College Football Challenge-Week 2 picks

Sep 1, 2012; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Taylor Martinez (3) tries to throw a pass while in the grasp of Southern Miss Golden Eagles defender KhalidWilson (95) in the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-US PRESSWIRE

The College Football season got underway last week with the usual number of blowouts and statements (thanks ‘Bama), but there were also a few great games. The Monday night finale between Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech was solid, and the Syracuse-Northwestern game was highly entertaining.

In College Football Challenge, our 19 player league is off to a good start, and you can still join us if you’re interested. Cteaser2000 sprinted out to the learly lead and into the top 1.1% of players in the game with an impressive 192 point week led by the Matt Barkley-Marqise Lee connection and a heavy dose of Geno Smith. I went with the wrong Trojans receiver, Robert Woods, but had a solid week with 170 points which puts me second headed into week two.

Week 2 has some solid matchups throughout the weekend, and I’ll break them down tomorrow in our College Picks post. Today it’s all about the mismatches as I hunt for players about to go off and have huge games. Here’s my picks for Week 2 with a brief summary as to why these players are on my roster.

Quarterback

Matt Barkley-USC Trojans: Barkley and the Trojans face the Syracuse Orange on a neutral field in East Rutherford, NJ on Saturday afternoon after losing their #1 ranking to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Barkley should continue his Heisman candidacy with another big game against an Orange D that allowed Northwestern to get 21 first downs and score 42 points week one. Barkley put up 30 challenge points in his opener putting him in the top 10 QBs from week one.

Taylor Martinez-Nebraska Cornhuskers: Martinez brings his dual-threat skills to the West Coast as the ‘Huskers visit UCLA on Saturday. He threw for an impressive 354 yards and five touchdowns in week one. Martinez’s biggest value as a QB though comes from his ability to rush for TDs since you get six points for rushing and four for passing. Martinez is always a good option in College Football Challenge and this week is no exception. UCLA did just give up 24 points to Rice remember.

Running Back

August 31, 2012; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Stepfan Taylor (33) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the San Jose State Spartans at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Stepfan Taylor-Stanford Cardinal: Taylor only put up 17 points week on carrying  26 times for 116 yards and a touchdown. He could be in for much bigger things this weekend as Duke travels to Stanford. Last week, Duke let FIU hang 46 points on them while surrendering 165 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Look for Taylor to break out if he gets the same workload and give you 25+ points this weekend.

Le’Veon Bell-Michigan State Spartans: Bell tore up Boise State in a nationally televised game rushing for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns while carrying the ball an incredilble 44 times. He touched the ball on 50 of the 90 plays the Spartns ran and finished with 38 challenge points. This week he and Michigan stat will travel to Central Michigan who won last week against SE Missouri. They let the Redhawks rus for 188 yards and Bell should be in for another big game this weekend as a result. He’ll be a super-popular pick but one you can’t afford to leave off your team.

Sep 1, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans receiver Robert Woods (2) is defended by Hawaii Warriors cornerback Mike Edwards (1) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Wide Receiver

Robert Woods-USC Trojans: Woods took a backseat to Marqise Lee last week, but I don’t think that will be the pattern all year. He still had 16 points and should be in store for another big week in a nice matchup at Syracuse.

Jared Abbrederis-Wisconsin Badgers: Abbrederis is the top receiver on the Badgers and he caught all six passes thrown his way in week one. He finished with 84 yards and two TDs. This week Wisconsin heads west to face Oregon State who will be playing their first game of the season. Last year the Beavers went 3-9 and should be an opponent that Wiscy can pile up points against both on the ground and threw the air.

Defense

Florida State-The Seminoles D put up 27 fantasy points against Murray State in the opener and now face Savannah State who was shut out by Oklahamo State last week. The ‘Noles will miss Brandon Jenkins, their top DE, this season after he went down with a foot injury. Even without Jenkins though, Florida State should be able to hold down the visting Tigers and put up some serious points for the second week in a row.

Kicker

LSU-The Tigers kickers had 11 last week against North Texas and should reach double-digits again as LSU hosts Washington in what could quickly be a high-scoring game.