, 41-55-2, .429 correct.

In 2020, there was no guarantee of a college football season to celebrate. In four conferences, including the Big Ten, the season has been canceled.

But the season opened last week and will gain momentum this week as Atlantic Coast Conference teams join the fun.

As if finishing behind my dog and Mr. Crawford wasn’t enough fun, I opened the competition. The entire WDRB Sports staff — sports director Aaron Matas, Annice McEwan, Tom Lane and John Lewis — will also pick games every week.

The games are not sexy this week. Fifteen of the 17 games on the board featured double-digit favorites. So I limited opening week to five games.

We’ll crank it up to the usual seven next week and discover if anybody can start 5-0 or 0-5.

1. UAB at Miami (-14), Thursday, 8 p.m. ACCNetwork, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami.

The last time I saw the Hurricanes, they routed Louisville in Miami in early November. They failed to win another game, losing their last three ... In only his second season, head coach Manny Diaz was forced to shake up his coaching staff, and some have speculated he’s already on the hot seat ... The Hurricanes on counting on D’Eriq King, a talented quarterback who transferred from Houston ... UAB opened last week with a 45-35 win over Central Arkansas, and the Blazers are the pick by Phil Steele to win the West Division of Conference USA with 18 returning starters.

Miami wide receiver Dee Wiggins (8) celebrates his touchdown as he heads back to the sideline with teammates during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Louisville, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Others from left, Robert Burns, K.J. Osborn and Mike Harley. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Eric Crawford: Miami 31, UAB 10

John Lewis: Miami 21, UAB 12

Annice McEwan: Miami 35, UAB 10

Tom Lane: Miami 29, UAB 10

Aaron Matas: Miami 38, UAB 20

Rick Bozich: Miami 24, UAB 17

Ruby: UAB against the spread

2. WKU at Louisville (-11 1/2), Saturday, 8 p.m. ACC Network, Cardinal Stadium, Louisville.

The Cards beat the Hilltoppers by 17 in Nashville last season but only out-gained WKU by 127 yards ... Other than kicker Blanton Creque, the Cards return everybody who scored in that game, especially Tutu Atwell, who caught three touchdown passes .. But WKU also showed major improvement last season, winning its last four ... WKU quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome is a transfer from Maryland, where he completed only 56.7% of his throws with more interceptions (10) than touchdown (9) … Louisville was 7-5-1 against the spread last season but WKU was 8-5.

Louisville coach Scott Satterfield said, "absolutely there's concern" about whether the coming football season can be played in its entirety.
Eric Crawford photo.

Eric Crawford: U of L 45, WKU 35

John Lewis: U of L 30, WKU 14

Annice McEwan: U of L 28, WKU 21

Tom Lane: U of L 31, WKU 17

Aaron Matas: U of L 49, WKU 21

Rick Bozich: U of L 38, WKU 21

Ruby: WKU

3. Syracuse at North Carolina (-22 1/2), Saturday, noon, ACC Network Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels remain a trendy pick to edge Notre Dame and Louisville for the spot against Clemson in the ACC Championship game as Mack Brown continues to work his magic in Chapel Hill ... Sam Howell dazzled as a freshman quarterback for UNC, and backs Michael Carter and Javonte Williams are both capable of 1,000-yard seasons ... The Orange, meanwhile, will be without their top two running backs as well as several players who chose to opt-out of this season ... Dino Babers is another coach trending toward the hot seat. because the Orange allowed nearly 31 points per game.

Syracuse Football — Syracuse wide receiver Sean Riley (1) celebrates with running back Moe Neal (21) after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Maryland, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Will Newton)

Eric Crawford: UNC 42, Syracuse 24

John Lewis: UNC 28, Syracuse 10

Annice McEwan: UNC 38, Syracuse 13

Tom Lane: UNC 28, Syracuse 17

Aaron Matas: UNC 31, Syracuse 17

Rick Bozich: UNC 41, Syracuse 14

Ruby: UNC

4. Duke at Notre Dame (-20), Saturday, Saturday, 2:30 p.m. NBC, Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana.

Like it or not, here come the Irish as a one-time member of the ACC, a marriage of convenience that allows Notre Dame to fill out its schedule and ACC teams to share in Notre Dame’s TV money from NBC ... With 12 returning starters, Notre Dame is considered a fringe Top-10 team in Brian Kelly’s 11th season ... ND won at Duke by 31 last season, but the Blue Devils did deliver a three-point upset in South Bend in 2016 ... The Blue Devils have turned their offense over to a pair of talented transfers — quarterback Chase Brice, a back-up at Clemson the last two seasons, and receiver Devery Hamilton, who started 10 games in three seasons at Stanford.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly walks on field — FILE - In this March 2, 2019, file photo, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly walks on the field during the NCAA college football team's spring practice in South Bend, Ind. The NCAA's football oversight committee expects to finalize a plan on Thursday to allow teams to conduct up to 12 unpadded, slow-speed practices, also know as walk-throughs, during the 14 days before the typical preseason begins in August. Kelly said the extra time on the field with a ball will be valuable for teaching schemes, but not necessarily for assessing player development. (Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP, File)

Eric Crawford: ND 31, Duke 10

John Lewis: ND 40, Duke 7

Annice McEwan: ND 42, Duke 14

Tom Lane: ND 34, Duke 10

Aaron Matas: ND 31, Duke 10

Rick Bozich: ND 38, Duke 17

Ruby: Duke

5. Georgia Tech at Florida State (-12 1/2), Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ABC; Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee.

Here’s some news that will interest Louisville fans: Chubba Purdy, the four-star quarterback recruit who jilted the Cards for FSU on national signing day, is not listed as one of the top three quarterbacks on the FSU depth chart, even though another true freshman (Tate Rodemaker) is ... As he begins to pick up the pieces left by Willie Taggart, new FSU head coach Mike Norvell is expected to start James Blackman, who threw for 2,339 yards as the Seminoles finished 6-7 last season ... Norvell got the job by going 38-15 in four seasons at Memphis ... It’s season two at Georgia Tech for Geoff Collins, who saw his team finish last in the ACC in passing yard (134 per game), even after he junked Paul Johnson’s triple-option attack.