Table of Contents
A handful of Week 1 results laid the foundation for what should be an epic college football season. A few other programs leaned on FCS opponents to hit the turbo button on hype and expectations.
Week 2 offers teams the chance to change or strengthen their storylines against stronger opponents, with intrastate battles, renewed rivalries, surprising special matches, and a top 10 matchup in The Big House.
Honorable Mention: BYU at SMU (Friday), No. 23 Georgia Tech at Syracuse, Baylor at No. 11 Utah, South Carolina at Kentucky, Michigan State at Maryland, No. 19 Kansas at Illinois, Oregon State at San Diego State.
(All point spreads are from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and Saturday unless otherwise noted.)
10. USF (1-0) at No. 4 Alabama (1-0), 7 p.m., ESPN
Before anyone jumps into the comments and complains about the wide point spread, consider that the same matchup last season — when the Tide limped to a 17-3 victory in Tampa and the heavens fell in for Bama fans — was a 34.5-point spread. I’m not suggesting that will happen in Tuscaloosa, but this game can be viewed through the lens of everything that’s changed for the Tide since the last meeting, when quarterback Jalen Milroe was benched and people openly wondered if Nick Saban was washed.
Now Milroe is a Heisman candidate and Saban (definitely NOT washed) is sitting next to Pat McAfee on Saturday mornings. Kudos to USF as well. The program has made great strides under second-year coach Alex Golesh and has its own dynamic quarterback in Byrum Brown. I’ll be watching to see how Milroe and the Kalen DeBoer-led Crimson Tide fare against the Bulls a year later.
Line: Alabama -30.5
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9. UTSA (1-0) at Texas State (1-0), 4 p.m., ESPNU
It’s the I-35 rivalry between two of the top Group of 5 contenders. Both are coming off disappointing Week 1 wins but were picked second in their respective preseason conference polls with a chance to clinch that G5 College Football Playoff spot if the rest of the season goes their way. Texas State, led by coach GJ Kinne and quarterback Jordan McCloud, was my preseason Playoff sleeper pick out of the Sun Belt, but the Bobcats will need a win over Jeff Traylor and the Roadrunners, who have their own AAC ambitions and have won five straight in the rivalry. As if that stakes weren’t enough, Kinne played quarterback for Traylor as a senior in high school — and their bond runs even deeper than that.
Line: Texas State -1.5
8. No. 17 Kansas State (1-0) at Tulane (1-0), noon, ESPN
K-State made light work of an FCS opponent last week, flashing its run-game potential, racking up 283 yards on 9.1 yards per pop. And after a pair of ACC favorites came out of the gate with their faces blown, the path to two Big 12 programs making the 12-team playoff field seems much wider, which definitely favors the Wildcats. But heading on the road to face Tulane is a tougher task after the Green Wave dominated its own FCS opponent with a strong debut from redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah. Reminder: Tulane stunned K-State in Manhattan two years ago, a Wildcat team that went on to win the Big 12.
Line: Kansas State -9.5
7. Appalachian State (1-0) at No. 25 Clemson (0-1), 8 p.m., ACC Network
Are the Tigers on fire? I’m not ready to make that prediction either, but App State has a history of beating the big boys, most recently sixth-ranked Texas A&M visiting in 2022. The Mountaineers were preseason favorites in the Sun Belt and looked solid in their Week 1 win, with QB Joey Aguilar throwing for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Clemson’s poor showing against Georgia — and the ensuing anti-Dabo discourse — makes the Tigers must-watch against any opponent with a pulse. App State certainly qualifies.
Line: Clemson -17.5
The Pokes picked things up against an admirable South Dakota State team — as a top-20 team should — and running back Ollie Gordon II picked up where he left off in 2023 with 126 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Can Oklahoma State show the same promise against an SEC opponent? Any talk of Sam Pittman’s hot seat was put to rest after the 70-0 shutout of Arkansas in Week 1, and Boise State transfer QB Taylen Green looked good in his Razorbacks debut. But this showdown in Stillwater — which reignites a regional rivalry that’s been dormant since 1980 — should give a clearer picture of what to expect from both teams.
Line: Oklahoma State -7.5
5. Colorado (1-0) at Nebraska (1-0), 7:30 p.m., NBC
Another renewed rivalry, this time from the old Big 12 (and Big Eight) days, this time featuring a Big 12 team once again. Travis Hunter caught three touchdowns, Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and Coach Prime made his usual postgame headlines after Colorado beat North Dakota State last week. But perhaps the most anticipated aspect of this matchup is Nebraska’s true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. The five-star recruit fueled the hype by going 19 of 27 for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the Cornhuskers’ 40-7 win over UTEP. Now he’ll face a Buffs defense that gave up 449 yards to NDSU, and he’ll be at the helm of a Nebraska team looking to avenge last year’s 36-14 loss in Boulder.
Line: Nebraska -7.5
4. Boise State (1-0) at No. 7 Oregon (1-0), 10 p.m., Peacock
The jury is still out on the Ducks, who fell from No. 3 to No. 7 in the AP Poll after an uninspiring 24-14 win over FCS Idaho last weekend, a game in which Oregon was a 49.5-point favorite. The Ducks completely dominated the box score, including 380 passing yards from quarterback Dillon Gabriel on 41 of 49 completions. But a missed field goal, fumble and a pair of failed fourth-down attempts kept the game close and gave Oregon some skepticism. Boise State won a 56-45 shootout with Georgia Southern behind 1,112 yards of combined offense, including 267 rushing yards and six touchdowns for Broncos stud running back Ashton Jeanty (who I happened to select in The Athletics(Heisman draft). If the Ducks get their act together, I’d bet on the over (61.5 points) in this game.
Line: Oregon -19.5
3. No. 14 Tennessee (1-0) vs. No. 24 NC State (1-0), 7:30 p.m., ABC
For those tuning in to the Duke’s Mayo Classic, add Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava to the list of highly touted players who delivered in Week 1. The redshirt freshman completed 22 of 28 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout win over Chattanooga, riling up the Knoxville faithful. Tennessee finished with 718 yards of total offense. Coastal Carolina transfer QB Grayson McCall also looked pretty good in his NC State debut, but the Wolfpack struggled against Western Carolina, trailing in the fourth quarter before scoring 21 unanswered. NC State won’t have that same luxury against what has the early makings of another high-octane Tennessee offense.
Line: Tennessee -7.5
2. Iowa State (1-0) at No. 21 Iowa (1-0), 3:30 p.m., CBS
The Cy-Hawk series hasn’t been scoring much lately, and that’s likely to be the case again, despite the Hawkeyes scoring 40 points in the first game under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester. The over/under is 35.5, and the last Cy-Hawk game to top 45 combined points was Iowa’s 44-41 overtime win in 2017. But this should be another high-stakes battle between intrastate rivals with playoff outsiders. The Cyclones are coming off a workmanlike win over North Dakota, but will need to run better against an Iowa defense that allowed just 189 total yards to Illinois State. Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz is sidelined again after serving a one-game suspension. Iowa has won seven of the last eight against Iowa State.
Line: Iowa -3
1. No. 3 Texas (1-0) at No. 10 Michigan (1-0), Noon, Fox
“Big Noon Kickoff” heads to Ann Arbor for a heavyweight clash of blue bloods. Michigan let Fresno State crawl within six points in the fourth quarter before slamming the door shut, but it will need to get a lot more out of a new-look offense that failed to gather more than 300 yards and scored just two of the team’s three touchdowns. Starting quarterback Davis Warren struggled and running back Donovan Edwards never got going. The Wolverines will have to figure it out against a Texas team that outscored Colorado State 52-0, including 260 yards and three touchdowns from Fansville’s very own alternate Quinn EwersThe Longhorns hit the road last year with a huge Week 2 win over Alabama to advance to the Playoff. Michigan will have a chance to prove how strong their national title defense can be.
Line: Texas -7.5
(Photo by Donovan Edwards: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
