College football predictions for Week 2: Will Alabama cover vs. Texas?
Can Notre Dame bounce back in Week 2 of college football?
Plenty of action in the early and mid-day slate of games in Week 2. Let’s take a look at how things might shake out.
Note: All other college football games mentioned are set to take place Sept. 10 and in Eastern time.
No. 1 Alabama at Texas (12 p.m. on FOX)
Look, Quinn Ewers looked great in the Week 1 blowout vs Louisiana-Monroe. But, the guy has only thrown 24 passes in his college football career. He’s never seen speed, strength, and discipline like Alabama’s scary-good defense.
Will Anderson Jr., the starting linebacker and Heisman hopeful for the Crimson Tide, is going to look to add to his 24.5 career sack total (against the inexperienced Freshman) when the Tide take on the Longhorns in Austin.
I’m not buying that Ewers is the Chosen One to dismantle one of college football’s best defenses. And, I don’t think Texas has enough skill to keep up with the Tide’s offensive weapons, led by last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young (six total touchdowns in Week 1).
Pick: Alabama -19.0
South Carolina at No. 16 Arkansas (12 p.m. on ESPN)
Arkansas played a really good Cincinnati football team in Week 1, escaping with a seven-point win. KJ Jefferson has been called a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate by multiple college football writers, including some of our own.
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler left a little bit to be desired in his debut against Georgia State (23-for-37 passing for 227 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions) — a team with a much worse defense than he’ll face against the Hogs.
Arkansas is a tough team to beat at home. They’ve won six of their last seven games played inside Razorback Stadium, dating back to the 2021 season. They should play even better in Week 2 against a lesser opponent in South Carolina. Expect a big Arkansas win and take the points.
Pick: Arkansas -8.5
Marshall at No. 8 Notre Dame (2:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock)
The first-ever meeting between the Thundering Herd and the Fighting Irish should be an interesting one.
Marshall is coming off a huge 52-point win against Norfolk State and Notre Dame is licking its wounds after losing to No. 3 Ohio State last week. Even without Rasheen Ali, who led the nation in total rushing touchdowns in 2021, Marshall still has a dominant running game. They are going to try to wear down Notre Dame all game long and keep this a low-scoring game.
I’m inclined to take Marshall to cover. Notre Dame hasn’t proven they can score a lot on offense yet and Marshall is coming into this game extremely confident (even if their Week 1 win was against an FCS opponent).
Pick: Marshall +20.5
Appalachian State at No. 6 Texas A&M (3:30 p.m. on ESPN2)
You saw what App State is capable of against UNC last week, they just had a bad break at the end of the game, failing to convert on the game-tying two-point conversion.
I was unimpressed by Texas A&M last week only putting up 31 points against Sam Houston with such a highly touted
Pick: Appalachian State +18.5
Colorado at Air Force (3:30 p.m. on CBS)
Colorado is not a team that scores a lot of points. They averaged just 18.8 points per game last season and mustered just 13 last week against TCU.
Air Force is a really good team and is even receiving votes to be ranked in the most recent AP Top 25 poll. They’re averaging 40.6 points in their last five games dating back to last season, which includes a bowl win over Louisville.
The Falcons love to run the football and they are going to pound the rock in front of their home crowd against their Pac-12 foe. Their backfield tandem of quarterback Haaziq Daniels and running back Brad Roberts are tough to stop and were one of the best in the Mountain West last season. They’re back for more this season.
I expect Air Force to run all over that porous Colorado defense and keep that clock running. Colorado will score somewhere between 10-14 points, while Air Force should be around 35-40 points based on how these two teams performed towards the end of last season and last week.
Pick: Over 49
No. 24 Tennessee at No. 17 Pittsburgh (3:30 p.m. on ABC)
The Volunteers looked incredibly talented, and disciplined, and ran their offense at break-neck speed last week. They got off some plays with more than 30 seconds left on the play clock.
Hendon Hooker looked fantastic, doing damage with his arm and his legs. This is a Tennessee team that looks extremely confident running head coach Josh Heupel’s system.
I don’t know if Pittsburg is going to be able to keep pace with the Vols, but there will be a ton of points scored in this game. Take the over on this one.