College football's recent prominence and media excitement has turned the first week of the season into an event replete with intriguing inter-conference matchups in marquee venues across the country. Those that are reticent to play high-profile opponents to open the season will typically have these games the next week. In other words, Week 2 is almost always a worthy follow-up to the first week of the season.
This year is no different. The SEC already has a few conference games this week, including a top-25 game between LSU and Mississippi State (a quasi-traditional conference opener for both programs). All told, ESPN's game schedule boasts three Saturday night matchups between ranked teams. No. 19 Oklahoma travels to resurgent no. 23 Tennessee in the return leg of a home-and-home. Further, no. 7 Oregon travels to East Lansing to play the no. 5 Spartans in the return leg of that series. ESPN will be on site in East Lansing for that matchup.
In what follows, I detail the rest of your viewing guide around the Ohio State-Hawaii game on BTN at 3:30.
Thursday
Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m.). This matchup is unlikely to excite the casual football fan, though these are probably the two best teams in the Conference USA. It's conceivable that both will play again in the Conference USA Championship Game, though Western Kentucky will need to defeat Marshall to secure the C-USA East.
Friday
Miami (FL) at Florida Atlantic (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m.). That is not a misprint. Miami and its five national championships will travel to FAU Stadium to play the Owls.
Miami's schedule has a few curious road games on it this season and going forward. Miami travels to Cincinnati later this season. It has a home-and-home with Toledo set for 2017 and 2018. Miami is basically a Sun Belt team now.
Utah State at Utah (ESPN2, 9 p.m.). We'll see what Utah's follow-up act on Friday night. The Utes eventually overwhelmed a Michigan team it made look relatively talentless by comparison.
Utah State returns Chuckie Keeton but maybe the aura left with Gary Andersen in 2013. The Aggies needed a fourth-quarter punt return for a touchdown to defeat FCS Southern Utah, 12-9, last week.
Saturday
South Florida at Florida State (ESPN, 11:30 a.m.). Saturday football starts half an hour earlier than normal. The no. 11 Seminoles looked the part last week when it dismantled Texas State with Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson at quarterback. It's a favorite to win the ACC for the fourth straight year, though that path to Charlotte's championship game may go through Clemson this year.
Jacksonville State at Auburn (SEC Network, 12 p.m.). Auburn's three remaining non-conference games are Jacksonville State, San Jose State, and Idaho. Jacksonville State is an FCS squad and San Jose State and Idaho might as well be.
Oregon State at Michigan (ABC, 12 p.m.). Michigan gets two straight doses of Pac-12 action to begin the season. Michigan will at least get to host this in Jim Harbaugh's home coaching debut. I've no doubt ABC's camera will find plenty of Michigan students cosplaying their new head coach in the stands.
Gary Andersen returns to B1G play against a Michigan team he never had the chance to play while coaching Wisconsin for two years. In fact, Big Ten scheduling quirks have kept Michigan and Wisconsin from playing each other since the 2010 season.
Army at Connecticut (CBS Sports, 12 p.m.). This will not be the highest-caliber football at this time slot. Connecticut needed a second-half rally to defeat FCS Villanova, 20-15. Army lost at home to FCS Fordham in its season-opener.
Kansas State at Texas-San Antonio (FOX Sports 1, 12 p.m.). Cecil Hurt had a great simile for Larry Coker's coaching career, likening him to a guy who wasted a giant trust fund (i.e. Miami) but found out he was a pretty damn good electrician as a second calling. Coker has a few decent years at UTSA under his belt and tested Arizona's limits when Scooby Wright left the game with his injury.
I would add something about Kansas State, a solid program whose seniors still have that Big XII championship to boast from 2012. However, all anyone is discussing about Kansas State is its marching band, including Captain Kirk himself.
Western Illinois at Illinois OR Bowling Green at Maryland (BTN, 12 p.m.). I do not know which game you will get, but pray it's quick. Football games are running longer and longer and Ohio State kicks off its game at 3:30.
Buffalo at Penn State (ESPN2, 12 p.m.). Penn State ran 53 plays from scrimmage against Temple, ten of which ended in sacks. In other words, about one of five plays from scrimmage ended with Christian Hackenberg eating grass in Philadelphia. Incidentally, the game film from that contest is resting underneath grass as Penn State football is choosing to expunge this game from its collective conscience.
Somehow, Penn State is a double-digit favorite this game.
Indiana State at Purdue (ESPN News, 12 p.m.). Purdue was up four with four minutes left on Sunday when I turned off that game to eat dinner. Fifteen minutes after my dinner started, Purdue had lost by ten.
Purdue looked like it might finally show why Darrell Hazell is in fact a pretty good coach who is receiving zero assistance from the athletic department or university administration that does not care if he succeeds or not provided payouts still come from the league's TV revenues.
Still, there was something curious about Purdue in that game. It simultaneously showed both competence and incompetence, as if it were a quantum, or possibly the most perfectly mixed vinaigrette.
Miami (OH) at Wisconsin (ESPNU, 12 p.m.). My hot #take is Wisconsin will probably play better quality football against Miami of Ohio than Alabama. Please handle that #take carefully because the #take you just enjoyed is extremely hot.
UTEP at Texas Tech (FOX, 3:30 p.m.). UTEP, which was thumped by Arkansas last week, is probably Louisiana Tech's biggest competition in the C-USA West.
Texas Tech, meanwhile, can't stop a nose bleed. It conceded 45 points to Sam Houston State in last week's season-opener. Its defensive coordinator, David Gibbs, chastised the unit, saying "no one played good".
No one played well, Mr. Gibbs. No one played well.
Hawaii at Ohio State (BTN, 3:30 p.m.). This is your game of the week. Stay tuned to Eleven Warriors for comprehensive coverage of this game and pray Maryland and Illinois finish their meals before 3:30.
Minnesota at Colorado State (CBS Sports, 3:30 p.m.). This will be an interesting challenge for Minnesota. The Gophers did well to try Texas Christian last Thursday night, but the lack of playmakers at almost all positions on offense kept Minnesota behind the 8-ball for much of the contest. Colorado State will provide its own unique challenge. Though its coach left for Florida, Colorado State will challenge Boise State in the "Mountain" division of the Mountain West.
Rashard Higgins, Colorado State's All-American wide receiver, missed practices this week with a "sprain" and is "hopeful" for the game.
Stephen F. Austin at TCU (FOX Sports 1, 3:30 p.m.). Sportswriters dog on Ohio State's schedule this year (because that's all there is left to say about a national championship team that beat Alabama in New Orleans), but I hardly think its fair that Mr. Stephen F. Austin is playing the no. 3 team in the country all by his lonesome.
Washington State at Rutgers (ESPNU, 3:30 p.m.). Ohio State fans may want to keep an eye on this game when the Buckeyes are at a commercial break. Washington State opened its season with a loss to FCS Portland State. An inability for Rutgers to put Washington State on blast in this game may say more about Rutgers' quality than the game last week against yet another MEAC team.
Notre Dame at Virginia (ABC, 3:30 p.m.). Notre Dame's ACC scheduling arrangement provides many interesting games, like those at Florida State last year or Clemson this year. This game against Virginia should not be considered an interesting game to come from this scheduling arrangement.
Georgia at Vanderbilt (CBS, 3:30 p.m.). CBS couldn't secure LSU and Mississippi State for its first SEC game of the year?
Fresno State at Ole Miss (ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.). Ole Miss hung 70 points on UT-Martin last week. We'll see what it can do against one of the favorites to win the West Division of the Mountain West (so... Mountain West West. Got it.).
Ole Miss will wish all those points against these two scrubs were transferrable to next week's game against Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Middle Tennessee State at Alabama (SEC Network, 4 p.m.). Speaking of Alabama, don't dare pretend that Alabama isn't a huge favorite against Middle Tennessee State.
Arkansas hosts Toledo at this same time slot on the same network, but you will likely get Alabama instead. Check the overflow networks if you have them.
Eastern Illinois at Northwestern (ESPN News, 4 p.m.). I wonder how embarrassing it will be for Stanford when Northwestern struggles to score the 16 points it scored on the Cardinal last week.
Iowa at Iowa State (FOX, 4:45 p.m.). Iowa plowed through Illinois State, 31-14, last week. Up 14-0, Iowa ran a fake field goal attempt on 4th and 10 at Illinois State's 30. The ensuing run was short by two yards, but the play may have received the loudest ovation of any play that game. Let that tell you the current climate of Iowa football.
Iowa will look to avenge last season's loss to a crummier-than-usual Iowa State team. Last year's loss—in Kinnick Stadium, no less—was one of only two wins for Iowa State on the season.
Kirk Ferentz has one win in the last four tries against Iowa State. He is 7-9 overall during his tenure in Iowa.
San Diego State at California (Pac-12 Network, 5 p.m.). Here's a dark horse for a game to watch in the late afternoon. San Diego State is the runaway favorite to win the Mountain West West. California, meanwhile, might be a team of intrigue in the Pac-12 North, albeit no one's "favorite" to win the division. Jared Goff, who Ohio State fans may remember well, could lead everyone in the country in passing yards by season's end.
Oklahoma at Tennessee (ESPN, 6 p.m.). This is the return leg of a series started last year. Tennessee's players may have circled this one on the calendar. Oklahoma struggled to overwhelm a young and inexperienced Volunteers team in last year's game in Norman. Oklahoma eventually got the job done, but Tennessee held its ground.
Oklahoma opened a three-point favorite, but the lines moved to pick 'em status pretty quickly. I kind of like Tennessee in this contest, and probably by a full touchdown or more.
Arizona at Nevada (CBS Sports, 7 p.m.). Arizona will be without Scooby Wright for several games. The defense struggled mightily without him.
Ball State at Texas A&M (ESPNU, 7 p.m.). Texas A&M is treating itself to a MAC snack after defeating Arizona State last week in Houston.
East Carolina at Florida (ESPN2, 7 p.m.). Both teams met last year in the Birmingham Bowl. East Carolina may have been the better-coached team, but Florida made more big plays to beat East Carolina, 28-20.
Kentucky at South Carolina (SEC Network, 7:30 p.m.). Kentucky barely beat UL-Lafayette, 40-33, last week. South Carolina eventually rallied to beat UNC last week, 17-13, in Charlotte. However, the Gamecocks are basically running on fumes as Spurrier is firmly within the twilight of his career. Another loss to Kentucky may ruffle the proverbial feathers of the Gamecock faithful.
Idaho at USC (Pac-12 Network, 8 p.m.). Idaho lost 45-28 last week at home to Ohio. I am sure this game against no. 8 USC could not be worse than that. Right?
Oregon at Michigan State (ABC, 8 p.m.). This is the game of the week and will serve as the site of ESPN's College Gameday.
I've been on record (well, on Twitter) saying I would jam the "sell" button on whatever proverbial "stock" you have invested in Oregon. Oregon never recruited spectacularly well, though it did find the right pieces for the kind of offense it wanted to run. It embraced a strategy of front-running. It banks on an offense that can outpace the typical output of the opposing team's offense, forcing the other team's offense to take chances, make mistakes, and compound its deficit in the box score.
Oregon has dominated its league with this approach. It even has a few nice bowl wins over teams like Wisconsin (2012 Rose Bowl), Kansas State (2013 Fiesta Bowl), and Texas (2013 Alamo Bowl) to show for it. However, no national championships have followed. Last year was Oregon's best possible chance with one of the most prolific and near error-free quarterbacks in college football history. However, Ohio State's defense smothered Oregon's offense in Arlington to deny Oregon its first national championship.
No. 7 Oregon believes its has a momentary stop-gap to the offensive attrition with Vernon Adams, a transfer from Eastern Washington. He seemed to pay immediate dividends last week with 246 yards and two touchdowns on 19/25 passing. He also accounted for 90 of Oregon's 485 rushing yards. However, that was against Eastern Washington (Adams' old team), which itself hung 549 yards of offense and 42 points on the Ducks.
No. 5 Michigan State did similar damage to Oregon last year in Autzen Stadium, scoring 27 unanswered points between the second and third quarters before Oregon finished with the game's final 28 points. Oregon may break a play or two in East Lansing, but it needs total confidence that Vernon Adams can have the kind of effect that Marcus Mariota had in last year's contest. This year's venue will not be as amenable to the Ducks as Autzen Stadium was either.
South Alabama at Nebraska (BTN, 8 p.m.). That sound you hear is the whole state of Nebraska praying that South Alabama doesn't have the same kind of small forward-sized receivers that BYU had last week.
Florida International plays at Indiana on this same time slot on the same network.
LSU at Mississippi State (ESPN, 9:15 p.m.). Mississippi State's win last week against Southern Mississippi was sufficient to make this a game between top-25 teams in that SEC West, of which we keep hearing good things in September and seeing bad things in January.
San Jose State at Air Force (ESPNU, 10:15 p.m.). I wish I could offer more about this game, but I can list it here as a viewing option.
Boise State at Brigham Young (ESPN2, 10:15 p.m.). Boise State and BYU media be beefin'.
UCLA at UNLV (CBS Sports, 10:30 p.m.). Freshman quarterback Josh Rosen had a pretty good debut against Virginia last week. You may be interested in his follow-up act on CBS Sports.
Central Florida at Stanford (FOX Sports 1, 10:30 p.m.).
Cal Poly at Arizona State (Pac-12 Network, 11 p.m.).