Auburn gets their own game preview and prediction each week since they're my team. After a 27-4 record with my first week predictions (thanks Wisconsin, South Carolina, Washington State and Colorado for messing that up!), we're gonna look to keep it rolling in Week 2. As mentioned last week, I use AP Poll rankings. To make this blog a little more interesting this week, I'll share where a lot of these schools are located. I'm sure some of you may not know the answers. Quite frankly, I'm not sure where a few of them are myself.
The Citadel at #1 Florida State Seminoles
FSU got a real run for their money from a game Oklahoma State team even after jumping ahead 17-0; holding on for a 37-31 win. They shouldn't have any such concerns this week against a Citadel team that lost to Coastal Carolina in their season opener. Jameis Winston makes no mistakes this week and could pretty much end up on the bench for the second half in this lopsided affair to avoid injury. Where is The Citadel, you wonder? In Charleston, South Carolina. It's actually a military school which was originally an all male university until beginning to accept females in 1996.
My Call: Florida State 73, Citadel 0
Florida Atlantic at #2 Alabama
After getting smoked 55-7 by the Huskers in their first game, Florida Atlantic gets to take on the Crimson Tide. Coach Nick Saban is considering tinkering with a two QB system with last week's starter Blake Sims and Florida State transfer Jacob Coker. Gotta wonder how happy he is after a closer than expected 10 point win over West Virginia. It wouldn't matter this week. They can just hand it off to T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry and let them do the rest; sorta like last week against West Virginia except with a much larger margin of victory here. Florida Atlantic is located in Boca Raton; the home of Jerry's parents on the still popular sitcom Seinfeld.
My Call: Alabama 44, Florida Atlantic 6
#7 Michigan State at #3 Oregon
In what will be billed as the game of the week on paper, this out of conference doozy has real BCS playoff implications on the line. And you couldn't ask for a clash of bigger contrasting styles. Oregon loves to play fast and light up the scoreboard while Michigan State is more of the pound and ground type that likes to smack you in the mouth. The Spartans play a style very similar to that of Oregon's Pac 12 nemesis, the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford has been a thorn in the side of the Ducks of late, winning 3 of the last 5 meetings. Michigan State will look to follow that blueprint step for step for a full 60 minutes here. I expect them to be quite successful, but I'm showing faith in the Ducks to figure a way out to pull this one out at will be a very loud Autzen Stadium.
My Call: Oregon 27, Michigan State 24
#4 Oklahoma at Tulsa
They won't get much credit from anyone around the country since Tulsa will be seen as a gimme game, but good for the Sooners giving in-state university Tulsa a fantastic home game its fans and players can be very excited about. Granted the crowd at Tulsa's Skelly Field may be 60 or 70 percent full of crimson shirted OU fans, but still. In regards to this game, I wouldn't be surprised if the Golden Hurricane was able to feed off the crowd for about 10 minutes or so for a slim early lead before the Sooners take over and dominate as they should.
My Call: Oklahoma 49, Tulsa 17
Virginia Tech at #8 Ohio State
The season opener with Navy was a game for about three and a half quarters before the Buckeyes pulled away for good. Now they get to open up their home schedule against a Virginia Tech program that has fallen on some hard times the last couple of seasons. Of course "hard times" for the Hokies would be good times for others, but given what coach Frank Beamer has built that program from the bottom up since taking over in 1987, 15-11 over two seasons can be considered a disappointment for them. I think the Hokies can hang with the Buckyes in this one, but I don't think they have enough offensive firepower to ultimately walk out of Columbus with a win. OSU QB J.T. Barrett may not light it up the scoreboard, but being able to avoid the big mistake should be good enough here.
My Call: Ohio State 24, Virginia Tech 17
Lamar at #9 Texas A&M
In arguably the most impressive first week performance in all of college football, Texas A&M went into Columbia and to quote Steve Spurrier, "kicked butt" in a 52-28 route of South Carolina. After an amazing performance from Aggies sophomore QB Kenny Hill in that game where he threw for 511 yards and 3 TDs, he now wants to be known as 'Kenny Trill', whatever that's supposed to mean. 'Kenny Trill' will get to put up some more big numbers against an overmatched Lamar team. He could get to 511 (or more) again if coach Kevin Sumlin played him the whole game and let him air it out, but I think you'll see plenty of true freshman and backup QB Kyle Allen in the second half of this blowout. As a side note, Kyle Allen went to Desert Mountain High School here in Scottsdale, Arizona where I also went to high school. As far as Lamar University goes, it's located in Belmont, Texas, home of the South Texas State Fair.
My Call: Texas A&M 63, Lamar 10
Northwestern State at #10 Baylor
Baylor senior QB suffered some cracked bones in his spine in the season opener against SMU but is expected to be fine and play through it. Not that it would matter a whole lot for this one as the Bears could call upon my unskilled fat ass to lead them to victory in this game against the way overmatched Demons of Northwestern State. Even if Petty were having issues with his injury, he could just hand it off a lot to running back Shock Linwood. Northwestern State is located in Natchitoches, Louisiana. It was founded in 1714, which makes it 300 years old and Louisiana's oldest town. It has a sister city by the same name in the state of Texas.
My Call: Baylor 66, Northwestern State 3
Memphis at #11 UCLA
The first game of 2014 for UCLA turned into what was a surprising struggle against a Virginia team most expected them to crush. Three defensive touchdowns got them through in a 28-20 victory in Charlottesville. Now they get to go home to the Rose Bowl to battle the Memphis Tigers. I expect this one to go a little more smoothly as the Memphis defense won't limit the Bruins offense to one offensive touchdown. Brett Hundley gets back on the right track. No problem for UCLA in a game filed under 'It would be a more exciting matchup if it were being played on a basketball court.'
My Call: UCLA 41, Memphis 14
Sam Houston State at #12 LSU
In case you're wondering, Sam Houston State is not actually in Houston, Texas in spite of Houston being part of the name of the university. It's actually in Huntsville, Texas which is about an hour outside of Houston. Anyway, LSU sure pulled a rabbit out of their hat against Wisconsin. They were behind 24-7, but the "Mad Hatter" Les Miles called for a fake punt on 4th and 2, LSU got the first down and the game completely turned from there. LSU rallied to win 28-24. Such trickery should not be needed against Sam Houston State. The Bearkats have had a couple of very nice recent seasons in the Southland Conference and the FCS, falling just short in 2011 and 2012 in the FCS Championship Games, both times against North Dakota State. But competing in the Southland Conference and competing against LSU at Tiger Stadium are two completely different animals. They don't have a chance in Baton Rouge this weekend.
My Call: LSU 59, Sam Houston State 13
#14 USC at #13 Stanford
If not for a certain game above taking place in Eugene, Oregon, this Stanford/USC would be "on paper" game of the week. Both squads opened up with convincing victories over teams they're much better than; now they get to open their Pac 12 slates against one another. USC did pull a somewhat surprising 20-17 upset on the Cardinal a year ago, but Stanford has pretty much owned this game otherwise since 2007 when a 41 point underdog Cardinal team went to the L.A. Coliseum and pulled off a shocking 24-23 victory. Can USC make it two in a row to get this matchup going back their way? Yes they can, but they won't. I wouldn't be surprised if this game ended up being as good or perhaps even better than the Michigan State/Oregon game. I'll take Stanford based on their experience and being at home.
My Call: Stanford 30, USC 27
#15 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt (at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee)
2014 didn't exactly get off to the prettiest start for either of these teams, but Ole Miss at least turned up the heat in the 4th quarter en route to a 35-13 win over Boise State. That's a lot better than Vandy, who suffered a painful 37-7 defeat at home to Temple. So what will happen in this SEC opener for both? A Rebel win. Yes, I do expect the Commodores to come more ready to play this one and Ole Miss QB Bo Wallace may not always look great, but the Rebs are simply a vastly superior team on both sides of the ball. Ole Miss could struggle for a while, but they'll gradually wear em down and get out of Nashville with a pretty convincing victory.
My Call: Ole Miss 27, Vanderbilt 10
Michigan at #16 Notre Dame
In what will be the last game played between these two great programs at least for a while, the Wolverines will travel to South Bend to take on the Irish in a game that will be played at night. QB Everett Golson was back and looking good as ever in Notre Dame's convincing victory over Rice a week ago while the Wolverines got past ghosts from 2007 by whipping up on Appalachian State. What did we find out about either team in the first week? Probably not a whole lot. Golson and Michigan QB Devin Gardner should both make some plays in this one giving us a good game that should be decided in the 4th quarter. I'll take the home team; Notre Dame under Golson has been very successful (sans for one game); and Michigan isn't anywhere near the same team that Golson lost to in the national championship game in January of 2013.
My Call: Notre Dame 34, Michigan 28
#17 Arizona State at New Mexico
In a relatively short trip to Albuquerque, the Sun Devils will hit the road to take on a New Mexico team coached by former Notre Dame head man Bob Davie. The Devils will look to move to 2-0 after an easy win over Weber State in its opener while the Lobos will look to bounce back from a 34-27 loss to UTEP. Expect the former to happen with relative ease. If New Mexico couldn't keep a bad UTEP team from beating them and scoring 34 points in the process, how the hell are they going to beat this ASU team? Taylor Kelly, D.J. Foster and Jaelen Strong should again put up some huge numbers in an easy Sun Devil win.
My Call: Arizona State 44, New Mexico 13
Western Illinois at #18 Wisconsin
As I outlined above in the LSU game forecast, the Badgers really blew it last week in Houston. While clobbering the Leathernecks won't fully make up for that collapse, it should at least feel good to take out some frustrations on them. Melvin Gordon will run wild. Western Illinois is located in Macomb, which is obviously located on the western side of the state given their school name. It is about two hours outside of Iowa City, three hours outside of St. Louis and four hours outside of Chicago. Their nickname, the Leathernecks, is actually a slang term for a military member.
My Call: Wisconsin 48, Western Illinois 7
McNeese State at #19 Nebraska
After an easy 55-7 win over Florida Atlantic, the Huskers appear to have another easy one on their hands with McNeese State. The Cowboys don't have much of a chance to beat the Huskers nor in slowing down star Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah, who rushed for 232 yards in the Florida Atlantic game. He has a chance to come up with numbers very similar to that if Bo Pelini calls enough plays to get him the ball before taking him out when Nebraska is leading big. McNeese State is located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which is about a couple hours outside of Baton Rouge by car.
My Call: Nebraska 51, McNeese State 3
#20 Kansas State at Iowa State
After an easy triumph over Stephen F. Austin, K-State heads to Ames to take on a Cyclones team that may be smarting after being trounced by FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. The Wildcats can't afford to look past their Big 12 opener which is possible with Auburn next on the schedule, but Bill Snyder is a great coach who won't let em do that. After not making much of an impact in the season opener, star K-State WR Tyler Lockett should make his presence more felt in this one and that'll be plenty for the Cats to move to 2-0 and then worry about Auburn.
My Call: Kansas State 31, Iowa State 14
East Carolina at #21 South Carolina
Okay, who saw that one coming? I'm not so much shocked that South Carolina lost to Texas A&M (I had them winning by 7, so I called a pretty close game), but it was pretty surprising to see them get blown out by 24 points and give up 52 points in the process. Once the game started, it became obvious that the Aggies were clearly the superior team, but I just didn't see it coming beforehand. Now the question is, can Steve Spurrier's club bounce back? They may not have star running back Mike Davis ready for this one and watching their defense, I think East Carolina can score some points. However, the Gamecocks will score their share also. And after last week's humiliation and with Georgia coming the following week, I think the Ole Ball Coach will make sure his team doesn't overlook this one and evens up its record. It won't always be pretty, especially defensively, but I think it'll be just good enough. And I'll go with the same score as I did last week for their game. They say third time's a charm, but we're hoping it's the second.
My Call: South Carolina 38, East Carolina 31
San Diego State at #21 North Carolina
No, this is not a misprint. The AP Poll gave North and South Carolina the same number of votes (196), so both are ranked 21st by the poll this week. Anyway, after UNC had some struggles with Liberty for two and a half quarters (they actually trailed halfway through the third quarter), they'll look to improve as they play host to what's turned into a solid Aztec program. Coach Rocky Long has done a splendid job with them, and his team will be looking to make a statement with a road win against an ACC program. I'll say they don't quite get it, making the long flight to the East Coast is never easy, but they'll make the Heels earn it.
My Call: North Carolina 38, San Diego State 28
South Carolina State at #23 Clemson
Clemson hung around with Georgia in Athens in the first half playing to a 21-21 tie before they got bulldozed in the second half en route to a 45-21 defeat. They'll get a chance to take out some frustrations on the Bulldogs of South Carolina State and will do just that. It shouldn't matter much whether it's senior Cole Stoudt or true freshman Deshaun Watson under center this week. They'll coast and take the two weeks off to try coming up with a game plan which will get them a win and payback against Florida State. South Carolina State is a historically black college and located in Orangeburg, which is just under 40 miles outside of Columbia (home to the University of South Carolina). NFL great Deacon Jones actually began his college career there, but had his scholarship revoked due to taking part in a civil rights protest. Deacon moved on to Mississippi Valley State, was taken in the 14th round of the 1961 NFL Draft and the rest was history.
My Call: Clemson 48, South Carolina State 13
#24 Missouri at Toledo
In what could be a dangerous game for a retooling Mizzou squad, they'll be going to the Glass Bowl to take on a Rockets team itching for a chance at a big win over an SEC team. Although Mizzou was getting more than it bargained for in its opener with South Dakota State early in the third quarter, a Marcus Murphy kickoff return for touchdown pretty much ended any hope the Jackrabbits had and the Tigers cruised from there. It was sort of the same story for Toledo in their opener with New Hampshire, but a touchdown run by Kareem Hunt early in the third quarter had them cruising the rest of the way as well. Something has to give in this one. You've got two teams that love to throw the ball around and showed in the first week that they were very good at it. This one could take all four quarters to decide. Mizzou better come ready for battle or they could get trampled. I think they'll come ready though and pull it out in the last few moments.
My Call: Missouri 34, Toledo 31
Murray State at #25 Louisville
Louisville got the second Bobby Petrino era off to a nice start with a relatively easy victory over the Miami Hurricanes. Now they get to build upon that in what should be an easy win over in-state school Murray State. The Racers won't be able to keep up. Murray State is located in Murray, Kentucky. It's in the very Southwestern part of the state and is not far at all from the border which could have you standing in three states (Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee) at once. So if you're ever in Murray and want to be in three places at once, just drive to the very Southwestern tip of the state of Kentucky and your dreams of being in three places at once can happen!
My Call: Louisville 56, Murray State 10
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