Week 2 College Football Predictions

I'm going to get wild and crazy with predictions this year. So long as the game doesn't involve a Division I-AA team, I'll make a prediction.

Thursday
Oregon State at Boise State (+8): It should be a pretty high-flying game with plenty of points by the end. But, on the infamous blue field, I'll give the slight edge to the Broncos.
Boise State 35 Oregon State 28

Friday
Pittsburgh (+8.5) at Cincinnati: Head Coach Dave Wanstedt has to be thrilled with the start his Panthers got off to last week. I have to believe they'll keep that momentum going against the Bearcats.
Pittsburgh 28 Cincinnati 14

Saturday
UNLV at Iowa State (+14): Iowa State got more than a scare last week against Toledo. That should wake them up for this one.
Iowa State 45 UNLV 17

Louisiana-Monroe at Kansas (+21.5): After picking against Kansas in the bowl game last year (which they dominated), I'll be hard-pressed to pick against them again, especially against the likes of Louisiana-Monroe.
Kansas 42 Louisiana-Monroe 10

Florida Atlantic at Kansas State (+22.5): K-State looked dreadful in their opener against I-AA Illinois State, winning by the final score of 24-23. While K-State should win this one, I'm not comfortable with the idea that they'll cover that spread.
Kansas State 35 Florida Atlantic 14

Ole Miss at Missouri (+8.5): Both teams are attempting to find their identity and see just where they'll place in their respective conferences this year. Based on talent and home-field, I give the edge to the Tigers.
Missouri 27 Ole Miss 17

Washington at Oklahoma (+17): This would have been a great game about ten years ago, but not anymore. OU has to protect the ball better than they did against UAB the rest of the way, but even with a couple slip ups against the Huskies, they should come away victorious.
Oklahoma 38 Washington 13

Oklahoma State (+14.5) at Arkansas State: OSU is a potential sleeper in the rather wide-open Big XII this year. They better not look over Arkansas State, though. They're no push-over.
Oklahoma State 31 Arkansas State 14

Ohio State at Texas (+2): Vince Young lead the 'Horns at the 'Shoe last year. If it hadn't wasn't for Tressel's bonehead move when he pulled Troy Smith out of the game after Smith lead the 'Bucks back from a 10-0 deficit (with Zwick at quarterback) to a 22-16 lead (22-6 run in that span), OSU would've won last year's battle. Well, I highly doubt Tressel will make such a move again and with Smith around all 60 minutes, OSU should come out with a huge W.
Ohio State 28 Texas 21

Louisiana-Lafayette at Texas A&M (+21): Coach Franchione is definitely on the hot seat, but has had a very easy go of it in his first two games: The Citadel and now Louisiana-Lafayette.
Texas A&M 35 Louisiana-Lafayette 7

Texas Tech (+7) at UTEP: If you like points, you'll definitely enjoy watching this game. Mike Price vs. Mike Leach. The edge won't come offensively in this game, but defensively and the Red Raiders hold that edge.
Texas Tech 42 UTEP 28

Virginia Tech (+11.5) at North Carolina: Quarterback Sean Glennon was the Hokies' big question mark coming into the season and he looked very solid last week.
Virginia Tech 28 North Carolina 10

Illinois at Rutgers (+11.5): Rutgers has bad memories of Illinois, as in last year's game, Rutgers was up 27-7 at one time, before blowing the lead and eventually losing in overtime. Following a big win last week against North Carolina and with the added motivation to eclipse last year's loss, they should beat Illinois this time around.
Rutgers 28 Illinois 17

Akron at NC State (+10): NC State is hurting and coach Chuck Amato is definitely feeling the heat. If they're not careful, they could lose this one and Amato's pants would then literally be burning.
NC State 21 Akron 17

Central Michigan at Michigan (+27): The Chippewas gave Boston College a mighty scare a week ago, but won't get nearly as close to the Wolverines at the Big House.
Michigan 38 Central Michigan 10

Duke at Wake Forest (+20): It's very sad when the mediocre Deamon Deacons of Wake Forest is favored by almost three touchdowns on a team, but when one looks at who they're playing, then all is understood. Duke got shut-out a week ago against I-AA Richmond. Look for Wake to have their way with the Blue Devils, as well.
Wake Forest 28 Duke 3

Auburn (+20) at Mississippi State: Tough times for Slyvester Croom and the Bulldogs, opening the season at home against South Carolina and Auburn. That's a quick 0-2 start in conference play.
Auburn 24 Mississippi State 3

Miami (Ohio) at Purdue (+17): Purdue allowed I-AA Indiana State to score 35 points last week. That's the bad news. The good news is that they scored 60. Miami will score, but not enough to win.
Purdue 42 Miami (Ohio) 21

Louisville (+38) at Temple: It doesn't matter if Michael Bush is playing or not. George Bush could be Louisville's tailback in this one and they'd still win over the hapless Owls.
Louisville 45 Temple 7

Kent State at Army (+3.5): Army has slowly improved under coach Bobby Ross. Kent State has done much improving as of late.
Army 24 Kent State 17

Vanderbilt at Alabama (+15.5): Both teams had problems offensively last week. With the game being in Tuscaloosa, I'll have to roll with the Tide.
Alabama 24 Vanderbilt 10

Ohio at Northern Illinois (+14): If Ohio State couldn't stop UNI tailback Garret Wolfe, then Ohio is in big trouble!
Northern Illinois 35 Ohio 14

Wyoming at Virginia (+9): It's sad for the ACC's Cavaliers to have a home game against Wyoming and only be favored by 9, but after being demolished by 25 points last week to Pittsburgh, perhaps there's a good reason why.
Virginia 24 Wyoming 21

Eastern Michigan at Michigan State (+26): MSU should have an easier time handling EMU than they did handling Idaho last week.
Michigan State 42 Eastern Michigan 7

Rice at UCLA (+27): UCLA looked solid last week against Utah and comparing Rice to Utah would be like me comparing Virginia to Texas.
UCLA 45 Rice 7

Clemson (+2) at Boston College: BC got the best of Tommy and the Tigers last year in overtime. This year, there will be no overtime and there will be a far different ending result.
Clemson 28 Boston College 21

Iowa (+18.5) at Syracuse: Back when McNabb was a member of the then Orangemen, this might've been a game worth watching. But, he's long gone and so will the Orange be after a few minutes into this one.
Iowa 31 Syracuse 7

Penn State at Notre Dame (+8): If the Irish can beat the Jackets in Atlanta, they can win at home against JoPa and company.
Notre Dame 31 Penn State 17

Tulsa at BYU (+6.5): BYU has improved in the past couple years, but Tulsa has been a steady program as well. I'm going with the upset here.
Tulsa 31 BYU 28

Colorado State (+2) at Colorado: After Colorado's dismal performance a week ago against Montana State, I think I'm going to pick against them until they show me they can win.
Colorado State 28 Colorado 17

Buffalo at Bowling Green (+21): The Falcons played Wisconsin tough for three quarters a week ago. Buffalo needed overtime to beat lowly Temple (winless a year ago). Sorry Turner, last week may have been your first win, but your first loss will come this week.
Bowling Green 38 Buffalo 10

Central Florida at Florida (+23.5): Head Coach George O'Leary took UCF from a winless squad a season ago to a bowl game last year. They played fellow SEC club South Carolina tough in their season opener a year ago. Florida better not mess around in this one.
Florida 28 Central Florida 21

Stanford (+10.5) at San Jose State: Shouldn't be a blow-out, but the Cardinal should have enough to win this one.
Stanford 28 San Jose State 14

Arizona at LSU (+15): Even though I'm kind of pulling for Arizona, I can't go against the Tigers at home in this one.
LSU 28 Arizona 13

Indiana (+4) at Ball State: The Big Ten's usual doormat has an opportunity to win a road game this week. Those opportunities don't come around too often, so the Hoosiers better make the most of it.
Indiana 24 Ball State 17

Utah State at Arkansas (+29): The 'Hogs played USC tough for two quarters a week ago. It'll be interesting to see how the offense adjusts with Matt Mustain now back behind center.
Arkansas 35 Utah State 3

Toledo (+10.5) at Western Michigan: The Rockets have plenty of firepower to win this one on the road, but will they be let down after the devastating three overtime loss to Iowa State a week ago? We'll have to wait and see.
Toledo 35 Western Michigan 21

Air Force at Tennessee (+20): With all the hype that the 'Vols received after last week's win against Cal, it'd be almost comic to see them lose this one. It won't happen though.
Tennessee 35 Air Force 14

Idaho at Washington State (+16.5): If this game was played in Idaho, I might think about taking them in the upset, but not when it's played in Pullman.
Washington State 35 Idaho 17

Tulane at Houston (+14): There should be plenty of points scored in this one, but more by the Cougars than the Green Wave.
Houston 31 Tulane 24

East Carolina at UAB (+6.5): UAB was a mistimed whistle away from sending the game to overtime last week against Oklahoma. As long as they don't let that game affect this one, they should come out on top.
UAB 28 East Carolina 21

Minnesota at Cal (+8.5): Is Cal as bad as they played last week? No. But, how good they are remains to be seen. I'm going with Cal, but will not have them covering the spread.
Cal 31 Minnesota 24

Georgia (+3) at South Carolina: Spurrier's overmatched and doubted Gamecocks hung right in there with Georgia in Athens last year in a 17-15 loss. Spurrier rarely loses consecutively to the same team and with home-field this time around, I like South Carolina to pull off the upset.
South Carolina 24 Georgia 21

New Mexico (+9.5) at New Mexico State: This is a toughy. New Mexico State didn't win a game last season. But, in the first week of the season this year, New Mexico State beat a Division I-AA team, while New Mexico lost to a I-AA team. I'll have to go against my gut and pick New Mexico.
New Mexico 24 New Mexico State 17

Oregon (+5) at Fresno State: I typically go with Pat Hill in these games, but Oregon looked pretty good last week, so I'm going with the Ducks. Fear the power of the Duck! I just had to write that.
Oregon 35 Fresno State 28

Nevada at Arizona State (+14): ASU better not play lackadaisically for the first three quarters like they did last week against Northern Arizona. If they do that, Nevada will pull off the upset. But, I don't expect them to do that, especially with the game being in Tempe.
Arizona State 35 Nevada 21

Middle Tennessee State at Maryland (+21): Maryland had a very unimpressive 28-14 win last week over Division I-AA William and Mary. I'll pick them this week, but not to cover the spread.
Maryland 31 Middle Tennessee State 14

Florida International at South Florida (+20): The battle of Florida! Okay, so there won't be much pub for this game and rightly so. USF should handle their opponent pretty easily this week like they did last week (McNeese State).
South Florida 35 Florida International 14

SMU (+5) at North Texas: SMU improved mightily last year to a record of 5-6. They started the season this year with a loss to Texas Tech and North Texas lost to Texas. Based on their recent histories and the Mean Green's successful running attack, I'm going with North Texas.
North Texas 24 SMU 21

Troy at Florida State (No Line): Troy isn't a team to be taken lightly, but I don't think they have enough in them to pull off an upset like they did a of couple years ago against Missouri.
Florida State 35 Troy 7