College Football: Week 2 Thoughts and Predictions

Week one was pretty solid for college football (check out the review a few posts below). We had games Thursday through Monday, pretty sweet. This week will be a different story. There are not nearly as many marquee games for the sport this weekend. Week two will be remembered for two major games: Notre Dame at Michigan, and USC at Ohio State.

Speaking of Ohio State, props to Tyrelle Pryor for one of the most idiotic, ignorant quotes ever from an athlete regarding forgiveness of Michael Vick. Before I give my additional thoughts, let me just let you read the exact quote:

"I just feel that, uh, I mean he made his mistake, and, uh, I think he just needs more support. I mean, uh, not everybody's the perfect person in the world. I mean everyone does kills people, murder people, and all types, steals from you, steals from me, whatever. I mean, I just feel that people need to give him a chance. I mean I always looked to Mike Vick and I always will, 'cause I still think he's one the best quarterbacks to me and I just love, I love Mike Vick and I look up to him a lot."

WOW. I had no idea that "everyone does kills people." I was wondering why I haven't fit in perfectly with society, I haven't murdered yet. In fact, I dislike murder. Therefore, I dislike Tyrelle Pryor, Ohio State, Michael Vick, and any ignorant person who tries to defend this statement (I'm looking at YOU, guy in the sweater vest). Go Trojans!!!! (end rant here).

On to things actually football related, one big question for the week is how does Georgia respond after losing to Oklahoma State last week? South Carolina won a very close game last week at North Carolina State, but Spurrier always finds a way to be very competitive with the Bulldogs. Georgia really needs to find another playmaker on offense to complement AJ Green, or it will be a long year full of double teams for the sophomore wideout. This game should be a defensive battle.

The battle for the hottest seat in college football is the best day game on Saturday when Notre Dame visits Michigan. Both teams started the year with major question marks and uncertainty, and both looked pretty darn good in week one. Which of the teams will keep the train rolling with a big win in week two and take some stress off of their respective head coach? I don't think either Weis or Rodriguez are in true danger of losing their job, but fans and the media are just waiting for a reason to criticize both of these coaches. Freshman Tate Forcier gets the nod as Michigan's starting QB and he will face a fierce defense for the first time (sorry, Western Michigan). The Fighting Irish and the Wolverines should put on a good show for us, probably the best game of the week.

Clemson visits Georgia Tech tonight in Atlanta. I really think Georgia Tech is a sleeper team that could cause big time problems for any team on their schedule. Paul Johnson's offense has been quite effective and the Tech defense has been able to keep the Jackets in just about every game since Johnson's arrival. I've already said that I am very high on Jonathan Dwyer- if Tech wins 10 games, I suspect he will be in New York for the Heisman ceremony, but won't win (and will only get invited since Bradford is now out of the running- still an honor).

For my quick two cents on Auburn- the Tigers looked pretty solid last week. Mississippi State had a great final score against Jackson State, but were basically given points from ridiculous turnovers. Miss State's offense didn't look too improved from last year, while Auburn appears to be headed in the right direction. As the Tigers begin their conference schedule, keeping the defense healthy will be a HUGE (can't emphasize how big) factor in Auburn's success. There is basically no depth at linebacker, a position which will be tested in a rough, physical manner every week in the SEC. I think Auburn wins this game by two touchdowns and continues to impress critics who are still wanting to talk about last year's disaster. I can safely say that the total points scored in this game will be a lot more than 5.

How about some picks?!?! (winners are in bold)

National Games:

Clemson @ Georgia Tech

Colorado @ Toldeo

Central Michigan @ Michigan State

Fresno State @ Wisconsin

BYU @ Tulane

Notre Dame @ Michigan

USC @ Ohio State

Stanford @ Wake Forest

SEC Picks:

UCLA @ Tennessee

Vanderbilt @ LSU

South Carolina @ Georgia

Troy @ Florida

Florida International @ Alabama

Miss State @ Auburn

Apparently home teams in the SEC are safe by my calculations. I guess we will find out this week if its true that "everybody does kills people" when Jim Tressel tries to burn Pete Carroll with his death stare during the game. I have never liked tOSU, but now I am officially a hater. I'll be wearing Cardinal and Gold for that one, fight on Trojans!!!