Yes, yes and absolutely not.

Those were my answers to the questions:

  1. Are we still 2.5 months away from Week 1?
  2. Does that make me sad?
  3. Is it too early to talk about Week 1 SEC lines?

OK, so you get it. Good. Then you won’t mind the fact that updated Week 1 lines are out (via SportsBetting.ag) and I had some strong reactions to all of them. Not really, but I at least thought a lot of them were interesting.

These are subject to change. As for now, here are how I feel about the Week 1 SEC lines:

(No lines were available for Georgia-Vanderbilt or Portland State-Arkansas.)

Alabama vs. Duke (in Atlanta)

Date: Aug. 31

Line: Alabama -30.5

Early pick: Alabama -30.5

That’s how lopsided this opener looks. Would it be different if Alabama were coming off a national title? Probably not. But with Nick Saban squads after losing in a bowl game, history suggests the Crimson Tide will be a force in 2019 (duh). Why bet against that against Duke, especially when Alabama is unbeaten in openers, having won 10 of 12 of them by at least 3 scores under Saban. And for what it’s worth, I’d be saying the same thing if Daniel Jones was back for Duke.

Auburn vs. Oregon (in Dallas)

Date: Aug. 31

Line: Auburn -2

Early pick: Oregon +2

I wish Auburn were a 7-point dog in this game. Then it would feel like one of those “Gus vs. everyone” games and the Tigers would be an easy pick. I struggled with this one because I still think Auburn could win this game. I could see Derrick Brown and Co. making it a long day for Justin Herbert and the Ducks, much like what we saw last year in the opener against Washington. But for now, the thought of Auburn having a freshman quarterback making his first start in a huge showdown to kick off the season has me leaning with Mario Cristobal’s experienced squad. Or at least enough to make it a 1-point game.

Florida vs. Miami (in Orlando)

Date: Aug. 24

Line: Florida -8

Early pick: Florida -8

Yes, it’s been a rough offseason for the Gators. Dan Mullen would have liked to avoid some of the Jalon Jones/Chris Steele headlines. Having said that, I can’t wait to see what Todd Grantham dials up for Miami’s offense, especially if Tate Martell is the one leading it. By the way, I think it’s only a matter of time before Martell guarantees a win in what would be his first career start.

Speaking of that, I’m gonna need Martell and Feleipe Franks mic’d up for that entire game. The two polarizing signal-callers — in their own unique way — will have tall tasks against elite defensive minds, but I like the odds of Mullen keeping the Miami defense off balance to win by at least a couple scores.

Toledo vs. Kentucky

Date: Aug. 31

Line: Kentucky -13

Early pick: Kentucky -13

In the past 4 openers, the Cats have played in games decided by 2 possessions or less. That includes last year’s 15-point win against Central Michigan. Against another MAC school, I’m predicting Kentucky will … roll? Most of that is on Mark Stoops having his team buying into the “everyone thinks you were a flash in the pan” thing. The other part of that is Stoops wanting to dunk on the state of Ohio in any way possible. A.J. Rose eases the pain of the post-Benny Snell era and fuels a comfortable win against a solid but inexperienced Toledo squad.

Georgia Southern vs. LSU

Date: Aug. 31

Line: LSU -26

Early pick: Georgia Southern +26

No, no, no. I’m not predicting another Troy showing. But people forget that Troy team won double-digit games that year. People might also forget that Georgia Southern won double-digit games last year, and they rank No. 19 in percentage of returning production. With a new offense to put in place and LSU hoping not to reveal too many secrets ahead of the Texas game in Week 2, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one stayed a 1-score game into halftime before LSU pulled away. Even a 28-7 LSU win would give the Eagles the edge to cover.

Mississippi State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (in New Orleans)

Date: Aug. 31

Line: MSU -22

Early pick: MSU -22

Wait a minute. You’re telling me the spread of a game that was decided by 46 points last year is less than half of that? All because it’s being played in Louisiana instead of Starkville? Nah. That can’t be. Oh it is? Sure, then. Sign me up for any version of Joe Moorhead’s offense to take care of business again. Considering how lopsided it was last year when MSU couldn’t do much offensively, I like the odds of another blowout.

Missouri vs. Wyoming

Date: Aug. 31

Line: Mizzou -14.5

Early pick: Mizzou -14.5

I went back and forth on this and then remembered that last year was a 40-13 bloodbath and that Wyoming was ranked No. 120 in percentage of returning production. Even though this game will be played in Laramie, I still like the odds of Kelly Bryant-led Mizzou coming out with some fire after the bizarre NCAA bowl ban punishment start to this offseason. The Tigers still just have too many offensive weapons to crumble against a 6-win Mountain West team.

Ole Miss vs. Memphis

Date: Aug. 31

Line: Memphis -6

Early pick: Memphis -6

Want a fire preseason take? I think Memphis has a strong chance to earn the Group of 5 bid in a New Year’s 6 Bowl. Even though Mike Norvell has a pair of new coordinators — just like Ole Miss — I’m high on Memphis skill-player trio Brady White, Patrick Taylor and Damonte Coxie, all of whom are coming off breakout seasons and will give that porous Rebels defense all sorts of problems. I give new Ole Miss defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre a better chance of keeping Memphis under 50 than Wesley McGriff, but it’s hard to see basically a brand new Ole Miss offense keeping up with that for 60 minutes.

South Carolina vs. North Carolina (in Charlotte)

Date: Aug. 31

Line: South Carolina -7.5

Early pick: South Carolina -7.5

RETURN OF THE MACK … gets off to a slow start in Charlotte. That’s not my way of dismissing Mack Brown’s chances of resurrecting his career and the UNC program, but it’s still a 2-win team that squeaked out 1 win against an FBS team last year. The Gamecocks don’t have to completely fix their running game issues, nor does Jake Bentley have to be perfect in order to be effective against that UNC defense, which ranked No. 106 in 2018.

Oh, and for what it’s worth, this is something that I’ll totally put too much emphasis on even though it’s nothing more than a fun nugget.

Gamecocks by 100.

Georgia State vs. Tennessee

Date: Aug. 31

Line: Tennessee -26

Early pick: Tennessee -26

A Jim Chaney flex game? Please and thank you. In his return to Knoxville, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chaney and the Vols give the home fans a rare blowout win. The good news is that without a real nonconference headliner, Chaney can bust out some early tricks without feeling like he’s wasting them on Georgia State, who won a whopping 2 games last year. A Tennessee team that has 1 win against an FBS opponent by at least 26 points in the last 3 seasons (seriously) gets Rocky Top some pre-September excitement. That, as we know, is nothing new.

Texas State vs. Texas A&M

Date: Aug. 29

Line: Texas A&M -34.5

Early pick: Texas A&M -34.5

No, I don’t think Jake Spavital’s return to College Station will be a happy one. Is there someone out there who thinks it will be? If so, I’d love to meet them. I’d maybe ask them if they’ve seen Kellen Mond play football, or if they watched Mike Elko’s run defense. Probably not. The good news for Texas State? It ranks third in America in percentage of returning production. The bad news for Texas State? That production was from a team that went 1-7 against the Sun Belt last year and got beat by 28 against Rutgers. Woof.