re: How sound is this college football pick 'em strategy?

Sounds like a solid strategy. Another one I hear a lot about is flipping a coin. Usually one team will be designated heads and the other tails.

To use your example, you may designate UCLA heads or Virginia tails. You would then toss the coin a moderate height in the air and depending on which side it lands on, you would pick that team against the spread. In our theoretical example, the coin landed on heads. Thus, you would choose UCLA in your college football pick'em.

This could be a little bit complicated, so a few trial runs are advised.