ESPN College Gameday 2022: Location, TV Schedule and Week 2 Predictions
Alabama was not tested at all in Week 1 of the 2022 season. It dominated Utah State, cruising to a 55-0 win and flexing its muscles as the top-ranked team in the country.
Things could be at least a bit closer for the Crimson Tide in Week 2. They are going on the road for the first time this season to take on Texas, which opened its season with a 52-10 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
Before the Crimson Tide and Longhorns kick off on Saturday at noon ET, College GameDay will be airing live from Austin at LBJ Lawn on Texas' campus, outside of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The popular college football kickoff show airs at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Right when the show ends, Alabama and Texas will kick off. Could the Longhorns pull off the upset? It would be quite a shocker if they did.
Before further breaking down that matchup, here's the schedule for ranked teams for Week 2, along with predictions for each game.
Week 2 Top 25 Schedule, Predictions
Saturday, Sept. 10
No. 1 Alabama at Texas, noon ET, Fox
Arkansas State at No. 3 Ohio State, noon ET, Big Ten Network
Southern Miss at No. 15 Miami, noon ET, ACC Network
South Carolina at No. 16 Arkansas, noon ET, ESPN
No. 23 Wake Forest at Vanderbilt, noon ET, SEC Network
Charleston Southern at No. 18 NC State, 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3
Southern Utah at No. 13 Utah, 1:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
Marshall at No. 8 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. ET, NBC
Furman at No. 5 Clemson, 3:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network
Appalachian State at No. 6 Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
No. 24 Tennessee at No. 17 Pittsburgh, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Washington State at No. 19 Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m. ET, Fox
Samford at No. 2 Georgia, 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Akron at No. 14 Michigan State, 4 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
No. 25 Houston at Texas Tech, 4 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
Kent State at No. 7 Oklahoma, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
No. 20 Kentucky at No. 12 Florida, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Central Arkansas at No. 22 Ole Miss, 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network
No. 10 USC at Stanford, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Arizona State at No. 11 Oklahoma State, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Hawai'i at No. 4 Michigan, 8 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
No. 9 Baylor at No. 21 BYU, 10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
*Picks in bold.
Alabama-Texas Preview
A win over the No. 1 team in the country is huge at any point in the season. It's even more so when the top-ranked program is Alabama, a perennial College Football Playoff contender with a legendary coach (Nick Saban) and a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback (Bryce Young).
Texas is facing a huge challenge. That's why the Longhorns are big betting underdogs, with the Crimson Tide frequently projected to win by more than two touchdowns on Saturday.
But if the home team can stun the nation, with its fans hoping for a storm-the-field moment, it would be a huge statement.
"It would mean a lot," Texas junior running back Bijan Robinson said, per Cedric Golden of the Austin American-Statesman. "This could be the opportunity to make a team something that people haven't seen before."
Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian should have a good idea of what his team is going up against in this non-conference tilt. After all, he was Alabama's offensive coordinator from 2019-2020, before leaving to take the job at Texas ahead of the 2021 season.
It's been well documented how Saban's former assistants typically fare against him, though. He is 25-2 against head coaches who were previously on his staff, with both losses coming last season—Jimbo Fisher led Texas A&M to a 41-38 win over Alabama last October, and Kirby Smart guided Georgia to a 33-18 victory over the Tide in the CFP National Championship Game last season.
Don't think Saban would be OK with a losing streak against his former assistants, though, even if he was complimentary of Sarkisian this week.
"I think he's a very bright guy, very well organized," Saban said, per Clint Lamb of On3 Sports. "He did an outstanding job when he was here. He's got a good system. He understands defense."
If the Longhorns are going to pull off an upset, they'll likely need a big day from Robinson. In Texas' season opener, he ran for 71 yards and a touchdown and had three catches for 40 yards and a score. He was among the top running backs in the country in 2021.
But the Longhorns may have trouble keeping pace with the Crimson Tide. Young has a strong chance of repeating as the Heisman winner this year, and he got off to a big start, throwing five touchdown passes and rushing for 100 yards and a score.
Alabama is relying on some new playmakers to fill big roles this year. But as long as Young is leading the offense, the team is in great shape to succeed.
So, could Texas actually knock off the Crimson Tide? Anything can happen on a college football Saturday.
But realistically, Alabama should fend off the Longhorns as it continues to use its non-conference slate as an opportunity to tune up for difficult SEC matchups further down the line.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
