LSU vs. UCLA College Football Week 1 Picks and Predictions

One of the Week 1 contests that has college football bettors drooling over is a prime-time battle on Saturday night between the LSU Tigers and UCLA Bruins.

LSU Tigers vs. UCLA Bruins

Saturday, September 04, 2021 - 08:30 PM EDT at Rose Bowl Stadium

Hey, let’s face it. The top five collisions between Georgia and Clemson are at the top of the marquee this weekend, but LSU and UCLA give the top sportsbooks a game that crosses two distinct regions of the country. Add to that both teams looking to regain a little respect in their conferences after disappointing showings in 2020.

Louisiana State reaches Los Angeles favored by three at , some shops charging a little extra to lay the field goal on the Tigers. The big FOX will supply the broadcast from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and the total can be found at 65 at most outlets.

https://youtu.be/yhmEHGh-QZE

Bayou Bengals Have 16 Starters Returning from 2020 Squad

We all knew going into 2020 that LSU was never going to be able to repeat what it did in 2019. When the pandemic was added into the equation, things fell apart fast for Ed Orgeron and his troops. With that storm behind the Tigers, they literally begin 2021 in the wake of another storm called Hurricane Ida that blew into Louisiana earlier this week. Orgeron and his team left last weekend and have been temporarily billeted in Houston to practice before this game.

Louisiana State had to win its last two games a season ago just to finish with a 5-5 record, though the Tigers did manage to cover the NCAAF betting odds in six of their ten contests.

The good news is they will return the bulk of their starters from last year, but one of them won’t be Myles Brennan after the quarterback suffered a broken arm this summer that required surgery.

Up steps southpaw Max Johnson with true freshman Garrett Nussmeier No. 2 on the depth chart. The offense is further fortified by the entire O-line coming back.

The defense was nearly non-existent in Baton Rouge last season, as opponents passed at will against the Tigers. Daronte Jones, a former assistant with the Minnesota Vikings, was hired to replace defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, and there’s really nowhere to go but up for the unit. The Tigers again have the entire line back, plus dynamic corner Derek Stingley Jr.

Bruins Get the First Game Jitters Out of Way in Win Over Hawaii

While Oregon, Washington, and USC top the college football futures in the Pac-12, some preseason publications picked UCLA as the dark horse to emerge with the eventual title. The Bruins certainly played like a contender in their season opener last week, a 44-10 drubbing of Hawaii that could’ve been an even bigger rout had Chip Kelly eased off a bit in the second half.

The win marked the first season-opening win for UCLA under Kelly and nearly double-up the 18-point spread that Bruin backers were asked to lay.

https://twitter.com/UCLAFootball/status/1433136359300993024?s=20

The Bruins score on their first five possessions, with Michigan transfer Zach Charbonnet eclipsing the 100-yard rushing mark on his sixth tote of the contest, then sat out the rest of the game. Outgaining the Rainbow Warriors 244-26 on the ground, UCLA also played mistake-free football with no turnovers.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson only completed half of his 20 passes and was sacked twice, so there’s room for improvement there. The offensive line was projected to be UCLA’s best since Kelly arrived, all five starters back among an amazing 19 returning starters the Bruins enter 2021 with.

Tigers and Bruins Collide for the First Time

Saturday's skirmish will be the first time the two schools have met on the gridiron, and there’s a scheduled rematch between the Tigers and Bruins in 2024 over in Baton Rouge. It will be LSU’s first non-conference opponent since beating Clemson in the 2020 National Championship game, and the Tigers’ first Pac-12 matchup since an early-season rout of Washington in 2012.

For UCLA, it’s the first non-conference clash since a loss to Oklahoma early on the 2019 schedule, and the Bruins’ first SEC foe since an exciting 45-44 win over Texas A&M to begin 2017.

Myles Brennan #15 of the LSU Tigers rushes with the ball. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP

It's going to be a hot day in Pasadena on Saturday, with this kickoff coming at 5:30 p.m. local time with the thermometer still in the low-90s. This is going to be a tough trip for LSU with the players and coaches having spent the week away from home all while their thoughts are with loved ones back in Louisiana. I like the Bruins straight-up with my college football pick.

NCAAF pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds