After a bit of an unorthodox schedule in Week One, which consisted of a Monday matchup between Virginia Tech and Ohio State, we get back to our regularly scheduled programming this Saturday in Week Two.
This week we get a few quality matchups that stretch from East Lansing, Michigan to Provo, Utah to all the way down south to Starkville, Mississippi and Knoxville Tennessee. While for the most teams have cream puffs scheduled this week there are still some quality matchups to look forward to as teams look to get primed and ready for the long run towards the playoff.
#20 Boise State vs. BYU
This game would have looked a heck of a lot better if BYU quarterback Taysom Hill wasn’t so injury plagued. Both teams were able to come out on top in close games in Week One, including a Hail Mary that was answered in Lincoln by BYU. This game may not look the most entertaining on paper, but I think it ends up being a close matchup and could end up in BYU pulling off the upset in Provo.
Prediction: BYU
#14 LSU vs. #25 Mississippi State
After having their season opener was canceled due to the weather, LSU will have to head into Starkville for a tough conference matchup against Mississippi State without much of a tune up. I’ve personally never seen a situation in which a game was canceled due to weather and was never made up, so I feel like that could play a factor since LSU is breaking in a new quarterback in Brandon Harris. I just don’t get the warm fuzzies about the Tigers coming out on top in this one as their young quarterback gets exposed to the cowbells of Starkville for the first time.
Prediction: Mississippi State
#19 Oklahoma vs. #23 Tennessee
This is an intriguing matchup paper for me. Coming into the season I felt like Tennessee had a chance to make a little bit of noise in the SEC, but right out the gates they got into a dogfight with Bowling Green. Meanwhile, Oklahoma and their new quarterback Baker Mayfield took care of business against Akron as they get ready to head into Rocky Top with an offense that is capable of putting up points. I feel like this could end up being a high scoring affair, as Tennessee has several weapons of their own on offense that includes Joshua Dobbs at quarterback and a thunder and lightning duo running back duo in Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara. I feel like this will end up being a close game, and possibly the best game of the weekend.
Prediction: Oklahoma
#5 Michigan State vs. #7 Oregon
This is the big rematch from last year in which Oregon made a huge statement early on in the year that they were poised to make a national title run. This year Michigan State has the chance to repay the favor in East Lansing as they try to prove that their opening week slobber knocker against Western Michigan was an anomaly and they are a legit playoff contender. Both teams allowed more points than I thought they would defensively, but both have more than capable quarterbacks in Vernon Adams and Connor Cook. This has the looks of another shootout, but I think this time the Spartans will come out on top.
Prediction: Michigan State