College Football Picks Week 2: Final Predictions on Odds for Top 25 Matchups

After one week of the 2014 college football season, the AP Top 25 Poll was shaken up in a big way thanks to some unexpected performances—both good and bad—from the nation's top squads. With some highly contested matchups in store on Saturday, we're left asking one question: Which teams will survive Week 2?

Vegas oddsmakers have already been hard at work deciphering which teams deserve to be favorites and which should be underdogs in Week 2. Odds have been established, and point spreads have shifted due to early betting—now it's time for some final predictions.

Based on what we saw from the nation's Top 25 teams in Week 1, let's project how they'll fare—both against their opponents and against the spread—on Saturday.

Home	Away	Odds	Prediction
(1) Florida State	Citadel	—	FSU 63-0
(2) Alabama	Florida Atlantic	ALA -39	49-0
(3) Oregon	(7) Michigan State	ORE -11	ORE 24-23
Tulsa	(4) Oklahoma	OU -23	OU 41-23
(5) Auburn	San Jose State	AUB -29	AUB 52-14
(8) Ohio State	Virginia Tech	OSU -12	OSU 27-20
(9) Texas A&M	Lamar	—	TXAM 56-0
(10) Baylor	Northwestern State	—	BU 42-0
(11) UCLA	Memphis	UCLA -24	UCLA 35-14
(12) LSU	Sam Houston State	—	LSU 35-10
(13) Stanford	(14) USC	SU -4	USC 27-23
Vanderbilt	(15) Ole Miss	MISS -14	MISS 34-21
(16) Notre Dame	Michigan	ND -6	ND 34-24
New Mexico	(17) Arizona State	ASU -27	ASU 38-13
(18) Wisconsin	Western Illinois	—	WIS 41-7
(19) Nebraska	Mcneese State	—	NEB 48-0
Iowa State	(20) Kansas State	KSU -15.5	KSU 34-17
(21) South Carolina	East Carolina	SC -15.5	SC 38-13
(21) North Carolina	San Diego State	UNC -13.5	UNC 31-20
(23) Clemson	South Carolina State	—	45-10
Toledo	(24) Missouri	-5.5	MIZZ 27-23
(25) Louisville	Murray State	—	LU 42-0

Game odds courtesy of OddsShark.com.

Notable Matchups

(3) Oregon vs. (7) Michigan State

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

We only had to wait until Week 2 to witness a clash of heavyweights. These two teams are built in complete opposite fashions, and that's what makes this contest so compelling.

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota is absolutely part of the early Heisman Trophy discussion. A dual-threat signal-caller, Mariota has the ability to torch defenses with his arm and his legs. In the team's 62-13 Week 1 victory over South Dakota, Mariota completed 14 of his 20 passing attempts for 267 yards and three touchdowns while rushing six times for 43 yards and another score.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports tweeted exactly how fast and athletic Mariota really is:

What makes Mariota even more dangerous is Oregon's high-octane offense full of speedy playmakers. Byron Marshall is predominantly a running back with good hands; however, the team experimented with him in the slot in Week 1. It was a huge success. Marshall accumulated 228 yards from scrimmage and two scores on a mix of eight carries and eight receptions.

On the flip side, Michigan State owns one of the most feared defenses in the nation. In Week 1, the Spartans held Jacksonville State to just seven points and a total of 244 yards of offense.

The Gamecocks put three different quarterbacks in the game, and only Max Shortell produced any kind of offense, completing 10 of 18 attempts for 117 yards and a score. The other two signal-callers were intercepted a combined three times.

On the ground, Jacksonville State didn't fare any better. The team rushed 25 times for 22 yards—that's an average of 0.9 yards per carry.

Here's a telling stat from ESPN College Football regarding Michigan State's fierce run defense:

A matchup between one of the nation's most prolific offenses and one of the most stout defenses is just around the corner. This leads us to one question: What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

(13) Stanford vs. (14) USC

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Stanford didn't have much of a contest in Week 1 against UC Davis, and while the team won in decisive fashion by a score of 45-0, it didn't go as swimmingly as it probably should have.

Kevin Hogan had his moments under center, but against an average Aggies defense, he had a nice chance to shine. Instead, he completed 12 of his 16 attempts for 204 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Not bad numbers by any stretch, but not great.

While Hogan didn't light up the scoreboard, he's fared nicely against top teams, via ESPN College Football:

As for the Cardinal running game, the loss of Tyler Gaffney was a big one. It appears as though the team is replacing the workhorse with a committee approach featuring Barry Sanders and Kelsey Young. Both backs were solid but couldn't find enough room to break a run longer than 17 yards.

USC had a bit more of a challenge in Week 1 against Fresno State. The offense didn't seem to miss a beat, and quarterback Cody Kessler really looked the part. The junior completed 25 of 37 attempts for 394 yards and four touchdowns without throwing a pick. He also added a one-yard touchdown scamper on the ground.

According to Eye on College Football, Kessler is on track to play again Saturday after an injury scare in Week 1:

The quarterback isn't at a loss for weapons, either. Javorius Allen looked to be every bit the part of a workhorse running back, carrying 22 times for 133 yards and a score. JuJu Smith torched Fresno State's secondary for 123 yards on four receptions. Nelson Agholor proved to be a solid red-zone target, reeling in five receptions for 57 yards and two touchdowns.

Needless to say, the Trojans are boasting a very well-rounded offense.

However, USC did allow 157 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries to Fresno State, which could prove to be the team's Achilles' heel. If Stanford is to earn the win, getting its running game going should be priority No. 1.