Week 2 is where the College Football Playoff picture could finally start to get messy.
Week 1 barely moved the board, but that quiet won’t last long with a Saturday slate built around heavyweight nonconference showdowns. The headliners are obvious: top-ranked Ohio State against No.
4 Texas in Austin, plus Michigan and Oklahoma in a game that feels like a must-win for both sides at the Big House. And even with those matchups front and center, there’s a good chance the day still spits out a few curveballs that shake up the bracket.
The biggest Group of 6 game on the board might be Memphis at Boise State. Memphis enters as one of the American’s favorites, and the setting should be electric on the blue turf. The winner will be in prime position for a playoff bid, even with Boise State still set to face Western Michigan in a few weeks.
Georgia, meanwhile, won’t learn much from its soft nonconference schedule. The Bulldogs may put up eye-catching numbers against teams like Western Kentucky, but those games won’t tell us much about Kirby Smart’s roster.
Texas is in the spotlight for another reason, too. This Steve Sarkisian Bowl could look different by the end of the day, especially with Houston set for a big Big 12 opener against Arizona at home. Texas could finish the night at No. 1, or it could slide further down the playoff pecking order depending on how it handles Ohio State.
Oregon also has a chance to make a statement on the road at Oklahoma State, and that result should reveal plenty about how high the Ducks can climb in the bracket. USC won’t give us much more clarity just yet, either. Lincoln Riley’s team has a late one in Los Angeles, and the Trojans’ schedule won’t really start answering questions until Big Ten play begins later this month.
Indiana’s nonconference games have been so lopsided that the idea of a running clock in the second half feels more like a possibility than a punchline. Howard was the latest example, and until the Hoosiers face someone with a pulse, there’s not much to measure.
Ole Miss gets a different kind of Saturday. The Rebels can enjoy a comfortable day in the Grove, and it will be Pete Golding’s first game as a head coach against a team that isn’t ranked at the time.
Florida A&M took the worst of it on Thursday night, in a game that was probably less competitive than a Hurricanes practice is. For Mario Cristobal, the encouraging part is that his team still looked sharp on a short week after coming back from the West Coast. And they’ve got not one, but two legitimate Heisman candidates in Malachi Toney and Darian Mensah.
Elsewhere in Death Valley, the Tigers’ tune-up against Louisiana Tech on Saturday night won’t tell us much unless they decide to show a lot. Either way, the conversation is already shifting to next week’s trip to Ole Miss.
The Ohio State-Texas game also comes with a coaching wrinkle that should grab the attention of NFL and college fans alike. Arthur Smith and Matt Patricia will be calling plays on the Buckeyes’ side against college veterans Steve Sarkisian and Will Muschamp, and the whole thing will have scouts packed into Austin for a game loaded with first-round NFL draft picks and, given the temperatures, plenty of sweat too.
Notre Dame should also cruise against Rice, though the Owls’ unusual option offense could at least produce a few interesting series in South Bend.
In Other News...
Texas-Ohio State Is Already Creating An Austin Frenzy
The buzz around Texas trip to Ohio State is already spilling far beyond the field, with ticket prices turning the matchup into a hot topic in Austin before kickoff even arrives. Seats in the upper deck are starting around $480, and the cost climbs into the thousands closer to the action, putting this one out of reach for plenty of Longhorns students who had hoped to be in the building.
Still, the game is shaping up to be a major moment for the city as much as for the team. Local business owners and economic experts are expecting a wave of visitors to bring a noticeable boost to Austin, adding another layer to a matchup that is already carrying plenty of weight for Texas fans trying to take it all in, even if they have to do so from afar. [Read more 🡒]
Urban Meyer Sees Ohio State Texas Coming Down To One Big Play
Urban Meyer is treating the Ohio State-Texas showdown like the kind of early-season heavyweight fight that can swing on a single moment. After both teams rolled through their openers against overmatched opponents, the former Buckeyes coach pointed to the quarterbacks as the obvious center of gravity, with Julian Sayin and Arch Manning carrying most of the pressure in a game that figures to be tight for a long stretch.
Texas does get the home-field edge, and Meyer acknowledged that as part of what makes this such a tricky road test for Ohio State. Still, he called for the Buckeyes to pull it out, which only adds another layer to a matchup already loaded with intrigue. For a Longhorns team trying to measure itself against one of the sports standard-bearers, the margin for error may be as slim as Meyer suggests. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Faces One Real Backfield Concern Before Ohio State
Texas has spent much of the buildup to Ohio State sorting through the usual early-season questions, but the one backfield wrinkle worth watching is the status of freshman running back Derrek Cooper. He was hurt in the season opener, and while the Longhorns have not issued an official injury report, head coach Steve Sarkisian said Cooper was in a boot as the team moved into the week.
Cooper is now a game-time decision, which leaves a little uncertainty in an area where Texas otherwise expects to lean on its top options. If he cannot go, the Longhorns should have enough depth to cover the workload, with Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown likely carrying most of the load. Still, against a national-stage opponent like Ohio State, every available back matters, and Texas would prefer to know exactly what it has before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]