Three Big Things: Week 2

Now that you have had time to look over the schedule, let's dive into it. Here are the Three Big Things to watch out for this weekend.

• Ranked Matchups

This week's slate features twice as many games that pit Top-25 teams than it did a week ago. Georgia travels to South Bend where they are bringing in a replacement for Jacob Eason. Notre Dame made their debut this week in our poll, and a win over the Bulldogs will go a long way for a team that finished 4-8 a year ago.

Clemson's title run last year began when they knocked off Auburn 19-13 down on the plains. This year, Auburn makes a return trip to Death Valley where they hope to return the favor. Whoever wins the Battle of the Tigers will have a quality win in their pocket before heading into what promises to be a brutal conference schedule for each team.

In another rematch from a year ago, Oklahoma travels to the Horseshoe to take on another Playoff contender in the nightcap when they face Ohio State. Both teams are Top 5 and have high expectations for the season. A loss won't hurt Ohio State's chances, but one has to believe it will really damage the Sooners'. With the Big 12 being what it was in Week 1, I'm saying this is a must-win for Lincoln Riley and Crew.

• The Texas Three-Way

With last week's terrible showing for teams from the Lone Star State, one has to wonder how much of a bounce back each are in for. After being embarrassed by Liberty, Baylor welcomes in-state opponent UT-San Antonio who is likely going to be made an example of. A week from allowing the largest comeback in recent memory, Texas A&M hosts Nicholls State as they look to put the UCLA loss behind them. Texas looks to right the ship when San Jose State comes to Austin, and notch the first win for Tom Herman in burnt orange. All three games should be wins for each program, but we'll have to see how much damage was taken in Week 1.

• Early Season Rivalry Week

Week 2 offers us a couple of early season rivalry games. First up is the Battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. Iowa will travel to Ames where the Hawkeyes would love to crash the Cyclones' party for another year. Stanford travels to USC where we find two ranked teams squaring off for the 96th time. Finally, the Holy War. Utah travels to BYU where they will face their "Most Beloved Rival" in this year's edition of the matchup. The Cougars have lost nine straight in the series dating back to their last win in 2009.


There you have it. Three Big Things to be on the lookout for. Another thing you should be watching for is our weekly predictions. Last week treated us fairly, lets hope this week is more of the same. Picks and bets coming in an hour and a half. See you then!