College Football Week 2
Much was made of the Michigan overtime game. It resulted in a NCAA rule change where they now must go with the public clock (stadium/TV) rather than any behind the scenes clock. But the big loser of the week was Dabo Sweeney and Clemson.
Clemson hasn't been the same since their DC Brent Venables left for Oklahoma. They lost big games before he arrived and now that he's gone, they're struggling again. Dabo hates the portal. Well, you better go coach a service academy or FCS team because if you want to compete at the top level, the portal is not optional.
16 Penn State at Temple 12:00 ESPN2 PSU -23.5
I believe the last time PSU played in Philly, they lost. That was during sanctions and the PSU OL was decimated. It also happened to be one of Temple's best teams ever. It seems unlikely to repeat as Penn State's OL looks really good this year.
last week Penn State played one of their best games in years. I can't remember when they executed plays on both sides of the ball at such a high level. Marshall sold out to stop the run. Franklin's teams would have kept running into that wall. Eventually would have broken through and won big. This new staff just decided to throw and attack vertically.
Temple will likely start ex-PSU QB Jaxson Smolik. I don't think it's going to matter. Last week Penn State faced a running QB so they may have played more to contain than rush. This week the pass rush should be unleashed.
I just want to see more real offensive plays run to perfection.
6 Oregon at Oklahoma State 12:00 ESPN Ore -23.5
Oregon barely survived against Boise State last week, but that's a tough week 1 game. Oklahoma State lost to Tulsa by 14 so they may be horrible. If Oregon doesn't hammer them, it will be concerning.
Arizona State at 10 Texas A&M 12:00 ABC TAM -15.5
each beat up on a cupcake last week. First real game for both of them.
11 Oklahoma at Michigan 12:00 FOX OU -5.5
With the uproar over the added second, people forgot that Michigan hot garbage all game. They scored on an opening scripted drive, then on the ill-gotten Hail Mary. That's it. Underwood was shockingly bad. But the line is only 5.5 so somebody must be betting Michigan. Will Michigan scale back the offense to just simple RPO stuff? If Michigan pulls this off then last week is erased
Mississippi State at Minnesota 3:30 CBS Minn -1.5
This could be a good game. Mid tier SEC vs mid tier Big 10. It may end up being a big debate point later in the year when strength of schedule comes up.
UCF at Pitt 3:30 ESPN2 Pitt -7
Pitt won in a blowout last week vs Miami OH, but Narduzzi did leave his starting QB in to throw a 7th TD while already up 38 with under 10 minutes left in the game.
12 Alabama at Kentucky 3:30 ABC Ala -10
surprised the line is only 10. I guess people were impressed with Kentucky's win against Youngstown State last week. Bama's new QB Keelon Russell had a warmup vs East Carolina where he was OK but mainly did damage running. How will he do in his first road SEC game?
Arizona at 15 BYU 3:30 FOX BYU -7.5
BYU coming off a big win vs the future slot machine repairmen of Utah Tech
18 Tennessee at Georgia Tech 7:00 ESPN Tenn -12.5
GT's coach lost their game vs Colorado last week. Cowardly play calling and a disaster of clock management. Mendoza's little brother is the GT QB and he looked good when they let him throw it. They'll have to open things up vs Tennessee.
1 Ohio State at 4 Texas 7:30 ABC Tex -1.5
both teams were untested by week 1 cupcakes. Last year's game was really boring. It was Arch Manning's first real game as the starter. He improved quite a bit but didn't face any defense as good as OSU. The OSU offense is still great but the defense lost a bunch of impact players.
This game is huge for Texas. They still have Tenn, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, LSU an Texas A&M on the schedule. Chances are a few of those teams will end up not being as good as advertised but still, those will be tough games.
Texas has mostly come up small in big games under Sark. They have the team. They have the QB. It's at home. If they don't win the big one now, then when will they?
Iowa State at 21 Iowa 7:30 NBC Iowa -14
The Cy-Hawk trophy is on the line. Iowa State is looking to replace a ton of players who left for Penn State. Iowa is coming off a 40 point shutout over Northern Illinois. You can say it's just NIU but Iowa struggles to score 40 vs air. Do they finally have a decent offense to go with that tough defense?
Arkansas at 20 Utah 10:15 ESPN Utah -12.5
rare trip out west for an SEC team. Could be a decent nightcap game.
