After an eventful opening weekend, college football is on to Week 2.
What do you need to know ahead of Michigan at Oklahoma and other Saturday headliners? We’ve got you covered with our latest quiz and a full week of coverage.
Check out all of our College Sports Quizzes here. Want to chat all things college football? Hang out with Ralph Russo in our pregame live Q&A at 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday.
Pregame reads
What you should know ahead of the biggest games on Saturday …
• No. 15 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) — only the second meeting between these bluebloods — features one of the most compelling quarterback matchups of the season. For Michigan, it’s the second start for freshman No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood, who has already revolutionized Wolverines football and is heading toward upward of $10 million in compensation in his college career. For Oklahoma, it’s Washington State transfer John Mateer, who was ranked as the No. 235 recruit in the state of Texas but topped our Transfer Portal 100 this preseason. A lot is riding on the arrival of Mateer after Oklahoma flopped in its first SEC season last year.
Also check out our Michigan-Oklahoma preview from Austin Meek and Chris Vannini, who will be on the scene of the biggest game of the week on Saturday night in Norman.
• Iowa at No. 16 Iowa State (noon ET, Fox) was ranked No. 32 in our top 100 rivalry rankings in July. So who has it better: Iowa State, with a clearer championship path in the wide-open Big 12, or Iowa, with its Big Ten riches? Iowa State is happy to have Rocco Becht at quarterback, while Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz is coaching for the Big Ten wins record. Regardless of which side you’re on, the tailgating for a heated in-state rivalry is always a memorable scene.
• Kansas at Missouri (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) might not have a ranked team, but it should be the most heated matchup of the day. Yes, after a 14-year hiatus following Missouri’s Big 12 departure, the Border War is back. And the animosity dates back to the Civil War. In addition to Scott Dochterman’s rivalry history lesson, check out the lessons Bruce Feldman learned from Jayhawks QB Jalon Daniels.
• Oklahoma State at No. 6 Oregon (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS): Is this Mike Gundy’s last stand? Justin Williams goes inside the tension at Oklahoma State, where Gundy — who is tied for second behind Kirk Ferentz for the longest active FBS coaching tenure — was nearly forced out after a 3-9 campaign last fall in his 20th season. The Cowboys are almost four-touchdown underdogs at Oregon, where you should keep an eye on star Ducks linebacker Bryce Boettcher, a Houston Astros draftee figuring out whether he’ll play baseball or football professionally. (Why not both?)
In case you missed it …
It was an eventful Week 1:
• Dueling road trips! David Ubben drove to six games in five days to soak in the pageantry from Raleigh on Thursday to Chapel Hill on Monday (with many stops in between). Meanwhile, Matt Baker took to the air with ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, tagging along to five ACC games in two days to witness a football conference at a crossroads. The ACC went 2-3 during Baker’s five stops, but Miami and Florida State both notched marquee wins.
• In an era of increased player movement, Penn State running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen buck the trend. They’ve amassed 5,851 rushing yards and counting while sharing the same backfield now into a fourth season together for the No. 2 Nittany Lions, who are heading into Game 2 (vs. FIU) of a soft nonconference slate before things pick up with the Sept. 27 White Out vs. Oregon.
• It wasn’t a pleasant Week 1 for Arch Manning, Bill Belichick or Alabama.
• Ohio State moved up to No. 1 in the AP Top 25, but Chris Vannini has LSU atop his first in-season ranking of all 136 FBS teams.
• As Kalen DeBoer feels the heat at Alabama, Will Leitch says you couldn’t pay him enough to be a college football coach.
• Lee Corso made his final headgear pick on “College GameDay.” So what’s next for ESPN’s Saturday morning institution?
(Photo: Raj Mehta / Getty Images)
