College Football Week 2 Predictions: Ala/Tex, Miss/Tul, Colo/Neb, Aggies/Canes, Iowa/Iowa.St and more!

College Football Week 2 Predictions

Week 1 belonged to Colorado, Florida State, and Duke in an opening weekend that featured a couple of climatic endings, lots of blowouts, and standout individual performances. Week 2 pits SEC vs. Big-12 with the Alabama vs. Texas rematch along with a variety of interesting matchups flying under the radar.

Marquee Matchups

#3 Alabama vs. #11 Texas: Neither team had a real challenge in Week 1 yet many have used the Longhorns slow start with Rice against them. Last year Bama won 20-19 but Texas didn’t get to use the services of QB Quinn Ewers for the full game. Alabama goes from All-American stud in Bryce Young to a quarterback in Jalen Monroe who is only potential on paper at this stage. Texas must be able to run the ball just enough as well as contain the run especially with a guy as explosive as Monroe is with his feet. Let’s see how much improvement the offensive lines made from last year for Alabama a major key because it was a weakness in 2022, a rarity in Tuscaloosa. Do not be shocked if the Longhorns pull this one off.

The Pick: Alabama wins, but Texas covers +7 

DraftKings

4.5/5

Prediction: Bet Alabama -7

• Over/Under: Texas vs Alabama(53.5)
• Spread: Alabama -7
• Pick: Bet Alabama -7

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Open DraftKings

#20 Ole Miss vs. #24 Tulane: In front of a sold out crowd in Yulman Stadium in what will be one of if not the biggest regular season home games in a long, long time for Tulane. The man under center for the Green Wave is long time starter Michael Pratt looking to continue the trend of production in his 4th year. After starting 7-0 in 2022, Ole Miss went on to lose 6 of 7 ending the season on a sour note. QB Jaxson Dart will need to have his head on straight and make the plays when the opportunity is given. With wins on Tulane’s ledger like USC, Kansas St, Cincinnati, and Central Florida the Green Wave and head coach Willie Fritz put the program on the map. The only downside is leading tackler Corey Platt won’t be available for Tulane.

The Pick: Tulane +7.5

Under The Radar

#22 Colorado vs. Nebraska: This old-school rivalry is getting the marquee matchup treatment nationally, and for good reason after Deion Sanders and Co. made their presents felt last week at TCU. The Cornhuskers are very elite at losing games down the stretch and that’s exactly what happen last week in Minneapolis. Nebraska must be able to limit the turnovers on offense and play high-level level redzone defense. If they can’t find a running game outside of QB Jeff Sims, this could get out of hand. As spectacular as Buffs QB Sheduer Sanders and the rest of the offense for Colorado looked, the defense was pretty bad. This College Football junkie just doesn’t see Nebraska keeping pace with Colorado as Buffaloes pull away in the 2nd half of a competitive contest.

The Pick: Colorado -3 and the under with the number at 59.

#23 Texas A&M vs. Miami: Both teams need this big win to help catapult what’s been a stale run in recent years. In many ways, the Hurricanes outplayed the Aggies in their last meeting, but the only thing that counts is the final tally. Texas A&M’s defensive line is one of the most formidable in the country along with the rest of the team due to great recruiting classes for 4 or 5 straight years. Can Jimbo Fischer allow Bobby Petrino to do his thing and finally let go of the reins on offense? Last week is appeared that both sides of the ball will take a big step forward for Miami Of course, they faced Miami of Ohio. Not all the way sold on “The U” being able to run the ball well enough to set up things properly for QB Tyler Van Dyke.  As per usual, the question remains Can the Aggies live up to their talented rosters?

 The Pick: Texas A&M -4 

Saturday Upset Special

On the blue turf Boise State wins as a minor +3.5 dog over UCF.

Hardcore Barnburners

Iowa vs. Iowa State: Iowa State has beaten their in-state rival Iowa only two times since 2014. Generally, these games are razor close whether we see lots of points or very few, which should be the case on Saturday, given the over/under of 36.5. New QB Cade McNamara did his thing in Week 1 for the Hawkeyes in the early goings so will see if that continues. Did I mention the Cyclones did have some off-the-field distractions in recent months?

The Pick: Iowa -3.5

#10 Norte Dame vs. NC State: It’s not an easy task to play in Raleigh but at least for the Irish it will be a 12 pm Eastern Time kickoff. Brennan Armstrong should bounce back transferring to the Wolfpack in a system he’s had success in at a prior stop. However the clearly better incoming QB with a wealth of experience is Sam Hartman. Notre Dame will get off to a much better September in 2023 compared to 2022. That said this one could be tricky in spots.

The Pick: Notre Dame -7.5

Against The Spread

A combination of Stanford’s QB Ashton Daniels doing his thing last week and how horrible USC’s defense can be has me thinking the Cardinal will slide under the +29.5 points with a late score.

(Honorable Mentions: Texas State +13.5 covers versus UTSA as well as Florida International +13 versus North Texas.)

Podcast Link: College Ball Show: Week 2 Preview, Betting Lines, & Predictions! Colorado/FSU!! 09/04 by RopeADopeRadio | Sports (blogtalkradio.com)

Quick Hits Recap

-Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders set a school record in his debut putting up video game like numbers in passing 510 adding 4 TD’s in a 45-42 victory over TCU.

-Staying in Colorado: 4 different 100-yard receivers breaking another record.

-Over the last two seasons Nebraska is 2-13 in one-score games the most in the FBS in that dreadful stat. Even crazier the Cornhuskers were leading in 9 of those losses.

-The PAC-12 is 13-0 for the first time since 1932 after Week 1. Side note USC has played 2 games still pretty damn good for a conference that won’t exist in 2024.

-On his way to a huge 45-24 win over LSU, FSU QB Jordan Davis completed 10 straight passes, accounting for 5 TD’s last Sunday night in primetime.

-LSU tied for the most points allowed in a season openers as an AP-Top 5 team in the poll era.

-Washington signal caller Michael Penix Jr. put up 450 passing yards and 5 touchdowns in a dominate victory over Boise State 56-19.

Written by Chris Carlson Host of The College Ball Show Podcast available at blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio &

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