With the first weekend of the new college football season in the books, we look forward to week 2, which will have much more intriguing matchups than last weekend.
Tennessee Volunteers vs BYU Cougars
Tennessee started the season in a shocking way, losing to a much less talented team in Georgia State. This was supposed to be a season to reignite the program and put them in contention with Georgia and Florida for the SEC East crown, but it looks as if this may be the season the Tennessee loses its prominence as a top tier college football program. BYU also started the season on a low note, losing to in state rival Utah 30-12. For one team, it could be a turnaround for their season, and for the other, it means that it will be a long season for the team and fans.
Prediction: Tennessee 27, BYU 17
Florida vs UT Martin Skyhawks
Florida opened their season against Miami two weeks ago, and the offense looked less than impressive. The defensive line shined in the game, as they recorded double digit sacks. UT Martin has yet to play a game this season, and this will not be a good way to start it. Look for Florida to pull away fast, and play much more aggressive this weekend, as they try to show everyone why they were ranked in the top 10 to begin the season.
Prediction: Florida 52, UT Martin 7
Missouri Tigers vs West Virginia Mountaineers
Kelly Bryant sure did impress in his first game at Missouri, passing for 428 yards, and two scores. Although he did look impressive, the rest of the team did not. They lost to Wyoming, who came into the game with only an 11.2 percent chance to win the game. This will be a big test as to how far this Missouri team can go this season. They are not technically eliminated from the race for the SEC East crown, but a loss could be detrimental.
Prediction: Missori 48, West Virginia 31
South Carolina Gamecocks vs Charleston Southern Buccaneers
Will Muschamp was given another opportunity at coaching in the SEC when South Carolina named him as their head football coach in 2016. Since then, he has had a record of 22-18. Muschamp will have to find a way to turn the season around if he wants to keep his coaching job. Luckily for him, he will at least survive one more week as South Carolina hosts Charleston Southern. The Gamecocks should have no problem handling this weeks opponent.
Prediction: South Carolina 38, Charleston Southern 10
Vanderbilt Commodores vs Purdue Boilermakers
The battle of the gold and blacks. Both teams had setbacks last week, and started the season off with losses. Purdue lost a close game to Nevada, while Vanderbilt lost to heavily favored Georgia. Neither team is expected to make much noise this season, but both teams could put on a show against each other. Vanderbilt has one of the best dual threat running backs in the country, Keyshawn Vaughn, while Purdue has a top prospect receiver in Rondale Moore.
Prediction: Vanderbilt 24, Purdue 29
Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Fresh off of a win against Louisiana Lafayette, Mississippi State gets their in-state rival Southern Miss. Mississippi State will likely start the scoring early, and not hold up. Running back Kylin Hill is looking to have another huge game on the ground, and he will most likely get it. He ran for 197 and a score last weekend, and shows no sign of slowing down against the Golden Eagles.
Prediction: Mississippi State 49, Southern Miss 24
Alabama Crimson Tide vs New Mexico State Aggies
Alabama comes into the game ranked second in the country, and this matchup will be a tune up game for the Tide. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will continue his efficient start from last week, when he had only five incompletions out of 31 attempts. The Aggies can possibly put up ten points if they are lucky, but I do not expect much else.
Prediction: Alabama 49, New Mexico State 7
Georgia Bulldogs vs Murray State Racers
This game will get ugly fast, and will serve as just a small stepping stone to Georgia’s run at a National Championship. Murray State has not took the field yet this season, and the season will start rough for them. Look for Georgia to be playing their second and third string guys by halftime, as they will not want to risk injury before their big matchup with Notre Dame in two weeks.
Prediction: Georgia 45, Murray State 3
Auburn Tigers vs Tulane Green Wave
Auburn was one of the few teams last week that had a big matchup, and the Tigers responded to it in the best way possible. They had a comeback win against Oregon, a team that many experts picked to win the PAC-10 this season. The win solidified Auburn as a national title contender, and propelled them to the top 10 in the rankings. Auburn will most likely keep freshman quarterback Bo Nix in for the whole game to give him experience before they come up on the bulk of their schedule.
Prediction: Auburn 38, Tulane 10
Kentucky Wildcats vs Easter Michigan Eagles
Kentucky had perhaps its’ best season ever last year, and will look to continue that success this season. They enter the season unranked after losing a lot of key players to the NFL Draft. They will try to prove that last season was not just a fluke, and that they can be real contenders in the SEC East race.This game should go down as an automatic win for the Wildcats.
Prediction: Kentucky 41, Eastern Michigan 14
Arkansas Razorbacks vs Ole Miss Rebels
This stands as the lone SEC matchup in week 2. It’s not between the conferences powerhouses neither. Both teams finished in the bottom of the SEC West last season, and this season will serve as much of the same. Ole Miss’s offense looked atrocious last weekend against Memphis, and Arkansas was able to escape with a win against Portland State at home last week. Needless to say, no one should be watching this game, but someone has to come in 6th place in the SEC West, and that intrigues some people.
Prediction: Arkansas 7, Ole Miss 13
Texas A&M Aggies vs Clemson Tigers
After nearly beating the top ranked Tigers last season at College Station, the Aggies look to avenge their loss this season. The Tigers are still the top ranked team in the country, and if they can get by the Aggies, it should be smooth sailing until the College Football Playoffs. If the Aggies are looking for a stage to prove that they can get it done against tough competition, this will be the game they have to show up to.
Prediction: Texas A&M 21, Clemson 31
LSU Tigers vs Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns are finally back in the top 10, and will look to continue from a successful season a year ago that included a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia. LSU needs to win this game if they want their National Championship hopes to stay alive. In what will most likely be the biggest matchup of the weekend, the winner of this game could control their own destiny to the College Football Playoffs.
Prediction: LSU 34, Texas 20