College GameDay podcast makes Week 2 picks for notable games

Week 2 of the college football season is here with another set of exciting games slated to be played this weekend. The ESPN College GameDay podcast recently made its picks for all of the biggest games in Week 2.

The normal host in Rece Davis was unavailable for the podcast and was replaced Harry Lyles. He was joined by the two regular contributors in Pete Thamel and Stanford Steve.

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Here are picks against the spread from all three for the biggest games of this college football weekend:

Texas (-7.5) at Michigan

Stanford Steve: Michigan +7.5
Pete Thamel: Texas -7.5
Harry Lyles: Texas -7.5

Stanford Steve is going out on a limb here and picking Michigan to cover, despite the Wolverines struggling at times in their opener against Fresno State: “It’s not great when I watch it back on tape with what Michigan put out there against Fresno. … But I believe they rally the troops. I believe they rely on that defense. No one in the world’s going to take Michigan, so I am. And I’ll take those 7 points with the home team.”

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Pete Thamel added that he expects a low-scoring game, but he believes Texas will cover: “I think Texas goes in. I think they have a strong o-line to counter what the strength of Michigan is, which is those two defensive tackles – the best pairing in the country. And I think Texas finds a way with its skill to score.”

Iowa State at Iowa (-3)

Stanford Steve: Iowa -3
Pete Thamel: Iowa -3
Harry Lyles: Iowa -3

The selections were unanimous on the rivalry matchup between Iowa and Iowa State. Stanford Steve, Pete Thamel and Harry Lyles each pointed to the Iowa defense as the reason they like the Hawkeyes to cover. “Look, I believe in Iowa. I believe in what Tim Lester has done there,” Thamel said. “And I think Cade McNamara is sort of the perfect guy to manage a game like this. I’m pretty convicted in my Iowa pick here.” Iowa has won seven of the past eight meetings in the rivalry matchup.

Colorado at Nebraska (-7.5)

Stanford Steve: Colorado +7.5
Pete Thamel: Nebraska -7.5
Harry Lyles: Nebraska -7.5

The line was at Nebraska -7.5 when the picks were made, but as of Friday morning it is at Nebraska -6.5. This is one of the most highly-anticipated games of Week 2 of the college football season as expectations are high in both Lincoln and Boulder for the 2024 season.

Stanford Steve is taking the underdog Colorado to cover the points: “I do believe in that offense. I love the way they stretch the field. They stretch it sideline to sideline and they stretch you from end zone to end zone, We’re going to really find out how improved Colorado is, in this environment, knowing that what you have on defense travels. It always shows up in road games. I don’t love it, but I’m going to take Colorado plus the 7.5.”

As for Pete Thamel, he is taking Nebraska and made it clear that he feels great about his pick: “I am convicted about Nebraska in this game. If there’s one game I feel great about this week, I feel like this is Nebraska. I feel like this is a classic battle of continuity and cohesiveness, old-school college with the way Matt Rhule built Baylor, the way he built Temple, versus the new era of college where you’ve got essentially a whole new offensive line. And then you kind of have a whole new defense. … You need players to play together to be good. Especially on the offensive line. … I think we’re looking at like a 42-20 kind of game here.”

Tennessee (-7.5) at NC State

Stanford Steve: NC State +7.5
Pete Thamel: NC State +7.5
Harry Lyles: NC State +7.5

This line has also changed a couple of points since the College GameDay podcast for Week 2 was filmed. Tennessee is now favored by 9.5 points against the Wolfpack. Even before the line moved, all three pickers were taking NC State +7.5 against Tennessee. Pete Thamel expects NC State to not only cover but also believes the Wolfpack can win the game outright.

“I really think this is all set up, classically set up, for NC State to vulture a home win here,” Thamel said. “And the player of the game will be Kevin Concepcion, the outstanding sophomore receiver from NC State, one of the best young receivers in the country. Tennessee’s glaring weakness is in the secondary. Give me the Pack.”

Boise State at Oregon (-21.5)

Stanford Steve: Boise State +21.5
Pete Thamel: Oregon -21.5
Harry Lyles: Oregon -21.5

This line has moved down to 18.5 since picks were made. Oregon wasn’t exactly impressive in its opener against Idaho as the Ducks only won 24-14. Despite that, two of the three predictions have Oregon covering the big number. Stanford Steve didn’t like what he saw from Oregon in Week 1, which is why he’s going with Boise State to cover: “I’m going to take the points. I’ll take them here until I see it. I’ve gotta see Oregon with some consistency up front on both sides of the offensive line and defensive line. But I’ll take all those points with Boise.”

As for Thamel, he questions if Boise State will have any luck slowing down Oregon’s potent offense: “If you have trouble stopping Georgia Southern in Statesboro, you’re probably going to have some trouble stopping the Ducks in Autzen.”

Arkansas at Oklahoma State (-7.5)

Stanford Steve: Arkansas +7.5
Harry Lyles: Oklahoma State -7.5
Pete Thamel: Oklahoma State -7.5

The final Week 2 game the College GameDay podcast picked was Arkansas and Oklahoma State. This line is now up to Oklahoma State -9.5 as of Friday. Like Stanford Steve did with his other picks, he once again took the underdog: “I’m staying with the dogs. Give me Arkansas here. They might have had the easiest game I’ve seen all week last week. Just a total mismatch. But I like what [Bobby] Petrino did with the run game. … I think this is a good barometer to see where Arkansas is. I think they keep it within the number.”

As for Thamel, he went the other direction and is taking Oklahoma State to win and cover: “I was tempted on Arkansas here… but I think I’m going to take the Cowboys here. I was impressed that they laid the hammer to South Dakota State and never let them breathe.”

The Week 2 picks are in. It will be interesting to see if Stanford Steve, Pete Thamel or Harry Lyles have a better week picking games.