College football 2017 Week 2 predictions

Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET

USC’s early season gauntlet continues with Pac-12 rival Stanford entering the Coliseum. Sam Darnold is still without a passing touchdown after a sluggish start against Western Michigan last week, dropping USC in the AP Poll two spots to No. 6. Stanford is coming in hot after a 62-7 drumming of Rice, and they look to continue that momentum to slow the Trojans’ march to the college football playoff.

Pick: No. 14 Stanford (+6.5)

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason was injured early in the Bulldogs' game against Appalachian State. However, Jake Fromm filled in adequately, and the Bulldogs will lean on him for another strong outing against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are coming off a dominant victory against Temple, where Notre Dame finished with 422 rushing yards. That running game will face a bigger test against Georgia.

Pick: No. 15 Georgia (+5)

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET

The Oklahoma Sooners rode Baker Mayfield’s hot hand all the way to a 56-7 win against UTEP last week. But the Sooners face a tough early season matchup against Ohio State. The Buckeyes had a little trouble with the Indiana Hoosiers last week in their win. They may not be afforded the same opportunity to come back against this high-flying Oklahoma team.

Pick: No. 2 Ohio State (-7.5)

Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET

Clemson lost quarterback DeShaun Watson to the NFL, but didn’t look like it missed him much with Kelly Bryant looking comfortable in the shotgun against Kent State. However, The Tigers will face a true test when No. 13 Auburn comes into town with their talented defense. NCAA fans will really see whether Clemson misses Watson a lot or not.

Pick: No. 3 Clemson (-5.5)

Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET

Mason Randolph and Justice Hill made quick work of Tulsa, propelling No. 11 Oklahoma State to a 59-24 win. The offense appears to be clicking on all cylinders as they head into South Alabama where they face a Jaguars team that is still smarting from their 47-27 loss against Ole Miss. Expect more fireworks from Oklahoma State this week.

Pick: No. 11 Oklahoma State (-28)

Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET

Michigan shook off a slow first half to beat the Florida Gators in their opening week matchup. Now, Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines host the Cincinnati Bearcats, who won in head coach Luke Fickell’s debut. Can Michigan continue their strong start against an upstart Cincinnati Bearcat team?

Pick: No. 8 Michigan (-34.5)

Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET

Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin was run out of the stadium by Navy in his debut as FAU head coach. This week doesn’t get any easier with No. 9 Wisconsin hosting the Owls after a 59-10 trouncing of the Utah State Aggies. The Badgers rushed for 234 yards against Utah State while FAU gave up 416 yards on the ground to Navy. The Owls may be on the wrong side of another track race, folks.

Pick: No. 9 Wisconsin (-32)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

Penn State running back Saquon Barkley opened the season with a bang, rushing for 172 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns against hapless Akron last week. This week, Barkley and the Nittany Lions face off against the Pittsburgh Panthers, who squeaked out a win against Youngstown State. Will Barkley shine once more, or will Trace McSorley air it out against the vulnerable Panthers?

Pick: No. 5 Penn State (-21.5)

Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET

The Washington Huskies looked like they lost their magic from last year, falling behind Rutgers 7-3 after the first quarter. Then, Dante Pettis returned his sixth punt for a touchdown, and Jake Browning woke up with two touchdown passes in the second half. All is right in the world in Seattle. Washington will look to get off to a faster start against Montana this week.

Pick: No. 7 Washington

Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET

Washington State Luke Falk looked in midseason form against Montana State, throwing for three touchdowns in the Cougars 31-0 win. He will face a tough test against a Boise State defense that looked stingy last week against Troy. Something’s got to give in this matchup.

Pick: No. 20 Washington State (-10)

Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET

With quarterback Deondre Francois out for the season with a patella tendon injury, the season that was supposed to be a dream for Florida State is now looking bleak. The Seminoles hopes may rest on a true freshman quarterback in James Blackman, who was the No. 10 dual-threat quarterback in the country in 2017 according to Rivals. Whoever starts behind center, they will need to snap the Seminoles out of a funk against Louisiana-Monroe.

Pick: No. 10 Florida State (-33.5)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

The Crimson Tide established themselves once again as the top dog in college football after their win against Florida State last week. They lost two starting linebackers in the battle, and it should be interesting to see how the backups fare in their new roles on this team.

Pick: No. 1 Alabama (-43.5)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

Head coach Tom Herman’s first game as a Texas Longhorn could’ve gone better. After so much hype surrounding his hire, he was unable to secure the win over lowly Maryland. Texas fans are already an impatient bunch, so this game might be a make or break game for the new head coach before his seat heats up.

Pick: San Jose State (+26)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

After playing USC to a stalemate for most of the game, Western Michigan lost their opening week game. However, the team showed last year was no fluke, and they can compete against the top schools in the country. Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke looked good with three touchdowns against Bowling Green, but he faces a defense that smothered Heisman Candidate Sam Darnold for most the game last week. Western Michigan has a good chance to win against the Spartans to get their season back on track.

Pick: Michigan State (-7.5)

Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET

When you’re trying to make people forget about scandals that have rocked your campus, losing to a FCS school the opening week is probably not the best route. Baylor dropped a shocker against the Liberty Flames last week. If they can drop a game against an opponent like that, there is no reason to think that UT San Antonio can’t pull off the same feat.

Pick: Baylor (-17)

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Florida had the upper hand against Michigan only let their lead slip away with costly turnovers. Michigan was a tough opponent, but getting blanked in the second half does not bode well for the Gators of Gainesville. The team looks to get back into rhythm against Northern Colorado.

Pick: No. 22 Florida (-33.5)

Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET

For the past two weeks, South Florida has started slow against weak opponents, but have found a way to get hot and pull away in the second half. Eventually, those slow starts may come back to bite them as the season progresses, Will the UConn Huskies be the team to end their potential undefeated season?

Pick: No. 21 South Florida (-17.5)

Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET

Everything is better when you have one of the most exciting players in country. Lamar Jackson showed why he won the Heisman Trophy last year with a 378-yaard passing and 107-yard rushing performance against Purdue. His brilliance made up for a lot of the Cardinals miscues—miscues that may not be easy to recover from against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Pick: No. 17 Louisville (-10)

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Leonard Fournette who? Derrius Guice piled up 120 yards and two touchdowns in LSU’s opening week win against BYU. The Tiger defense also had a good game, pitching a shutout against a tough BYU team. Both will most likely put on a show against Chattanooga this week.

Pick: No. 12 LSU

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

Virginia Tech clawed their way to a win against ranked West Virginia in one of the more exciting games of last week. Josh Jackson out-dueled Will Grier, gaining 101 rushing to go along with 235 yards passing. They face unranked opponent in Delaware this week, but the Blue Hens are always a tough team to play.

Pick: No. 18 Virginia Tech

Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET

After carving up Central Arkansas last week, we may be seeing an emerging star in Jesse Ertz. The Kansas State quarterback threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns in just three quarters of work. Look for him air it out even more against Charlotte this week.

Pick: No. 19 Kansas State (-36)

Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET

The battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy is here. In-state rivals Iowa and Iowa State face-off in what may be an exciting game. The Hawkeyes are coming off a 24-3 win against Wyoming, while the Cyclones enter the game hot on offense putting up 42 points against Northern Iowa. Anything can happen when these teams get together, so get ready for a great matchup.

Pick: Iowa State (+2.5)

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET

The Nebraska Cornhuskers faced an unexpected test against Arkansas State last week, surviving a close game with a 43-36 win. Now, they travel to Eugene, Oregon, where the Ducks are coming off a 77-point performance, and would love nothing more than to hand Nebraska their first loss of the season. This may be the shootout of the week.

Pick: Oregon (-13.5)

Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET

South Carolina wide receiver Deebo Samuel got the Gamecocks’ season started fast with a 97-yard opening kickoff return touchdown. He then caught two of quarterback Jake Bentley’s three-touchdown passes to down North Carolina State. South Carolina takes their show on the road to Columbia, MO, where the Missouri Tigers hung 72 points on Missouri State last week. Could be another high scoring game for both teams.

Pick: Missouri (-2.5)

Saturday, 5:00 p.m. ET

Josh Rosen showed why they call him the Rosen One after he pulled off one of the most epic comebacks in college football history against Texas A&M. The Bruins came back from a 38-10 halftime deficit behind Rosen’s 292-yard, four-touchdown fourth quarter. Was that a fluke, or are we seeing the emergence of the quarterback everyone hoped Rose would be?

Pick: Hawai’i (+23)