Gators will ruin Aggies' SEC debut

Florida over Texas A&M is No. 1 on this week's list of bold predictions

Updated: September 6, 2012, 11:22 AM ET

By Phil Steele | Special to ESPN Insider

Quarterback Zach Mettenberger and LSU fell short of throwing for 300 yards last week, but other than that my opening weekend predictions held up pretty well. Alabama clearly dominated Michigan at the line of scrimmage with a 232-69 edge in rushing yards in the Crimson Tide's 41-14 win.

We'll try to keep that momentum going this week. Here are my bold predictions for Week 2:

1. Florida will spoil Texas A&M's SEC debut
One of the more intriguing storylines for Week 2 involves the 24th-ranked Florida Gators traveling to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies in A&M's SEC debut. ESPN's "College GameDay" will be there, and despite the fact that Florida has won seven straight road openers against SEC opponents, the Gators are entering the game as a slight underdog, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.

Last week Florida had an underwhelming 27-14 win over Bowling Green, and Gators fans voiced their concern about the offensive woes under first-year offensive coordinator Brent Pease. Head coach Will Muschamp took the blame earlier this week, admitting that he wanted the Gators to establish their running game at all costs -- so I expect a much more open playbook this week.

To read more from Phil Steele on Florida-Texas A&M and read the rest of his bold predictions for Week 2 of the college football season, you must be an ESPN Insider.