Probably won't do write-ups on all of these plays, but thought I would throw out some thoughts on the first one, which is probably my favorite of the bunch:
Ok St (-22.5) @ CMU
First off, not a big fan of laying DD on the road in a weekday game, but a few reasons it doesn't concern me as much as usual. For starters, it's week 1, so the usual weekday issues don't exist. Also, I question the rabid enthusiasm of CMU and their fans after what has been an arduous off-season, to say the least. One member of the team lost a battle with cancer (albeit not a starter), after a two-year battle. The coach was diagnosed with cancer, although they found it early so it should be treatable. And probably the biggest hit was the dismissal of arguably their best DB, for off-the-field issues.
Now, some of these could be overcome, and we might even expect the team to rally around the deceased player and their ailing coach. But at some point, you pass the barrier between rallying around adversity and being overcome by it.
Okie St comes into the season having faced some of their own adversity, with the athletic program being hit by sanctions; however, the football team isn't really affected by it in a serious way. They are still bowl eligible, and lose no scholarship players as a result.
Looking at the football side of things. The Cowboys come into this season with 20 returning starters, including nearly the entire offense. Granted, they struggled last year. But last time Gundy had this many returners, his team was arguably the best in CFB, but was denied a chance to play in the title game. On the other side, CMU comes in with only 6 returning starters, including only 1 on defense, after the dismissal of Greer. They have 0 returning starters on the Offensive line, while Okie St returns 4 on theirs.
Gundy will have them fired up with a positive outlook to start the season, and he is one of the best offensive minds in CFB. His attack is always based on balance, and against an inexperienced and depleted defense, the Cowboys should be able to light up the scoreboard. I don't see that any amount of "winning one for the gipper" mentality from CMU can keep this game close, and once it gets out of hand, the air will come out of the tires.
I look for a body slam from the word "Go!"
Okie St 55
CMU 17