2021 – Week 1 Picks - Jacknife Sports

College football season is back! As always, it was a long offseason to slog through to get back to this point. This seemed like an extra long offseason even though there was a season last year. It was just a strange year. Some teams played basically full seasons. Some teams didn't play at all. Other teams ended up only playing a handful of games before all their other games were canceled. It feels like they are pushing ahead with a full season this year. So after a season off because we had no idea how would we would rank teams, Jacknife Sports is back! The interest in the Sun Belt and MAC is back in high gear!

Despite all the chaos and uncertainty (one time transfers allowed now, NIL, typical roster turnover), some things remain the same. Two SEC teams are favored to win the national championship in Alabama and Oklahoma. Well, not-quite-SEC-yet Oklahoma. Yet another major story that happened during the offseason. College football is never accused of being dull. But it is the normal cast of characters in the driver's seat: Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia. We will see what combination of teams we get this year. Maybe one of the last years of a small 4 team playoff? Yet another major storyline this offseason was playoff expansion.

Another year of teams predicted to be "back." Miami, Texas, Nebraska....well, that storyline is out the window for one of those teams already. Some Group of 5 teams are set to make some major noise on the national scene: Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Liberty will all be vying for the New Year's bowl slot. Although I'm not sure how that will work for Liberty since they are an independent and wouldn't be a "highest ranked Group of 5 conference champion." It will be interesting.

It will be another year of trying to pick the games. Finally! Some games to pick!