Howdy football fans and welcome to Week 2 of the College Football season! Yes, for Husker fans it's still Week 1, but since almost everyone else (we feel your pain Iowa State) got to play last week, they're going to be playing game 2. Hopefully the weather cooperates this week as my Cornhuskers take on an old rival, the Colorado Buffaloes. There are a couple interesting match-ups this weekend, but as usual, Week 2 of the College Football season is filled with a multitude of cupcake games. This post will focus on some of the more intriguing games you should all pay attention to and will have my predictions for them. I'll be out at the Stadium early on Saturday working on some social media content for our KRNU Broadcast, so be sure to follow us on Twitter to see all of our pre-game coverage! Enjoy the predictions!
Week 1 Prediction Results: 4-6
#3 Georgia at #24 South Carolina
One of only two ranked match-ups comes from the SEC as the Bulldogs travel one state North to take on the Gamecocks of South Carolina. Will Muschamp has a talented bunch of fighting chickens this year, lead by Junior QB Jake Bentley and the seven other returning starters on offense. They started their season off with a 49-15 win over Coastal Carolina last week, where Bentley racked up 250 yards through the air and 4 TDs. I don't imagine he'll have as easy of a time throwing the ball with the UGA defense lined up on the other side, but Bentley is a tough QB for coordinators to stop. Speaking of difficult QBs, Georgia's Jake Fromm made quick work of the Austin Peay Governors last week, throwing for 157 and 2 TDs while sharing time with backup QB and star recruit Justin Fields. This will be a much harder test for Kirby Smart and his squad, and could definitely be a sneaky upset pick. South Carolina could make some plays early, but I think Georgia will come into this game extremely focused and will come away with the victory. The spread is 10, but the Dawgs beat the Gamecocks 38-20.
Iowa State at Iowa (Battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy)
Much like Scott Frost and the Huskers, I'm sure Matt Campbell and the Cyclones would've love to have a game before facing off against an arch rival... but such is life. They Cyclones will travel to Iowa City for their opening game of the 2018 season to take on the always steady Hawkeyes. Iowa topped Northern Illinois last week, making Kirk Ferentz the winning-est coach in Iowa's history, passing his mentor Hayden Fry. As usual, the team looked consistent, but lacked creativity. Nate Stanley did not start off his season well, completing just 11 of 23 passes for 108 yards with a TD and a pick. He'll have to do much better this week as Iowa State will be looking to keep the pressure on him and force more bad throws. For the other side, QB Kyle Kempt has been granted a sixth year of eligibility, so he'll have the opportunity to lead the Cyclones for a full season in his final year of College Football. He's quickly become a QB to watch out for in the Big XII after throwing for 1,787 yards, 15 TDs and just 3 picks with a 63.3% completion rating in just 9 games last season. He'll be without star wideout Allen Lazard who is off to the NFL now, but Junior RB David Montgomery should give him some help coming off of a 1,100+ yard Sophomore campaign. Iowa City is difficult to win in, and this game is usually really close or a blowout. I'm still on the Iowa State train from last year and I couldn't possibly pick Iowa to win two weeks in a row, right?? Cyclones pull off the road victory 27-21.
#2 Clemson at Texas A&M
Even though Jimbo Fisher moved to the SEC, Dabo and the Tigers still can't avoid him. The Tigers hit the road for a very interesting match-up against the Aggies of A&M. One of the most hostile venues in College Football will host the #2 team in the nation, and Jimbo will look to knock off Dabo in a non-conference bout. We all know what Clemson is going to bring to the table; a formidable defense that will live in their opponents backfield, dynamic skill players on offense that can break a game open at any moment and the new feature, 2 QBs that could arguably start on nearly every team in the nation. Kelly Bryant got the start last week (as expected), but shared time with Trevor Lawrence. I wouldn't be surprised to see both QBs play again this week, especially if one is struggling or, the more likely case in my opinion, Clemson is dominating. Bryant brings the dual-threat ability to the offense, giving opposing defense headaches on who to cover in the option game. Lawrence is more of the air attack QB out of the two, with a cannon for an arm. The Aggies defense had no issues with their D-2 opponent last week, but Clemson will be a different story. Jimbo has talent on the roster, especially with Junior RB Trayveon Williams who had over 1,000 yards as a freshman. Sophomore QB Kellen Mond will have his hands full with Clemson's d-line and will likely be picking a lot of turf out of his helmet at the end of this game. There's a 12 point spread for A&M in this one, but I don' think they're quite ready for this level of play after just one game with Jimbo. Give them a couple years and this will be a different match up, but for right now Clemson rolls 35-17. The 12th Man isn't quite as scary as Death Valley anyways, right?
#13 Penn State at Pitt
The Nittany Lions dropped a few spots in the polls after narrowly defeating Appalachian State 45-38 in overtime at Beaver Stadium last week. They also made me worry since I said they would be a good team this year, but hopefully the first game hangover without Saquon is over. They travel to Pittsburgh to take on the rival Panthers for state bragging rights. Pitt struggled last year but could still be riding the Miami upset high as they head into this game. Two years ago they knocked off Penn State in this game, and home field advantage should never be overlooked. As I've stated before, I think Trace McSorley is one of the best players in the nation and much like Baker Mayfield, this kid refuses to lose. This could be tight early on, but Penn State will come out with some fire and McSorley will have a big game to push them over the top. Look for RB Miles Sanders to break loose some more too. Appalachian State held him to only 91 yards last week, but he's not a back who's typically held down for long. Penn State shuts up the doubters with a solid 40-20 victory over Pitt.
#17 USC at #10 Stanford
The best looking game of the week shall take place on the Farm out in Cali. The mighty Trojans of So. Cal travel North to take on the towering Trees of Stanford. USC is led by true Freshman QB JT Daniels who threw for 282 yards and a TD in his college debut last week. However, Stanford is a bit tougher than UNLV. The Cardinal started slow against SDSU last week, but then opened it up for a 31-10 victory. The crazy thing is that 2017 Heisman Runner-up Bryce Love only had 29 yards!! Love didn't do much last week, but K.J. Costello and star WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside were on fire. The duo connected for 226 yards and 3 TDs on just 6 catches. Half of Arcega-Whiteside's catches were TDs. HALF! USC's secondary will have all sorts of headaches with this kid, so look for lots of blitzes to keep K.J. Costello off balance in the pocket. The key stat to watch this game will be third down efficiency, both teams were a bit under 50% on third downs last week. I like Stanford in this one, and I'm anxious to see how the young Trojan team handles the road test. Tighter game than David Shaw might like, but the Trees win it 33-24.
Colorado at Nebraska
The most anticipated game of the week is set to take place in Lincoln, Nebraska (for real this time), as the Colorado Buffaloes travel East to face their old rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers! This game has enough hype from the old rivalry being renewed alone, but add in the fact the Nebraska didn't even get to play last week? MEMORIAL STADIUM WILL BE BONKERS! True Freshman QB Adrian Martinez will get his first real action and the Huskers offense will be new to everyone. It's nearly impossible to predict anything about Nebraska, but Colorado has played a game, so I'll analyze them. As anticipated, Steven Montez has improved in his second year as a started. What was not anticipated was that he would have more TD passes than incomplete passes to start off 2018. The Buffs put up nearly 600 yards of offense on in-state rival CSU, and Montez finished with 338 yards through the air and 5 total TDs (4 passing, 1 rushing). Virginia Tech transfer, RB Travon McMillian had 103 yards and a TD on just 10 carries and Sophomore WR Laviska Shenault Jr. had 11 catches for 211 yards and a TD. The "Yellowshirts" will have their hands full with this Buffaloes offense. All I know is that Lincoln will be rocking this afternoon and that energy will definitely carry over to the team. Again, my realistic predictions for the season aren't the highest (this is a growing year), but until I'm required to be unbiased, I definitely won't be! This is going to be a fun game to watch, and I've got my Huskers coming out on top, obviously! Nebraska 33, Colorado 28.
Quick Hit Predictions
#18 Mississippi State at Kansas State- The Powercats had to muster up a late comeback against the Coyotes of South Dakota last week, but the Bulldogs pose a much bigger challenge. Star QB Nick Fitzgerald is back for State and he'll give Bill Snyder and the K-State defense. They'll need to step up their game, but playing at home will be a big help. Wildcats keep it close, but we'll be saying HAIL STATE at the end of the day. Mississippi State 38, K-State 24.
Duke at Northwestern- The Wildcats of the BIG 10 own the nation's longest win streak among Power 5 Teams. The Blue Devils are looking to change that as they travel to Evanston, IL today. Duke is always well coached and has a lot of young talent, but Northwestern is one of my sneaky teams in 2018. Clayton Thorson and backup QB TJ Green looked solid in their opener against Purdue, and RB Jeremy Larkin did a very nice job filling Justin Jackson's big shoes after rushing for 143 yards. I'm sticking with the BIG 10 in this game, Northwestern 33, Duke 28.
Cal at BYU- This game is tricky because Cal is on the road. Both teams are on my sneaky radar, and both looked very good last week. BYU smashed Arizona in the mouth and were extremely physical last week. Cal forced four picks last weekend and star RB Patrick Laird had 109 total yards on offense and 2 TDs (1 rushing and 1 receiving). Cal's offense struggled last week, so that concerns me a bit. I'm sure they'll pick it up this week, but BYU at home should be too much. Cougars win a tough one 31-29.
#15 Michigan State at Arizona State- Another interesting game out West is BIG 10's Sparty taking on the Sun Devils of Arizona State. Michigan State had some trouble last week with Utah State, pulling out the win in the final minutes. Arizona State however, has more speed and talent than the Aggies, so Sparty really needs to be ready. They'll also have to prepare for the heat, as it's expected to be over 100 degrees at kickoff... at 9:45 pm Central. Sparky may have a tougher time this week putting up points on a BIG 10 defense, and I think Michigan State's defense will be the key. They will make some big stops and move on from last week. SPARTY beats SPARKY 30-21.
Thanks for reading all my Week 2 Predictions and be sure to watch for me on the field pre-game at Memorial for our KRNU Broadcast! Get ready Husker fans, it's ACTUALLY Gameday. GO BIG RED!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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