Tucker’s Top 10: Week 2
By Tucker Harlin
This is my Week 2 edition of the 10 games I’m looking forward to the most during a college football weekend.
While Week 2 gives us more out of conference matchups between power four schools, the strongest of these don’t match the strength of the best matchups in Week 1.
Here are my rankings in ascending order.
10. MISSISSIPPI STATE @ ARIZONA STATE- ASU -6.5, 10:30 PM ESPN
The Sun Devils and Bulldogs will meet for the first time in a matchup of two teams desperate to find their way back into bowl eligibility.
Arizona State was slapped with a postseason ban just a week before the start of the 2023 season and finished the year 2-10 in its first year under the direction of Kenny Dillingham.
2023 was the first season Mississippi State missed a bowl since 2009 as it struggled to rebuild following the tragic passing of Mike Leach.
This will be the second time the Bulldogs visit the state of Arizona in three years, leaving Tucson with a 39-17 win over Arizona in 2022. The Bulldogs took down the Wildcats 31-24 in overtime in 2023, easily their best win of the season.
Both teams won decisively against non power four opponents in Week 1, so they will be each other’s first big test of 2024.
I expect a competitive matchup and the winner greatly increases its shot at bowl eligibility.
9. SOUTH CAROLINA @ KENTUCKY- UK -10, 3:30 PM ABC
This is officially the first matchup between SEC teams in the 16-team era, although it’s a game we’ve seen annually for over 30 years.
Mark Stoops is 7-5 against the Gamecocks, but Shane Beamer has won a pair of ugly contests over Kentucky the last two seasons.
However, the part of the season Kentucky catches South Carolina in this year should favor the Wildcats. Stoops has started seasons well in his time at Kentucky while Beamer has generally finished seasons better than he’s started them at South Carolina.
The Gamecocks’ struggle to get through Old Dominion last week doesn’t have me feeling confident in the possibility of a road win at Kroger Field this weekend. The quarterback play has taken a clear step back, and the offensive line is marginally better at best.
I’m tempted to say the Wildcats win this one by double digits, but this game usually finishes a little bit tighter, so I can definitely see a Gamecocks cover.
8. CALIFORNIA @ AUBURN- AUB -13, 3:30 ESPN2
The second leg of a home and home comes to the plains this weekend.
Auburn won an ugly 14-10 slugfest in Berkeley this time last season, and I think it’s safe to say both fan bases would prefer a more aesthetically pleasing game this time around.
Both the Tigers and Golden Bears played FCS competition to start 2024, but the Tigers won by 70 while the Golden Bears were in a fight for about two and a half quarters.
We should get a pretty fun duel on the ground from veteran running backs Jarquez Hunter and Jaydn Ott. What’s in question for the second year in a row is the quarterback play.
Cal starter Fernando Mendoza didn’t play in this one last season, and Payton Thorne didn’t light the world on fire for the Tigers in Berkeley last year.
Thorne had a respectable Week 1 outing against Alabama A&M and I’d argue he’s got far better talent catching his passes than what Mendoza has.
The Tigers are favored by nearly two touchdowns, a result I can absolutely see.
7. #23 GEORGIA TECH @ SYRACUSE- GT -3, NOON ACC NETWORK
Credit: For the Rumble Seat
What’s drawing my interest here is an early conference matchup that appears to have large implications on a seemingly wide open ACC.
We watched Georgia Tech grit out a win over then #10 Florida State in a standalone game in Dublin back in Week 0. The Yellowjackets didn’t get off to the quickest of starts against Georgia State last week, but they were never trailing nor in any true danger of losing.
Syracuse didn’t really separate from Ohio until late in the third quarter, but the quarterback play from Kyle McCord is apparently good enough for Orange coach Fran Brown to want to send Ryan Day a bottle of champagne.
This the first week the Yellowjackets have been ranked in close to a decade, so that should get Orange fans up for the game.
This game won’t get as much attention as a lot of the non conference matchups will, but this could be the most competitive game we see over the weekend.
6. BOISE STATE @ #7 OREGON- ORE -19.5, 10 PM PEACOCK
These two last met in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl, but the Broncos and Ducks’ last regular season meeting was the day LeGarrette Blount threw the infamous punch back in 2009.
Neither team put out its best effort in Week 1. Boise State had to outrun Georgia Southern 56-45 and Oregon got by in its 24-14 win over Idaho, hence the four-spot drop in the rankings.
These two have their fair share of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.
The Ducks showcase a Heisman hopeful in Dillon Gabriel at quarterback throwing to a potent wideout in Tez Johnson. The Broncos look to take advantage on the ground with running back Ashton Jeanty, the highly touted draft prospect who broke a school record with his 267 yards and six touchdowns last week.
Boise State has won all three of its meetings against Oregon, but I don’t see a fourth win over the Ducks coming this week. However, I do think the Broncos at least cover the three score spread.
5. IOWA STATE @ #21 IOWA- IOWA -2.5, 3:30 PM CBS
The Cy-Hawk Trophy Game is a rare case of a bitter rivalry game played in September, and that’s been the case since 1977.
Iowa holds a 47-23 advantage in the Cy-Hawk game all time, and it won 20-13 in Ames last season.
The Hawkeyes showed an ounce of improvement on offense in their 40-0 win over Illinois State in Week 1 as quarterback Cade McNamara tossed the ball for 251 yards and three touchdowns.
The Cyclones didn’t find the end zone much in their 21-3 win over North Dakota, but I’d argue they have more proven commodities back on offense this season than Iowa.
I’ll admit, it’s going to be weird seeing this game played on CBS at 3:30 instead of the best game in the SEC this week.
This should be a great test to determine if Iowa is in fact better on offense than it was last season.
4. ARKANSAS @ #16 OKLAHOMA STATE- OKST -7.5, NOON ABC
Despite being in relatively close proximity to one another, this will be the first meeting between Arkansas and Oklahoma State since 1980.
This is the moment of truth for Bobby Petrino’s offense. It went out and scored 70 against Pine Bluff last Thursday, but a trip to a hostile environment against a ranked opponent will be a completely different animal.
The Razorbacks will have to work hard to slow down a strong Oklahoma State offense that features one of the best running backs in the country in Ollie Gordon. Quarterback Alan Bowman has his best two receivers from 2023 in Brennan Presley and Rashod Owens back to strengthen the pass attack.
Right now, I’m having a hard time seeing a way in which Arkansas gets a win in Boone Pickens Stadium.
If the Hogs offense can get rolling, then I can see it being a tight contest down the stretch.
3. COLORADO @ NEBRASKA- NEB -7.5, 7:30 PM NBC
An old Big 12 rivalry turned second leg of a non conference home and home, Colorado @ Nebraska could very well feature one of the best quarterback battles we see all season.
Shedeur Sanders is projecting as one of the highest rated quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft and Dylan Raiola was projected as the top incoming freshman quarterback.
If Raiola really is as good as he’s cracked up to be, over 58.5 on Saturday is a nice looking bet for this game.
My prediction for this game is similar to #10 on my rankings this week.
The winner finds itself in a bowl for the first time in several years, and the loser won’t win anymore than five games.
2. #14 TENNESSEE vs #24 NC STATE (CHARLOTTE): TENN-8, 7:30 PM ABC
The Duke’s Mayo Classic is one of just two ranked matchups this week.
These two handled contests against SoCon teams very differently in Week 1.
NC State had to fight for a little over three quarters to a 38-21 victory of Western Carolina last Thursday. On the other hand, Tennessee made light work of Chattanooga in a 69-3 rout.
It’s true that NC State will be the Vols’ toughest test since Nico Iamaleava took over as the starter at quarterback. But the fact the Wolf Pack struggled so mightily with Western Carolina’s defense has me feeling doubtful it will be able to slow down the Vols.
I can absolutely see a way in which Tennessee goes out and wins this game by double digits on Saturday.
1. #3 TEXAS @ #10 MICHIGAN- TEX -7.5, NOON FOX
This is the first AP Top 10 matchup of 2024, and to make it even better, the game’s not being played at a neutral site.
I’ve been confident that Texas will win this game pretty much all summer, and that sentiment hasn’t changed after the first week of the season.
Both Michigan and Texas played a Mountain West school in Week 1.
Texas did what was expected and won 52-0 while Michigan struggled to break away in its 30-10 win over Fresno State.
Quarterback play is particularly concerning for the Wolverines. Alex Orji, who they thought was going to be their guy this season, was beat out in camp by former walk-on Davis Warren. Warren didn’t exactly come out and prove he belonged with his 118 pass yards, touchdown, and pick on Saturday.
If Michigan is able to control time of possession, then I see Texas winning a lower scoring one-score affair. If the Longhorns are forcing punts and turning the Wolverines over, we could be looking at a blowout.
