Last Week: 13-0 Overall: 13-0
Pittsburgh vs. Boston College
The week kicks off on Friday, as these two former Big East rivals collide for the Eagles home opener. Both teams were very dominant in their season opener. Pitt probably could have scored 100 if they really wanted to against Delaware, while Boston College basically owned the ball the entire game against UMass, winning 30-7 behind their ground game. As much as both teams are very run oriented, I think the passing game will be the key to victory here. I think both defenses will stack up, and you will regularly see 8-9 people near the line of scrimmage, so the aerial attack will be key here. Chad Voytik will need to air it out more in this game. His longest completion against Delaware went for 16 yards. I think Tyler Murphy's dual threat ability will be a factor hear. I think BC pulls this off at home. Boston College 24, Pitt 23
South Carolina State vs. Clemson
One of these teams is undefeated, scoring 63 points in their opener. And it's not Clemson. Yep, South Carolina State scored 63 points against some school called Benedict, scoring 49 in the second half, and racking up 541 yards in the process. Clemson faced a much tougher opponent, falling to Georgia on the road in their opener. Clemson's big key is to right the ship from what was a pretty brutal second half against Georgia in which they had little to no offense, and gave up 21 points in the fourth quarter. That should easily be done here. Clemson 54, South Carolina State 6
Richmond vs. Virginia
There's a lot of familiarity between these two schools, starting with UVA coach Mike London (who was a cop in Richmond before becoming the Spiders head coach). The current Spiders squad has a couple of former UVA players on it, led by quarterbacks Michael Strauss and Michael Rocco. As for the game itself, UVA needs to prove that last week's game against UCLA was not a fluke, and they are much improved this year. For starters, London needs to settle his quarterback situation quickly. Expect Greyson Lambert and Matt Johns to both play in the game, which UVA should win handily on the ground. Virginia 41, Richmond 10
Georgia Tech vs. Tulane
After getting a little more of a test than expected, Georgia Tech goes up a class in competition, going on the road to face Tulane for the first time since 1982. The Green Wave are coming off of a double overtime loss to Tulsa, but feature a very talented running back in freshman Sherman Badie, who ran for 215 yards in the season opener. The Green Wave allowed 438 yards passing against Tulsa, and this could be an opportunity for Justin Thomas to have another good passing game, who threw for 282 yards in the opener. I think Badie will have a big game for the Green Wave, and he will keep them in the game, but Georgia Tech's offensive firepower will be too much. Georgia Tech 34, Tulane 20
Old Dominion vs. NC State
After needing a last minute drive to beat Georgia Southern, NC State will have another fairly difficult task on their hands. Quarterback Taylor Heinicke is a very good and accurate quarterback who is very capable of throwing for 400 yards on any given day. Unfortunately, Old Dominion's defense is not very good. They allowed Hampton's quarterback to throw for 407 yards on them last week. Don't be surprised if Jacoby Brissett puts up 300 yards on this ODU defense, and Shadrach Thornton should have a nice game on the ground too. NC State should win, but it won't be a blowout. NC State 38, Old Dominion 24
Gardner Webb vs. Wake Forest
Here's a number for you: 288. What's this number? This is the combined total yardage these two teams had in their respective opening game. Gardner Webb had 194 in a 13-3 loss to Furman, while Wake Forest tallied 94 yards in their lost to Louisiana-Monroe. Long story short, don't expect a lot of offense in this game. If you make it through the whole game, you have my heart felt congratulations, and I will immediately question your sanity. In all seriousness, this is one of Wake's best chances to win this year, and I think they'll get it via the running game. Wake Forest 20, Gardner Webb 7
Murray State vs. Louisville
The ACC debut for Louisville went well, as they were able to pull away and beat Miami. Now they go down a bit in competition on a short week. Murray State won their opener, scoring 73 point against a NAIA school, so they really weren't tested. Even with the short week, Louisville should win handily, using a balanced attack to get by the Racers. Louisville 44, Murray State 10
Florida A&M vs. Miami
This in state rivalry should not be that close. Miami needs it after getting rolled at Louisville. They need it get some confidence in their young quarterback, Brad Kaaya. The Rattlers lost on a hail mary to Jackson State. They do feature a dual threat quarterback in Damien Fleming, who accounted for 247 of their 302 yards in that game. This should be a game for Duke Johnson to feast. Miami 54, Florida A&M 7
Duke vs. Troy
Talk about two teams headed in different directions. Duke is coming off of a Coastal Division title, and a blowout win over Elon last week, while Troy, one of the better programs out of the Sun Belt, was blown out by a UAB team that won two games last year. Troy allowed 338 yards rushing to UAB, so this could be an opportunity for Josh Snead, Shaquille Powell, and the rest of the Duke running game to go crazy. Anthony Boone should have no problems airing out when he wants to. Duke should roll. Duke 41, Troy 14
The Citadel vs. Florida State
After a squeaker against Oklahoma State last week, the Seminoles should be able to take it easy this week. The Citadel lost 31-16 to Coastal Carolina last week, allowing 433 yards in the process. What could FSU do against that defense? They'll obviously take it easy on them, but the majority of FSU's starters should be on the bench in the third quarter. Florida State 72, The Citadel 0
San Diego State vs. North Carolina
These two are meeting for the first time since 1998, which was a 20-13 UNC victory. The Aztecs are coming off of a 38-7 win over Northern Arizona, while UNC struggled a bit early, but ultimately blew out Liberty. The Tar Heels need to do two things. First, eliminate turnovers. The Heels turned it over four times against Liberty last week. Second, the quarterback situation needs to be settled. This two quarterback thing is not going to work in the long term. UNC should win by using their stable of running backs, and wearing the Aztec defense out. UNC 38, San Diego State 17
Virginia Tech vs. Ohio State
This is the game of the week. After struggling with Navy in their opener, a lot of people think the Hokies can pull off the road upset here. The Hokies were pretty effective on both sides of the ball against William & Mary, and they will test the Buckeyes secondary for the first time. Navy threw four passes against Ohio State's secondary last week, completing two. This will ultimately end up being a close game, but I think Ohio State's home field advantage will give the Buckeyes the edge, and they will win close. Ohio State 27, Virginia Tech 20
