Sports Handicapper William Burns's Picks & Predictions

(#919) Seattle Mariners | ML | . 

Bryan Woo (11-9, 4.03 ERA) vs. Gage Jump (6-10, 5.12 ERA) . 

While the Mariners are probably eliminated from contention logically, I believe that they will still try their best to win as many games as possible down the stretch of the season. This is a great pitching matchup for Seattle to capitalize on. Bryan Woo has a fantastic 2.53 ERA since the beginning of August and a 0.64 ERA in two September outings. 

On the other hand, the Athletics will turn to Gage Jump. He's had his moments this season. However, ultimately, he's been quite poor. It doesn't help that the A's have been injured all year. But, that's been the case. Here in Sacramento, I expect the M's to be able to score with their power. Give me Seattle on Saturday. 

Burns' Prediction: 7-3 Mariners.

(#340) BYU Cougars | ATS | . 

Playing on a team minus 7.5 is a bit scary. However, I firmly believe that BYU is going to come out ready to go on Saturday afternoon at home. Arizona returns Noah Fifita, which means that it's got an experienced QB. That being said, I don't believe that he's got the supporting cast to help him in a game like this against BYU. Arizona has lost five consecutive games against the Cougars (1-4 ATS) as well. 

Talking about BYU, it's expected to be a contender to make the playoff this season. QB Bear Bachmeier has been hyped up quite a bit and I believe that it's for good reasoning. He's a dual threat QB and extremely physical, making it hard to defend at all times. This is a Big 12 matchup and the first of the season. Expect the Cougars to dominate. 

Burns' Prediction: 35-13 BYU.

(#356) Minnesota Golden Gophers | ATS | . 

Mississippi State dominated in its opening game and will now head on the road for the first time in 2026-27. I have liked the SEC more than the Big 10 for big matchups over the past couple of years (backfired at times,) this is a matchup where I like the Big Ten home team. The Bulldogs are 3-11 on the road over the past four seasons. 

Looking at Minnesota, it's coming off a very strong game against Eastern Illinois. Now, that's not a game to get carried away by. However, the Golden Gophers were able to show off their QB Drake Lindsey, who I believe has the intangibles to make it pro. At home, I trust Lindsey to get his team another win to start the campaign. 

Burns' Prediction: 34-23 Minnesota.

(#327) Penn State Nittany Lions | ATS | . 

The line keeps going up here in this one. I believe that it's for good reasoning. We just saw Penn State completely dominate a decent Marshall team 45-0. What's to say that the Nittany Lions can't do the same thing in Week 2, even on the road. They are resilient and have a lot of guys that are used to playing with each other back at ISU last season. In my eyes, Temple is a drop off in competition as well. 

Talking about the Owls, they really couldn't do anything through the air against Rhode Island. I mean 142 passing yards against an FCS program is atrocious. Yes, Keveun Mason ran for 150+ yards. But, PSU will be able to contain him a lot better than URI did, that's for sure. I expect another dominant showing from PSU on Saturday at high noon. 

Burns' Prediction: 41-9 Penn State.

(#308971) Montana State Bobcats @ (#308972) Nevada Wolfpack | OVER | . 

An FCS team against an FBS team normally favors the FBS side, especially with it being at home. In this case, I believe that the FCS team (Montana State,) is here to win this weekend. Let's not forget that the Bobcats come into this season as the reigning/defending FCS champs. They got plenty of experience playing against Oregon last season. Not only that, but they went into New Mexico and took down the Lobos in 2024-25. 

Montana State not only returns QB Justin Lamson from last season's championship team. But, it also returns B2B one thousand yard rusher Adam Jones as well as B2B team leader in receiving yards (1030 last season) Taco Dowler. Nevada absolutely dominated Western Kentucky in it's opening game as well, winning 49-14. That's a 35pt win against a decent FBS opponent. No matter who comes out on top, both of these two teams can score & I expect a high scoring encounter this weekend. 

Burns' Prediction: 34-27 Montana State.

(#357) Alabama Crimson Tide | ATS | . 

Alabama looked very strong in the opening game against East Carolina. I know that it was a game where the Crimson Tide were supposed to win heavily. But, all things considered, it was a very good game for them. Keelon Russell looked fantastic with 256 passing yards & 86 rushing yards. His duel threat ability gives the Tide something that Ty Simpson didn't bring to the table too much from last year. 

Looking at the other side of things, Kentucky also won its first game rather easily. Starting QB Kenny Minchey finally got his shot to play in a game and he delivered. That being said, this is going to be a much tougher game against an opponent that won 49-21 against the Wildcats in the last meeting back in 2023. This is the first SEC "conference game" so both teams are going to want it, especially Bama. I believe that this line is too small. Roll Tide. 

Burns' Prediction: 37-17 Alabama.

(#387) Navy Midshipmen | ATS |. 

On paper, you might think that these teams are quite even. However, I do not think that Navy is a good matchup for Florida Atlantic when looking at them from a matchup standpoint of going up against each other. I know it was against Towson. But, the Midshipmen ran for 506 yards in their week one game en route to a blowout win. QB Braxton Woodson had 200 of those himself. 

On the other hand, Florida Atlantic could not stop the run whatsoever against Florida. The Gators put up 66 points on the Owls defense, rushing for 301 yards themselves. Considering that all Navy wants to do is run the ball, this simply doesn't look like a good matchup for FAU. 

Last season, Navy won by double digits in a game where its defense did not play too well. That's now 3-0 all-time for Navy against Florida Atlantic, winning all three contests by at least a touchdown. Even on the road in week 2, I'm expecting another double digit win for the Midshipmen, dominating in the trenches. 

Burns' Prediction: 42-20 Navy.