# GameDay's Week 2 picks, from Texas to Cy-Hawk

> Saban, Herbie, McAfee and Des lock in their Week 2 calls, and Ohio State at Texas is the one everyone agrees on.
- Title: GameDay's Week 2 picks, from Texas to Cy-Hawk · CFB-HQ On SI
- Summary: Saban, Herbie, McAfee and Des lock in their Week 2 calls, and Ohio State at Texas is the one everyone agrees on. The GameDay desk is unanimous on Texas…
- Keywords: college football, college gameday, week 2, picks, college football playoff, sports, GameDay's, Week, Texas, Cy-Hawk, CFB-HQ On SI
- Source: CFB-HQ On SI — https://si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/picks/college-gameday-projections-picks-week-2-football-games
- Published: 2026-09-12T16:06:46+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: college football, college gameday, week 2, picks, college football playoff, sports
## Week 2 opens for real
Miami won by 70 and Missouri pulled away from Kansas in the Border War. Now the full Saturday slate arrives with playoff seeding already on the line.
## The marquee four
Oklahoma-Michigan, Arizona-BYU, Alabama-Kentucky, and above all Ohio State-Texas. Each one will shape how the committee slots teams later.

> Ohio State-Texas highlights an active second slate of games
## Glen Powell takes the desk
Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit are joined by actor Glen Powell as guest picker.
## Powell can't pick against Texas
Arizona State at Texas A&M: Powell, a Longhorn to the core, refused to take the Aggies. Everyone else picked A&M to pass the non-conference test.
## Tennessee sweeps the desk
A unanimous call for the Vols on the road at Georgia Tech, a Yellow Jackets team that already dropped one to Colorado.
## Cy-Hawk goes to Iowa
Expect another grinding, low-scoring trophy game. The desk likes the Hawkeyes over a Cyclones team without Matt Campbell.
## McAfee alone on Memphis
Two Group of Six playoff hopefuls meet in Boise, and McAfee is the only picker taking Memphis to win on the road.
## SEC vs Big Ten, overlooked
Mississippi State at Minnesota split the room. Saban and Powell like the Bulldogs' skill talent, the rest take the Gophers.
## Herbie backs the upset
Alabama at Kentucky is an SEC opener with buzz after Will Stein's solid debut. The desk stays with the Tide, except Herbstreit, who takes Kentucky.
## Des rides with the road teams
He took Arizona at BYU by himself, and as a Michigan alum he took the Wolverines against Oklahoma. The rest of the desk picked the home Cougars and the visiting Sooners.
## Texas, unanimously
Every picker has the Longhorns beating Ohio State under the lights, avenging last season's loss.

> It's unanimous in favor of the Longhorns to avenge last season's loss to the Buckeyes under the lights.
## Why Oklahoma covers
The Sooners are near six-point favorites, and their front seven should overwhelm a Michigan offense that generated almost nothing against a MAC team last week.
## Alabama wins, but closer
Favored by 10, the Tide have the defensive edge. Stein's retooled offense with quarterback Kenny Minchey should keep Kentucky in it longer than the number suggests.
## Arch Manning is the difference
Ohio State holds edges on paper, but a new-look Buckeye defense has to handle an improved Manning with elite receivers and a real backfield. Texas takes it.

> armed and dangerous with elite receiver skill and a potent backfield behind him
## Key takeaway

The GameDay desk is unanimous on Texas beating Ohio State, and the split picks (Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan) are where the real upset risk lives.