Week 1 of the college football season finished with three ridiculous and exciting games on Sunday and Monday night, which is good considering Saturday night fell a bit flat and we didn’t get any real Thursday night college action so as not to run into NFL opening night.
The Week 2 slate of games figures to finish with a bang just as Week 1 did, just without those games coming on Sunday and Monday. From 7:00 p.m. ET on, there are a bevy of games that, at least on paper, look great, with staggered starts every 30 minutes through 8:30. That means you’ll either need four screens or to make some decisions on which game you really want to watch (and be keeping one eye on the scoreboard to be ready to make an audible to a different game).
The early slate isn’t nearly as exciting, but as always, we can find something worth watching in the afternoon to warm us up before the wild ending. If Week 1 was a marathon, Week 2 will be more of a sprint to the finish than anything. This week’s viewing guide begins in Ames and ends in Tempe, with plenty in between.
Iowa at Iowa State, 12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
El Assico (copyright EDSBS) is here, but this year the Cyclones appear to be a potentially competent team and the Hawkeyes looked very solid in pulling away from Wyoming last week. This rivalry is almost always close and almost always weird, so among a pretty rough slate of early action, this one gives you the best chance to be entertained.
Louisville at North Carolina, 12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Louisville came out of the gates slow against Purdue and got a surprising test from the Boilermakers, but Lamar Jackson looked great throwing the ball and he could give UNC fits. The Heels are in desperate need of a rebound game after a poor loss to Cal, so they should have their heads in the right place, but I’m not so sure they can keep up with the Cardinals. The line on this is 10, which is juicy for a home dog, but I’m afraid Jackson might get it rolling this week and run the Heels out of their own building. This very well could be one you’re turning away from at the half, BUT, that’s why we have 1 p.m. kicks.
Wake Forest at Boston College, 1:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3/ACC Extra
This game won’t be available on TV, but it’s a perfect candidate for your second screen device to throw up there just in case it gets weird. These two teams traditionally play close, defensive struggles that have a tendency to have a few hilarious plays. Both squads come in 1-0 and know winning this game is critical to making it to bowl season. My hope is for another 3-0 game like in 2015, but I’ll settle for 17-14 with a few wacky turnovers.
TCU at Arkansas, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
This game was incredibly fun last year as Arkansas squeaked out a 3-point win on the road in Fort Worth. Now it’s the Horned Frogs turn to hit the road and head into Hogs country where they’re surprisingly the favorites by three. Both teams have strong offenses and had defensive issues last year, so if those haven’t cleared up we might be in for another highly entertaining back-and-forth shootout. This also will be the first CBS game with Brad Nessler, as he takes over in the booth for the retired Verne Lundquist.
Pittsburgh at Penn State, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
This rivalry game produced a Pitt win last year that, at the time, wasn’t incredibly shocking but as the season wore on and Penn State became Big Ten champs, suddenly became a stunning loss on their resume that ultimately kept them out of the Playoff. This time, the Nittany Lions are laying three touchdowns and the expectation is that Saquon Barkley and company boat race the Panthers. It’s a rivalry game, so maybe it will be good, but this one probably won’t hold your attention too long unless you really like Barkley or Penn State — or, like me, picked Pitt to cover on principle.
Western Michigan at Michigan State, 3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
I just want to put this game on your radar so when it’s tight in the fourth quarter and you’re tired of watching the above blowout, you can flip over. The Broncos damn near took down USC last week before running out of gas, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they won this outright, on the field. Sparty beat Bowling Green by 25 last week, but I’m not sold. I think Western Michigan gives them a test through the final whistle at the least.
Nebraska at Oregon, 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox
This is a weird start time, but we’ll take it. Oregon is a big favorite and I’m not 100 percent sure why. Nebraska looked a little sluggish against Arkansas State, but won. Oregon thumped a mediocre FCS opponent and people think the Ducks are back. I don’t trust this Oregon defense enough to think this won’t turn into a good old shootout in Eugene. This game could end up being sneaky fun.
Auburn at Clemson, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
The first of the four big night games is the all-Tiger battle in Clemson. I still don’t know how I feel about this Auburn team. They beat down a bad Georgia Southern squad in Week 1, but this is a wildly different test. Clemson didn’t skip a beat in Week 1, thumping Kent State, admittedly a bad team also, but I have more faith in the Tigers from South Carolina than I do the Tigers from Alabama as it stands now. Still, this could be a very fun and entertaining game if Jarrett Stidham can get it rolling for Auburn.
Georgia at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC
The forgotten game of this evening slate, but one that also could be super interesting. The Dawgs will be starting a true freshman in South Bend, which seems like a recipe for trouble, but Jake Fromm looked real solid against Appalachian State in the opener and I expect heavy doses of Nick Chubb on the ground. Notre Dame also has a young quarterback in Brandon Wimbush, so I look for them to also keep things on the ground. Because of that, this game likely will stay tight, so if the other big games get away from us, I’d think NBC will be home to competitive football at the least on Saturday night.
Oklahoma at Ohio State, 8:00 p.m. ET, ABC
*Extreme Michael Buffer voice* This is the main event of the evening. The Buckeyes will hope that the second half against Indiana was enough to shake off all their rust, while the Sooners will look to keep their passing attack rolling after a near perfect Week 1 showing. This game figures to have fireworks on offense, it’ll just be a question of which defense can get a couple of stops (my guess being Ohio State).
Stanford at USC, 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox
This is probably my favorite game of the evening slate, because Stanford is gonna bring their big ol’ boys down to the Coliseum and try to run all over USC like Western Michigan did. Meanwhile, USC’s offense looked really good in its opener, led by running back Ronald Jones who could use this to let the rest of the nation know just how good he is. This rivalry has become a really good one over the past decade, and I’d expect another fun, physical matchup this year.
Boise State at Washington State, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
The first option for your nightcap is the best of the two, in my opinion. This game is destined to get weird and feature lots and lots of passing between the Broncos and Cougars. It might not end until 2:30 a.m. on the east coast, but it’ll be worth watching for however long you can commit to it.
San Diego State at Arizona State, 11:00 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
It’s been awhile since we had a good 11 p.m. kick in Tempe and they tend to get super weird. I’m not thrilled about this matchup, but I do know that night games in Sparky’s house have a tendency to, more often than not, get crazy. This is one to monitor before you go to bed, because if there are 20-plus first quarter points, we might just have to put on a pot of coffee and ride it out till the wee hours of the morning.
