Well, we're back. Since the start of 2011, we have offered the Fab 4 (plus 1) picks.
We went a little nuts after a slow start last year and more often than not got closer to Fab 10 picks than our normal 4 plus 1. (That's five, by the way.)
We're 284-175-6 against the spread the last four seasons. That's 61.8 percent against the number. That's winning coin, if there was coin on the line, which seems like a stretch since gambling is illegal at Bushwood and I never slice.
As always, these picks are meant for entertainment purposes only.
Alabama minus-11 against Wisconsin. It doesn't matter if Jake Coker or Jay Barker or Bob Barker is taking snaps for the Crimson Tide. In season-opening games, there is a general lack of information, but we know this: The strength of this Alabama team is a defensive front seven that could be as good as any in college football. The biggest question mark of the Badgers likely is an offensive line that had to replace three starters and is filling those spots with two guys who missed a lot of the preseason with injuries and a freshman. It's hard to see Wisconsin scoring double digits here.
Notre Dame minus-9 against Texas. Notre Dame is normally one of the most-bet-on teams in the country. Texas, however, is right there, too. That means the normal Notre Dame line lean is counteracted somewhat. This is by far the most complete roster coach Brian Kelly has had in South Bend, especially defensively.
BYU plus-7 at Nebraska. The distractions and background noise at Nebraska are staggering right now. Both teams will have a multitude of players suspended, and each coach is holding that information as if it were nuclear launch codes. Still, BYU is a mature team that welcomes back Taysom Hill at quarterback. That - and the seven (buy the half, of course) - is enough.
Tennessee minus-21 over Bowling Green. You could buy the half to feel better against a back-door cover, but it really should not matter. This has the feeling of a 49-10 coming-out party for a Tennessee offense that could be a lot of fun.
Mississippi State minus-21 over Southern Miss. Not sure how this line is only three touchdowns. The Bulldogs beat Southern Miss 49-0 last year, and that was with three empty red-zone trips early. Yes, Mississippi State lost a lot from last year's record-setting team. And, yes, this game is at Southern Miss, but the Golden Eagles won only three games last year.
Easy money.
*****
SEC items of interest
Here are five things from around the SEC to look for this weekend as college football kicks off:
1. Quarterback carousel.
We know the starts at all the spots this side of Tuscaloosa. But we also know that the guys taking the first snap this weekend in Baton Rouge, Athens and Gainesville are anything but set in stone. That means pressure to deliver quickly against overmatched foes.
2. Conference pride.
There are four interesting out-of-conference, neutral-site meetings for SEC teams against Power 5 foes, counting South Carolina against North Carolina on Thursday night in Charlotte. Alabama should crush Wisconsin. Auburn and Louisville should be a shootout. That leaves Texas A&M against Arizona State, and that could be the best game of the weekend. Plus, it puts an SEC West team against a Pac-12 South team for the only time this season. And we assuredly are going to hear some squabbling about which of those two divisions is the best in the game.
3. What will be the overreaction game of the weekend?
Last year it was the Aggies crushing South Carolina, and Kenny "Trill" Hill's extremely short-lived Heisman campaign. Heck, Trill's transferred to TCU. If you want a short-list front-runner, let's go with the debut of coach Jim McElwain at Florida. New Mexico State is awful and the heat will be stifling.
4. Is this the beginning of the end of the Derek Mason era?
Vanderbilt faced Western Kentucky on Thursday night and was an underdog. At home. To a Sun Belt team. Read that again. An SEC team getting points from Western Kentucky. Mason did not help matters this week by saying he found his gameday checklist, which he had misplaced in his football library. Uh, Coach, unless that checklist has the name of who killed Kennedy, it's hard to see how that's going to help a dismal situation in Nashville. That said, can we get that list laminated and maybe duplicated?
5. Which new defensive coordinator will have the best/worst debut?
There are eight new coaches calling defenses across the SEC. As for the worst, Mason is a fairly obvious choice, but we'll place the focus on what Kevin Steele does at LSU. He has a ton of talent - and at full strength, the Tigers have the best secondary in the country - and is replacing John Chavis, whose Texas A&M unit will be tested against Arizona State. The biggest unknown will be how much improvement has Will Muschamp created at Auburn, which will play Louisville in a game that Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino would love, Love, LOVE to win. Muschamp is the biggest new name, but there are four new defensive difference-makers - defensive backs Blake Countess and Tray Matthews and defensive ends Carl Lawson and Byron Cowart - who need to deliver for Auburn.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343. Follow him on Twitter @jgreesontfp.