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Dan Mullen makes eight Week 1 predictions, including notable Top 10 upset

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•08/31/23
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James Gilbert | Contributor Photo | Getty

The first full weekend of college football is here, and former Florida head coach Dan Mullen is ready to go with his predictions for each of the top matchups.

On Thursday, Mullen tweeted out the following picks for what he deems eight of the best and most intriguing matchups games of Week 1, including one matchup between top-10 teams and several others that involve ranked squads.

Take a look at the tweet here or read his predictions further below.

In case you’re having trouble reading the graphic or accessing the tweet, here were those picks again:

(AP top-25 ranking)*

(14) Utah > Florida
Louisville > Georgia Tech
(12) Tennessee > Virginia
(17) TCU > Colorado
(10) Washington > Boise State
(21) North Carolina > South Carolina
(7) Penn State > West Virginia
(8) Florida State > (5) LSU

SEC fans, look away, because Mullen has the league going just 1-3 in four games he’s picked for this weekend. He believes Utah, despite not having senior QB Cam Rising, will still take care of business at home and exact revenge after last year’s narrow loss. The Utes are down to QB3 for that game later tonight, so that heralded offensive and defensive line will need to lead the way.

Meanwhile, he does think Tennessee will have little issue with a Virginia squad that is in a complete rebuild. Then, he has South Carolina losing to rival North Carolina in that battle of the border. The Gamecocks ended last year on a tear, especially on offense, but they don’t have the firepower at QB that UNC does with Drake Maye.

Dan Mullen’s last pick is the most controversial among the whole list as he predicts Florida State to complete a two-year sweep of LSU in their neutral site matchups the last couple seasons. A lot of these games have big point spreads, but not this one, and Mullen is going with Jordan Travis and his Seminoles to out-duel Jayden Daniels and the Tigers.

Elsewhere, he includes the Georgia Tech and Louisville game, which is technically a neutral site matchup that takes place in Atlanta, where GT is located. The game will instead kick-off at the Falcons’ home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and not the actual home field of the Yellow Jackets.

Regardless, UL is the big favorite and that’s who Mullen is riding with. But don’t count out Brent Key and this GT program on the rise. He’s made steps forward with this group and they could surprise folks, including Mullen, by challenging a decent Louisville team right off the bat.