Take Ohio State to beat Texas in Week 2 of the college football season.

Week 1 of the college football season is in the books so it's time to look forward to the Week 2 slate.

There are a few marquee matchups this weekend, including No. 1 Ohio State taking on No. 4 Texas, but there are also plenty of lopsided affairs this week as has become the case during out of conference play.

With that being said, it's time to take a look at my pick to win each game involving a top 25 team. We don't care about point spreads in this article, we only care about winners.

Missouri is in a league above the Jayhawks this season. The Tigers had an adjusted EPA per play of +0.27 last season, the 18th-best mark in the country. I don't expect them to drop off much in 2026, while Kansas may improve on last year's numbers, but they have yet to catch up to their rival.

If there was one downside of the Tigers' offense this season, it was the play of their quarterback, Austin Simmons, but after his Week 1 performance, where he gained 252 yards through the air along with four touchdowns, I have plenty of confidence in him for this Week 2 game.

You're a brave soul if you're considering betting on Michigan as only slight underdogs to Oklahoma after needing a second added on the clock to complete a game-winning Hail Mary against Western Michigan. Unless that was their worst possible performance and they look like a completely different team on Saturday, the Sooners are going to cruise past them.

I think Arizona is one of the more underrated teams in the country right now. People forget they had a top 20 defense in college football last season, ranking 16th in defensive success rate. They ranked far better than BYU defensively, and their offensive numbers weren't too far off. If their defense brings their best on Saturday, they could give the Cougars some fits.

Iowa State defeated an FCS team, Southeast Missouri, but a score of just 38-10 in Week 1. That's concerning as they move on to face power conference competition. This is going to be a rebuild year for the Cyclones, so I expect them to get steamrolled by a Hawkeyes team that is coming off a 40-0 win against Northern Illinois

I'm not ready to crown the Longhorns as the better team, and I'm also not willing to bet on Arch Manning far surpassing his 2025 performance against this Buckeyes team.

Ohio State finished as the far better team last season, even after their Week 1 meeting. They finished the year first in offensive success rate and eighth in defensive success rate. Texas finished the year 80th and 30th in those two metrics.

Have they improved enough in the offseason to justify being favored this weekend? I don't think so. I'll back Ohio State to win again.

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