Week 2 Preview

We as college football fans got spoiled with last week’s slate of games. This week features zero top 25 matchups and there are only 5 games that feature a ranked team facing a Power 5 opponent. That should mean there won’t be too much excitement this week. But if last week is any indicator on how this season will go, we could have some major upsets this week.

Notable Games
Virginia Tech at 17Tennessee (Bristol) Tennessee got a wakeup call last week. Hopefully for the Vols, the issue was more mental than anything else. I expect Tennessee to look much better in this game. They need to. Virginia Tech saw that Tennessee is capable of being beat, so they need to come out strong. This game is being played at Bristol Motor Speedway and they are expecting the largest crowd in college football history for this one. I am picking Tennessee.

Kentucky at Florida The last time Kentucky beat Florida was in 1986. The Wildcats have been close over the last couple of years, but I don’t think they will break the streak. I expect Florida extend this streak to 30 years. Kentucky blew a big lead against Southern Miss and Florida didn’t look great against UMass, but I think when all is said and done, Florida is the better team. Kentucky also has a dismal road record over the last few years. They are 1-21 since 2011. I am picking Florida.

South Carolina at Mississippi State This is a tough one. South Carolina did beat Vanderbilt last weekend, but they needed a last second 55-yard FG to do it. And while Mississippi State lost to South Alabama, I have a little more confidence in that offense than in South Carolina’s. This could be a very close and competitive game. It should tell us a lot about both teams. I am picking Mississippi State.

BYU at Utah This should be a good game. Rivalries are always fun. These two played in the Las Vegas Bowl last season (a very interesting place for the “Holy War”). Utah scored all 35 of their points in the first quarter of that game and was able to hold off BYU. This should be another close one and I think the Utes will come out on top again. BYU did play a better team last weekend than Utah did, but with this game being in Salt Lake, I don’t know if the Cougs can get the win. I am picking Utah.

Washington State at Boise State Even though Washington State got beat by an FCS team, I think they will do well in this game. I just have a gut feeling. I don’t know if it is right, but I have a feeling. I think this will be a very high scoring game and that Luke Falk is the better QB. This one might come down to who has the ball last. I am picking Washington State.

Texas Tech at Arizona State This one is interesting. Neither team had any trouble last weekend. Defense might be optional in this game. The over/under for this game is 79 points. I expect some fireworks and a lot of offense. I think Arizona State will win because they have the better defense. One key stop could be all they need to win this game. I am picking Arizona State.

Arkansas at 15TCU I’m not going to lie. I am extremely worried about this game. Arkansas didn’t do well against LATech, especially on the defensive side of the ball. TCU didn’t play much defense either in their game against South Dakota State. Both teams have a lot to work on before this game. The winner of this game will probably have to score a lot of points. This one might be the biggest game of the weekend. I can’t wait to get to the stadium and see how this one turns out.

Top 25
Western Kentucky at 1Alabama
Troy at 2Clemson
Charleston Southern at 3Florida State
Tulsa at 4Ohio State
UCF at 5Michigan
Lamar at 6Houston
7Stanford BYE
Idaho at 8 Washington
Nicholls State at 9Georgia
Akron at 10Wisconsin
UTEP at 11Texas
12Michigan State BYE
13Louisville at Syracuse (Friday)
Louisiana Monroe at 14Oklahoma
Iowa State at 16Iowa
Nevada at 18Notre Dame
Wofford at 19Ole Miss
Prairie View A&M at 20Texas A&M
Jacksonville State at 21LSU
Central Michigan at 22Oklahoma State
SMU at 23Baylor
Virginia at 24Oregon
Florida Atlantic at 25Miami

Other Games
UNLV at UCLA
Wyoming at Nebraska
Georgia Southern at South Alabama
Arkansas State at Auburn
California at San Diego State