2023 College Football - Week 2: Loading up Before Dinner
Sept 6, 2023 20:56:28 GMT -6
Funkytown likes this
Post by Uncle on Sept 6, 2023 20:56:28 GMT -6
The Colorado / TCU game was the "Game of the Week" and because it was the first game on the Week 1 Saturday slate, College Football fans felt "stuffed" for any more action for the rest of the day - almost like you ate too many snacks in the afternoon and you weren't hungry for dinner...
...and Week 2 is shaping-up to be another early-day "snackfest" with multiple early & mid-afternoon games to "feast on", and by the time we get to the Texas/Alabama prime time matchup, we might be full...
There will be plenty of time later in the season for "midnight snacking" when the PAC-12 - the only Conference that went undefeated in Week 0/Week 1 - go head-to-head late at night when Conference play starts...
Besides, for the 2nd week in a row, "Prime Time" starts early...
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Friday, 9/8 - Evening Game
Illinois @ Kansas - 7:30PM ET (ESPN2); spread is Kansas -3
This should be a nice, little appetizer of a game on Friday evening for everyone to get a taste of the weekend buffet of action. Illinois HC Bret Bielema has turned around the Illinois football program into respectability vs the BIG10 "doormat" it used to be, and Kansas was the "cinderella" story in 2022 until they met National Runner-up TCU in Lawrence in early October. Kansas was led by QB Jalon Daniels in 2022 and he should be good-to-go after missing their Week 1 game vs Missouri St., and Illinois "squeaked" by a high-powered Toledo team in Week 1. Someone is getting off to a nice 2-0 start. Another reason to tune-in is Illinois DT Jer'Zhan Newton, a Round 1 DT prospect that could have declared last season but came back for 2023.
Saturday, 9/9 - Early Games
Nebraska @ #22 Colorado - Noon ET (FOX); spread is Colorado -3
Before Week 1, Nebraska was the betting favorite as no one believed Coach Prime and the team he brought-in would turnaround the Buffalo program, which prompted Deion's infamous "do you believe now?" post-game presser. Well, Vegas certainly believes as the line immediately shifted once the Buffaloes beat TCU. Matt Rhule continued the recent Nebraska tradition of choking away a close game at Minnesota in Week 1 and I don't think many people believe he can pull off the win in Boulder. Will Rhule be the one asking the media if they "believe" after this one? Colorado is due for a rude awakening at some point but if Deion's son continues to play at a high level, I don't think it'll be this weekend.
#10 Notre Dame @ NC State - Noon ET (ABC); spread is Notre Dame -7.5
The Fighting Irish have certainly looked the part of a Top 10 program so far, but they were either at home or at a neutral location vs lesser opponents. Now they take a step "up" in competition to a Power 5 team on the road. Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman never won in Raleigh during his time at Wake Forest, going 0-2 and he's thrown 6 INT's in 3 games vs the Wolfpack. He gets a chance to rectify that record but he'll have to go through a tough NC State defense led by LB Payton Wilson. The Fighting Irish might have one of College Football's best OL groups and Hartman should lean on that to get the "W" in this one.
Saturday, 9/9 Mid-Afternoon Games
#20 Ole Miss @ #24 Tulane - 3:30PM ET (ESPN2); spread is Ole Miss -7.5
This is a very interesting mid-afternon "snack" we get and one that I'll hopefully be watching closely. First, this matchup is actually a historic rivalry dating back to 1893 and is the oldest rivalry in Ole Miss program history. They haven't played much in the 21st century and Ole Miss has won 12-straight consecutive matchups. But with the game in New Orleans and Tulane probably having a big chip on their shoulder as they want to prove their 2022 season and 24th ranking in 2023 is no fluke, that Rebel winning streak might very well come to an end. Outside of this being only one of two games this weekend to feature two Top 25 teams, this matchup also features two 2024 QB Draft prospects in Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart (USC Transfer) and Tulane's Michael Pratt. I really liked what I saw from Pratt during Tulane's 2022 run - especially his performance vs USC in the Cotton Bowl - and without RB Tyjae Spears, the 2023 season will fall more on him. I haven't seen Jaxson Dart yet so I'm looking forward to watching both QB's in what should be a high-scoring, back-n-forth matchup that might be an early candiate for "Game of the Week".
#23 Texas A&M @ Miami, FL - 3:30PM ET (ABC); spread is Texas A&M -4.5
Last season in College Station, this game was basically the beginning of the end for Miami's season and Tyler Van Dyke's 2023 Draft hopes. Despite A&M coming out on top in 2022, both teams sputtered throughout 2022 on-route to 5-7 records. But this isn't 2022 and both teams came out of the gate looking good in Week 1. A&M HC Jimbo Fisher needs a bigtime win like this to prove that A&M is a force to be reckoned with in the SEC and Miami will be looking for revenge for last season's loss. An interesting tidbit here is that Jimbo Fisher brought in Bobby Petrino to run the offense, which sounds laughable given Petrino's track record, but Jimbo Fisher's offensive track record hasn't been good lately, either. Both teams need "statement" wins so this should be entertaining.
Iowa @ Iowa St - 3:30PM ET (FOX); spread is Iowa -4
Last week we had the "Battle of the Carolinas", and this week we get the "Battle of Iowa", or the "Battle of Funkytown 's heart" as it's known in the Hawkeye State. Iowa has dominated the all-time series 46-23, including 6 out of the last 7 meetings. After a few years of setting offensive football back decades, Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz went out and "recruited" former Michigan QB Cade McNamara and the Hawkeyes acutally looked good on offense in Week 1. I expect points will be hard to come by yet again in this one, but Iowa does have more talent on both sides of the ball and McNamara might be the difference.
Saturday 9/9 - Evening Games
#11 Texas @ #3 Alabama - 7:00PM ET (ESPN); spread is Alabama -7
Both of these teams met in Week 2 in 2022 in Austin with the Crimson Tide escaping with a last second FG victory. Texas QB Quinn Ewers was knocked out of that game early but the Longhorns played hard enough that they nearly pulled-off the upset. I'm not as big of a fan of Ewers as the "experts" are from what I've seen of him in 2022 and he'll need to play the game of his life to pull this off. Alabama doesn't have any "premier" Round 1 names on either side of the ball like we're used to, but they do have really solid players on both sides of the line of scrimmage and if Saban leans on them, they should be able to dominate Texas at home. Ewers has a chance to make somewhat of a believer out of me in this one but I get the feeling that unless Ewers has a special game, the Crimson Tide pull away in the 2nd half.
#19 Wisconsin @ Washington St - 7:30PM ET (ABC); spread is Wisconsin -6.5
The Cougars came into Camp Randall last season and sprung the upset on the Badgers 17-14 in a quiet "coming out" party for Washington St QB Cameron Ward. I really liked Ward's performance in this game last year (first time watching him), especially since he transferred to FBS Power 5 football from FCS school Incarnate Word. Even though Wisconsin brought in SMU QB Tanner Mordecai to attempt to air-it-out vs ground-n-pound, they still ran the ground-n-pound approach in Week 1 vs Buffalo, a game they struggled in for a while as Mordecai turned it over twice. The ground game travels well, but INT's don't and Pullman, WA is a tough place to play, especially for turnover prone QB's like Mordecai.
...and Week 2 is shaping-up to be another early-day "snackfest" with multiple early & mid-afternoon games to "feast on", and by the time we get to the Texas/Alabama prime time matchup, we might be full...
There will be plenty of time later in the season for "midnight snacking" when the PAC-12 - the only Conference that went undefeated in Week 0/Week 1 - go head-to-head late at night when Conference play starts...
Besides, for the 2nd week in a row, "Prime Time" starts early...
Friday, 9/8 - Evening Game
Illinois @ Kansas - 7:30PM ET (ESPN2); spread is Kansas -3
This should be a nice, little appetizer of a game on Friday evening for everyone to get a taste of the weekend buffet of action. Illinois HC Bret Bielema has turned around the Illinois football program into respectability vs the BIG10 "doormat" it used to be, and Kansas was the "cinderella" story in 2022 until they met National Runner-up TCU in Lawrence in early October. Kansas was led by QB Jalon Daniels in 2022 and he should be good-to-go after missing their Week 1 game vs Missouri St., and Illinois "squeaked" by a high-powered Toledo team in Week 1. Someone is getting off to a nice 2-0 start. Another reason to tune-in is Illinois DT Jer'Zhan Newton, a Round 1 DT prospect that could have declared last season but came back for 2023.
Saturday, 9/9 - Early Games
Nebraska @ #22 Colorado - Noon ET (FOX); spread is Colorado -3
Before Week 1, Nebraska was the betting favorite as no one believed Coach Prime and the team he brought-in would turnaround the Buffalo program, which prompted Deion's infamous "do you believe now?" post-game presser. Well, Vegas certainly believes as the line immediately shifted once the Buffaloes beat TCU. Matt Rhule continued the recent Nebraska tradition of choking away a close game at Minnesota in Week 1 and I don't think many people believe he can pull off the win in Boulder. Will Rhule be the one asking the media if they "believe" after this one? Colorado is due for a rude awakening at some point but if Deion's son continues to play at a high level, I don't think it'll be this weekend.
#10 Notre Dame @ NC State - Noon ET (ABC); spread is Notre Dame -7.5
The Fighting Irish have certainly looked the part of a Top 10 program so far, but they were either at home or at a neutral location vs lesser opponents. Now they take a step "up" in competition to a Power 5 team on the road. Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman never won in Raleigh during his time at Wake Forest, going 0-2 and he's thrown 6 INT's in 3 games vs the Wolfpack. He gets a chance to rectify that record but he'll have to go through a tough NC State defense led by LB Payton Wilson. The Fighting Irish might have one of College Football's best OL groups and Hartman should lean on that to get the "W" in this one.
Saturday, 9/9 Mid-Afternoon Games
#20 Ole Miss @ #24 Tulane - 3:30PM ET (ESPN2); spread is Ole Miss -7.5
This is a very interesting mid-afternon "snack" we get and one that I'll hopefully be watching closely. First, this matchup is actually a historic rivalry dating back to 1893 and is the oldest rivalry in Ole Miss program history. They haven't played much in the 21st century and Ole Miss has won 12-straight consecutive matchups. But with the game in New Orleans and Tulane probably having a big chip on their shoulder as they want to prove their 2022 season and 24th ranking in 2023 is no fluke, that Rebel winning streak might very well come to an end. Outside of this being only one of two games this weekend to feature two Top 25 teams, this matchup also features two 2024 QB Draft prospects in Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart (USC Transfer) and Tulane's Michael Pratt. I really liked what I saw from Pratt during Tulane's 2022 run - especially his performance vs USC in the Cotton Bowl - and without RB Tyjae Spears, the 2023 season will fall more on him. I haven't seen Jaxson Dart yet so I'm looking forward to watching both QB's in what should be a high-scoring, back-n-forth matchup that might be an early candiate for "Game of the Week".
#23 Texas A&M @ Miami, FL - 3:30PM ET (ABC); spread is Texas A&M -4.5
Last season in College Station, this game was basically the beginning of the end for Miami's season and Tyler Van Dyke's 2023 Draft hopes. Despite A&M coming out on top in 2022, both teams sputtered throughout 2022 on-route to 5-7 records. But this isn't 2022 and both teams came out of the gate looking good in Week 1. A&M HC Jimbo Fisher needs a bigtime win like this to prove that A&M is a force to be reckoned with in the SEC and Miami will be looking for revenge for last season's loss. An interesting tidbit here is that Jimbo Fisher brought in Bobby Petrino to run the offense, which sounds laughable given Petrino's track record, but Jimbo Fisher's offensive track record hasn't been good lately, either. Both teams need "statement" wins so this should be entertaining.
Iowa @ Iowa St - 3:30PM ET (FOX); spread is Iowa -4
Last week we had the "Battle of the Carolinas", and this week we get the "Battle of Iowa", or the "Battle of Funkytown 's heart" as it's known in the Hawkeye State. Iowa has dominated the all-time series 46-23, including 6 out of the last 7 meetings. After a few years of setting offensive football back decades, Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz went out and "recruited" former Michigan QB Cade McNamara and the Hawkeyes acutally looked good on offense in Week 1. I expect points will be hard to come by yet again in this one, but Iowa does have more talent on both sides of the ball and McNamara might be the difference.
Saturday 9/9 - Evening Games
#11 Texas @ #3 Alabama - 7:00PM ET (ESPN); spread is Alabama -7
Both of these teams met in Week 2 in 2022 in Austin with the Crimson Tide escaping with a last second FG victory. Texas QB Quinn Ewers was knocked out of that game early but the Longhorns played hard enough that they nearly pulled-off the upset. I'm not as big of a fan of Ewers as the "experts" are from what I've seen of him in 2022 and he'll need to play the game of his life to pull this off. Alabama doesn't have any "premier" Round 1 names on either side of the ball like we're used to, but they do have really solid players on both sides of the line of scrimmage and if Saban leans on them, they should be able to dominate Texas at home. Ewers has a chance to make somewhat of a believer out of me in this one but I get the feeling that unless Ewers has a special game, the Crimson Tide pull away in the 2nd half.
#19 Wisconsin @ Washington St - 7:30PM ET (ABC); spread is Wisconsin -6.5
The Cougars came into Camp Randall last season and sprung the upset on the Badgers 17-14 in a quiet "coming out" party for Washington St QB Cameron Ward. I really liked Ward's performance in this game last year (first time watching him), especially since he transferred to FBS Power 5 football from FCS school Incarnate Word. Even though Wisconsin brought in SMU QB Tanner Mordecai to attempt to air-it-out vs ground-n-pound, they still ran the ground-n-pound approach in Week 1 vs Buffalo, a game they struggled in for a while as Mordecai turned it over twice. The ground game travels well, but INT's don't and Pullman, WA is a tough place to play, especially for turnover prone QB's like Mordecai.
... and neither is this Chris guy.