After an impressive 2015 season, "Stanford Steve" Coughlin of SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, and Chris Fallica of ESPN Stats & Information and College GameDay are back. Every week during the college football season, they'll give their free picks for one of the week's biggest games. They'll also offer their best bets for the weekend's top college football games in an Insider file.
2015 season record:
Fallica: 53-40-3 ATS (55.2 percent)
Coughlin: 38-29-3 ATS (54.3 percent)
2014 season record:
Fallica: 44-40 ATS (52.4 percent)
Coughlin: 45-28-1 ATS (60.8 percent)
Note: Against the spread (ATS) and total picks are in bold. Odds are courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
LSU Tigers (-10) vs. Wisconsin Badgers
(at Lambeau Field)
Over/under: 44.5
Fallica: It should be a great scene at Lambeau Field on Saturday afternoon. The Badgers have lost five of their last eight vs. the SEC, but only one of those losses was by more than 10 points -- last year's 18-point loss to eventual national champion Alabama. Included in that stretch is a four-point loss to LSU in the 2014 season opener, which happened to be Leonard Fournette's first game.
I think Wisconsin's front seven could have some success in slowing down Fournette, but inexperience in the secondary could mean QB Brandon Harris is set for a big day. It will be close for a while, but I expect the Tigers to ultimately pull away and wear down the Badgers late.
ATS pick: LSU 33, Wisconsin 17 (Confidence 6/10)
Coughlin: There is a trend when you look at some of these matchups of the great first weekend of college football we have. The trend is that some coaches have left the school they coached at last season and are now facing that school in Week 1. Example No. 1 is new LSU defensive coordinator, Dave Aranda, who called the defensive signals last year for the Badgers. Is this a major advantage for the Tigers? When you look at the talent the LSU defense has, I believe this is a bigger than normal advantage, resulting in the Tigers getting some turnovers.
Another factor when you look at this game is the expectations of LSU coming into this season, especially because of the way last season ended. As much as people want to talk about Fournette, the season still hangs on the play of quarterback Harris. He has wide receivers who have potential to be first round picks in Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural, so if he can take care of the football and get those guys some targets and mix in a little -- or a lot -- of Fournette, I don't think the Badgers can stop them. Therefore, I like a lot of points to be scored in this game. Take the over.
Pick: LSU 31, Wisconsin 17 (over the total of 44.5 points)