The main event of Week 2 in college football happens early Saturday.
No. 3 Texas visits No. 10 and defending national champion Michigan in the day’s only top-10 matchup. It’s Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, and it comes 20 seasons after the Longhorns won their only previous meeting in a classic Rose Bowl. The Longhorns also were in the College Football Playoff last season and lost to Washington, the team Michigan beat in the title game.
The SEC-ACC matchup between No. 14 Tennessee and No. 24 North Carolina State is the only other Top 25 game . Look for Volunteers’ wunderkind Nico Iamaleava to put the Wolfpack secondary to the test in Charlotte.
The undercard is full of intrigue.
Boise State and star running back Ashton Jeanty visit No. 7 Oregon the week after the Ducks were sloppy and struggled to get past FCS Idaho. Dillon Gabriel put up good numbers against the Vandals but was sacked three times, and the Ducks were called for eight penalties. The Broncos are one of the top challengers for the Group of Five bid in the College Football Playoff and, though nearly three-touchdown underdogs, will be no pushover.
Deion Sanders takes his Colorado Buffaloes to Nebraska for a clash of former Big Eight-Big 12 rivals trying to return to their winning ways. All eyes will be on the quarterbacks: the Buffaloes’ prolific Shadeur Sanders and five-star freshman Dylan Raiola.
Arkansas, coming off a 70-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, will get a better gauge of itself when it makes the short trip to No. 16 Oklahoma State. Iowa State visits No. 21 Iowa for the annual CyHawk Game and South Carolina goes to Kentucky for the first Southeastern Conference game of the season.
Best game
No. 3 Texas (1-0) at No. 10 Michigan (1-0), Saturday, noon ET (Fox)
It’s a classic matchup of bluebloods. Michigan is the all-time wins leader and Texas is fourth, and both were among the final four standing in 2023.
Michigan has won a school-record 29 straight regular-season games and hasn’t lost at home since 2019. Texas has won seven straight true road games, including last year’s game at then-No. 3 Alabama.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers can put himself squarely into the Heisman Trophy mix with a big performance at the Big House against one of the nation’s elite defenses.
Heisman watch
Jaxson Dart is poised for another big outing when No. 6 Mississippi hosts Middle Tennessee State. The Rebels’ third-year starter was 22 of 27 for 445 yards and six touchdowns — all in the first half — against Furman. He became the first SEC quarterback to throw for more than 350 yards in a half since LSU’s Joe Burrow did it during his 2019 Heisman Trophy season.
At 10-to-1 odds on BetMGM Sportsbook, Dart is just off the pace of the betting public’s front-runners — Dillon Gabriel, Carson Beck and Cam Ward. He’ll have ample opportunity to amass prodigious numbers against, by SEC standards, a manageable schedule.
Numbers to know
15 — Second-half rushing yards allowed by North Carolina against Minnesota.
23.5 — Collin Oliver’s nation-leading sacks for Oklahoma State since 2020.
46-1 — Penn State’s record since 2014 when leading by at least 10 points at halftime.
77 — North Texas’ nation-leading number of newcomers.
200 — Alabama wins since 2008, most in the FBS and 19 more than Georgia and Ohio State.
Under the radar
No. 17 Kansas State (1-0) at Tulane (1-0), Saturday, noon ET (ESPN)
The Wildcats know all too well this is a tricky game. They lost 17-10 at home to the Green Wave as 14-point favorites in 2022, and it still sticks in their craw.
Tulane has been on a roll for two-plus years, and it isn’t expected to drop off much, if at all, under first-year coach Jon Sumrall. Darian Mensah is a dual-threat QB who will challenge the Wildcats.
Hot seat
Florida’s Billy Napier came into the season on the hot seat and now it’s blistering. Fans began leaving the Swamp early in the second half of last week’s 41-17 loss to Miami — never a good sign. He’s 11-15 since his celebrated hiring following his 40-12 run at Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Gators, who should get a breather Saturday against Samford, are headed toward a fourth straight losing season. That hasn’t happened since 1938, but it seems inevitable against one of the country’s most brutal schedules.
Napier would be owed $26 million if he’s fired before Dec. 1. That shouldn’t be an issue.
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