Spartan Shadows staff Week 1 college football picks against the spread

The college football season is entering Week 1 and there will be some fun games this weekend. Here are our picks against the spread.

College football is back. Fans everywhere rejoice. After a few Week 0 games last week to give us a small taste and after NFL preseason is over, college football’s Week 1 is here and it’s beautiful. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been binging your favorite podcasts or content trying to keep the hype train coming steady until kickoff.

I can’t get enough of college football content and with that in mind, an idea hit me for something we here at Spartan Shadows could do for you, the fans.

After much chatter back and forth between the staff, a few of us thought it would be a fun idea to do a weekly picks against the spread game. So here we are, a day before Week 1. Let the fun begin.

How it works

Each week we will focus on a group of probably between 7-10 games. These games will feature Michigan State of course, but also any marquee top 25 games and also some notable Big Ten games. For each of these games, we will pick the winner of the game against the spread. Each game is worth one point. From week to week, we will update the standings so you can follow along at home.

At the end of the season, we will have a picks champion to crown for ultimate bragging rights. Follow along at home. Maybe each week, fans could even retweet/share with their pick of who might win? Who knows, we’re here to have fun.

The pickers

For this game, you’ll have the following staff members making selections.

Chris Norman (yours truly), ChopMan, Anthony Garvert, MSU Daily, MSUrecruits, Joey Shaver, Maxwell Klitzke, Emmett Matasovsky, and of course our fearless leader Connor Muldowney.

Let’s get down to business

All times are Eastern.

Week 1 games and picks

• Michigan State vs. CMU — 7 p.m. on Friday (Spread: MSU -14.5)

Chris Norman: Michigan State
Connor Muldowney: CMU +14.5 (MSU still wins)
MSU Daily: Michigan State
ChopMan: Michigan State
MSU Recruits: Michigan State
Anthony Garvert: Michigan State
Joey Shaver: CMU +14.5
Maxwell Klitzke: Michigan State
Emmett Matasovsky: Michigan State

• Fresno State at Purdue — 12 p.m. on Saturday (Spread: Purdue -4.5)

Chris: Purdue
Connor: Purdue
Daily: Purdue
Chop: Purdue
Recruits: Purdue
Anthony: Purdue
Joey: Fresno State
Max: Fresno State
Emmett: Purdue

• East Carolina at Michigan — 12 p.m. on Saturday (Spread: UM -35.5)

Chris: Michigan
Connor: Michigan
Daily: ECU
Chop: ECU
Recruits: Michigan
Anthony: Michigan
Joey: Michigan
Max: ECU
Emmett: Michigan

• Utah State at Iowa — 12 p.m. on Saturday (Spread: Iowa -25.5)

Chris: Utah State
Connor: Utah State
Daily: Iowa
Chop: Utah State
Recruits: Iowa
Anthony: Utah State
Joey: Iowa
Max: Utah State
Emmett: Utah State (Not sure Iowa puts up 25, but wins 24-0)

• Ohio State at Indiana — 3:30 p.m. on Saturday (Spread: OSU -29.5)

Chris: OSU
Connor: Indiana
Daily: OSU
Chop: OSU
Recruits: OSU
Anthony: OSU
Joey: OSU
Max: OSU
Emmett: OSU

• Boise State at Washington — 3:30 p.m. on Saturday (Spread: UW -14.5)

Chris: Washington
Connor: Washington
Daily: Washington
Chop: Washington
Recruits: Washington
Anthony: Boise State
Joey: Boise State
Max: Boise State
Emmett: Boise State (Washington wins but no clear backfield hurts)

• West Virginia at Penn State — 7:30 p.m. on Saturday (Spread: PSU -20.5)

Chris: Penn State
Connor: Penn State
Daily: WVU
Chop: Penn State
Recruits: Penn State
Anthony: Penn State
Joey: WVU
Max: Penn State
Emmett: Penn State

• North Carolina at South Carolina — 7:30 p.m. on Saturday (Spread: UNC -2.5)

Chris: South Carolina (home dawgs for the win)
Connor: South Carolina
Daily: South Carolina
Chop: South Carolina
Recruits: South Carolina
Anthony: UNC
Joey: UNC
Max: UNC
Emmett: UNC

• Northwestern at Rutgers — 12 p.m. on Sunday (Spread: Rutgers -6.5)

Chris: Rutgers (Northwestern is bad, mkay)
Connor: Rutgers (lock of the century)
Daily: Rutgers
Chop: Rutgers
Recruits: Rutgers
Anthony: Rutgers
Joey: Northwestern
Max: Rutgers
Emmett: Rutgers

• LSU at Florida State (Orlando) — 7:30 p.m. on Sunday (Spread: LSU -2.5)

Chris: Florida State
Connor: LSU
Daily: Florida State
Chop: Florida State
Recruits: LSU
Anthony: Florida State
Joey: LSU
Max: Florida State
Emmett: Florida State

There you have it. Week 1 picks in the books. Tune in next week to see who gets off to the hot start (hopefully me) and who will have some ground to make up. As always, Go Green.