College Football Predictions And Thread, Week Two

by Jon Johnston on Sep 9, 2011 12:23 PM CDT in College Football - National

This week Brady Hoke will be pointing at Brian Kelly and saying "MANBALL CAUSE BRAIN POP!" with that same exact look on his face.

This week, we have a much better assortment of games to choose from. Frankly, some interesting point spreads here.

Jon: I’m not going to keep a running total here, but looking back on last week’s predictions, we were off on a few games. Only one of us thought that LSU would beat Oregon, and most of us thought that a Dan Persa-less Northwestern would lose to Boston College. Most thought BYU would lose to Ole Miss (not ME!), and most thought Colorado would lose, which they did.

Consider this a prediction thread, please. What do you think will happen this weekend? Who feeds it, and who eats it?

Missouri (+7) at Arizona State (Friday night)

Some of these Big XII games could be tough to call. If everything falls apart for the conference this week, will it affect the teams? Missouri played awful last week and Arizona State went out and did what they were suppose to do. Until Missouri gets a threat at running back, they may continue to struggle. They won’t find that threat this weekend. Arizona State 35, Missouri 17

Jon: Arizona State in black uniforms in the desert. Maybe they’re foreshadowing Dennis Erickson’s funeral? Missouri’s defense is better than you think, and their offense will be better than the Sun Devils defense. James Franklin has some experienced receivers in Wes Kemp, T.J. Moe, and I’ll take them over Arizona State. Missouri 24, Arizona State 17

Mike: Have you seen the Pac-12 this season? Oy vey. Mizery 21, Arizona State 17

Iowa (-7) at Iowa State

Iowa State needed a TD with 30 seconds left last week to beat Northern Iowa. They are going to need a lot more than "a TD with 30 seconds left" to beat Iowa this week. Iowa 42, Iowa State 9

Jon: Yeah, Iowa State may play this game with a lot of emotion, but they just don’t have the horses for this. I don’t think Iowa will score 42, but it’ll be a butt-kicking by the Hawks. Iowa 31, Iowa State 10

Mike: Iowa State seems to be good for an upset one week each season. This ain’t it...but they won’t be embarrassed either. Iowegia 24, Wegia State 22

Alabama (-10) at Penn State

I’ve been reading a lot about this game this past week. Most people are picking a low-scoring, close win for Alabama. This is one of those games that exposes’ weaknesses. Alabama’s gonna get some turnovers and there won’t be 100,000+ in Beaver Stadium by the fourth quarter. Alabama 42, Penn State 10

Jon: This is only the third time since 1981 that a SEC team has visited a Big Ten team - pretty amazing stat, eh? About the game - the obvious question is - can Penn State stop Trent Richardson for four quarters? They can if Penn State can play keep away, grinding out yardage on the ground. ‘Bama should win this game, but not big. Alabama 28, Penn State 17

Mike: How is Penn State going to grind out yardage on the ground again? Roll Tide 31, Nittany Lions 13

Notre Dame (-4.5) at Michigan

I never know who to root for in this game. It’s always a good day when Notre Dame loses but I have a hard time cheering for the Wolverines. Both teams had delays from the weather last week and things should be better this weekend. I look for Notre Dame to bounce back after all their mistakes last weekend and beat the Wolverines. Notre Dame 27, Michigan 17

Jon: Fun fact - first night game ever at Michigan stadium. And here you thought all these B1G games would be starting at 11:30 am, right? How’d you like to be Brian Kelly and starting at 0-2 in your second year of coaching? If you thought the pressure of losing to South Florida last week made Kelly blow a cork, wait until this week. Bottom line - I don’t trust Kelly to be successful at Notre Dame. Michigan defense is still trying to discover the difference between their head and butt, but they’ll stop Notre Dame from scoring more than the Michigan offense. This should be a great game, though. Michigan 31, Notre Dame 27

Mike: But did we see a sign of a defense in Ann Arbor last weekend? At least before the skies opened up? Hard to judge the numbers in a rain-shortened affair, but I like the Weasels here. Michigoon 35, Notre Lame 14

Oregon State (+19.5) at Wisconsin
Oregon State lost to an FCS opponent at home last week. Wisconsin has had almost a week and a half to prepare for the beavers. This one isn’t going to be pretty. Wisconsin 56, Oregon State 13

Jon: Another game in which Russel Wilson tears a defense apart through the air and the ground game with Montee Ball and James White shred it on the ground. Wisconsin easy win, Badgers 56, Oregon State 17

Mike: Let’s put Wisconsin’s victory in perspective. UNLV was #116 (out of 120 teams) in 1-A in rushing and scoring defense last season. Oregon State was embarrassed last week...they’ll play better this week. Won’t be enough...but it’ll be closer. Badgers 35, Beavers 21

California (-5) at Colorado
This game was a blowout last year in Berkley. It should be much more competitive this year. I’m going to go with an upset in this years "Bong" Bowl. I see this Colorado team struggling this year, but they will get a few wins. Embree’s first home game and the excitement of Colorado’s first home game during the PAC-12 era helps Colorado score a big win. Colorado 31, California 24

Jon: Hippies Hippies Hippies! This is not actually a conference game, since Colorado was already playing Cal in a home-and-home series. Figure that. Colorado still has a problem with consistently giving up big plays - until they cure that problem, they’re not going to win close games because they can’t count on their offense to consistently score in the 20s even against average teams. Cal will be surprised playing in Boulder, but not that surprised. Cal 24, Colorado 17

Mike: Colorado is still Colorado. Can’t play defense, and pretty pathetic on offense. Cal 21, Colorado 10

BYU (+6.5) at Texas
Both teams got important wins in Week 1. BYU won on the road against Ole Miss and Texas won at home against Rice. This is one of those games that’s hard to predict because we haven’t seen enough of these teams to get a good feel for them. Texas defense keeps BYU at bay and the offense scores enough to get the win. Texas 27, BYU 10

Jon: ‘Horns fans won’t be happy with this one. They’ll expect a big win, but they won’t get it. BYU’s defense will keep Texas from scoring a lot, and the game will come down to big plays and turnovers. Big plays I’ll give to Texas. Turnovers go to BYU. Texas still can’t run the ball to save their lives. BYU 24, Texas 21

Mike: BYU’s win last week was much more impressive than Texas last week...but what does that really mean? BYU 27, Texas 20

Fresno State (-28) at Nebraska
Game of the week here. We’ll see what improvements Nebraska makes during this week of practice. Last week, people were saying how bad the team looked and that it was going to be rough this year. This week everyone will be saying that we are going to win the National Title this year. Nebraska 56, Fresno State 7

Jon: The talk all week has been about Nebraska’s offensive line. You’d have to expect that they’ve taken it personally. You know that Fresno State will be stacking the box just like the Mocs so the receivers are going to need to eliminate the drops to keep the offense going (the chains moving). Expect better play, but a better opponent. Solid outing by Nebraska, but fans will still find reasons to be unhappy. Does anyone really bet on Nebraska to cover?
Nebraska 34, Fresno State 13

Mike: Jon posted this before I had a chance to submit my pick. Neither of these offenses played very well last week, and they'll both be better this week. Slight problem for Fresno State: they have to face the Blackshirts this week. Uh oh. Nebraska 38, Fresno State 7

Tweet Comment 10 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Only predicting a few games...

Because I’m lazy.

NU 51 Fresno State 14
Alabama 31 Penn State 17
Michigan 42 Notre Dame 35

by SteveW0720 on Sep 9, 2011 1:19 PM CDT reply actions

No scores because I don't want to think that hard.

Missouri over Arizona State. (The Pac-10 was bad last season. No one noticed because everyone was bad.)

Iowa State over Iowa. (Jim Delany has requested that I hate Iowa and I have complied.)

Alabama over Penn State. (Thankfully JoePa will be safely away from the carnage.)

Michigan over ND. (As a younger fan, I never knew Michigan when they were good. As a Navy fan, I enjoy watching the slow burn in South Bend.)

Wisconsin over Oregon State. (OSU lost to Sacremento State. I’m guessing the Badger defense shows up. Maybe. Either way, Wisconsin will hang half a hundred on OSU.)

Colorado over California. (I’ll keep picking Colorado until they win.)

BYU over Texas. (NO COMMENT. TROLLS STAY AWAY.)

Nebraska over Fresno State. (Offensive line gets better as game goes on; Rex has a 200 yard day; Young Mr. Carr learns that you should never mention the Blackshirts. Ever.)

Air Force over TCU. (How could you miss the premiere Mid-Major VS Mid-Major of the week?)

"I did dumb things." - Tim Beck, Nebraska's new OC

by Salt Creek and Stadium on Sep 9, 2011 1:48 PM CDT reply actions

Taking my shot

Arizona St. 31, Mizzou 21
Yes, the 12-PAC has looked generally bad in the early going, but Missouri was hardly impressive on its own last weekend. The ugliness thus cancels out and I’m sticking with my preseason belief that Arizona St. is a lower-tier top-25 program until proven otherwise.

Iowa 27, Iowa St. 17
Hawkeyes should have enough to win and cover, but ‘clones will do enough to make life interesting. Don’t read too much into last week — not all cupcakes are alike and Northern Iowa would give many FBS teams fits.

Alabama 34, Penn St. 7
Remember the SEC-B1G bowl carnage last New Year’s? Bama humbled Michigan St. 49-7. I’ll back off the margin slightly for a young QB and the effect of 100,000+ Penn St. fans. But only slightly.

Notre Dame 34, Michigan 21
Talk about a bandwagon game. Everyone’s jumping off the Irish ship to get onto the Michigan ship. Look, I know Michigan has won 4 of 5 in the series, including last year, but let’s see some sanity here. ND lost by three points to a solid South Florida team after turning the ball over FIVE times, including three times in the red zone. Those of you taking Michigan to win are saying the Wolverines could have done better than that outcome under similar conditions? I think not. And if I’m wrong, the cries of the sky falling in South Bend will soothe my wounded pride all week long.

Cal 27, Colorado 21
I hate picking games involving the Bears because they have a horrid case of Multiple Personality Disorder over the last two years. Colorado simply has a case of incompetence during that span and I’ll go with that known quantity to perform as expected.

Texas 27, BYU 21
This is a season and program-defining game for newly-independent BYU, and for that reason I think it’ll stay close (well, okay, I think Bronco Mendenhall is a heck of a coach too!). Too much athleticism on the Texas sideline to pick away from though.

Nebraska 35, Fresno St. 14
The Dawgs live for situations like this. Heavy underdog, on the road, David staring down Goliath. And they traditionally do well in the role compared to the pointspread. Huskers win, but Fresno stays within the number.

by ManAgainstWorld on Sep 9, 2011 2:04 PM CDT reply actions

And the winners are

Arizona St. [Seems like yesterday that we took our beating down in the dessert that ended our 26-game winning streak, and ended our bid for an unprecedented 3rd consecutive National Title. Not only did we not win but we got shutout 19-0. I wish I could forget those events in 96 but they will forever stay with me like a wound that will never heal. The Sun Devils are just a different team at home and I expect them to take control of Missouri early.]

Iowa [Iowa rolls in this one.]

Penn State [JoePa reminds SEC teams why they don’t play B1G teams away. It will be close but the rabid fans will keep the adrenaline pumping for Penn to pull out a close one and end Bamas title hopes.]

Michigan [Notre Dame is still reeling from their opener loss and lacks the confidence to go into the Big House and win. Michigan rolls.]

Wisconsin [Wisconsin at home? Good luck Beavers. Badgers roll.]

Cal [Repeat of last years result. Colorado, start looking for another head coach.]

Texas [As much as I would like BYU to win, they won’t. Texas has just too much talent to lose at home to the Cougars. But this game will be a close shave for Mack Brown.]

Nebraska [We all are expecting great improvements on offense. But I am looking forward to total defensive annihilation of the Bulldog’s offense. Huskers roll in the second half.]

by BledRed on Sep 9, 2011 3:53 PM CDT reply actions

Colorado just hired Embree because the last coach didn't work out.

Why would they replace Embree after one season? It’s not like the Pac-12 will kick them out.

And what’s with this mystique of Camp Randall lately? It’s not that crazy of a stadium, believe me.

They don’t yell when the opposing offense is on the field…The students filter in towards the end of the first quarter and leave after Jump Around…Except for first down plays, the crowd noise is kept down…I’m not even sure they were that amped for Ohio State until they realized Wisconsin was going to win.

"I did dumb things." - Tim Beck, Nebraska's new OC

by Salt Creek and Stadium on Sep 9, 2011 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions

Embree will not be fired this year

But that does not mean Colorado will not be looking into alternatives until they see the light from Embree. Expectations in Boulder are just too high and their patience too low and as a result the HC revolving door will continue to spin.

As for Camp Randall, I have never been there so I can not say what the atmosphere is like, but all home games in my opinion bring a mental edge to the players that provides a little more confidence and comfort vs. a visiting opponent. With the underachieving Beavers going up against a solid Wisconsin team, it can help turn a win into a beating.

by BledRed on Sep 9, 2011 6:23 PM CDT up reply actions