College Football Picks Week 1: Odds and Spread Predictions for Top 25 Teams

Forget the books, the lectures, the Bob Marley poster that one kid in your dorm would always put up and who gets to keep the microwave. The college football season is about to begin, and the nation's top teams are eyeing a top-four spot to make the playoff plateau. 

Before we get into the first matchups for the Top 25 teams, let's take a look at the first poll leading into the season:

Rank	Team
1	Ohio State
2	TCU
3	Alabama
4	Baylor
5	Michigan State
6	Auburn
7	Oregon
8	USC
9	Georgia
10	Florida State
11	Notre Dame
12	Clemson
13	UCLA
14	LSU
15	Arizona State
16	Georgia Tech
17	Ole Miss
18	Arkansas
19	Oklahoma
20	Wisconsin
21	Stanford
22	Arizona
23	Boise State
24	Missouri
25	Tennessee

The defending national champions, Ohio State, return to the top spot in 2015 and open their season against the only team they lost to last season, Virginia Tech. Sitting atop their perch, they look down at the explosive offenses of Texas sides TCU and Baylor at two and four, respectively, with traditional powerhouse Alabama sitting in between them. 

Starting in the top four was a good sign for teams in 2014, the first year of the college football playoff. Three of the four top preseason teams, Florida State, Alabama and Oregon, were among the final teams competing for the national championship.

There are at least another 21 teams behind that are looking to push their way into the championship picture, and the journey starts with that first game. Here is who the Top 25 teams are opening up their respective seasons against, with spreads courtesy of Odds Shark:

Matchup	Spread	Spread Pick	Who Wins
No. 1 Ohio State at Virginia Tech	OSU -14	Ohio State	Ohio State
No. 20 Wisconsin at No. 3 Alabama	Alabama -10	Alabama	Alabama
No. 4 Baylor at SMU	Baylor -20	Baylor	Baylor
No. 5 Michigan State at Western Michigan	MSU -23.5	Western Michigan	Michigan State
Louisville at No. 6 Auburn	Auburn -10.5	Louisville	Auburn
Eastern Washington at No. 7 Oregon	N/A	N/A	Oregon
Arkansas State at No. 8 USC	USC -27	Arkansas State	USC
Louisiana Monroe at No. 9 Georgia	UGA -31	Georgia	Georgia
Texas State at No. 10 Florida State	FSU -37	Florida State	Florida State
Texas at No. 11 Notre Dame	ND -9	Notre Dame	Notre Dame
Wofford at No. 12 Clemson	N/A	N/A	Clemson
Virginia at No. 13 UCLA	UCLA -14.5	Virginia	Virginia
McNeese State at No. 14 LSU	N/A	N/A	LSU
No. 15 Arizona State at Texas A&M	A&M -3	Arizona State	Arizona State
Tennessee-Martin at No. 17 Ole Miss	N/A	N/A	Ole Miss
UTEP at No. 18 Arkansas	Arkansas -35	Arkansas	Arkansas
Akron at No. 19 Oklahoma	OU -38	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
No. 21 Stanford at Northwestern	Stanford -10	Northwestern	Stanford
Washington at No. 23 Boise State	Boise St. -11	Washington	Boise State
Southeast Missouri St. at No. 24 Missouri	N/A	N/A	Missouri
Bowling Green at No. 25 Tennessee	UT -17	Tennessee	Tennessee

Upset of the Week

Virginia over No. 13 UCLA

If last year is any indication of how UCLA's opener will go against Virginia, there is cause for concern. Down in Charlottesville, UCLA needed three defensive touchdowns to escape with a 28-20 win over Virginia on August 30. 

Virginia's defense ran rampant, sacking Brett Hundley five times and holding the offense to one touchdown. This year, Virginia is without its top two pass-rushers and could rely on senior Mike Moore, who had 3.0 sacks last season, to lead the pressure.

But it is the Cavaliers secondary that holds the most talent with sophomore Quin Blanding being selected to the 2015 All-ACC preseason team after a three-interception freshman year. 

They'll be trying to shut down freshman quarterback Josh Rosen, who will be making his collegiate debut against a defense that has to be confident after its performance last season against the Bruins. But according to Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times, the freshman is well beyond his years with a solid supporting cast around him:

"

There is a high ceiling on Rosen's abilities, and he is surrounded by nine returning starters on offense...UCLA coaches are confident that Rosen can perform in front of 70,000. They seem a little more worried whether he can handle a handful of reporters asking questions after a practice.

"

For Virginia, they will be returning Matt Johns at quarterback. A player that appeared in all 12 games, starting three in 2014, Johns is well-respected among the program, according to head coach Mike London, per Fox Sports' Jacquie Franciulli:

He does not have great speed or overpowering arm strength, which means that if Virginia is to pull off the upset, it is going to be a fairly low-scoring game. But UCLA's new man under center could help make that happen.

It's one thing to show promise in practice; it's another to do it in on a big stage with difficult opposition waiting on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Rosen could have his hands full with a team that is not even considered among the elite sides in the ACC. If the Bruins do stumble, they can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye after their first game.

There is a very good chance that there will be a number of upsets among the Top 25 teams this week, which can set up even more excitement in the FBS. While picking the spread or upset is usually a mystery, one thing is for sure: The 2015 college football season is going to be an unpredictable roller-coaster ride that will captivate the nation.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com