College Football Week Two: The Ultimate TV Viewing Guide
Here we go; Week 2 of the college football season is upon us. Some of the top schools have played through the first week with their "cream puff" first opponents. Now this week, the elite programs are either traveling or hosting tougher competitions, than say, San Jose State.
This week provides a spring back for some teams that struggled in their opening game. This week provides some fan biases of schools that lost their first game, a chance to win and get back to .500.
The second week of the college football season will start to weed out those pretenders from the contenders.
Click through the slides here as we take a look at 20 of the best games this week. Will there be another Jacksonville State? Will Florida struggle again at home? Will Oklahoma actually cover a spread this week?
So tell the girlfriend or wife and kids to go out and have fun this weekend because you, the college football fan, will have a lot of television watching this weekend.
Saturday, Sept. 11, Noon (EDT): No. 24 Georgia Tech at Kansas, ESPN Gameplan
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In the wake of a terrible first home game of new Kansas head coach Turner Gill, the Jayhawks host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Jayhawks last week lost their home opener to North Dakota State 6-3. They will need a big rebound this week against the top ranked Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech, on the other hand, took care of their first opponent, defeating South Carolina State 41-10. However, Tech's next game after this week is their conference opener against the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Yellow Jackets here may look past the weaker Jayhawks, thus opening the door for an upset.
With the hope that they can rebound after the terrible first home game under the new coach (Gill) the Jayhawks home crowd will be fired up to see if they can find some offense. Plus if they (Kansas) can move the ball on offense and the defense can keep up their stout play, the Jayhawks may surprise this Georgia Tech team.
Sportsbook.com has the Yellow Jackets at -14.
Saturday, Sept. 11, Noon (EDT): No. 22 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina, ESPN2
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The Gamecocks of South Carolina and the Bulldogs of Georgia open their conference play this Saturday. The Gamecocks can take a large step forward in having one of their best seasons in the SEC with a win. They had a very impressive showing in their first game of the season last week defeating Southern Miss 41-13.
For the Georgia Bulldogs, they open SEC play without one of their top wide receivers. They played without AJ Green last week in their home opener, but still won against Louisiana-Lafayette 55-7. Freshman quarterback Aaron Murray threw for 160 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another touchdown as well.
Murray does have the experience of playing in front of a large home crowd, but this will be his first test in a hostile SEC environment. Expect the Gamecocks to come out big in this game in the SEC opener for both teams.
Sportsbook.com has Gamecocks -3 for the game.
Saturday, Sept. 11, Noon (EDT): Indiana State at Cincinnati, ESPN Gameplan
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Indiana State will be a game that is not viewed by a lot of people. Heck, even ESPN does not have it listed on any of their channels. You cannot even watch this game if you have ESPN Eight, aka the Ocho!
But it will make the Sports Center highlights, as this Cincinnati Bearcat team is on upset watch this week. The defending Big East champs have been losing ever since their big win against Pittsburgh to capture the Big East championship.
First they lost their coach Brian Kelly to Notre Dame. Then they got demolished by Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. Then they lost their two best players to the NFL in quarterback Tony Pike and wide receiver Mardy Gilyard. Then they lost their opening game against Fresno State and starting wide receiver Vidal Hazelton for the year.
And now this week, their free fall will continue, as the defending Big East Champions might lose to Indiana State.
Last week Indiana State won their opener 57-7.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Saturday, Sept. 11, 12:20 (EDT): South Florida at No. 8 Florida, ESPN GamePlan
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On paper, this looks to, and should be, a complete blowout for the Florida Gators. However, a dark horse out of the Big East Conference, the South Florida Bulls provide a tougher test this week for these Gators. Most of the players on the Bulls grew up in the Florida region and were either passed over by Florida or were never recruited by the Gators at all.
For Florida, a win last week in their home opener should have made the fans and alumni happy. However, all that could have been said last week about the game was the terrible play at quarterback and the lack of offensive movement for the first three quarters. What happens if they continue to struggle this week on offense?
More importantly, what happens if South Florida does not turn the ball over, like Miami (OH) did, and can continue the growing pains of a young Florida offense? Is this the first upset under the Urban Myer watch?
Sportsbook.com has the Gators at -16 1/2.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 3:30 (EDT): Iowa State at No. 9 Iowa, ABC
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The Cyclones haven't scored a touchdown against the ninth-ranked Hawkeyes since 2006. This is something that the Cyclones look to end this Saturday as they travel to face their in-state rivals. The Cyclones do feature a good running game, as Alexander Robinson scored twice last week.
For the Hawkeyes, they need to keep on focus and not let this game get past them. Their defense led them to the Orange Bowl last year and will lead them to a victory this week. As long as Ricky Stanzi can keep the ball on Iowa's side, it will be a long day for Cyclone fans.
Can Iowa State actually score a touchdown this year, ending the four year streak?
Saturday, Sept. 11, 3:30 (EDT): No. 17 Florida State at No. 10 Oklahoma, ABC
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This big game for both of these storied college football teams has the Florida State Seminoles traveling to Norman Oklahoma to play the Oklahoma Sooners. This game has BCS National Title Championship implications for both of these teams.
For Florida State, it is their first game not only on the road, but heading into a hostile environment for new head coach Jimbo Fisher. Lucky for Jimbo, under center for the Seminoles is senior quarterback Christian Ponder.
The Sooners survived a scare last week, as Utah State came into the Sooners house and almost upset them. With one game down and a chance to work out all of the mistakes of the first week should help the Sooners rebound. For Oklahoma to come out of this tough test victorious, Landry Jones and the rest of the offense will all have to be on the same page.
Sportsbook.com has the Sooners at -7 points.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 3:30 (EDT): Michigan at Notre Dame, NBC
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Both of these teams had huge opening weeks, with both teams winning their games big. Each of their fan bases had a lot to boast about heading into this legendary rivalry.
Michigan fans think their new quarterback is the missing piece. That he is the quarterback that head coach, Rich Rodriquez, would use when he led his West Virginia Mountaineers to multiple Big East Championships.
Notre Dame fans saw a glimpse into the future with their new head coach, Brian Kelly. The Irish defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 23-12 in their opening week. Their new quarterback, Dayne Crist threw 205 yards and one score. Plus, playing for Notre Dame with the last name of Crist should make Notre Dame fans quite confident heading into the game.
Sportsbook.com has the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame at -4 points.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 3:40 (EDT): No. 12 Miami at No. 2 Ohio State, ESPN
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The game of the week, in most opinions, pits the Miami Hurricanes traveling to Columbus, Ohio to take on the number two ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
The "U" as they are called, has one of the best teams since their championship teams in the early 2000's. They feature Heisman Trophy candidate, Jacory Harris and have a fan base behind them looking to extract revenge for when these two teams last met, in the National Title game in 2003.
For the Buckeyes this is Terrelle Pryor's game to shine. A big game against the Hurricanes and Pryor shoots himself into the top of the Heisman Trophy race this year. However, a horrible game and a bad loss against Miami and Pryor might as well kiss goodbye to the Heisman and the National Title.
Sportsbook.com has the Buckeyes at -8 1/2 points.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 4:00 (EDT): Brigham Young at Air Force, Versus
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This is the last time that Air Force and BYU will meet as members of the Mountain West Conference. It is also the first time that a team that feels slighted by BYU can get their first licks at the departing Cougars.
BYU beat a tough Washington team 23-17 last week. They held potential number one draft pick in next year's NFL draft, Jack Locker to 266 yards passing and just one touchdown.
If Air Force looks to open their MWC year, they will have to stop the Cougars' passing attack that threw for 262 yards last week against Washington. They put up a lot of points in their first week, as they dropped 65 on Northwestern State. The Falcons feature the number one rushing attack in the NCAA with 437 yards on the ground.
Sportsbook.com has Air Force at -1 point.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 7:00 (EDT): No. 18 Penn State at No. 1 Alabama, ESPN
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Another a great match up this week, with the Penn State Nittnay Lions traveling to Alabama to play the defending National Champions. If it was not for a couple of close losses for Penn State last year, this could have been a rematch of that National Title game.
Penn State will come into this game with a quarterback carousel. Last week, they rotated in and out three different quarterbacks. They still have not named a clear cut number one quarterback for this big game.
For the Crimson Tide, they are still without defending Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. However, that did not slow down the Tide's offense last week, as they rolled over San Jose State 48-3. Expect to see 'Bama air it out again, as last week they threw for 334 yards.
Sportsbook.com has Alabama at -12 points.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 7:00 (EDT): No. 7 Oregon at Tennessee, ESPN2
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This is a big game for the young Vols of Tennessee. A win here, and the college football world will have to stand up and pay attention to the school in Knoxville. They put up 50 points in their first game. This was led by a rushing attack that had Tenn. running the ball for 332 yards.
But, for all of those points and rushing yards that Tennessee put up, Oregon scored and rushed for more.
Oregon put up 72 points in their week one game and rushed for 369 yards. But where Oregon and Tennessee are different is in the ability to throw the ball. Oregon last week passed for 351 yards to go along with their other dominating numbers.
This one is going to be a wild, wild game with a lot of points put up.
Sportsbook.com has Oregon -12 points.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 7:00 (EDT): No. 19 LSU at Vanderbilt, ESPNU
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LSU and Vanderbilt open their SEC play this week. In the past, LSU has been able to wipe the floor with the Commodores. This year, Vanderbilt hopes that with their balanced attack, they will be able to upset the Tigers of LSU.
For the Tigers, this is a good SEC opener. They will get tested early, but will be able to pull out the victory. Their first game saw the Tigers pull ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels. But they got comfortable with the big lead, and almost saw it vanish if not for a last second stop. Expect a more focused LSU team this week.
Sportsbook.com has LSU at -10 points.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 9:00 (EDT): Mississippi at Tulane, ESPN Classic
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Most teams' schedule games against teams that the majority of the public has never heard of, and the University of Mississippi football program did just that. They scheduled a game against the little school of Jacksonville State.
Jacksonville State, who's that?
Well, after three quarters of stellar play by Mississippi, the sky fell and the little school named Jacksonville State upset Ole Miss.
Can Tulane duplicate this feat? Or will Ole Miss stop the bleeding and get a big win this week?
Sportsbook.com has Ole Miss at -20 1/2 points.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 10:30 (EDT): Stanford at UCLA, ESPN
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In the opening game of these two schools, Pac 10 conference play has the Stanford Cardinals traveling to Los Angeles to play the UCLA Bears.
Jim Harbaugh has this Cardinal team for the first time, in a long time, the favorites to most of their games. And if Oregon happens to lose this week against Tennessee, they would then become the favorites to win the Pac 10.
Stanford did lose Heisman Trophy candidate Toby Gerhart to the NFL but that did not stop their rushing attack last week, as Stanford still rushed for 213 yards. But not to worry Cardinal Fans, as Stanford has one of the best passing attacks in college football. Andrew Luck threw for 316 yards with four touchdowns last week.
For UCLA this team is all about defense. Heck, it worked for Nebraska last year as they came within the last seconds of winning the Big 12 title game. Last week they lost their opener to Kansas State 31-22 and did not move the ball to well.
Sportsbook.com has Stanford at -6 points.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
