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A handful of results from Week 1 set the stage for what should be an epic season of college football. A few other programs leaned on FCS opponents to push the turbo button on hype and expectations.
Week 2 offers teams a chance to change or amplify those narratives against stiffer competition, with state battles, reignited rivalries, upset specials and a top-10 tilt at 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 game last season – when the Tide limped to a 17-3 win in Tampa and the sky fell for Bama fans – a spread of 34.5 points was. I’m not suggesting this will repeat itself in Tuscaloosa, but this game can be viewed through the lens of everything that has 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 (NOT washed at all) sits next to Pat McAfee on Saturday mornings. Also thanks to USF. The program has made significant progress under second-year coach Alex Golesh and has its own dynamic quarterback in Byrum Brown. I’ll 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 contenders from the Group of 5. Both are coming off disappointing wins in Week 1, but were picked second in their respective preseason conference polls, with a chance to make that G5 College Football Playoff spot up for grabs if the rest of the season goes well. Texas State, led by coach GJ Kinne and quarterback Jordan McCloud, was my pick for the preseason Playoff sleeper out of the Sun Belt, but the Bobcats will need a win over Jeff Traylor and the Roadrunners, who have ambitions of their own in the AAC and won five in a row in the rivalry. As if that dedication wasn’t enough, Kinne played quarterback for Traylor as a senior in high school – and their bond goes even deeper than that.
Line: State of Texas -1.5
8. No. 17 Kansas State (1-0) at Tulane (1-0), afternoon, ESPN
K-State made easy work of an FCS opponent last week while flashing its run-game potential, racking up 283 yards at a rate of 9.1 yards per pop. And after planting a few ACC favorites, the path appears to be two Big 12 programs, making the 12-team Playoff field much wider, which definitely benefits the Wildcats. But heading out to take on Tulane is a more difficult task after the Green Wave dominated its own FCS opponent with a strong debut from redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah. Reminder: Tulane two years ago upset K-State in Manhattan, 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 panicking? I’m not ready to predict this either, but App State has a history of knocking off the big boys, most recently sixth-ranked Texas A&M on the road 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 tough showing against Georgia — and the subsequent anti-Dabo discourse — makes the Tigers a must-watch against any opponent with a pulse. App State certainly qualifies.
Line: Clemson -17.5
The Pokes took care of business against an admirable South Dakota State squad — 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 about Sam Pittman’s position was put on the back burner 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 has been dormant since 1980 – should provide a clearer picture of what we can 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 one from the old Big 12 (and Big Eight) days, now featuring a Big 12 team once again. Travis Hunter caught three touchdowns, Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and Coach Prime made the usual post-game headlines after Colorado earned a win over North Dakota State last week. But perhaps the most anticipated aspect of this game is Nebraska true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. The five-star recruit fueled the hype by going 19-for-27 for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the Cornhuskers’ 40-7 win over UTEP. Now he faces a Buffs defense that gave up 449 yards to NDSU and is 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 favored by 49, 5 points. 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, a fumble and a pair of failed fourth-down attempts kept the game close and brought some skepticism to Oregon. Boise State won a 56-45 shootout with Georgia Southern, with a combined offense of 1,112 yards, including 267 rushing yards and six touchdowns for Broncos stud running back Ashton Jeanty (whom yours truly just happened to select in The Athletics‘s Heisman draft). If the Ducks can get their act together, I’d bet the over (61.5 points) in this one.
Line: Oregon -19.5
3. No. No. 14 Tennessee (1-0) vs. No. 24 NC State (1-0), 7:30 p.m., ABC
For those tuning into Duke’s Mayo Classic, add Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava to the list of much-hyped players who were behind it in Week 1. The redshirt freshman went 22 of 28 and passed for 314 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout win over Chattanooga that wowed 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 and trailed entering the fourth quarter before scoring 21 unanswered. NC State won’t have the same luxury against what has the early merits of a new 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 high scoring lately, and that will likely be the case again despite the Hawkeyes scoring 40 in the first game under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester. The over/under is 35.5, and the last Cy-Hawk matchup to surpass 45 combined points was Iowa’s 44-41 overtime victory in 2017. But it should be another high-stakes slugfest between in-state rivals who hope for a dark Playoff. The Cyclones pulled off a workmanlike victory over North Dakota, but will need to handle the ball better against an Iowa defense that allowed just 189 total yards to Illinois State. Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz is back on the sidelines after a one-game suspension. Iowa has won seven of the past 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 blue-blooded heavyweight match. Michigan allowed Fresno State to get within six points in the fourth quarter before slamming the door, but it will have to get a lot more out of a new offense that failed to reach 300 yards and scored just two of the team’s three touchdowns scored. Starting quarterback Davis Warren struggled, and running back Donovan Edwards never got going. The Wolverines will have to figure things out against a Texas squad that defeated Colorado State 52-0, including 260 yards and three touchdowns from Fansville’s own alternate Quinn Ewers. The Longhorns went on the road to a huge win over Alabama in Week 2 on their way to the Playoff last year. Michigan will have a chance to prove how powerful its national title defense can be.
Line: Texas -7.5
(Photo by Donovan Edwards: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)