After a very exciting week 1, the second weekend of college football season looks relatively dull. However, there are still a handful of good games this week. Here’s a list of thoughts, observations, and stats to pay attention to for week 2.
- It’s disappointing that there wasn’t a college football game on Thursday. Yes, I know it’s opening night in the NFL, but there are a lot of fans that prefer college football over pro football. I don’t care if it’s a matchup between the two worst teams in college football history, I’m still going to tune in.
- I’m thrilled to see both the Holy War (BYU – Utah) and the Penn State – Pittsburgh rivalries resuming this weekend. Traditional rivalries are what make college football great, and in my opinion, superior to the NFL.
- The Holy War is the game to watch this weekend. Kyle Whittingham and Kalani Sitake are two of the best defensive minds in college football, which should produce an “old school” type of contest, rather than the 35-28 shootout we saw in last year’s Las Vegas Bowl.
- This matchup is even more intriguing is the “master versus the apprentice” angle. It’ll be interesting to see what wrinkles each coach adds to the game plan.
- Keep an eye on the matchup between Taysom Hill and the Utah secondary. In Hill’s last start against the Utes in 2013, he struggled mightily, completing just 18 of 48 passes for 260 yards. He’s a more polished passer now (21 of 29 for 202 yards against Arizona) and is good enough to beat the Ute secondary, which ranked 103rd in pass defense last year.
- Likewise, Utah will need a big game from quarterback Troy Williams to defeat BYU. Aside from the 54-10 blowout in 2011, the Utes haven’t cracked the 4-yard per carry barrier against the Cougars. That makes it imperative that Williams connect on a few big throws to open up the running game.
- Although the rivalry has been quiet for 16 years, expect a spirited contest from Penn State – Pittsburgh this weekend. Since the schools recruit a lot of the same players, everyone involved with this contest knows that the Panthers won the last meeting 12-0 in 2000.
- One factor that could decide this contest is the battle between the Nittany Lion offensive line and the Pittsburgh pass rush. After struggling mightily in pass protection over the past couple of seasons, PSU allowed just one sack against Kent State last week. They’ll face a stiff challenge from the Panther pass rush, which finished third in the ACC in sacks last season and recorded six sacks in the season opener against Villanova.
- Another key matchup is the Pittsburgh running game versus the Nittany Lion front seven. The Panthers have arguably the deepest group of running backs in the country with James Conner and Qadree Ollison leading the way. Yet, they struggled against Villanova, averaging just 2.53 yards per carry. It’ll be interesting to see how they rebound against a Penn State defense that only allowed 3.85 yards per carry in 2015.
- Although I rarely agree with Nick Saban, he’s absolutely right about Western Kentucky. Even with the departure of Brandon Doughty, the Hilltopper offense is still one of the most explosive in the country, averaging 9.98 yards per play. I can’t wait to see how Taywan Taylor – one of our seven Group of Five Heisman trophy candidates – fares against a very talented Crimson Tide secondary that limited USC to just 3.5 yards per attempt and 48.6% completion percentage.
- With said, Alabama wins this game convincingly. The Crimson Tide offense is simply too tough to stop right now, averaging 7.38 yards per play.
- Louisville – Syracuse is the most underrated game on the docket this weekend. The showdown between Lamar Jackson (405 ypg, 11.91 yards per play, 8 total TD) and Eric Dungey (34 of 40 for 355 yards) will be worth the price of admission.
- Arkansas – TCU is a close second. Sure, both teams had close calls last week, but they were able to overcome their mistakes and earn a “W”. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Razorback defense (291 yards against last week) prevails against an explosive Horned Frog offense that racked up 662 yards versus South Dakota State.
- This week’s upset special is East Carolina over North Carolina State. The Pirates have beaten at least one ACC team in each of the last three seasons, and posted two wins against the league in 2013 and 2014. New head coach Scottie Montgomery knows what it takes to win in the ACC after two highly successful stints as an assistant at Duke. That experience, plus the precision passing of Phillip Nelson (28 of 32 for 398 yards in the season opener) will lead to the upset.
