WEEK 2: GAMES TO KEEP AN EYE ON

As the second week of College Football is ready to begin there are a number of games that are on my Week 2 Watch List:


Thursday Night

Arizona at Oklahoma State (#9) – Thursday night matchup that should prove to be a showcase for one the nation’s elite receivers, Justin Blackmon. Look for him to get the ball early and often. He did not have TD last week, but that will surely change tonight with everyone watching.


Friday Night

Missouri (#21) at Arizona State – Big road test for Missouri. We’re going to find out real quick just how capable this Tiger team is. Missouri will have to do better on 3rd downs than they did last week (3-13) if they want to win this early road test.


Saturday

Oregon State at Wisconsin (#8) – I fully expect Wisconsin to blow the doors of this year’s Beaver squad. This Badger backfield has me reminiscing of the ’90 Co-Championship Colorado backfield with multiple  dangerous weapons in the backfield. Totally different style, but yards and points came out just the same. Look for Wisconsin's ground game to rack up more yards and points.

Mississippi State (#16) at Auburn – So Auburn wins a thriller and gets knocked out of the Top 25. What a week. They have to face one of  the strongest up and comers in the SEC in Mississippi State. It’s clear Dan Mullen does not like Auburn. This one should be tons of fun to watch it play out. Look for The Bulldogs, running some serious smashmouth football to pull away.

Alabama (#3) at Penn State (#23) – It’s hard to know what JoePa thought on the way back from being manhandled down in Tuscaloosa last year, but I know it was not pretty. Look for a more stout run defense this year from the Nittany Lions. Big thing I’m looking for here is Bama’s turnovers and their passing efficiency. Can the Bammers get it done on 3rd and long on the road in hostile territory? This one could be a closer game than people are thinking.

Virginia Tech (#11) at East Carolina – Coming off a tough loss to a superior South Carolina team, this ECU team hosts Virginia Tech. If Beamer and Foster want to land in the SEC, this very well could be an audition. Expect a good showing from a solid VaTech squad.

Cincinnati at Tennessee – Neither team is ranked, but that’s never stopped me from liking a good matchup. Both teams are trying to pull themselves out of obscurity. Look for a close one, and be sure to keep an eye on young Tyler Bray at QB against the Bearcat secondary.

South Carolina (#12) at Georgia – Well Bacarri Rambo is back and Alec Ogletree is out. I wish I had some good things to say about the Dawgs, but if you combine their last 2 outings – they are flat out awful. They’ll have to prove it on the field, before I can even sniff having anything nice to say about this squad. If the Dawgs won’t to have any shot they will have to get creative and drop the finess in favor of a hit 'em in the mouth style. Start by utilizing players on both sides of the ball, and bench the ones that are not cutting it under the bright lights. With Lattimore, Garcia, and Alshon all proven commodities, and not to mention that nasty defense up front, I’d be remiss not to say take the Gamecocks.

Utah at Southern Cal – If anyone missed it, Southern Cal’s receiver, Robert Woods, went off last week for 177 yards and 3 TDs. I would expect to see some more of that in this first conference meeting between Utah and Southern Cal.

Notre Dame at Michigan – This will be the first meeting in The Big House under the bright lights. Part of me is excited about this one, and the other part wonders where have The Wolverines been. The light bulb was invented back in the 1800’s. What gives? Either way these are two programs that in my opinion are on their way back up. Look for Brian Kelly to stay passionate, but tone it down just a notch this Saturday.


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