2016-17 College Football Week 1 Parlay Picks

The offseason college football changes across the nation have been scrutinized, critiqued and exhaustively dissected, so all that remains is for us to pick our winners and enjoy the games in the soon-to-start 2016 NCAA Football season. Below we interest you with a set of parlay NCAAF picks for the 2016 college football week 1 lines and odds. Feel free to pick on a two-team, three-team, or four-team parlay, depending on the online sportsbooks combination that appeal to you most.

2016-17 College Football Week 1 Parlay Picks

   

Kansas State Wildcats vs. Stanford Cardinal, Sept. 2nd

Pick: Kansas State (+16) 2015 Heisman Trophy runner up Christian McCaffrey and the Cardinal are expected to show their credentials as the defending Pac-12 champs right out of the gate in this season-opener against a tough opponent in Kansas State Wildcats. Bill Snyder is a veteran figure when it comes to studying opponents and planning for them thoroughly, meaning you should expect his talented-enough Wildcats to go all out and cause all kinds of headaches to McCaffrey and company. That being said, the Cardinal are well aware of how their 2015 season-opening loss against Northwestern ruined a potential qualification for last season’s college football playoffs, and that should motivate fifth-year coach David Shaw and his boys to put on a solid show here. It, however, doesn’t look likely that Snyder’s team will allow itself to get beaten by 16-plus points. So while the win should go to Stanford, we believe that there is sufficient talent in quarterbacks Jesse Ertz and Alex Delton to help K-State avoid a three-touchdown loss to Stanford, especially if the team can find a way of limiting McCaffrey’s touches.

Alabama Crimson Tide vs. USC Trojans, Sept. 3rd

Pick: Alabama (-10) Nick Saban knows the value of winning the first game of the season, especially in regards to giving his new recruitees the confidence of performing well for the rest of the season, so you can be rest-assured that he will do anything and everything to ensure that the Crimson Tide win this game. Having former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin on the opposing touchline will make life difficult for Saban and his Tide, but with Bama entering the new season retooled and absolutely loaded on both sides of the football, we strongly expect the defending national champs to show their class and pay bettors on both the SU and ATS lines.

Clemson Tigers vs. Auburn Tigers, Sept. 3rd

Pick: Clemson (-8) Clemson is the No.1-ranked team in many preseason polls and quarterback Deshaun Watson is a heavy preseason Heisman Trophy betting favorite in many sportsbooks, and after seeing how the Tigers and Watson performed last season, you’d easily agree that both preseason ratings are spot-on and well-founded. Playing in a packed and daunting Jordan-Hare Stadium against a home-friendly Auburn crowd won’t be easy for the visiting Clemson team, particularly with Auburn having made some solid offseason adjustments to their disappointing squad from 2015. Nevertheless, Watson is pretty much the college football version of NFL’s Cam Newton, a player who is able to read the game excellently and adjust himself accordingly—allowing him to tear you apart aerially or run you down on the ground. Stopping Watson and Clemson will thus be a near-impossible task for Auburn. With that in mind, Clemson should get the win plus the very cheap 8-plus points in the ATS lines.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Texas Longhorns, Sept. 4th

Pick: Notre Dame (-4.5) Last season, the Fighting Irish embarrassed Texas to the tune of 38-3 in a season-opening clash for both teams. The Longhorns were a disarrayed team at that time and we expect them to be a much better unit in 2016, thanks to several offseason upgrades in the team’s roster and changes in the front office. You would, however, be a fool to believe that the Longhorns will win this game, as Notre Dame returns with two solid Heisman-worthy candidates in quarterbacks DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire, and an experienced defense that proved itself against the best of the best in the FBS last season. Therefore, irrespective of who starts at QB for ND, or however long the Longhorns will dig their horns into this game, the Fighting Irish should be able to get the job here done handily, probably by at least a touchdown.