Dan Mullen makes his pick for Florida vs. Miami, other top games
Former Florida head coach and current ESPN analyst Dan Mullen has revealed his picks for Week 1 of the college football season, including the rivalry showdown between the Gators and Miami. Mullen posted his picks on Twitter early Friday morning.
Mullen picked five of the biggest games of the weekend, and he also went off the board a little bit for his sixth pick. Here are Mullen’s picks against the spread:
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Florida +2.5 over Miami
There is a ton of pressure on Billy Napier heading into this year after back-to-back losing seasons to start his time in Gainesville. Mullen expects the Gators to get off to a strong start and cover the tight spread against Miami.
This is also a big game for the Hurricanes, who are looking to show that all of the preseason hype is warranted. But considering Florida has arguably the toughest schedule in the country, the Gators likely need this one more.
Georgia -13.5 over Clemson
Another ACC vs. SEC rivalry matchup taking place this weekend features Clemson and Georgia facing off in Atlanta. The Bulldogs are heavy favorites against Dabo Swinney’s squad, but Dan Mullen expects Georgia to win and cover the nearly two-touchdown spread.
Georgia has been arguably the top team in the country over the past three seasons, and Dabo Swinney said as much this week. While Swinney is hopeful the Tigers can stun Georgia in Atlanta, Mullen doesn’t see that happening.
Texas A&M -3 over Notre Dame
Sticking with his theme of backing the SEC, Mullen has Texas A&M beating Notre Dame on Saturday and covering the 3-point spread. Notre Dame is ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll, while Texas A&M is No. 20. However, it’s the Aggies who are favored.
It’s clear that Mullen is a believer in Mike Elko. It’s hard to blame him after the way Elko quickly turned around the Duke program during his time in Durham.
Penn State -8.5 over West Virginia
Another rivalry game Mullen picked in Week 1 is West Virginia hosting Penn State. The Nittany Lions are a trendy pick to make the College Football Playoff this season, but West Virginia would love nothing more than to give James Franklin’s club a loss to start the year.
Dan Mullen has Drew Allar and company coming out on top and covering the 8.5 points. Penn State won comfortably last season but playing in Morgantown is not an easy place to play.
LSU -4 over USC
The final game that Dan Mullen picked involving an SEC team is LSU taking on USC in Las Vegas. Just like he does with every other SEC team, he has LSU covering the spread.
The Tigers have a new-look offense with Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and his two star receivers in Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. gone. Still, Mullen expects LSU to win and cover the 4-point spread.
UNLV +1 over Houston
The final game Dan Mullen picked for Week 1 is UNLV to pull off the slight upset against Houston. UNLV is coming off of a 9-5 (6-2) season in Year 1 under Barry Odom, while Houston finished 4-8 a season ago.
Still, this is a Big 12 team hosting a team from the Mountain West. In a bit of a surprise, Mullen has the road underdog coming out on top.
The Week 1 slate is loaded, and Dan Mullen has made his pick for most of the big games. It will be interesting to see how right he is. One thing is clear, if the SEC has a big week, Mullen will, too.