The Week 2 slate wasn’t incredible, but we learned a ton about some marquee teams.
True freshman QB phenom Bryce Underwood and No. 15 Michigan fell to No. 18 Oklahoma in Norman, No. 3 LSU gritted out a 23-7 win over unranked Louisiana Tech, No. 4 Georgia struggled against FCS Austin Peay in a 28-6 victory, Dan Lanning dropped 69 points and held Mike Gundy to three in a Big 10 vs. Big 12 battle, and No. 12 Arizona State lost a heart-breaker in Starkville to unranked Mississippi State.
With weekends like that one, lengthy discussions ensue between myself and the fine people at FOX Sports every week as we plan our production for Big Noon Kickoff. Every Sunday night, I reflect on what’s to come, and send out a lengthy email to producers, researchers, and my colleagues on air about things to watch out for.
I’ve decided to peel back the curtain and share those thoughts with you all, because everyone should rejoice in the splendor that is college football. Week 3 is now here, and while this week’s slate isn’t as eye-popping, there are a few sneaky ones to discuss and highlight.
So, with that being said, let’s dive into my thoughts for this weekend.
Big matchup in Knoxville
We have a massive SEC matchup, with the No. 15 Vols hosting the No. 6 Bulldogs on Saturday. Georgia has had some injuries on the offensive line, with Juan Gaston, Earnest Greene and Malachi Tolliver all on the injury report. It struggled to run the ball and the passing game hasn’t been very impressive, with most of Gunner Stockton’s throws coming in the screen variety. That’s going to have to change if UGA expects to win in Knoxville this week. The game has all the makings of what Michigan at Oklahoma was last week — ugly and low scoring.
How ’bout them Ducks?
Oregon has looked incredibly impressive through two weeks, beating Montana State 59-13 and then taking down Oklahoma State 69-3. Dante Moore has been a big reason for its success, averaging 239.5 pass yards per game with a 6-0 TD-INT ratio in limited play due to the large nature of the Ducks’ victories. People forget he was a five-star recruit in the class of 2023 and the fourth-ranked player in the class, according to 247Sports. He spent his freshman season at UCLA where he threw for 1,610 yards along with 11 TDs and nine interceptions. He sat behind Dillon Gabriel last year, and it seems to have made a huge impact on his development. I like Oregon to continue their dominance against Northwestern on Big Noon Kickoff this Saturday.
Yellow Jackets host Tigers
Georgia Tech is a lot better than people realize. Haynes King is a legitimate dual threat quarterback and Brent Key’s defense showed up against Colorado in the opener. In fact, Key nearly beat Georgia last season — losing a 44-42 OT thriller. Before that, Tech took down a No. 4 Miami team that was led by Cam Ward in a 28-23 victory, as well as No. 10 Florida State in the first game of the season. While Clemson’s defense is full of future first-round picks, the Tigers have not impressed thus far, scoring 10 points against LSU and then squeaking out a 27-16 win against Troy. The Trojans were actually up 16-0 in that game. It could be a good one in Atlanta.
Crucial game for the Irish
Does Notre Dame have to win this game to make the CFP? A 10-2 Irish squad with losses to Miami and A&M surely wouldn’t have the resume to stack up with others at the end of the year, right? Its best win would potentially be USC in that scenario, likely making this the only chance at a ranked win the rest of the way. The 16th ranked Aggies haven’t looked too strong themselves, giving up 24 points to UTSA and 22 to Utah State. Still, Marcel Reed and LeVeon Moss are an electric QB-RB duo that should prove to be a big test for Marcus Freeman’s defense.
Not so fast
Are Utah or LSU not as good as we thought? The Utes took down UCLA 43-10 in their opener while the Tigers took down Clemson in theirs. But the Bruins lost to UNLV this week and Dabo Swinney’s bunch was struggling against Troy as we mentioned above. I’m not sure how much we learn about either team this week, as Brian Kelly’s squad plays a Florida team that just lost to South Florida and Kyle Whittingham’s takes on Wyoming. I do believe Devon Dampier is an incredible player, though. He’s completing 79% of his passes and rushed for 112 yards with no turnovers and six total TDs.
Cyclones could roll
Speaking of teams that I’m unsure of, Iowa State is 3-0 but scraped out 3-point wins against Kansas State and Iowa, along with a victory over South Dakota. With Arkansas State this week and then a very favorable Big 12 schedule including the likes of Arizona, Cincinnati, Colorado, and Oklahoma State, Matt Campbell’s team is going to be favored in the next six games or so. I think the Cyclones likely drop one somewhere along the way given the closeness of the wins they have, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.
Tough times for Gator nation
Billy Napier really couldn’t afford to lose to South Florida this week, as the Gators have an absolute gauntlet for the rest of their schedule. How many more games will they be favored in? Their next four games are No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Miami, No. 7 Texas and No. 16 A&M. Then they get a home game against Mississippi State (which did just beat No. 12 ASU as I mentioned earlier), and then No. 6 Georgia, Kentucky, No. 17 Ole Miss, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 10 Florida State. There’s a serious chance Napier is out during the bye week if they lose in an ugly fashion at Baton Rouge and Miami. DJ Lagway hasn’t impressed like people thought he would either.
Boomer Sooner
Can Oklahoma really do this with John Mateer all season? He had a whopping 19 carries for 74 yards and two scores last week against a solid Michigan defense, and has totaled 760 yards of offense in two games. Aren’t the Sooners going to need Jadyn Ott or some else to step up? It’ll be interesting to see how long Mateer can shoulder this load against the defenses coming up on the schedule. This is probably more a talking point for next week though, when OU plays Auburn.
The ACC this past week
The ACC and Big 12 are trying to step up as a whole as conferences — and yes, Miami beat Notre Dame in Week 1, while Utah and Iowa State got some nice non-conference wins, but they are both so far behind the Big Ten and SEC as a whole.
Clemson was in a battle with Troy which further highlighted its shortcomings. Dabo Swinney really thought he could go with a converted wide receiver at running back? Then there’s Duke, which committed four high-leveraged turnovers in an embarrassing loss to Illinois. Louisville slopped past James Madison in a 28-14 slugfest. Rhett Lashlee’s SMU squad blew a late double-digit lead in a home OT loss to Baylor, and Syracuse needed a miracle to beat UConn in OT as well. Don’t forget about Virginia Tech, which lost by 22 to Vanderbilt either, after Brent Pry punted and 4th and a foot.
The Big 12 this past week
The Big 12 didn’t fare much better. Mike Gundy made a lot of comments before Oklahoma State’s matchup with Oregon, claiming the Ducks should play teams who have paid as much money for players as them. That resulted in a 69-3 blowout courtesy of Dan Lanning. The Cowboys have now lost 10 straight to FBS teams.
The reigning conference champion Sun Devils lost on the road against the team picked to finish last in the SEC on a late long TD pass after falling behind 17-0. The Jayhawks gave up 42 in a rivalry game against Missouri, and West Virginia lost to a MAC team in Ohio. And after Kansas State beat North Dakota by three, it lost to an Army team that lost to Tarleton State the week prior. Truly just disappointing.
Sneaky matchup in Columbia
Vanderbilt at South Carolina is a sneaky interesting game. The Commodores were far more impressive in a win at Virginia Tech than the Gamecocks were against the same team in their season-opening win in Atlanta. Shane Beamer’s bunch looked sleepy last week against South Carolina State but are still ranked 11th in the AP Poll. Vandy on the other hand? Just one vote. Seems to me like voters are still holding onto preseason thoughts. I think this will be a close one.
Go Gophers, Go!
Minnesota at Cal is another sneaky game to watch out for. I’m high on the Gophers this year and this week, P.J. Fleck has a Pac-12 after-dark matchup in Berkeley. Outside of Oregon and Ohio State, there isn’t a game on Minnesota’s schedule it can’t win. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has looked the part at QB for Cal, throwing for 493 yards in two games with a 68% completion rate, three pass TDs and one rush TD.
Big Ten non-conference
Outside of Wisconsin’s visit to Alabama, the non-conference opponents that Big Ten teams are facing this week are pretty disappointing. The Hoosiers are taking on Indiana State, the Bruins are taking on New Mexico, the Wolverines take on the Chippewas, the Huskers take on Houston Christian, the Terps take on Towson, James Franklin and his bunch take on Villanova, Greg Schiano’s squad faces Norfolk State, the Spartans take on Youngstown State, the Illini take on Western Michigan, and the Hawkeyes takes on UMass. I’m a proponent of some sort of central scheduling, so fans don’t get stuck with so many lopsided games.
Blue Devils visit New Orleans
Darian Mensah and Duke go to Tulane, Mensah’s old school. Duke paid $4 million to get him only to be a ‘dog here off an embarrassing turnover-laden loss to Illinois last week.
Joy of Six
I noticed many of the big games this week have a spread of 6 or 6.5. Clemson is -6 at Georgia Tech, Georgia is -6.5 at Tennessee, Notre Dame is -6.5 vs. A&M, and South Carolina is -6 vs. Vandy. Just a fun quirky little nugget!
Potential flat spots
There are a few teams I think might be looking ahead to bigger matchups next week, as they face lesser opponents this Saturday. Auburn hosts South Alabama this week and then visits Norman. The Sooners, on the other hand, visit Temple after a big win vs. Michigan. Iowa State got a rivalry win against Iowa last week and visits Arkansas State. In fact, in 2023, the Cyclones lost by a touchdown to the Hawkeyes and they lost 10-7 the following week to Ohio. I wouldn’t be shocked if any of these favorites looked flat this week.
Another ranked matchup at Hard Rock
Who would’ve thought my fifth-ranked Hurricanes would be taking on a No. 18 USF team that has taken down the likes of two ranked opponents in Boise State and Florida to start the season? This had the potential to be a trap game for the Canes, but with USF having such a stellar start, there’s no chance Mario Cristobal’s team will look ahead to the Gators next week.
Chris “The Bear” Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an “occasional” wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He’s a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!” Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.
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