Week 1 was a great weekend of college football. (Okay, sure, by stretching itself out over 13 days, from August 24–September 3, “Week 1” was a bit more than a mere weekend long. Florida State somehow managed to play — and lose — twice in Week 1.)
But it was fun to watch — unless you were A&M, or the Florida Gators, or anyone, really, that I thought would perform exceptionally well. If I picked you, you did poorly. I was 1–4 on the weekend, with only my Oklahoma Sooners performing about as well as I had predicted.
It’s likely that a small child picking blindfolded from a hat would have turned in a better outing.
Here are my picks for Week 2. Let’s see if things improve.
No. 3 Texas at No. 10 Michigan
12 p.m. ET
Line: Texas –7.5
The defending national champs welcome the Texas Longhorns to the Big House in the first game this year between 2023 playoff contenders. Texas returns QB Quinn Ewers and lots of beef along its offensive line, but the Horns are relatively green (though extremely talented) at the skills positions and along the defensive front. Michigan, on the other hand, had 13 players drafted and lost head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL’s San Diego Los Angeles Chargers. Can Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore (an Oklahoma alumnus, Boomer Sooner) defend his maize-and-blue turf?
I can’t see a proud Michigan team losing by more than a touchdown at home. Wolverines lose, but cover. 30-27
Iowa State at No. 21 Iowa
3:30 p.m. ET
Line: Iowa –3
Who knew that Iowa offensive football need not be, ya know, offensively bad. Matt Campbell’s Iowa State teams are always tough outs, and Rocco Becht is a player at QB. But those same Campbell teams have always had issues beating the Hawkeyes (he’s 1-6 against Iowa), and now Kirk Ferentz has a competent offense (well, sorta).
Iowa wins, and covers the spread. 28-24
South Carolina at Kentucky
3:30 p.m. ET
Line: Kentucky –8.5
Mark Stoops’s Kentucky program has quietly become one of the most consistent in the SEC: He consistently does more with less than anyone else. But Shane Beamer’s South Carolina needs to steal this game badly: They play LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma over the next six weeks. Yikes.
Wildcats win, but the Gamecocks cover. 27-21
Colorado at Nebraska
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Nebraska –7
Whatever Coach Prime’s plan is for the future — assuming, that is, that he even has a plan — if he wants to remain in the good graces of the good people of Colorado, in what could end up being a very tough year, he’d do well to find a way to beat Matt Rhule’s quietly improving Huskers in Lincoln.
Nebraska wins. 32-21
No. 14 Tennessee at No. 24 North Carolina State
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Tennessee –10
I’ll admit that I don’t know how to pronounce Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava’s name. I’m not sure anyone else does either. But Vols head coach Josh Heupel has himself an athlete. And he’s got him cookin’.
Wolfpack play tough, but Vols win and cover. 38-24
Record Last Week: 1-4
Record on the Year: 1-4
Note: All picks are scored against the spread.
Update: A reader pointed out that I originally referred to the “Los Angeles Chargers” as the “San Diego Chargers.” This is something I’m probably never going to get used to.