I thought week two would be a bit tougher to predict than week one and I was right in one sense. I was 13-0 in “straight up” predictions in week one but fell to 8-3 in week two missing on Auburn/Miss State, Arkansas/ULM and Vandy/Northwestern. Thanks guys. That being said, I actually had a stronger week “against the spread” as I went 7-3 (versus 5-3 in week one) missing South Carolina/ECU, Miss State/Auburn and Vandy/Northwestern. After week two I’m 21-3 straight up and 12-6 against the spread.
Saturday, Sept 15th
ULM (1-0) at Auburn (0-2), 12:21 PM, SEC Network
Auburn is a 16.5 point favorite. Auburn is coming off two straight losses to open the season. The Tigers are also 4-6 in their last ten games and just 7-6 after winning the National Championship Game. This is a dangerous game for Auburn because they haven’t been able to score a bunch of points so far this year and the Warhawks have shown that they can put 30 up on an SEC foe. I think Auburn wins but I don’t like them to cover.
Auburn 27 ULM 21
Presbyterian (1-1) at Vanderbilt (0-2), 12:30
So far Vandy is winless this year against the FBS, so they will dip down into the sub-FBS pool and try to pick up a win against the Blue Hose. Last week the Blue Hose got hosed by Georgia Tech 59-3. This is a get well game for the Commies.
Vandy 45 Presbyterian 10
Alabama (2-0) at Arkansas (1-1), 3:30 PM, CBS
Alabama is a 20 point favorite. Will Tyler Wilson play? If he does, will he make it past half-time? Last week, Arkansas proved they don’t have much without Wilson and also proved that their defense isn’t going to be better than they were last year. The Tide rolls in this one.
Alabama 35 Arkansas 14
Texas A&M (0-1) at SMU (1-1), 3:30 PM
A&M is a 12 point favorite. The Aggies had 17 points in the first half against Florida but then they got shut down by the Gators defense. The good news for Kevin Sumlin is that the Mustangs don’t have the talent Florida does on the defensive side of the football. So far SMU has gotten rolled by Baylor 59-24 and rolled over Stephen F Austin 52-0. Look for the Aggies to cover, but probably not by much.
Texas A&M 35 SMU 21
Florida (2-0) at Tennessee (2-0), 6 PM, ESPN
Tennessee is a three point favorite. This is the most intriguing game of the week and one of these teams fanbases is going to be sky high after this game. Who do you want to see talking smack all over the internet? Vols fans or Gators fans? Florida won a tough game on the road last week but right now their defense is nursing some injuries. Jelani Jenkins and Cody Riggs are likely to be out for several weeks and Ronald Powell still isn’t playing. I think the Gators will put the Vols running game back to 2011 impotence but the Vols will still have the best two play-makers on the field in Justin Hunter and Cordarelle Patterson. The Vols win this one at home.
Tennessee 24 Florida 20
WKU (1-1) at Kentucky (1-1), 7 PM, ESPNU
Kentucky is a seven point favorite. The Wildcats are coming off of a rout of Kent State and WKU is coming off of a beatdown from Alabama. It’s hard not to think that Kentucky is at least seven points better than the Hilltoppers. As bad as Kentucky was last year, they still beat WKU (who had Bobby Rainey) by eleven.
Kentucky 31 WKU 14
Arizona State (2-0) at Missouri (1-1), 7 PM, ESPN2
Mizzou is a six point favorite. After playing Georgia really tough for three quarters, the wheels came off and Mizzou got beat up in the final period against the Dawgs. Arizona State on the other hand, destroyed Illinois last week by 31. Yes, that’s not a misprint. Quite frankly, I would stay away from this game if I was a gambler. Look for Arizona State to come back down to earth and Missouri to bounce back. As long as Gary Pinkel doesn’t ice his own kicker, I like Mizzou.
Missouri 31 Arizona State 28
UAB (0-1) at South Carolina (2-0), 7 PM
The Gamecocks are a 33.5 point favorite. I didn’t think the Gamecocks would cover the spread last week when they were a 21.5 point favorite but they won by 38 against a team that is better than the UAB team that they will play this week.
South Carolina 41 UAB 7
Mississippi State (2-0) at Troy (1-1), 7 PM
The Bulldogs are a 16 point favorite. Will the Bulldogs suffer a letdown after their big win over Auburn? Troy took a step back last year when they went just 3-9 and so far they don’t look to have bounced back much this year. Dan Mullen’s crew might struggle early but they will get it rolling as the game goes on.
Mississippi State 34 Troy 14
FAU (1-1) at Georgia (2-0), 7:30 PM
Georgia is a 41.5 point favorite. The big question here is not if they will win but if they can cover that big point spread. FAU is coming off of a 31-17 loss to Middle Tennessee and their one win this year was against Wagner by the score of 7-3. Generally speaking, Richt isn’t one to run up the score and Georgia is coming off of a big game against Mizzou in which he may want to rest some of his big guns later in the game. Georgia rolls but I think they have trouble keeping the score down.
Georgia 45 FAU 3
Idaho (0-2) at LSU (2-0), 8 PM
LSU is a 42.5 point favorite. So far Idaho has lost to Eastern Washington by 17 and Bowling Green by 8. LSU on the other hand has victories of 41-14 and 41-3. Can LSU get over that elusive 41 point barrier?
LSU 48 Idaho Zip
Texas (2-0) at Ole Miss (2-0), 9:15 PM, ESPN
Texas is a ten point favorite. Through two games, Ole Miss has already matched their win total of all of last season. Don’t look for them to eclipse that record this week. Texas’s power running game is going to simply be too much for the Rebels.
Texas 31 Ole Miss 14
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
