College Football Expert Picks, Predictions: Week 1 Thursday, Friday

Week 1 college football expert picks and predictions for Thursday and Friday including West Virginia at Pitt, Penn State at Purdue, and Illinois at Indiana

College football expert picks, predictions for Week 1, highlighted by West Virginia at Pitt, Penn State at Purdue, and Illinois at Indiana


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* next to the pick means the team will win, but not cover.
Click on each game for the game preview and CFN Prediction

Week 1 College Football Expert Picks
Ball St at Tennessee | WVU at Pitt
CMU at Ok State | La Tech at Missouri
Penn St at Purdue | NMSU at Minnesota
WMU at Mich St | Va Tech at ODU
Temple at Duke | Illinois at Indiana
TCU at ColoradoWeek 1 T/F Schedule Picks
CFN Predictions & Game Previews
2022 CFN Preview of all 131 Teams

Ball State at Tennessee

Line: Tennessee -32.5, o/u: 67.5

Eric Bolin, RazorbacksWire.com: Tennessee
Evan Bredeson, CornhuskersWire.com: Tennessee
Patrick Conn, College Wires Editor: Tennessee
Tony Cosolo, ColoradoBuffaloesWire.com: Tennessee*
Jeff Feyerer, CFN: Tennessee*
Pete Fiutak, CFN: Tennessee*
Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com: Tennessee
Phil Harrison, BuckeyesWire.com: Tennessee
Joey Ickes, AggiesWire.com: Tennessee
Jeremy Mauss, MWwire.com Tennessee*
Kevin McGuire, NittanyLionsWire.com: Tennessee
Big Game Ben Niewoehner, CFN Tennessee*
Ethan Niewoehner, CFN Tennessee*
Zack Pearson, TarHeelswire.com Tennessee
Johnny Rosenstein, SportsBookWire.com: Tennessee
Nick Shepkowski, FightingIrishWire.com: Tennessee*
AJ Spurr, RollTidewire.com Tennessee
Scott Steehn, WinnersandWhiners.com: Tennessee*
Joe Vitale, UGAWire.com: Tennessee*
John Williams, SoonersWire.com: Tennessee
Clucko the Chicken (a coin flip), CFN: Ball State
CONSENSUS PICK: Tennessee*

NEXT: West Virginia at Pitt Expert Picks, Predictions

Penn State vs Purdue Prediction, Game Preview

Penn State vs Purdue game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 1 game on Thursday, September 1

Penn State vs Purdue prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 1, Thursday, September 1


Penn State vs Purdue How To Watch

Date: Thursday, September 1
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Venue: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
How To Watch: FOX
Record: Penn State (0-0), Purdue (0-0)
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Penn State vs Purdue Game Preview

Why Penn State Will Win

The defensive back seven should be able to hold up.

Purdue isn’t going to run the ball. Actually, more to the point, it won’t be able to run the ball and won’t give it much of a shot with the passing attack taking over right away – and without 2021 star WR David Bell.

The Penn State secondary has a few stars in corner Joey Porter and safety Ji’Ayir Brown, and Kalen King is a growing playmaker on the other side of Porter. If the pass rush that was just okay last season can rise up and start doing a little more, the Boilermakers won’t take control offensively like it will want to.

On the other side, QB Sean Clifford and the 1-2 receiving punch of Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith should hit the Purdue secondary deep. However …

Why Purdue Will Win

The Purdue defensive front should do more than hold its own against the Penn State offensive line.

The Nittany Lions aren’t bad up front – it was fine, and it helped the depth through the transfer portal – but it still has to prove it can provide a push after a rough year for the ground game and do something in pass protection.

No, Purdue isn’t going to own the trenches defensively, but if Penn State can’t control the clock – time of possession wasn’t a part of the plan last season, but should change up a bit this year – and if it can’t grind a tad bit, that’s a problem.

Penn State doesn’t want to make this about whose passing game is stronger.

The Purdue secondary has the experience and potential all-star parts to make its share of plays and third down stops.

Week 1 Schedule, Predictions, Game Previews, Saturday

What’s Going To Happen

Penn State has more talent across the board, and it’s got a far stronger defense overall that should do a lot of bending without a ton of breaking.

Here’s the difference. Purdue will control the tempo and the game with its passing attack, and Penn State will always be chasing.

The idea will be to be more diverse offensively – to go along with the tempo that will try to keep the Boilermakers pedaling backwards – but it has to deal prove it can score enough to keep up in key moments.

Is the Purdue offense going to keep up the momentum from the second half of last season when it ripped through everyone? QB Aidan O’Connell and the passing game will always seem like they’re in control, right up until the moment they’re not.

The Penn State defense will come up with a few big stops late – and Clifford will hit on the one big deep shot – to pull this off. It won’t be a pretty win, but it’s the Big Ten road opener – take it and get out no matter how it looks.

All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Penn State vs Purdue Prediction, Line

Penn State 30, Purdue 24
Line: Penn State -3.5, o/u: 54.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5

Penn State vs Purdue Must See Rating: 4

5: ‘Billie Jean’
1: Aidan Hutchinson’s rendition of ‘Billie Jean’

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