COLLEGE FOOTBALL: WEEK TWO PREDICTIONS

The SEC didn’t exactly represent itself well in week one, with Missouri, Tennessee and Ole Miss all losing to non Power Five teams and Arkansas struggling to get a close win against an FCS squad. Week two has more compelling matchups, headlined by number six LSU traveling to ninth-rated Texas. The Aggies of Texas A&M will try to knock off top-ranked and defending national champion Clemson on the road. Wins in those game could help the SEC regain some swagger, at least at the top of the league. 

For the first time, since gambling is now legal nationwide, I’m including the point spread with each game. While I’m not specifically picking against the spread, you can figure it out by my final score prediction. 

Friday (from a previous post):

Marshall  (1 - 0) 21 @ (24)  Boise State (1 - 0) (-13.5) 31: It was hard to get much of a read on Marshall after week one, posting a 56 - 17 win against overmatched FCS member VMI. Boise State showed a lot of grit in their opener, coming from 18 points down to defeat Florida State in hot and humid Tallahassee. With that win, Boise jumps into the top Group of Five team conversation with UCF and a couple of others. I wouldn’t count Marshall out, however, as they are the favorites in Conference USA and are coming off a 9 - 4 season and a bowl win over South Florida. 

Saturday:

(12) Texas A&M (1 -0) 20 @ (1) Clemson (1 - 0) (-16.5) 38: This is one of the top games of the week, featuring former Florida State coach taking his Aggies into Death Valley to face the top-ranked Clemson Tigers. Based on Clemson’s opening week drubbing of Georgia Tech, it doesn’t appear the Tigers have missed a beat from last season’s national championship team. Fisher faced Clemson annually when he was in the ACC and should have an idea of how to play the Tigers. If this game was in College Station, I would give A&M a shot. But it’s not, and I have to go with Clemson.  

Cincinnati (1 - 0) 24 @ (5) Ohio State (1 - 0) (-16.0) 34: Cincinnati dusted UCLA for the second consecutive year in week one, setting up this very intriguing matchup at the Horseshoe in Columbus. The American Athletic Conference had a very good opening week and could make another big statement with a Bearcat win over Ohio State. 

Army (1 - 0) 17 @ (7) Michigan (1 - 0) (-22.0) 27: Army was 11 - 2 last year and its unconventional option offense is difficult to defend. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Cadets give Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines fits, but I think Michigan’s size and athleticism on defense will eventually wear Army down. 

Rutgers (1 - 0) 17 @ (20) Iowa (1 - 0) (-20.0) 31: Rutgers snapped an 11 game losing streak last week with a big win over hapless UMass. There was promise in scoring 46 points after averaging less than 12 points a game in their final 11 games of last season.  They’ll need a much better effort against the Hawkeyes if they want to score a monumental upset. I like Iowa to hold on at home, but Rutgers should give them a little more challenge than they expect. 

(21) Syracuse (1 - 0) 30 @ Maryland (1 - 0) (-2.0) 27: I’m not quite sure how Maryland is the favorite in this game. They’ve shown very little consistency recently and they’re stadium hardly gives them much of a home field advantage. Meanwhile, Syracuse is coming off a breakthrough season where their only three losses were to national champion Clemson, Coastal Division winner Pittsburgh in overtime and CFP participant Notre Dame. Perhaps the oddsmakers know something I don’t, but I’m not buying it.

Northern Illinois (1 - 0) 14 @ (13) Utah (1 - 0) (-22.0) 37: The MAC is down this season and Northern Illinois isn’t even one of their top teams. Utah has a good chance at a playoff spot and I don’t think this game will be much of a problem for them, especially at home in Salt Lake City. 

Central Michigan (1 - 0) 6 @ (17) Wisconsin (1 - 0) (-35.0) 57: Wisconsin went down to Tampa and spanked South Florida 49 - 0 in hot and humid conditions. Meanwhile, CMU gave up 21 points to a bottom-feeding FCS team. This one could get out of hand early.

(25) Nebraska (1 - 0) (-4.5) 30 @ Colorado (1 - 0) 24: Nebraska wasn’t particularly impressive last week against Sun Belt member South Alabama, one of the ten weakest teams in the FBS. The ‘Huskers will need to step up against Colorado, which is coming off a drubbing of rival Colorado State. I picked Nebraska to win the Big Ten West, so I’ll stay with them to rebound from last week.

New Mexico State (0 - 1) 7 @ (2) Alabama (1 - 0) (-55.0) 66: I’m not sure when I last saw a 55 point spread, but I could argue that it might not even be high enough. The Aggies gave up over 40 points a game last year and there wasn’t anyone close to Alabama on their schedule. If this was a fight, they might call it after three quarters.

Murray State (1 - 0) 13 @ (3) Georgia (1 - 0) (-49.0) 56: Georgia, fresh off a conference win at Vanderbilt, takes a week off against a middling FCS foe. Why do they even bother?

Northern Colorado (0 - 1) 13 @ (22) Washington State (1 - 0) (-36.5) 52: Washington dusted New Mexico State, 58 - 7 and this could be even worse. At least the Cougars play a decent Houston team in week 3 or their non-conference schedule would be pathetic. 

South Dakota (0 - 1) 13 @ (4) Oklahoma (1 - 0) (-39.0) 59: Another one? Oklahoma was very impressive on both sides of the ball last week against Houston. Their speed on defense just might be the difference in getting them to the playoffs.

(18) UCF (1 - 0) (-11.0) 38 @ Florida Atlantic (0 - 1) 24: I’m not sure why UCF is only giving 11 points in this one. Florida Atlantic didn’t show up for a half last week at Ohio State and then made a move against the second teamers to make it respectable. UCF will be playing with a chip on its shoulder all season and will be looking to run it up on Lane Kiffin’s FAU team that is short on defensive skill.

(6) LSU (1 - 0) (-6.5) 28 @ (9) Texas (1 - 0) 24: LSU is one of my picks to get to the playoffs and this game will be instrumental when it comes to selection time. Texas is definitely headed in the right direction, but I look for LSU’s defense to give the Longhorns too for them to overcome. 

Tulane (1 - 0) 21 @ (10) Auburn (1 - 0) (-17.0) 31: Auburn escaped Arlington with a last second win over Oregon after being dominated all night. Tulane put up 41 points on Florida International, a bowl team from last season. The Green Wave should be no problem for the Tigers, unless they are Auburn suffers a bit of a letdown from last week. Auburn’s defense will be tested and freshman QB Bo Nix will need to step up his game to avoid the upset.

UT Martin (1 - 0) 6 @ (11) Florida (1 - 0) (-44.5) 49: Frankly, I’m tired of wasting effort on these unnecessary games.

Buffalo (1 - 0) 20 @ (15) Penn State (1 - 0) (-31.0) 56: Buffalo won ten games last year and played in the MAC championship game. Along the way, they defeated a Power Five team, but that was a one win Rutgers team. Penn State, coming off a 79 point performance against Idaho, presents a an entirely different challenge. 

Nevada (1 - 0) 20 @ (16) Oregon (0 - 1) (-24.5) 38: Oregon, as mentioned earlier, dominated Auburn for three and a half quarters only to see Auburn score the go ahead touchdown with nine seconds on the clock. Nevada defeated Power Five Purdue, but they’re not in the same class as the Ducks, who need to regroup after that disappointing loss. 

Western Michigan (1 - 0) 20 @ (19) Michigan State (1 - 0) (-15.5) 27: Western Michigan is one of the top teams in the MAC, but they’ll still be overmatched in this one. However, Michigan State is still a bit challenged offensively and Western Michigan can put some points on the board. If there was one possible MAC - Big Ten upset, this could be the one.

California (1 - 0) 17 @ (14) Washington (1 - 0) (-13.5): 30 The Pac-12 North is stacked this season, but Cal isn’t one of those top teams. I have to go with a much better Washington team here as they look to repeat as North champs and challenge for a playoff spot.

(23) Stanford (1 - 0) 20 @ USC (1 - 0) (-3.0) 24: Both of these teams will be without their starting quarterbacks for this game. In the case of USC, it’s for the entire season as J.T. Daniels suffered a torn ACL against Fresno State. True freshman Kedon Slovis, who was adequate but not sensational in the second half last week, will be facing a much sterner defense this week. I like USC’s skill players and will take the home team.

Old Dominion (1 - 0) 17 @ Va. Tech (0 - 1) (-28.5) 42: Last season, ODU pulled one of the big upsets of the year, taking advantage of a disinterested Hokie defense to shock 13th ranked Tech, 49 - 35. This time around, Tech is coming off a frustrating five turnover loss to Boston College and should be more focused. Old Dominion lost some key offensive starters off what turned out to be a pedestrian 4 - 8 team. A repeat of last year is doubtful. 

South Florida (0 - 1) 23 @ Ga. Tech (0 - 1) (-6.0) 31: Both of these teams were totally ineffective against respective top 25 teams: Georgia Tech to Clemson and South Florida to Wisconsin. South Florida won this matchup last season, but they are in the midst of a seven game losing streak and things don’t seem to be improving much under head coach Charlie Strong. 

Miami (0 - 1) (-5.5) 27 @ UNC (1 - 0) 24: After a disappointing loss to Florida, Miami has had a week to lick their wounds and get ready for ACC play. North Carolina erased a 20 - 9 fourth quarter deficit to South Carolina to grab a victory in Mack Brown’s first game back with the Tar Heels. I haven’t been sold on Miami, but I think they’re better than an improved UNC. 

West Va. (1 - 0) 27 @ Missouri (0 - 1) (-13.5) 38: Was Missouri’s loss to Wyoming a fluke or a sign that the Tigers aren’t all they were predicted to be following the transfer in of former Clemson QB Kelly Bryant? I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt as they gave up two 60+ yard runs and a defensive TD to fall behind by 17 points before falling just short in a fourth quarter comeback. 

Vanderbilt (0 - 1) 27 @ Purdue (0 - 1) (-7.0) 30: Purdue lost a close one to Nevada, Vanderbilt got soundly beaten by number 3 Georgia. It’s hard to take much from those games, so I’ll stay with Purdue at home.

Oregon St. (0 - 1) 31 @ Hawaii (1 - 0) (-6.5) 40: Hawaii took care of Pac-12 Arizona the opening weekend and should be able to dispatch the Beavers, too.  Oregon State gave up 52 to Oklahoma State in their opener and Hawaii is almost if not equally potent on offense. 

Arkansas (1 - 0) 27 @ Ole Miss (0 - 1) (-8.0) 24: Neither of these teams was impressive in week one. Ole Miss made the short trip to Memphis and went home with a loss. Arkansas had trouble at home with what should have been an overmatched Portland State from the FCS, squeaking out a 20 - 13 win. The Razorbacks struggled in the red zone, but the defense looked solid. I’m going with an upset.

Hear my recent interview with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg, where we discussed his agency, concussions, franchise relocation and philanthropy at http://thechtonsports.com/cold-hard-truth-sports-radio-show-1242017/

Also listen to our conversation with author and sports journalist Mike Carey, as we discussed his latest book "Bad News" about Marvin Barnes and reminisced about Mike's coverage of the Boston Celtics during their glory years with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and Robert Parish. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/golongmedia/2017/02/08/the-cold-hard-truth-on-sports-radio-show

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" at  Amazon.com .  Check out www.thechtonsports.com for our podcasts and live broadcast on Tuesday's at 9:00 pm EST. I can also be reached via email at kevin@pkfrazier.com.