Week 0 is upon us, which means we get to go back to cheering for our alma mater, listening to incredible bands play in the background, and, most importantly, going back to good old-fashioned hate-watching.
Whether it’s a team, player, or coach, we all have a little bit of hate in our hearts. The healthy kind that makes this amazing sport great.
Here are a few of my favorite college football picks dipped in hate for Saturday, August 29.
SJSU @ 
USC
HAW @ 
STANPercentages courtesy of Kalshi.
USC vs San Jose State pick: USC -38.5
Does anyone hate small schools like USC head coach Lincoln Riley? I mean, is there more of a see-it-and-bet-it type of matchup than San Jose State at Southern Cal? Riley's teams against Group of Six schools average 59 points per game.
This will mark Riley's fifth season as the head coach of the Trojans. In three of the previous four seasons, USC has opened against a Group of Six school. In those games, the Trojans averaged 65 points while winning by an average of 46.6 points.
This should be one of the best USC defenses we have seen in years, and it will be on full display this weekend.
Death. Taxes. Lincoln Riley running up the score on a small school.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account
Hawaii vs Stanford pick: Hawaii +3.5
Being a mixture of old school and new school, some changes can force this writer to have thoughts a younger crowd would say are an old man yelling at clouds. When it comes to the passion and beauty of what makes, or has made, college sports great, seeing it get tarnished hurts.
However, in this situation, it is pretty cute. A lot of people will see this Hawaii vs. Stanford matchup and think, "Ooo, revenge game. I remember this matchup from last year because it started at 7:30 Eastern and not midnight. Hawaii won 23-20."
Are revenge games still a thing? Stanford does return a lot of starters from last year, but signed the fewest transfers in the Power 4. Stanford is under the guidance of Tavita Pritchard, who will be making his head coaching debut. What revenge is he after?
The real revenge should be coming from Hawaii's little firecracker quarterback, Micah Alejado, who tweaked his ankle in this matchup last year and dealt with the injury for the remainder of the season.
In that matchup, Alejado threw for 210 yards, completing nearly 70% of his passes. Our Prop Projections have him going over his pass yards prop of 249.5 yards this weekend.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
