College Kick-Off

College football is going to take the Locks to the promised land. We can feel it. A number of games on the season's first Saturday jump out at us. Some are UMLs and other are just regular locks. Take your pick.

Unpickable Master Locks:

Alabama @ Virginia Tech - The game of the day, unless you like Georgia @ Oklahoma State more. We don't. This is the game to watch. VT is always a tough, tough team. Especially at home. This should be a nice defensive battle as both teams search for an offensive identity. We'll always take the points in a battle between two good defensive teams, particularly when there is a home dog. We'll go with Virginia Tech (+7) to cover the spread but lose 17-14. LOCK IT UP

LSU @ Washington - This is a long trip to make for LSU to open the season. That's the bad news. The good news is that UW has not won a game since 2007. The Tigers are looking to put last season behind them and compile a record that is consistent with their talent level. From a talent standpoint, this one is not even close. The score will not be either. We'll take LSU (-18) to cover this one fairly easily. Look for a final score in the range of 45-13. LOCK IT UP

Rice @ UAB - Get ready to read the name Rice over and over again this year. The Locks love this team. They are returning a senior QB who threw 44 TDs against 7 interceptions last season and more than 4,000 yards. We love the fact that not only can we have Rice tomorrow but we can also have points. That's right. The Rice Owls are underdogs at UAB and that is just fine with us. Take Rice (+6) in a game that we expect them to win outright. Final score 38-35. LOCK IT UP

Other Games to Consider:

Navy (+22) @ Ohio State
Akron (+29.5) @ Penn State
Oklahoma State (-5.5) vs. Georgia
Maryland (+21) @ California
USC (-34) vs. San Jose State
Syracuse (+7) vs. Minnesota