Before I get into my Week 2 predictions, I would like to thank everyone for reading my College Football News blog. Due to website difficulties, only one of my articles resides on the site. I will post a link on Facebook and Twitter to each story as they start to show up on the new site.
Week 2 Preview
While week 1 offered very few marquee matchups, Week 2 highlights several games featuring BCS title contenders. I will summarize each game in a sentence or two and pick the winner.
Games pairing two teams from the top 25
- #18 Penn State at #1 Alabama – The Crimson Tide comes into this matchup clicking on all cylinders, while the Nittany Lions struggled at times with 1-AA Youngstown State. Even without Heisman Trophy Winner Mark Ingram, Alabama wins this game huge!
Prediction Alabama 35, Penn State 10 - #12 Miami at #2 Ohio State – The winner of this game remains in contention for the BCS title game, as neither team will face stiff challenges from within their own conference. The speed of the defenses will disrupt the offenses all afternoon long. Since Buckeyes have the home field, they should win a squeaker
Prediction Ohio State 12, Miami 7 - #17 Florida State @ #10 Oklahoma - New Seminole Coach Jimbo Fisher will get his first true test as the FSU head coach. While Oklahoma's offense sputtered last week at times, the defense stepped up big in key situations. Look for the Sooners defense to be the difference.
Prediction Oklahoma 28, Florida State 17 - #22 Georgia @ # 24 South Carolina - Many people call this series a rivalry, I disagree. In order for a series to qualify as a rivalry, both teams have to win games. In recent history, the Dawgs have dominated the Gamecocks. That won't change this season.
Prediction Georgia 28, South Carolina 10 - Michigan at Notre Dame - Why aren't these teams in the Top 25? Both teams won big games last week, erasing some of the misery from last season. QB Dennard Robinson adds a different dimension to Rich Rodriguez offense. The Irish defense played a great game against an underrated Purdue team. The Irish defense will make on more play than the Michigan defense.
Prediction Notre Dame 28, Michigan 24
Mountain West Conference Games
Since I cover this conference, here's my picks for conference games this weekend
- BYU at Air Force - Tough call to make here. Air Force might have to play without their top 2 CB's against a very talented passing attack. Still, the Falcons catch BYU looking ahead to Florida State game. In an upset special, Air Force wins.
Prediction Air Force 35, BYU 31 - UNLV at Utah - Utah should have no trouble beating UNLV. Look for Matt Asiata to have a huge day on the ground.
Prediction Utah 35, UNLV 17 - Tennessee Tech at TCU - TCU wins big against their Ohio Valley Conference opponent, as QB Andy Dalton states his case for the Heisman Trophy
Prediction TCU 45, Tennessee Tech 0 - Wyoming at #5 Texas - Wyoming enters the game with a heavy heart, suffering from the death of LB Rube Narcisse. QB Austyn Carta-Samuels keeps the Cowboys in the game, but the Longhorns pull away late in the game.
Prediction Texas 42, Wyoming 20 - San Diego State at New Mexico State - QB Ryan Lindley torched Nicholls State through the air last weekend en route to a 47-0 victory. Things should not be any different this weekend against an Aggie defense that struggled against the pass last season.
Prediction San Diego State 35, New Mexico State 14 - Texas Tech at New Mexico - The Lobos want nothing more than to erase last week’s painful 72-0 loss at Oregon. While they won’t beat the Red Raiders, they will turn in a much better performance this week.
Prediction Texas Tech 28, New Mexico 17 - Nevada at Colorado State - The Rams have a chance at beating the Wolfpack if they can contain the run as well as they did in week 1. QB play will be the difference with Nevada's Colin Kaepernick outplaying Pete Thomas.
Prediction Nevada 24, Colorado State 10
Other games of interest
Since Michigan State has several avid readers of this blog, they will always appear on this list.
- Florida Atlantic at Michigan State - Another "neutral" site game. Spartan RB's Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell can take it to the house, every time they touch the ball. They should have no trouble against a porous FAU defense. Owl QB Jeff Van Camp should hit a big play or two, but the Michigan State D should hold him in check.
Prediction Michigan State 42, Florida Atlantic 14
If there's a game that you'd like to see that's not listed, email me and let me know.
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