ESPN College GameDay 2015: Location, TV Schedule and Week 2 Predictions

If fans were to concoct the perfect early-season showdown with College Football Playoff implications, it would likely feature two highly ranked teams from power conferences, an electrifying offense against a traditionally stout defense, two talented quarterbacks and a raucous fanbase starving for a statement win to pack the stadium under the lights.

Saturday’s clash between No. 5 Michigan State and No. 7 Oregon hits all those criteria. 

Naturally, ESPN’s traveling pregame show College GameDay will be there to set the stage for all the action, per ESPN PR:

Here is a look at the essential information you need to watch the second College GameDay episode of the season, as well as a prediction for the matchup.

ESPN College GameDay: Week 2 Info

Date: Saturday, Sept. 12

Time (ET): 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Location: East Lansing, Michigan

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Preview and Prediction

While College GameDay kicks off a day filled with tailgating and preparation, the actual showdown takes place at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. 

Let Spartan Video get you ready:

This is a rematch of last year’s matchup that Oregon won 46-27. While the final score suggests a blowout in favor of the Ducks, Michigan State actually led 24-18 at halftime and missed opportunities to extend its lead in the third quarter.

It was one of only two losses on the season for the Spartans. They followed a similar pattern against the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes and lost an early lead and the game.

Both teams that beat Michigan State a season ago parlayed those important victories into spots in the College Football Playoff (and eventually matched up in the national championship). The Spartans need a season-defining win if they hope to be in that discussion this year, and Saturday’s game at home is the perfect opportunity.

Quarterback Connor Cook discussed how his team will use last year’s loss as fuel this time around, per Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel: “I think it goes back to us just not finishing last year and having that in the back of our minds that we didn’t finish. A great first half, but not a great second half and use that as motivation.”

The motivation will help the home team, but so will the absence of Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, who now laces it up for the Tennessee Titans.

However, Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams Jr. proved to be no slouch when he completed 76 percent of his passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns and added 94 rushing yards in the season opener against his old school.

Like Mariota, Adams is comfortable standing in the pocket and hitting receivers, but he is especially lethal while improvising on the run, be it with his own speed and shiftiness or by finding pass-catchers while escaping pressure.

Yes, the win came against an overmatched Eastern Washington squad, but the Ducks looked very much like the offense that led the nation in total yards and finished fourth in points per game last year. In all, Oregon put up 731 total yards and 61 points on the board Saturday.

Even with Adams, running back Royce Freeman is arguably the most dangerous player on the field. He notched 180 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the opener, which was an impressive encore after posting 1,365 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns in 2014. He can take the pressure off Adams on the road if he finds holes in the defense and keeps the Ducks ahead of the chains.

For all the fireworks that come with Oregon’s uptempo attack, defense is a legitimate concern heading into Saturday’s contest with Michigan State.

The last time the college football world saw the Ducks defenders in a high-stakes showdown, Ohio State posted 538 total yards and eviscerated the Oregon front seven with a physical offensive line and 296 rushing yards. That was with 6’7” and first-round NFL draft pick Arik Armstead on the defensive line.

The Ducks gave their fans no reason for optimism on that side of the ball in the season opener against Eastern Washington either. They allowed 42 points and 549 total yards, 438 of which came through the air against a secondary that no longer has cornerbacks Troy Hill or Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.

Eastern Washington is an FCS team from the Big Sky Conference. Cook is probably licking his lips in anticipation of Saturday.

Cook threw for 3,214 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2014 and is a potential early first-round pick in the upcoming draft if he delivers an impressive season and leads the Spartans to the College Football Playoff. Dane Brugler of CBS Sports had Cook as the No. 6 overall pick in a recent mock draft.

While most of the pregame attention will deservedly be on Cook against the Oregon secondary, don’t be surprised if bruising freshman running back LJ Scott controls the tempo of the game with between-tackle carries.

Adam Kramer of Bleacher Report believes college football fans will know Scott’s name after Saturday’s clash: “Sparty’s bruising 233-pound true freshman tailback delivered a solid 77-yard performance in his debut. Matched up against fellow battering ram Royce Freeman, LJ Scott, one of the Big Ten’s next great running backs, could have himself a coming-out party against Oregon.”

The Spartans will need offensive production because the Ducks will surely put up some points behind Adams and Freeman.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Still, playing at night in a hostile environment against sack-master Shilique Calhoun and a physically imposing Michigan State defense that finished seventh in total yards allowed and 12th in points per game last year is not exactly an easy task for Adams in his first career FBS road start.

Oregon will find the end zone multiple times based on talent and its exhausting pace alone, but it won’t be able to match Cook’s production against a vulnerable secondary for four quarters.

Prediction: Michigan State 38, Oregon 28