Gameday on Rocky Top 2023 Picks Contest

Things are slower over here these days, and I just kind of assumed the picks contest would be something we let go of…but I’ve just come to realize how much I just really enjoy running this thing. Some of my oldest friends, who may even still be floating around this site, can tell you about versions of this contest we ran over long, long, l-o-n-g email threads back in the late 90s. I don’t know how to do a football season without one. Turns out, don’t really want to either.

So: welcome to the 2023 Gameday on Rocky Top picks contest! The link will take you to Fun Office Pools, where we’ve run this game with confidence points for years and years. Same rules apply, as always: we pick 20 games each week straight up, you assign 20 points to the outcome you’re most confident in, 1 point to the outcome you’re least confident in, and away we go. Picks are due by kickoff of each game, and even if you fall behind and/or asleep at the wheel, you’ll earn just one point lower than the lowest total score that week.

Any questions, holler in the comments. Here’s the Week 1 slate, in all its glory:

Thursday, August 31

• NC State at UConn – 7:30 PM – CBS Sports Network
• Florida at #14 Utah – 8:00 PM – ESPN
• Nebraska at Minnesota – 8:00 PM – FOX

Friday, September 1

• Louisville at Georgia Tech – 7:30 PM – ESPN
• Stanford at Hawaii – 11:00 PM – CBS Sports Network

Saturday, September 2

• Virginia vs #12 Tennessee (Nashville) – 12:00 PM – ABC
• Colorado at #17 TCU – 12:00 PM – FOX
• ETSU at Jacksonville State – 2:00 PM – ESPN+
• Boise State at #10 Washington – 3:30 PM – ABC
• South Florida at Western Kentucky – 3:30 PM – CBS Sports Network
• UTSA at Houston – 7:00 PM – FS1
• West Virginia at #7 Penn State – 7:30 PM – NBC
• #21 North Carolina vs South Carolina (Charlotte) – 7:30 PM – ABC
• South Alabama at #24 Tulane – 8:00 PM – ESPNU
• Old Dominion at Virginia Tech – 8:00 PM – ACC Network
• Coastal Carolina at UCLA – 10:30 PM – ESPN

Sunday, September 3

• Northwestern at Rutgers – 12:00 PM – CBS
• #18 Oregon State at San Jose State – 3:30 PM – CBS
• #5 LSU vs #8 Florida State (Orlando) – 7:30 PM – ABC

Monday, September 4

• #9 Clemson at Duke – 8:00 PM – ESPN