ESPN College Gameday 2019: Location, TV Schedule and Week 2 Predictions

After taking in an electric Auburn win over Oregon to start the year, the ESPN College GameDay crew stays in Texas for a ranked encounter between the No. 9 Texas Longhorns and No. 6 LSU Tigers.

The selection for Week 2 wasn't hard to figure out, as this is a battle not only between top-10 teams but also across powerful conferences and, to top it off, a meeting between programs that haven't met since the 2003 Cotton Bowl.

Both programs looked good to start the season and have aspirations of challenging within their respective conferences, if not the College Football Playoff itself. Here's how to catch the preview show with Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Maria Taylor, David Pollack and others and a look at the game itself.

College GameDay Week 2 Info

Date: Saturday, September 7

Time (ET): 9 a.m. to noon; game is at 7:30 p.m.

Location: Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

Watch: ABC

Live Stream: ESPN+

Preview

Texas' revival continued in the program's opener under the watchful eye of Tom Herman when the Longhorns dismissed a plodding Louisiana Tech program in 45-14 fashion in Week 1.

Sam Ehlinger threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns in the tuneup, while the running game pounded away 30 times for 153 yards and two more scores on a 5.1 per-carry average. Texas lost the time-of-possession battle but forced three turnovers.

Call it a refreshing turn of events for the Longhorns, a team that has struggled in openers as of late. The concern going into the opener this year was a vastly revamped defense featuring new faces.

But looking ahead, the concern is the SEC defense staring Herman and his team in the face, as captured by Wilson Alexander of The Advocate:

Fair point. The LSU defense limited Georgia Southern to three points and 98 total yards in a 55-3 drubbing in Week 1. Quarterback Joe Burrow looked comfortable in the process, missing on just four of his 27 attempts with 278 yards and five touchdowns. His backfield added 122 yards and two scores on the ground.

Naturally, the conversation for LSU has gone beyond one game thanks to the state of the SEC. Auburn got the exciting win from the College GameDay slot in Week 1, but four SEC teams lost, including the Tennessee upset at the hands of Georgia State.

This coincides nicely with the fact that LSU's long-term schedule keeps coming up in CFP context. It is, in a word, brutal, with games against ranked Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Texas A&M teams on tap, not to mention road games at Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

"If you go through and you manage it right, it can be to your advantage to get into the College Football Playoff, but we don't talk about that," LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said, according to ESPN's Heather Dinich. "I don't want to put too much pressure on this football team because I don't know if they're ready for it yet."

In the past, this postseason committee has been forgiving to the tough schedule the top SEC teams play. But hinging on some forgiveness down the road isn't LSU's style. Nor is it a strong strategy. Orgeron's attacking defense and improving offense will look to emphatically stamp out any chance they take a nosedive before the conference slate begins.

Prediction

Texas is a hard sell in this game. 

For starters, the defense has had too much turnover in personnel to have the chemistry needed to stutter the LSU attack in Week 2. Those Tigers took a big leap offensively last year and returned eight starters on the offensive side of the ball this year, meaning compatibility won't be any sort of problem.

The Tigers also don't have many problems with the non-conference scenario under Orgeron, boasting a 10-2 record in that category. Granted, Texas went 5-1 last year against ranked teams during the season, but the tandem of talent turnover and the fact that those weren't SEC teams keeps things in perspective.

Burrow should cruise in this one; at this point, he isn't a stranger to the big stage or capable defenses. Look for LSU to pull away once the coaching adjustments start making their way on to the field.

Prediction: LSU 30, Texas 23