Week 2 is here, and the board is loaded with the kind of games that make early September feel like a full-on stress test. Missouri and Kansas renew the Border War in Lawrence, Oklahoma heads to Michigan, Alabama opens SEC play at Kentucky, the Cy-Hawk rivalry gets another turn, and then there’s the heavyweight showdown: No.
1 Ohio State at No. 4 Texas.
Before the picks, the Week 1 standings deserve a quick look. Stava sits at 6-3, Gustafson is 5-4, Matejka is also 6-3, Lewis is 7-2, and Hurst is 2-2.
Friday’s opener sends No. 23 Missouri to kansas as a 5.5-point favorite, with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m.
CST on FOX. Sammy Stava is expecting the rivalry atmosphere to keep things interesting, but he still likes Missouri’s edge in talent and pointed to Eli Drinkwitz’s track record in rivalry games.
He sees the Tigers finishing strong and mentioned a late TD run by Jamal Roberts “just like last year,” with Missouri winning 31-20. Matthew Gustafson also expects a competitive start, especially after Week 1 raised questions about Missouri’s offensive and defensive lines, but he thinks the Tigers’ overall talent wins out late in a 38-28 result.
Josh Matejka isn’t sold on either team after both opened with cupcakes, but he still trusts Missouri’s quality and Drinkwitz’s week of film work to produce a cover. His call: 34-24, Mizzou.
The noon slate brings No. 11 Oklahoma to Michigan, with the Sooners favored by 5.5 and FOX carrying the 11:00 a.m.
CST kickoff. Stava thinks Michigan’s near-miss against Western Michigan says plenty about where the Wolverines are right now, and he backed Oklahoma’s coaching and defense to carry the day in a 17-13 road win.
Gustafson sees a similar script, saying Oklahoma’s defense looks like it can be elite again while Michigan’s offense failed to impress in Week 1. He expects John Mateer and the Sooners to clear a low bar and win 21-13.
Matejka called it a “dog baby of a game,” but still leaned Oklahoma, noting that Michigan’s home field might help yet won’t fully solve the issues from an opener that produced just 7 13 points against Western Michigan. He picked the Sooners 24-10.
At 2:30 p.m. CST on ABC, No.
12 Alabama visits Kentucky as a 10.5-point favorite. Stava believes Year 1 under Will Stein is still too early for Kentucky to handle a team like Alabama, even while acknowledging the Wildcats’ future looks bright.
He picked Keelon Russell and the Tide to win 35-17. Gustafson expects some extra energy in Lexington for Stein’s first SEC game, but not enough to stop Alabama’s talent advantage.
He went with a 31-21 Crimson Tide victory. Matejka framed the matchup through the lens of the familiar “new coach, lots of excitement” setup and said Tiger fans know how those moments usually end against a conference power.
His pick was Alabama 37-21.
The Cy-Hawk rivalry follows at 6:30 p.m. CST on NBC, with No.
21 Iowa laying 13.5 against Iowa State. Stava called it a game that could go either way, but he believes Iowa State lost too much, especially with Rocco Becht transferring.
Even so, he thinks the Cyclones keep it close enough to cover while Iowa wins 24-20 behind Kamari Moulton. Gustafson called Cy-Hawk one of the most underrated rivalries in college football and said the game always brings some “absurd shenanigans.”
He noted both teams rank last in their conferences in returning production, then predicted a field-goal-heavy Iowa win, 21-15. Matejka went even simpler, labeling the rivalry “haramball” and expecting a rough watch.
His final: Iowa 17-13.
The nightcap is the marquee one: No. 1 Ohio State at No.
4 Texas, with the Longhorns favored by 1.5 and ABC airing the 6:30 p.m. CST kickoff.
Stava acknowledged Ohio State may be the better team, but he pointed to Texas’ revenge angle after last season’s loss in Columbus and called it a “prove it” year for Steve Sarkisian. He likes Arch Manning to help Texas pull it out, 28-24.
Gustafson highlighted Texas’ returning production and “an absurd portal class,” then said home field and the version of Arch Manning seen last November could be enough to edge the Buckeyes. He also picked Texas by the same 28-24 score.
Matejka called it a game he expects to be entertaining between two teams he hates “whole-heartedly,” while still saying Ohio State is the better team on paper. Even so, he leaned Texas in a road-night atmosphere kind of game, 27-24.
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Missouri is still sorting through its backfield situation, while Kansas has injury questions of its own heading into a game that could hinge on how two inexperienced quarterbacks handle the pressure. Isaiah Marshall and Austin Simmons are both being asked to step into a spotlight that can turn quickly in a rivalry like this, and the availability of key playmakers on each side may end up shaping which team has the cleaner path when the hits start coming. [Read more 🡒]