College Football: 25 Hunches for Week 2

On to week two of college football.

Week one provided us with plenty of fireworks and some upsets, and week two promises to be even better.

This is a list of "hunches" regarding next weeks games.

They are not all stone-cold lock predictions, but they are definitely things that I am leaning strongly towards seeing happen next week.

It's kind of a feeling in the pit of my stomach, just knowing what might happen.

Or that might be the Labor Day food still settling.

Either way, here you go...

25. Ronnie Hillman Solidifies His Case for the Heisman

Ronnie Hillman is the explosive running back of the San Diego State Aztecs.

You've never heard of him?

It's a shame, but you are not the only one.

Hillman toils in relative obscurity due to the Aztec's conference affiliation, but the guy can flat out play ball.

Last season, he finished with over 1500 yards and 17 touchdowns, and started off the 2011 campaign with 189 yards and two scores against Cal Poly.

With a few breaks going his way, Hillman might be the Heisman candidate we hype this season out of the MWC instead of Kellen Moore.

24. East Carolina Will Put an Early Scare into Another Ranked Foe

Dominique Davis and company had South Carolina against the ropes in the first half of their game Saturday, but managed to come out on the short end of 56-37 score.

This week, the Pirates get to host yet another ranked foe in Virginia Tech.

Davis is extremely talented, but the team as a whole just doesn't have the athletes to pull off the upset.

That being said, the Pirates are at home, and will lead Tech for at least part of the game before Logan Thomas and David Wilson kick it into high gear.

By the way, SC and Va. Tech should both get some kudos for travelling to a dangerous non-aq's home field early in the season.

23. The Big East Prepares to Get Knocked from Rankings

West Virginia is the Big East's lone representative in the top 25 poll, and even they are only ranked in the AP poll, and not the Coaches'.

Next week, they face lowly Norfolk State.

Then it's time to batten the hatches and tie everything down.

The Mountaineers must travel to face a very good Maryland squad, and then host LSU the following week.

WVU fans should burn all the couches they can this week in celebration, because they won't be winning again until October.

22. TCU Will Be 0-2 After Week Two

Before last week's loss to Baylor, the Horned Frogs owned the nation's longest winning streak, and were coming off of 2010's undefeated campaign.

By next Sunday, they will be staring straight in the face of an 0-2 record.

The Horned Frogs must now travel to Air Force, to take on a squad that put up 391 yards rushing last week.

AF quarterback Tim Jefferson has the ability to make plays through the air, as well as on the ground.

Starting the season on the road is a tough proposition, but playing back-to-back roadies against very good squads is a BCS deathwish.

21. Once Again, Iowa State vs Iowa Will Be Won by the Hawkeyes

The last two meetings between these in-state rivals have been blowouts in favor of the Hawkeyes.

This week will be more of the same.

Iowa is going to take the Cyclones to the woodshed, and continue meandering through their schedule.

The Hawkeyes are not getting much attention, but might sneak into the top 25 with a big win this weekend.

On the flip side, the Ames Auxiliary Quilting Club is holding a quilting bee, and there may be more suspense involved in that event than in this game.

20. Georgia Is Done

The Dawgs laid an egg against Boise State in Atlanta.

This week, things don't get any easier.

They have to face an offense that put up 56 points last week, and Georgia's offense was not exactly effective against the Broncos.

The Dawgs had aspirations to a BCS bowl and a potential shot at the SEC title, but following an embarrassment by rival South Carolina over the weekend, those aspirations will go up in smoke.

Boise State, a much smaller team, punished Georgia, and South Carolina's defensive line is likely to have a field day.

Aaron Murray better bring an extra jersey, his is going to get awfully dirty.

19. Arizona's Offense Will Challenge Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State has not exactly been known for their stellar defenses.

This season seems to be no exception.

The Cowboys did not look particularly impressive against Louisiana-Lafayette, and Arizona has some explosive playmakers on offense that could cause the 'Pokes fits.

Wildcats' quarterback Nick Foles put up over 400 yards passing and five touchdowns, and no interceptions.

While Oklahoma State has home-field advantage, and should win the game, Foles and company will give them a scare, especially if Brandon Weeden throws three more picks.

18. Oregon Will Bounce Back

This might seem obvious, given the level of competition the Ducks will be facing, but they will bounce back in a big way from that brutal loss to LSU.

The Ducks got bushwhacked by the Tigers in the biggest game of the week, and have likely been eliminated from BCS title contention.

But their upcoming opponent, Nevada, is just what the doctor ordered.

While not the easiest of cupcakes, the Wolf Pack is a far cry from the talented LSU squad that ran the Ducks off the field.

Expect a big day from Darron Thomas and the Ducks' defense.

17. Case Keenum Will Continue to Impress

Houston's quarterback is one of the better signal callers in the country.

In their victory last week against UCLA, Case Keenum threw for over 300 yards, two touchdowns, and completed 30 of his 40 attempts.

Next week, Keenum and the Cougars face a less than daunting foe in the North Texas Mean Green.

Expect Keenum to put up north of 300 yards passing again, and have multiple scores.

Forget the usual "BCS busters" this season, start watching Keenum and Houston.

16. The Big 12 Will Have a Rough Week

The Big 12 was a perfect 10-0 in week one.

That will end this week.

Iowa State has to face Iowa, Kansas takes on a scary NIU squad and Missouri has to travel to Arizona State.

Besides all that, Oklahoma State hosts Arizona.

While there are definitely some talented squads in the conference, they won't be perfect again next week with that slate of games.

15. Shake-Up at the Bottom of the Polls

After some poor performances in week one, and with a little more impetus in week two, bottom half of the polls is going to look significantly different next week than it did this week.

Teams like Michigan, Arizona State, Utah, Penn State and Iowa are waiting in the wings, while teams like Notre Dame, TCU and Missouri will see their stock plummet.

Preseason polls are nearly worthless, but two weeks into the season, we will start to get some clarity and a better picture of which squads actually belong.

14. North Carolina Stays Under the Radar

Talk about being completely off of everyone's radar.

The Tar Heels suffered a very tumultuos off-season, culminating in the termination of head coach Butch Davis just days before the beginning of fall practice.

That is a mistake.

New quarterback Brynn Renner may be more talented than the departed T.J. Yates, and the defense is still very, very stout.

Couple all this with the fact that they have a very manageable non-conference schedule to start the season, and they are going to be flying under the radar right into conference play.

Keep an eye on these guys.

13. Robert Griffin III Scores Five More

Robert Griffin III threw five touchdown passes last week against TCU, a team known for their defense.

Next week, the Bears host FCS Stephen F. Austin.

What a joke.

If you thought Griffin looked good last week, he will look like the second coming of Joe Montana in this one.

The question remains, however, will he go the way of Taylor Martinez and Denard Robinson last season once conference play starts and turn out to be human again?

12. Bo Pelini Stays Calm for Another Week

Bo Pelini is not known for being soft spoken and even tempered.

At least, not to the average college football fan.

Last season, he infamously lost his cool and blew up at quarterback Taylor Maritnez, and he seems to be in an almost constant state of agitation on the sideline.

Next week, the Huskers host Pat Hill and his Fresno State Bulldogs.

Martinez should be able to avoid any bodily harm from Pelini following this one, and Nebraska will put up big numbers on a rebuilding Fresno State squad.

11. Auburn Gets Toasted

In spite of eventually earning the win last week, Auburn was embarrassed at home.

They pulled out a 42-38 victory over lowly Utah State by virtue of a series of minor miracles as time ran out in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn fans were ripped from the very depths of their despair into the euphoric thrill of victory, only to realize it came at the last second against last season's seventh place WAC team.

Next week, the Tigers will suffer their first loss since 2009 against the potent offensive attack of Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs boast a talented passing threat in Chris Relf, as well as one of the most explosive running backs in the country in Vick Ballard.

We all gave Auburn the benefit of the doubt in this season's rankings due to their BCS Championship in 2010, but they are about to be seriously exposed as a pretender by Dan Mullen's squad.

10. Andrew Luck Will Score More Than Duke

Duke and Stanford have this ongoing series, it seems they decided to hold a meeting of the minds on a yearly basis or something.

However, only one of those teams belongs on the football field.

Saturday, when Andrew Luck and the Cardinal face Duke, Luck by himself will put up more points than the entire Blue Devil team.

Let's go with at least four touchdown passes...

9. BYU Will Knock off Texas

Texas did nothing against Rice to turn us all into believers at this point, and face a talented BYU team this weekend.

The 'Horns have got to get back to their traditional winning ways at some point, given all the talent Mack Brown has amassed through solid recruiting, but it won't be against BYU.

This team is seriously underrated, and while it took some time to get rolling against Ole Miss, they pulled out the victory.

The Cougars have a pretty solid passing game, so don't get lulled by their poor performance in last week's contest.

If Texas overlooks them, they will regret it.

8. Utah Will Get a Warm Reception to Pac-12 Play

The Trojans set all kinds of offensive records last week.

Matt Barkley and Robert Woods are ridiculously potent, and the Trojans are hosting Utah in their first PAC-12 game.

It might get ugly.

The Utes beat Montana State by only 17 in their opener, and did not particularly impress.

A trip to the Coliseum will be a tough way to start PAC-12 play.

7. Oregon State Will Hang with Wisconsin

The Badgers got off to a great start in Madison against UNLV.

New Badger Russell Wilson was electric, demonstrating speed not seen out of a Wisconsin quarterback ever in their history.

Enter Oregon State.

The Badgers' next non-conference opponent took much of the luster off of the match-up by losing to Sacramento State last week.

While it would seem the Badgers should have no trouble with the Beavers, the stats tell a different story.

The Badgers allowed UNLV's run game to march down the field at times, and Oregon State running back Malcom Agnew had a field day last week, amassing 233 yards and three touchdowns.

The Badgers might be three touchdown favorites, but this game will be closer than you might expect it to be.

6. Kellen Moore Throws Four Touchdown Passes

Boise State has now beaten the one halfway decent team on their schedule, and quarterback Kellen Moore is now free to wreak havoc at will on opposing hapless defenses in hopes of winning the Heisman.

Up next, Toledo.

Moore will throw at least four touchdown passes against a weak Rocket's defense.

5. Northwestern State Gets Shut out

LSU turned up the heat against Oregon, and obviously left it all on the field in a 40-27 whooping of the Ducks.

Next week, they set their sights in FCS Northwestern State.

If anybody is expecting a lack of focus, you can forget about it.

These Tigers have the talent to go to the BCS title game.

Northestern State will be lucky if they get a first down.

4. Missouri Will Not Score Double Digits

Missouri seemed to have the answer at quarterback in James Franklin, but his underwhelming performance against Miami(OH) left some lingering doubts.

Franklin led the Tigers to only 15 first downs, 17 points, and threw for a measly 129 yards.

The good news is that they managed a win.

The bad news is that they must face one of the most brutal defenses in the country on the road next week, and judging from their recent performance, they are ill-prepared to deal with Vontaze Burfict and friends.

The Tigers will struggle to score a touchdown in this game, and Gary Pinkel is going to start hearing calls for his back-up quarterback to take over for Franklin.

3. Chip Kelly Persists in Using His Gimmick Offense

Chip Kelly is somewhat dense.

The Ducks have been ripping through their inferior opponents, scoring points seemingly at will for the past several seasons.

However, it is becoming more and more apparent that the "Quack Attack" loses quite a bit of it's bite when faced with an actual decent defense.

Ohio State, Boise State, Auburn and LSU have all demonstrated that this offense is a gimmick, and will not work on the big time stage against a good defense.

However, Kelly will persist in this foolishness, and while it is entertaining for a while, the next time the Ducks face a big time test, bet on them to fail.

2. The Irish Will Struggle Under the "Big House" Lights

To Notre Dame fans, the annual deflation of the hype balloon must be a tradition on the same level as "Touchdown Jesus".

This season, they started a little early.

The first game of the season, to be exact.

And it's going to get worse.

Michigan Stadium is not a friendly place to try and cure your football woes, particularly with a resurgent Wolverine defense looking to make a statement.

If you thought USF looked athletic against the Irish, wait until Saturday.

1. JoePa Does It Again

Penn State is not Kent State.

Nor is Beaver Stadium the friendly confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The Tide had little trouble in dispatching the hapless Kent State Golden Flashes last week, but will find Joe Paterno and company a whole different animal in Happy Valley.

Kent State was good enough to force Alabama to commit five turnovers, and Nick Saban's crew might find the Lions' defense a little stouter than that.

JoePa has been at this for a long time, and has proven repeatedly that he can win the big game.

In a low-scoring battle, the Lions will knock off the number two team in the country.