Week 1 of the college football season was nothing short of spectacular. BYU (9) shook up the polls jumping up 12 spots with their upset win over Oklahoma (13). Big Ten teams Ohio State (8) and Iowa both squeaked by.
Oklahoma State (5) proved to the country that they are worth all the pre-season hype with a decisive 24–10 win over Georgia (21).
Alabama (4) was able to jump up a spot in the polls with their 34–24 win over Virginia Tech (14) at the Georgia Dome.
Let’s look at some of the major match-ups for this upcoming weekend.
The biggest matchup will take place on Saturday night when USC (3) travels to “The Horseshoe” to face Ohio State (8). The ESPN College Gameday crew will be on hand to witness the electric atmosphere.
Ohio State had difficulty with Navy in their opener. This week, they will face a much tougher USC team.
With an inefficient 3 for 12 on third down conversions and six penalties for almost 50 yards, the Buckeyes have a lot to improve on.
Freshman Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley was an impressive 15 of 19 for 233 yards, with a touchdown in his first start last weekend. While Barkley did well at the friendly confines of The Coliseum, The Horseshoe will provide everyone with a great chance to see just how well this young kid will do this season.
Notre Dame (18) and Michigan will duke it out in Ann Arbor at “The Big House” on Saturday afternoon at 3:30. Both teams came into the season with huge pressure to do well. Both coaches were on the hot seat, but came out of their first games with impressive victories.
Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen stood tall in the pocket behind great protection from his offensive line and threw for four touchdowns. While Nevada was not a ranked opponent, their defensive line was no slouch.
Michigan QB Tate Forcier, made his collegiate debut last week and threw for three touchdowns in the victory against Western Michigan. Forcier may have to do without his favorite target, wide receiver Junior Hemingway, who is listed as questionable for the game with an ankle injury.
Aside from USC, the other top five teams look to have a pretty easy road. Florida (1) will host an unranked Troy from the Sunbelt Conference. Texas (2) will face their first road test when they travel to Wyoming. Alabama will face Florida International at home. Oklahoma State will face Houston at home as well.
Another game to keep an eye on is Iowa at Iowa State. Iowa dropped out of the polls last week after they barely beat Northern Iowa. Iowa will be looking to prove themselves against their in-state rivals.
Week 2 does not pit as many ranked opponents against each other as Week 1 did, but there is still plenty of action to look forward to. This is college football. Anything can happen.
Friends Read Free