Curator & Coach - Week 2

Curator Sam Burnham

Game of the Week:
LSU @ Texas

This is a powerhouse matchup for Week 2. It’s rare to find this sort of game this early with all the big boys playing silly “tune up games” and trying to protect their poll positions until conference play begins.

Texas comes in off of a big win against Louisiana Tech last week. They ended last season by embarrassing Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. That was a strong finish to a season that began poorly. Tom Herman has the Longhorn faithful believing.

​The Tigers are coming off a big win against Georgia Southern and could use a signature win before facing the SEC West. Ed Orgeron has had a lot of success in Baton Rouge but the fan base there is always cautious. They’ve seen this story before.

This could be a de facto playoff game, depending on how the season unfolds.

​Upset Alert: Nebraska

The Huskers struggled early against South Alabama and Colorado cruised late in a shootout with rival Colorado State. Somehow Nebraska is ranked and a favorite against the unranked Buffaloes. There are a lot of expectations in Lincoln as the fans there want to return to the days of Tom Osborne. All of this amounts to pressure. How do the Huskers handle that pressure against their old Big 8 and Big XII rival, Colorado?  I’m expecting Nebraska to shuck the husk off an L in Boulder.

Who impressed Me Last Week: Miami

​The Hurricanes went to Orlando and went toe-to-toe with the highly ranked Gators in Manny Diaz’s debut. The game was a it sloppy ut I think that overall the Canes looked prepared and motivated. In truth, they should have won that game. Another opportunity waits for them this week against North Carolina. We will know more based on their performance this week. I’m keeping an eye on Coral Gables to see how this season goes.

Coach Drew Burnham

Game of the Week:
BYU @ Tennessee

It doesn’t come with the star power, but I am so intrigued by the current situation in Knoxville. Coming off a jaw dropping week one, how will the Vols handle having pressure in a game where, on paper, there should be none? The next game after an upset is always interesting. Does it linger and cause recurring issues that drag into the rest of your season or does it fuel the fire to a total domination of your next lesser opponent? The mental side of this game is what brings the interest from me. For their sake, I hope the Vols roll here.

Upset Alert: Michigan
A season after winning a school-record 11 games, the Black Knights travel to the Big House to take on the storied Michigan Wolverines. Army will bring an uncanny ability to convert 3rd(and 4th) downs, control the football, shorten the game and a hyper-disciplined defense into a game where they will most certainly be the less athletic team. In their only showing on the biggest stage last season they took Oklahoma to overtime. I look for a highly talented Michigan team to get frustrated if success doesn’t come early in the game, causing mistakes that could just pull this one from their control. I like the Knights in a low scoring battle here.

Who Impressed Me Last Week: Wisconsin
​You may not personally have your eyeballs popped by a win by a top-tier Big 10 team over USF, but the way in which it happened impressed me. USF is a team who was firing on all cylinders last season until the wheels fell off in the end of October. They have seemingly always had the ability to score and added Offensive Coordinator Kerwin Bell (of Gator fame) in the offseason. Wisconsin missed the playoff by a single game last season and they have come back on a mission. To shut out that offense is no small feat no matter who you are. The near 50 points was just an added bonus. That defense is for real and is ready to compete against anyone in America. The lacking piece last season was the ability to be explosive and match scores on offense when necessary. If the Badgers can do that this year, watch out playoff. I really like this team moving forward. Look for big things from them the rest of the way.

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Curator’s Picks
​Syracuse over Maryland
​Purdue over Vandy
USF over Georgia Tech
​Clemson over Texas A&M
Colorado over Nebraska
​BYU over Tennessee
​LSU over Texas
Miami over UNC
​Stanford over Southern Cal
​Washington over Cal

Coach’s Picks
SYRACUSE over Maryland
PURDUE over Vandy
GA TECH over USF
CLEMSON over Texas A&M
COLORADO over Nebraska
BYU over Tennessee
TEXAS over LSU
N. CAROLINA over Miami
STANFORD over USC
WASHINGTON over Cal