Wow, this is as epic a week one as I can ever remember. The electric first weekend begins tonight with Tennessee hosting App State at 6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET on the SEC Network, and, at 7 PM CT/8 PM ET, Vanderbilt plays host to Will Muschamp and the South Carolina Gamecocks on E-S-P-N.

The Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers are in action Saturday Night in a couple of superb openers against marquee programs Here’s a look at the action with predictions.

2015 record: 227-83, 74%

Bowls: 23-18, 56%

This season: 1-0

Prediction last Friday: California 49, Hawaii 31

Final: Cal 51, Hawaii 31

 

No.1 Alabama vs No.20 USC 

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (80,000, maximum capacity 105,000 with standing room)

7 PM CT/8 PM ET

ABC

Chris Fowler, Herbie, Samantha Ponder

Weather: No problem, pretty much indoors totally. But clear and no wind issue

Line: Bama by 11 1/2

S is mum on who his starter is going to be, but if it’s Blake Barnett or Cooper Bateman, still like the weaponry around them. Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris should have good nights behind a reshuffled offensive line with some new players up front, but a ton of talent and power. Barnett or Bateman has a slew of receivers to throw to in the awesome Calvin Ridley, the electric ArDarius Stewart, a healthy stud in Robert Foster, and the awesome O.J. Howard at tight end. The defense will be tasked with stopping a good SC running game led by sophomore Ronald Jones II, who ran for over 987 yards and 8 sevens last year, and Justin Davis, who ran for 902 yards and 7, sevens a year ago. They’re both excellent. JuJu Smith-Schuster will challenge Marlon Humphrey on the perimeter. Smith-Schuster caught 89 passes for 1,454 yards and 10, sevens last season. He’s a 6’2″, 220 pound wide out. Max Browne will get his first start at quarterback for the Trojans. He played in three games last year in mop up duty and completed 8 of 12 for 113 yards, 0 TDs, and 0 ints. He’s untested, but was highly rated coming out of high school. He’s a redshirt junior who is 6’5″, 220 and has a cannon, so he’ll be a good test for the Bama defense.

But Alabama has a stellar defense returning with defensive end Jonathan Allen, a total dominant player, powerful hitting middle linebacker Reuben Foster, sack master Tim Williams, and an excellent secondary led by corners Humphrey, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and safety Eddie Jackson, who led the team with six ints last season. Jeremy Pruitt takes over the defense from Kirby Smart, and I see no drop off. Pruitt is an excellent coach. 

I don’t see the SC defense stopping Scarbrough, Harris and the ultra talented receiving corps for the Crimson Tide, and I see the Bama defense having their way for the most part with the Trojans offense. Like the Tide to take care of business in week 1 at Jerry Jones, “billion dollar Play-pe’n” as Stephen A. Smith calls it. 

Alabama 31, USC 17

 

No.2 Clemson @ Auburn

Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,451)

8 PM CT/9 PM ET

ESPN

Brent, Jess, Kaylee Hartung

Weather on the Plains: 80 at kickoff, pretty good for the most part, possible t-storm, Wind 6 with gusts to 18

Line: Clemson by 7 1/2

Clemson proved they were for real last season giving the Crimson Tide everything they wanted before falling in the national championship game, 45-40. But Alabama’s stellar defense couldn’t stop Deshaun Watson. I don’t see anybody being able to do that this year either. Deshaun has an outstanding receiving corps, and Wayne Gallman is one of the top backs in the country. Both Deshaun and Wayne will be playing on Sundays. There has been a lot of talk about how good Auburn’s defense is this year. But I’m still not trusting Kevin Steele totally. Four years ago, when he was defensive coordinator at Clemson, West Virginia dropped 70 on the Tigers defense in a 70-26 Orange Bowl victory. Steele was defensive coordinator for LSU last season, and I wouldn’t call that group last year lockdown by any means.

So while there is good talent on the defensive side of the football for the Auburn Tigers, led by superb defensive end Carl Lawson, linebacker is a bit of a question mark and I’m not sold on Steele. On the other side of the ball, Gus gives Sean White the keys to the offense, and White showed signs of being a pretty good quarterback at times last season before injuries derailed his year. Kerryon Johnson is going to be a good this season, but he’ll have to be able to take the pounding of the SEC.  The offensive line is good, but the receivers have some inexperience, though I’m hearing these young guys are pretty special, and Marcus Davis has a chance to have a really good year. I like Jason Smith at wide receiver, too.

But I just see the talent edge on the Clemson side in this one. Clemson has had to reload on defense, and that unit might take a while to jell, but I see them getting there and they’ll be good enough against the Auburn Tigers. Dabo has recruited spectacularly, so the defense will  keep getting better and should be a solid unit by the third game. Going with Deshaun and Dabo to get it done in Auburn Saturday Night. But I see AU scoring some points and making it  interesting. Being at home really helps. 

Clemson 31, Auburn, 28

 

No. 18 Georgia vs. No. 22 North Carolina

Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA.  (71,228)

4:30 PM CT/5:30 PM ET

ESPN

Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, Allison Williams

Weather: Dome

Line: Dawgs by 3

Nick Chubb is a go, Greyson Lambert gets the start as Kirby goes with the experienced hand over super freshman Jacob Eason. No word if Kirby is going to play Eason at all, but I see Lambert getting the majority duty in game one and Kirby will take it from there. If Chubb can return to his All-American form from two years ago after a near disastrous knee injury last season, the Dawgs should be very competitive in the East this season. Georgia is not where they want to be yet under Smart, but I see them getting there in the next year or two and competing for SEC championships and playoff berths in two years. I don’t see them having enough this year to be a major contender in the SEC, but I do see them having a good, competitive season and having  a very bright future. Like the Dawgs to have a good start to 2016.

Georgia 31, North Carolina 27

Monday Night

No. 11 Ole Miss vs No.4 Florida State

Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL. (70,000)

7 PM CT/8 PM ET

ESPN

Chris, Herbie, Sam

FSU by 4 1/2

College football’s version of Monday Night football gives us a classic. It’s considered a neutral site, but it’s not. Jimbo Fisher played his spring game at Orlando, so this will be a partisan FSU crowd. Still  there will be quite a few Ole Miss fans there. Hugh Freeze had a tough offseason with the NCAA allegations, but he’s a really good football coach and his team is prepared. Chad Kelly is an experienced quarterback who had a very good year in 2015. He seems to have his act together and is ready for a standout senior year. On the other side, FSU is breaking in a new quarterback, as potential 2016 starter Sean Mcguire is out with a broken foot for this one. Redshirt freshman Deondre Francois will get the start under center for the Noles. He looked pretty good in the spring game, but that’s totally different from being under the lights in a pressure packed first game against a talented, well-coached opponent. He does have star running back Dalvin Cook, who ran for 1,691 yards and 19 TDs last season, to ease the load. Cook will be right in the hunt for the Heisman Trophy this season along with Christian McCaffrey, Deshaun and Leonard Fournette, so he’ll be a tough matchup for the Rebels’ defense. 

But I’m going against the grain on this one. Like the quarterback experience advantage that Ole Miss has. The Rebels need to control Cook, but that’s their defensive game plan. They want to make Francois throw the football and make him uncomfortable doing it. I like them to do that. 

Ole Miss 28, FSU 24 

 

No.5 LSU vs. Wisconson

Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Whisky (80,735)

2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET

ABC

Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Todd McShay

Partly sunny, 76, wind 6-9 

LSU by 10

Like Leonard Fournette and company to have a pretty easy time on the road. Fournette is primed for a big year, but he’ll have a lot of navigating to do, and he has to prove he can perform against elite defenses like Alabama’s. But the talent on this team is through the roof good. They have a new defensive coordinator in Dave Aranda, and Les Miles and Cam Cameron have to figure out ways for quarterback Brandon Jennings to excel this season in order for LSU to get over the hump and win the SEC and make the playoff. LSU is stocked with weapons on offense with Fournette, some really excellent backup running backs, studs Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural at receivers, so if Jennings can play well, the Bengal Tigers have a chance to make it to the playoff. 

LSU 42, Wisconsin 24

 

No.16 UCLA @ Texas A&M

Kyle Field, College Station (102,733)

2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET

CBS

Verne, Gary, Allie

A&M by 3

Like new quarterback and Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight and his weapons led by Christian Kirk and a stable of receivers, and defensive ends Myles Garrett, who had 19.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss last year, and Daeshon Hall 14.5 tackles for loss and 7 sacks last year, to lead Kevin Sumlin and his team to victory. I like this A&M team and see Knight as the answer at quarterback. I’ve always liked him, I’ve always liked Sumlin, and there are a ton of weapons on offense, and outstanding defensive players up front and on the back end for stellar defensive coordinator John “Chief” Chavis to work with. Kevin said at Media Days if his linebacking corps can step up, this defense can be really special. I’m bullish on A&M as a darkhorse team in the SEC. UCLA has a ton of talent, and their quarterback, sophomore Josh Rosen, put up some exceptional numbers as a freshman, but just like the SEC toughness to prevail here.

A&M 35, UCLA 31

 

Other SEC scores

Tonight

Vanderbilt 24, South Carolina 17

7 PM CT/8 PM ET, ESPN

Saturday

Mississippi State 35, South Alabama 17

11 AM CT/Noon ET, SEC Network

 

Tonight

No.9 Tennessee 38, Appalachian State 10

6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET, SEC Network

Saturday

Arkansas 42, Louisiana Tech 24

3 PM CT/4 PM ET, SEC Network

West Virginia 35, Missouri 31

11 AM CT/Noon ET, Fox Sports 1

No. 25 Florida 31, UMass 7

6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET, SEC Network

Kentucky 31, Southern Miss 28

6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET, ESPNU

National games

Sunday Night

No. 10 Notre Dame 31, Texas 27

6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET, ABC

Saturday

No.3 Oklahoma 35, No.15 Houston 31

11 AM CT/Noon ET, ABC

Friday

No.8 Stanford 41, Kansas State 27

8 PM CT/9 PM ET, Fox Sports 1

No.6 Ohio State 42, Bowling Green 14

11 AM CT/Noon ET, Big Ten Network

No.7 Michigan 42, Hawaii 10

11 AM CT/Noon ET, ESPN