2009 College Football - Week 2

It was a pretty exciting start to the college football season. But as The Carpenters would say, "We've only just begun".

It was a slow start for me in the picking department. I went 8-7 in my top 15 picks and did not correctly predict my APPY. Here's hoping for a better week of predictions this weekend. The slate of games isn't overly impressive this weekend but one game is so big (especially for me), that this is a big weekend for college football no matter what.

GAME OF THE WEEK
1. #3 USC @ #8 Ohio State - They don't get much bigger than this in college football. Two teams with good chances of running through their conference undefeated and with national title game hopes. Last year, this was a 35-3 Trojan beatdown of the Buckeyes. This year, it should be closer. Matt Barkley played well in his debut, but that was against San Jose St in Los Angeles. With nerves playing a part, expect him to huge heavily on RB Joe McKnight, who rushed for 145 yds last week. For OSU, the offense has to move the ball. Terrelle Pryor showed the capability to throw the ball outside of the pocket and run the option with great success. The defense is hard to judge, considering they are going from a triple-option attack to a more traditional attack. For 3 years now, OSU has been awful in big games like this. But the mix of a freshman QB on the road at USC coupled with the playmaking QB of OSU who has shown flashes of playing big when it matters (Wisconsin and Texas), I think this is the time OSU wins a big one. OHIO STATE 27, USC 17

BEST OF THE REST
2. #18 Notre Dame @ Michigan - I was impressed with both team's performances in their openers. But are they for real? This is the time for one of them to show that they are. QB Jimmy Clausen played amazing against Nevada but now he is faring against a bigger and faster defense. The same can be said for Michigan frosh QB Tate Forcier though. I know the game is at the Big House but it's hard to bet against a junior QB and a team that truly dismantled Nevada from start to finish. It may be close in the first half but expect NOTRE DAME to take control in the second half and win easily.

3. Clemson @ #15 Georgia Tech (Thurs) - A good ACC matchup on this Thursday night and unlike last Thursday's matchups, this one should see plenty of offense. Clemson is led by a frosh QB in Kyle Parker so expect some mistakes from him in his first conference road game. But he has RB C.J. Spiller to lean on, who can pull off a big run or return just about anytime. GT has a playmaker of their own in RB Johnathan Dwyer, who scored on the first play of their game last week. While Clemson is a quality opponent, GT has a huge advantage because the triple-option offense is hard to prepare for, but even harder when you have just 4 days of practice to do so. GEORGIA TECH wins by a healthy margin.

4. South Carolina @ #21 Georgia - This border war pits two teams who had unimpressive offensive outputs in their first game. South Carolina scored just 7 points and amassed just 256 yds of offense in a win over NCST. Georgia wasn't much better, scoring 10 points and amassing 257 yds of offense in a 24-10 loss to OKST. While both teams hope their offense improve, this rivalry has been about the defense. In the past three games between the teams, the Gamecocks and Bulldogs each have just two touchdowns. With offenses that will probably sputter again, I'd expect that once again. For a winner, I'll go with GEORGIA with it being at home but wouldn't be surprised at all if I'm wrong.

5. UCLA @ Tennessee - It is a battle of unranked teams but this one should be fun. UCLA took down Tennessee last year in Los Angeles. But this is the Lane Kiffin era now. QB Johnathan Crompton and the Vols looked great on offense but they were playing Western Kentucky. UCLA beat SDSU 33-14 but still have a young team. I don't think that young team will perform well in a road environment like Neyland Stadium. TENNESSEE wins and Lane Kiffin begins his career 2-0.

6. #19 North Carolina @ UConn - This isn't the easiest road game for North Carolina. UConn boasts a quality defense, that gave OU fits all game in a 23-16 win. UNC also has to play a Huskies team that wants to exact revenge after being beaten 38-12 in Chapel Hill last season. UNC racked up 261 yds on the ground last week but to win this week, the passing game will have to have more than 114 yds. While I am tempted to take UConn at home, I'll pick NORTH CAROLINA to take care of business on the road.

7. Central Michigan @ Michigan State - It was an awful first game for CMU and QB Dan LeFevour. The Chippewas only gained 182 yds on offense, with LeFevour accounting for 126 yds of that total. Expect a better offensive performance from CMU as they take on a intrastate rival in MSU. The Spartans played great in their opener, trouncing Montana State 44-6. This game will be a warmup before their big road matchup at Notre Dame next week. MICHIGAN STATE wins by 14 or more.

8. Purdue @ Oregon - Last week, Oregon was ranked and respected. But after an embarrassing and ugly loss to Boise State (and a certain postgame incident), things aren't looking so great in Eugene. The Ducks are now without their best tailback, putting more pressure on QB Jeremiah Masoli. Purdue comes in coming off a 52-31 win over Toledo that saw the Boilers put up 535 yds of offense. While I think Purdue has a better chance of winning with LeGarrette Blount out, OREGON won't use this game at home.

9. Fresno State @ Wisconsin - This was a great game two seasons ago, putting FSU RB Ryan Matthews on the map. But last year, defense was the name of the game, as Wisconsin won 13-10. This year, expect more offense. The Bulldogs put up 51 pts on UC Davis. The Badgers though struggled with Northern Illinois in a 28-20 win. For both teams, getting to 2-0 would be some nice momentum for their season. It's not easy playing a noon game for any West Coast team so I'm choosing WISCONSIN to win.

10. Iowa @ Iowa State - This game would not have even been on my radar last week but after Iowa's struggle to beat Northern Iowa, one has to wonder if the Hawkeyes will even win this game. The Cyclones are not a good team. They went 2-10 last season, including losing their 10 in a row. But they are 1-0 now and probably feeling confident that they can play with their state rival. With a new head coach and experienced QB, the Cyclones will have a chance. But IOWA had their wake-up call already so I'm expecting them to win this one with ease.

11. #16 TCU @ Virginia - This is one of those games that just intrigues me. TCU is by far the better team and will probably blow out Virginia. In fact, UVA lost to William and Mary last week! But I can't help but remember how UVA beat teams like UNC and GT last year when they had no business doing that. So which Virginia team will show up is the question. I don't think it matters which one does in the end, so I'll take TCU.

12. #24 Kansas @ UTEP - Kansas is still a team I think people should keep an eye on all season. QB Todd Reesing may be short but he's got an accurate arm and is a gamer. He may have to be against this UTEP team that has shown flashes of being good. They did lose their opener to Buffalo but having a ranked team like Kansas in El Paso may be enough to get this team energized. It'll come down to their defense though, which gave up 40 pts or more 7 times last season. KANSAS is my pick.

13. Stanford @ Wake Forest - It was a disappointing start to 2009 for Wake Forest. Thanks to 3 INT from QB Riley Skinner, the Demon Deacons fell 24-21 to Baylor. They get a chance to redeem themselves against another up-and-coming team in Stanford. The Cardinal won their opener against Washington State 39-13 but now must play a noon game on the East coast. While I think the Cardinal are the better team overall, they won't win this win. WAKE FOREST makes up for last week's loss with a good win this week.

14. Idaho State @ #13 Oklahoma - We all know who will win this game. This game only makes the list because it's one more game for redshirt freshman Landry Jones to get comfortable at the QB position. Though Sam Bradford is supposed to be back in 2-4 weeks, having a confident Jones for the Tulsa and possibly the Miami (FL) games is critical. But as for this one, OKLAHOMA wins in a blowout.

15. Pittsburgh @ Buffalo - Pittsburgh may have their best group yet in terms of talent. Dave Wannstedt now has to translate that talent into victories, especially against MAC schools. But that hasn't happened. So far in his tenure, Pitt has fallen to Ohio and Bowling Green. Meanwhile in Buffalo, things are looking up, thanks to Turner Gill. He's got this team believing they can win and that's dangerous for teams like Pitt who are coming into Buffalo to play. In my APPY of the week, I'm picking BUFFALO to keep the MAC "dominance" over Pittsburgh alive.

GAMES CLOSE TO ME
Ohio @ North Texas - It was a tough loss for the Bobcats to UConn but I think some positives came out of that game. The Cats showed the ability to come back and stick with a superior team. Now, they get to play an inferior team in North Texas. The Cats haven't been known to be the best road team but North Texas probably isn't the craziest road atmosphere. If OU can win the turnover battle, they should win this game. OHIO 31, NORTH TEXAS 20

There ya go. Let's see if I can do better this week. Enjoy the games everyone!