Click on any game to get Athlon's preview or head on over to our team pages to find a game preview for the rest of the 119 D-I teams. Also, be sure to check out this week's Goal Line Stand column and Five Burning Questions.

South Carolina (-10) at Vanderbilt (Thursday night)

The bright lights of ESPN Thursday night football return to Vanderbilt Stadium for the first time since 1997. The Commodores, fresh off a surprisingly lopsided 34–13 win at Miami (Ohio), have a bit of a swagger about them. The oddsmakers, however, don’t think too highly of Bobby Johnson’s Commodores, installing Vanderbilt initially as an 8.5-point underdog. The line has moved up to double-digits since — which is a bit puzzling considering South Carolina struggled on offense for a large portion of its season-opening 34–0 win over North Carolina State. To no one’s surprise, Steve Spurrier has made a switch at quarterback, inserting Chris Smelley into the starting lineup. The key to this offense, however, is the line; the Gamecocks need a more consistent effort from this unit to excel in the SEC. Defensively, South Carolina doesn’t have too many issues. And that is where the Gamecocks figure to win this game.

South Carolina 21, Vanderbilt 14

Georgia Tech (+7) at Boston College

The competition wasn’t too stiff (Division I-AA Jacksonville State), but the Georgia Tech offense was sharp in the debut of Paul Johnson’s option attack. Led by quarterback Josh Nesbitt and B-Back Jonathan Dwyer, the Jackets rolled up 484 total yards in a 41–14 win. This week, the Tech attack takes its show on the road against a Boston College defense that pitched a shutout vs. Kent State last week. The Eagles limited Eugene Jarvis, the nation’s top returning rusher, to 51 yards on 11 carries and gave up a total of 260 yards. BC quarterback Chris Crane didn’t put up gaudy numbers (12-of-18 for 106 yards) in his debut, but he didn’t have to do too much. The Eagles jumped out to a 14–0 lead and shifted into cruise control. It won’t be nearly as easy this week, but Coach Jag and Co. have a great opportunity to improve to 2–0.

Boston College 17, Georgia Tech 14

Cincinnati (+22) at Oklahoma

It’s the first test for a pair of teams that dominated Division I-AA opponents in the first week of the season. However, judging from the three-touchdown-plus spread, some people aren’t considering this much of a test for Oklahoma. But Bob Stoops will have his team’s attention this week; he is well aware that Cincinnati is a solid team that is very well coached. The Bearcats won 10 games last season and appear to be one of a few teams that could challenge West Virginia for Big East supremacy. Veteran Dustin Grutza threw for a career-high 296 yards and three touchdowns in the 40–7 win over Eastern Kentucky. He will have to play mistake-free football to give UC a chance to win in Norman. Oklahoma has the look of serious national title contender. The Sooners, who rolled past Chattanooga 57–2 in the opener, are a team without a significant weakness.

Oklahoma 31, Cincinnati 17

Ole Miss (+8) at Wake Forest

This is one of the more intriguing games in what is a less-than-thrilling slate of action. Wake Forest was quite impressive in a 41–13 win at Baylor, while Ole Miss opened the Houston Nutt era with a 41–24 win at home over Memphis. The Rebel offense rolled up over 200 yards both passing and rushing, but the defense struggled, yielding 453 yards to a Memphis attack with a first-time starter at quarterback. Ole Miss is expected to get cornerback Cassius Vaughn and defensive tackle Peria Jerry back, but All-SEC defensive end Greg Hardy appears to be a few weeks away. Two years ago, Wake pounded Ole Miss 27–3 in Oxford in a game that let the college football world know that the Deacs were for real. This Ole Miss team is more talented than Ed Orgeron’s ’06 club, but winning in Winston-Salem is a tall order. The Rebs should be able to move the ball, but Wake Forest — as usual — will find a way to win.

Wake Forest 28, Ole Miss 21

West Virginia (-8.5) at East Carolina

It didn’t take a Week 1 upset over Virginia Tech for us to realize that East Carolina was going to be one of the top non-BCS conference teams in 2008. Skip Holtz returned 16 starters from an eight-win team that capped its season with a 41–38 win over Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl. After the emotional neutral site victory over the Hokies, ECU now returns home to face the powerful Mountaineers, who knocked off Villanova 48–21 in the opener. The highlights showed Pat White tossing the ball all over the field, with five touchdown passes among his career-high 25 completions. What they didn’t show, however, was a shaky Mountaineer defense that gave up 399 yards of total offense to a Villanova team that averaged 326 yards a year ago. With only four starters back, the WVU defense was a concern heading into the season. It’s still a concern.

West Virginia 34, East Carolina 27

Cal (-13) at Washington State

Cal recorded one of the best wins of the opening weekend, outlasting a solid Michigan State team 38–31 in Berkeley. Kevin Riley was sharp at quarterback, completing 17-of-24 passes for 202 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and the running game was strong, with Jahvid Best picking up 111 yards on 24 carries and Shane Vereen adding 101 on nine attempts. Equally impressive was the job the Golden Bear defense did on MSU tailback Javon Ringer, who managed only 81 yards on 27 carries for a rather ordinary 3.0-yard average. Washington State, on the other hand, was not so impressive; Paul Wulff’s spread offense produced only 196 yards against an Oklahoma State club not known for its defensive prowess. A 39–13 loss to O-State was a tough way for Wulff to start his head coaching stint at his alma mater. It doesn’t get any easier with Cal coming to town this weekend.

Cal 41, Washington State 21

Miami (+21.5) at Florida

It’s a sign of the times in the Sunshine State: The Mighty Gators are more than a three-touchdown favorite against the rebuilding Hurricanes. Last week, Tim Tebow barely broke a sweat (14 pass attempts, nine carries) in a 56–10 win over Hawaii. With Percy Harvin out of the lineup, Urban Meyer had the opportunity to show off some of his other toys: 11 different players were credited with a rushing attempt and eight Gators caught at least one pass. Miami was dominant in its opener, too, but we didn’t learn too much about the Canes in the 52–7 win over Charleston Southern. Jacory Harris completed 16-of-26 passes for 190 yards and ran the ball three times for 30 yards, but redshirt freshman Robert Marve will be getting the start under center after serving a one-game suspension. Harris still figures to play, but Marve will have the opportunity to prove himself on the largest of stages. The Gators simply have too much proven talent for the young Canes.

Florida 31, Miami 17

Northwestern (-6) at Duke

Revenge will be on the minds of the Wildcats, who were forced to watch Duke celebrate the end of a 22-game losing streak with a 20–14 win in Evanston last September. The Devils opened the David Cutcliffe era with a solid 31–7 win over Division I-AA power James Madison last week. Thaddeus Lewis was sharp at quarterback, completing 17-of-28 passes for 141 yards with two TDs and no picks. Northwestern, as expected, had little trouble with visiting Syracuse, topping the Orange 30–10 behind strong performances from quarterback C.J. Bachér and tailback Tyrell Sutton. Syracuse might have the worst offense among BCS conference teams, but it was a good sign that Northwestern limited the Orange to 225 total yards. If the Cats can show a bit of improvement on defense (77th in the nation last year), the offense should be good enough to put this team in position to win seven or eight games. Duke is improved, but Northwestern is better.

Northwestern 30, Duke 17

Minnesota (+5.5) at Bowling Green

Bowling Green pulled off one of the big upsets in Week 1, topping a talented Pittsburgh club 27–17 at Heinz Field. The Falcons didn’t roll up a ton of yards (254), but they avoided the big mistakes (one turnover) and played well defensively in the second half. Minnesota barely survived its opener, rallying to beat Northern Illinois (2–10 last year) 31–27 in the Metrodome. The Gophers’ last three games against MAC schools (all at home) have followed a similar script: A 32–31 loss in overtime to Bowling Green in Week 1 last season, a 41–35 win over Miami in overtime in Week 2 last season, and last week’s thriller against NIU. This time, Minnesota takes its show on the road, where the Gophers have not won since November 2006. It might be a stretch to claim that Bowling Green is more talented than Minnesota, but the Falcons have a better team at this stage of the season.

Bowling Green 37, Minnesota 30

Stanford (+14) at Arizona State

The best part about Stanford’s 36–28 win over Oregon State (other than the win, of course) was the Cardinal’s ability to run the ball. Last year, this team ranked 102nd in the nation in rushing, averaging 111.2 yards per game. In league play, that number dipped to 79.2 yards per game. But against Oregon State, the Cardinal rolled up 210 yards on ground on the strength of Toby Gerhart’s career-high 147 yards. The red (or cardinal) flag from the win was the defense; Oregon State totaled 490 yards of offense, including 404 through the air. That pass defense could be a major problem this week in Tempe against an ASU team that figures to boast one of the league’s top passing attacks. Last September, Arizona State pounded Stanford 41–3 in Palo Alto. It should be closer this time around.

Arizona State 37, Stanford 21

Last week: 6–4 straight up (3–7 against the spread)

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds