Getty Gallery: 6/6
No. 1 Michigan Covers -1.5 Spread Against Notre Dame
Michigan is my pick to win the Big Ten this season, and reach the College Football Playoff. John Harbaugh finally has a quality quarterback to build his program around thanks to Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson. The quarterback had a great start to his career then injuries and instability impacted the rest of his time at Ole Miss. Harbaugh has turned around the Michigan program, but has been unable to make the team a title contender. This year, that changes thanks to the offense being able to match the consistency of the defense in 2018.
Patterson has two young receivers entering their sophomore season in Tarik Black and Donovan People-Jones. A broken left foot sidelined Black for most of his freshman season, but he has a chance to be the Wolverines top receiving option this season. Michigan's defense is stacked thanks to future NFL players like Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich. While Michigan's offense will not resemble an uptempo Air Raid attack, the Wolverines are expected to open up the offense thanks to their new quarterback.
As for Notre Dame, they enter this season with a lot of hype thanks to their run last season, but I have questions over whether they can replicate their 2017 success. Brandon Wimbush still has a lot to prove at quarterback, and would need to take a big step forward for the Irish to be a contender this season. Notre Dame did go 8-5 against the spread last season, while Michigan was just 5-7-1. These numbers are not extremely relevant to 2018, as we are looking at different teams for this season.
Michigan is a slight favorite against Notre Dame, and it would not be surprising if the Irish are favored at some books by kickoff time. Notre Dame has one of the larger fan bases, and we could see the public money go their way, especially on opening weekend. I expect the Irish to be overwhelmed on both sides of the ball as Michigan cruises to a win in the opener. Look for Patterson to have a coming out party as college football fans reacquaint themselves with the former star. Patterson was one of the best high school quarterbacks in the country heading into Oxford, and few could have predicted the kind of tailspin Ole Miss would have with the fall of Hugh Freeze. Michigan over Notre Dame is my favorite pick of the week thanks to my optimism on the Wolverines chances in 2018.
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College Football Picks: Top 5 Best Bets Against the Spread Week 1