Randy Smith
After two weeks of the college football season I have correctly picked winners in 28 of 31 games, ( 90% ) going 13-2 last week. The going gets tougher now that more and more teams are playing league games.
Alabama at Wisconsin
Alabama has dropped a bit in the polls after struggling with South Florida last week. The Tide is struggling on offense and you can attribute that to a new head coach, a new staff and a new system. The Badgers are a 16.5 point underdog but they're at home this week which should help them.
Jalen Milroe is still a great quarterback but he needs his offensive line to play a lot better which will happen the further into the season they go. The game is an early kick....12:00 noon on Saturday. The Tide will hopefully be fully awake by game time.
Alabama 27 Wisconsin 14
UAB at Arkansas
The Razorbacks lost an overtime heart breaker last week at Oklahoma State after leading a good portion of the game. UAB provides the competition this week so the Hogs have a shot to be 2-1 after this week. The Cowboys rallied for 18 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Arkansas scored 21 points in the first half but slowed down until the fourth period. Coach Sam Pittman's team is maybe a bit better than last year but his seat in Fayetteville is still very hot.
Arkansas 42 UAB 20
New Mexico at Auburn
The Tigers lost a game they feel they should have won last week when they dropped a tough 21-14 decision at California. Auburn is 1-1 going into their game this week at home against New Mexico and te Tigers are picked to win by 28 points. The Lobos have had a lot of trouble keeping their opponents out of the end zone while Auburn has struggled offensively....even though they hung 73 points in their opening win over Alabama A&M. The Tigers won't score 73 this week but they'll still win.
Auburn 38 New Mexico 13
Texas A&M at Florida
Texas A&M successfully bounced back from the season opening loss to Notre Dame as they trounced McNeese State 52-10 last week. This week the Aggies are in Gainesville to face the Florida Gators in the " Swamp." Coach Mike Elko picked up his first win as the Aggies' head coach last week but this one will be much tougher even though the Gators are 1-1 on the year as well and coming off a blow out win over Samford....just one week after being blown out by Miami. This game should be pretty close.
Texas A&M 28 Florida 24
Georgia at Kentucky
I would consider this a potential " trap " game if Kentucky hadn't been trounced last week at South Carolina. The Wildcats are not a very good team with plenty of problems that can't be fixed in time to compete with the top-ranked Bulldogs. Georgia is off next week before playing at Alabama on September 28th. I still guarantee the " Dawgs " are not overlooking Kentucky and already thinking about the Long Horns. Kirby Smart won't allow that to happen.
Georgia 44 Kentucky 13
LSU at South Carolina
Last week the Gamecocks jumped all over Kentucky scoring a big 31-6 win....a win that most folks say was an upset. South Carolina was picked way down the list in the SEC pre-season polls. but through two games the 'Cocks are 2-0. LSU on the other hand is simply not playing well. After being upset by Southern Cal on Opening Day, the Bengal Tigers struggled as they beat Nicholls State 41-21. This one could be hard to call, but I'm taking LSU to win in a close contest.
LSU 34 South Carolina 28
Toledo at Mississippi State
The Bulldogs lost a tough one last week as they were beaten by Arizona State 30-23 in Tempe. This week, they host Toledo in Starkville and prior to game time, the Maroons are favored to beat the Rockets by 11.5 points. Coach Jeff Lebby has a competitive team but they're just not that good yet. This could be another trap game as Toledo isn't that bad. This could turn into a pretty good ball game but MSU will get the W.
Mississippi State 35 Toledo 20
Ole Miss at Wake Forest
In case you haven't noticed yet, the Rebels are a very good football team and while Wake has been pretty good in the past few seasons under the direction of Coach Dave Clawson, the Demon Deacons are no match for Ole Miss. Rebel fans are very excited about their football team this year and rightly so. Lane Kiffin has taken his team to new heights in the past few seasons but this could be his best team yet. Kiffin's group gets an easy win.
Ole Miss 49 Wake Forest 17
Boston College at Missouri
This game is a bit intriguing. The sixth ranked Tigers are hosting 23rd ranked Boston College....and if you remember they upset Florida State on the road last week. Both teams are 2-0 on the year and this could be a very good football game. Mizzou is a 16.5 point favorite over the Eagles and Coach Eli Drinkwitz has an excellent football team. No matter who they play or where they play, the Tigers will be tough to beat.
Missouri 37 Boston College 24
Tulane at Oklahoma
The Sooners had a hard time with Houston last week before hanging on for a 16-12 win. Oklahoma has still not faced an SEC squad but that comes next week when the Sooners will host Tennessee. Coach Brent Venables is certainly hoping his team is focused on Tulane and not thinking ahead to the Volunteers. OU is favored by a couple of touchdowns and unless Tennessee has made it into the heads of the Sooners, they should get the victory.
Oklahoma 27 Tulane 21
Texas-San Antonio at Texas
The second ranked Long Horns are fresh off an impressive win on the road over defending national champion Michigan. They are among four-five teams right now that I feel could be a real national championship contender. They have some really big games on their schedule which would further solidify their stature, however this game is not one of them.
Texas 56 UTSA 14
Vanderbilt at Georgia State
Who would have ever thought that after two games, Vandy would have a better record than....Florida, Texas A&M, LSU, Kentucky, Mississippi State or Auburn? The Commodores are 2-0 on the year and will be favored over Georgia State this weekend in Atlanta. Georgia State is considered to be an up and coming program and they beat Chattanooga last week in a close game. It's hard to say it but....Vandy should be 3-0 after this game which will be much easier than expected.
Vanderbilt 38 Georgia State 7
Kent State at Tennessee
The red hot Volunteers are back home at Neyland Stadium to face Kent State this week, one week after they totally dismantled N.C. State 51-10. The Vols quick start has moved them from 15th in the country up to number seven in the polls. The Vols first SEC game is next week and it's a good one. Hopefully Tennessee won't be looking ahead to their match up with the Sooners of Oklahoma next week. Josh Heupel should have his team ready to go as the Volunteers look to be a team on a mission.
Tennessee 54 Kent State 10
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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com