Week 2 College Football preview
After an exhilarating week 1 we're right back at it with some great games on the docket
The return of College Football
Week 1 was, for all intents and purposes, amazing despite Notre Dame giving me what seemed like a dozen different heart attacks among other things. But with the first week in the books we move on to what typically is one of the more sedated and boring weeks of the college football season but that isn’t particularly the case this season. There are a lot of intriguing matchups on the schedule for this week and a couple of really huge games.
Top 25 Matchups
The first of those huge games takes place when #12 Oregon hits the road to Columbus to face the #3 Ohio State Buckeyes on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff. Both the Buckeyes and Ducks had their hands full in their opening week matchups so both will be looking for a statement win this Saturday. Oregon may be without the services of elite Defensive End Kayvon Thibodeaux who is currently listed as day to day with an ankle injury. His absence would be a huge loss for a Ducks defense that looks to rattle young Ohio State QB CJ Stroud before he can get the ball to Ohio State’s elite playmakers out wide. Chris Olave (4 Catches, 117 Yards, and 2 TDs vs Minnesota) and Garrett Wilson (5 Catches, 80 yards, 1 TD) will be the main targets for Stroud. If Oregon can disrupt the Buckeye aerial attack they have to try and slow down a OSU rushing attack that accumulated 201 Yards on 7.7 YPC last week! If the Ducks want to try and spring the upset in Ohio they will have to hope their ground game finds the same success that Minnesota’s did (before the awful injury to Mohamed Ibrahim) and that Thibodeaux is healthy enough to wreck havoc.
Our second and final Top 25 matchup this weekend is another chapter in one of my favorite rivalries in sports as #10 Iowa travels to Ames to face #9 Iowa State at 4:30 Eastern Time on ABC with College Gameday live from location as well. Iowa has dominated the rivalry overall but the game itself has produced some of the funniest and entertaining football you could ever want in recent years which has coincided with Matt Campbell building the Cyclones into a formidable program. The 2021 edition of Iowa State is likely the most hyped version of the ISU football program ever. With a Top 10 preseason ranking and potential Heisman Trophy candidate Breece Hall at RB sharing the backfield with the great Brock Purdy at QB hopes could not be much higher in Ames. Despite getting off to a rocky start with the Cyclones escaping from a pesky Northern Iowa team 16-10 in Week 1 the hype is still there as they welcome their arch rival Hawkeyes to town. Iowa had a much different opening experience as they demolished then #17 Indiana 34-6 in the friendly confines of Kinnick. The Hawkeye defense was especially impressive notching 2 Pick Sixes against the preseason B1G First Team QB Michael Penix Jr. Can the upstart little brother prove that their first week struggles were a fluke? It’ll likely depend on Breece Hall being able to find running room against a stingy Iowa Run D which held the aforementioned Hoosiers to 77 Yards on 2.5 YPC last week.
More Interesting Matchups
Every week there are a few games that aren’t Top 25 vs Top 25 that are still great! Here’s a few to keep an eye out for this week:
#5 Texas A&M @ Colorado (in Denver) 3:30pm FOX: The Aggies have a lot of hype behind them (stop the presses I know) but struggled a little bit with Kent State before pulling away in the second half. They travel to the home of the Denver Broncos at Mile High to face off against an old foe in the Colorado Buffaloes who quietly had one of the more surprising success stories of 2020.
NCSU @ Mississippi State 7pm ESPN2: The Bulldogs snatched victory from the jaws of defeat last week vs Louisiana Tech and have to face the Wolfpack who blanked USF 45-0 last Thursday and are looking like they could be one of the better teams in the ACC.
#15 Texas @ Arkansas 7pm ESPN: Two Southwestern conference rivals square off in what should be a great environment. Sam Pittman is looking for his first big win of his Arkansas career and doing it against an old hated rival would make the Razorback nation sing his praises for quite awhile. Steve Sarkesian led Texas looked very impressive last week dispatching a good Louisiana Lafayette team with ease 38-18.
Washington @ Michigan 8pm ABC: Jim Harbaugh is looking for a big win and while this wouldn’t fully satisfy the maize and blue faithful it could be enough to hold them over for a bit. Washington is looking to bounce back after an embarrassing opening upset against Montana and what better place to get back on track than primetime?
#21 Utah @ BYU 10:15pm ESPN: The Holy War really needs no introduction. These teams hate each other a LOT and expect another heated battle in Provo Saturday night.
Stanford @ #14 Southern Cal 10:30pm FOX: Pac-12 after dark makes its debut as another chapter in the Stanford USC series, that has been one of the Pac-12’s best lately, will be written in the Coliseum. Stanford got blasted by Kansas State in Jerryworld and would love nothing more than to knock off the Trojans to get back on track. Southern Cal meanwhile was in a dogfight with San Jose State before pulling away late for a 30-7 win.
Upset Alert?
With Week 2 comes a lot of showdowns between P5 teams and G5 teams meant for an easy win for one and a paycheck for the other. But sometimes…
North Carolina A&T @ Duke 8pm ACCN (Friday): One of the best programs at the FCS level as of late takes on a Duke program that seems to be in a bit of a downward spiral after a rough 2020 and a Week 1 loss vs Charlotte.
Ball State @ #11 Penn State 3:30pm FS1: The Nittany Lions are riding high after defeating Wisconsin on the road last week but the reigning MAC Champs (who return virtually everyone from a team that finished ranked last year btw) are no pushover and with a Week 3 matchup with Auburn looming PSU could be caught overlooking this squad.
App State @ #22 Miami 7pm ESPNU: The Hurricanes limp back to their home turf after taking a beating from the Crimson Tide last week and have to face one of the best G5 programs in the entire country. Canes fans should rest easy though it’s not like the ‘Neers have a history of pulling upsets or anything like that.
EKU @ Louisville 7pm ACCNX: I know very little about EKU (except shoutout Austin Scott) but I do know Louisville was absolutely putrid last week and it wouldn’t shock me if they somehow lost this. I wish I was joking.
It should be another great weekend of College Football and I cannot wait!