Nevada College Pick'em Contest: Need some help? We got you

College football started two weeks ago, but the premier NCAAF betting contest officially starts on Saturday. It's known as the Nevada College Pick'em Contest and is run through William Hill. 

Unlike the other major betting contests — Golden Nugget Ultimate Football Challenge, Westgate Las Vegas Super Contest and Circa Sports Million Contest — you pick eight FBS games against the spread each week. And you can't bet on any game you want.  For the Nevada College Pick'em Contest Week 1 Sheet, click here.

Another major difference between the Nevada College Pick'em Contest and the other main betting contests is that there are no washes. Each game features a hook or a .5 at the end (i.e., -/+ 19.5, -/+ 2.5, etc.). This makes scoring even simpler. You get one point for each win, there are no negative points. 

The winner of the contest receives 50% of the prize pool and the guaranteed prize money is $500,000. For more details about the contest, click here.

Now just to be clear, I don't have an entry, but that doesn't mean we can't play along for fun. We'll keep track of how I do each week, and see if I would have made money when it's all said and done. P.S., I didn't intentionally pick all road favorites either. It just happened.

Alabama (-20.5) vs. Texas

Texas may finally be on the rise with a much better recruiting class than in years past, but they're still nowhere near the level of the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Not only does Bama feature Heisman Favorite Bryce Young (+300), the defense is coming off a 55-0 shutout win over Utah State.

I know it's against Utah State, but still, a shutout is a shutout. And to be honest, they probably could have won by more. Kudos to Steve Sarkisian on his 52-10 win in his inaugural game as head coach for the Longhorns, but don't expect that success to carry over into Saturday against the Crimson Tide. Nick Saban has gotten the best of his former assistant coaches in the past, and I don't expect that to change come Saturday. This might be a late cover, but Alabama by three touchdowns is worth it. 

Arkansas (-8.5) vs. South Carolina

It took South Carolina three quarters to finally pull away from Georgia State, and that terrifies me against a team like Arkansas. Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks offense struggled early, and that won't work if that happens again. 

Arkansas's K.J. Jefferson might not be the same level as CJ Stroud, Caleb Williams or Young, but make no mistake about it, he can play. And he looked good against Cincinnati last week. I know the Bearcats lost a ton from last year's CFB playoff qualifying team, but they're still solid. Jefferson ran for a score and threw for three. I'm not so sure he'll put up the same numbers this week against South Carolina, but he doesn't have to with the defense they have.

This might be a little bit of a lower-scoring game than people expect, but nonetheless, I like Arkansas by at least 10. Even on the road against an SEC team. 

Tennessee (-6.5) vs. Pittsburgh

When it comes to the SEC vs. the ACC, I'm going to take the SEC about 90% of the time. The gap between the two conferences is simply insurmountable. Pittsburgh doesn't have Kenny Pickett or Jordan Addison anymore, and those are two major losses. 

I know the Panthers scored 38 last week in their 38-31 win over West Virginia last week, but it certainly wasn't pretty. That won't work against a team like Tennessee. 

The Volunteers are certainly far from an elite SEC team, but they can play. Especially that offense. Dating back to last season, they've scored 40+ points in five of their last six games, and I don't see that changing come Saturday. 

Tennessee and quarterback Hendon Hooker put up 59 against Ball State. Similar to Arkansas's KJ Jefferson, these two just don't get much hype because of the conference they're in. Expect Tennessee to put up at least 40 on Saturday against Pitt, and do just enough to win by at least seven.

Notre Dame (-20.5) vs. Marshall

Despite losing 21-10 to No. 2 Ohio State last week, Notre Dame's defense looked outstanding. Ohio State had one of the best offenses a year ago, and I expect the Buckeyes offense to get back on track this week. 

The Irish still have a lot to prove offensively, but that defense is legit. Make no mistake about it, Marshall is a much-improved program. They won seven games a year ago, and crushed Norfolk State 55-3 last week. 

But Notre Dame is no Norfolk State. Notre Dame in the past has struggled as heavy favorites, but that was under Brian Kelly. We don't know if that's going to be the case under Marcus Freeman. It might take a little bit for Notre Dame to get going offensively, but I'd be surprised if Marshall scores more than 17 points in this one. Expect Tyler Buchner to find tight end Michael Mayer a ton on Saturday, and expect the Irish's offense to find the end zone though the air a couple of times on Saturday.

Again, maybe a late cover. But with Notre Dame's defense, taking them to cover by three touchdowns is worth it. 

Syracuse (-22.5) vs. Connecticut

I don't know about you, but I sure as heck didn't expect the Orange to blow past Louisville last week. Syracuse looked really good in a 31-7 win over the Cardinals, and I expect them to have little issue with the Huskies. 

Since becoming an Independent three seasons ago, UConn has won just two games. Let me be clear here. UConn is a basketball school, not a football school. The same can be said for Syracuse too, but they've definitely got a much better football program than the Huskies. 

I'm aware Syracuse lost two of its starters for the season, but still, there's a huge gap between these two programs. The Orange may very well cover the 22.5-point spread at the half. Do not expect a close game, and don't expect much from the Huskies offense. 

USC (-8.5) vs. Stanford

Lincoln Riley has officially put USC back on the map. The Trojans dominated the transfer portal this offseason, and it showed in their 66-14 win over Rice last week. Caleb Williams looks just as good as he did a year ago at Oklahoma, and Jordan Addison might just be the best receiver in college football.

I know this is a conference game, but I'm surprised USC is favored by only 8.5. I know Rice is an FCS school and Stanford won comfortably last week against Colgate, but make no mistake about, USC is significantly better.

Don't be surprised to see USC put up 50 in this one, and to be honest, they might cover the spread by the end of the first quarter. This is my most confident pick of the eight, and it should be yours too. 

Auburn (-23.5) vs. San Jose State

Let me clear here, Auburn didn't play all that well last week in their 42-16 win over Mercer. The defense played OK, but the Tigers' offense has a lot of work to do if they want to be competitive come SEC play. 

However, they shouldn't have to play all that well against San Jose State to cover a 24-point spread. A 21-17 win over Portland State is far from impressive, and I'm expecting a blowout loss come Saturday.

The Tigers might not do a whole lot through the air, but I expect Auburn to keep SJSU from scoring more than 10 points, and I expect them to run the ball down their throat. Maybe another late cover, but a SEC school against a Mountain West school, take the SEC school every time. And take them by a lot too. 

Mississippi State (-10.5) vs. Arizona

Just like I didn't mean to take all road favorites, I didn't mean to take five SEC schools. But the favorites dominated last week, and I expect the same again this week. And remember how the Pac-12 did against Power 5 conferences last week? Yeah, 0-3.

I don't expect that to change on Saturday for Arizona against Mississippi State. Arizona might put up some points in this one, let's say no more than 30, but expect the Bulldogs to put up at least 40. The hook here might get us, but Will Rogers and Mike Leach's offense are dangerous.

The same really can't be said for the Wildcats. They're not bad, but they're not on the same level as an SEC school like Mississippi State. You might be sweating this one out, but it's worth it.

Jared Shlensky joined Yardbarker in June of 2022 and writes about MLB, College Football and the NFL. Jared enjoys keeping up with pro and college football contests based out of Las Vegas, and he is a big fan of parlays, round robins, future bets, prop bets, and most of all, teaser bets. Jared is also a certified Pharmacy Technician and play-by-play broadcaster. Follow Jared on Twitter @JaredShlensky.