College football is not a sprint. It is a 16-week marathon, and for the fans who can’t get enough, Week 2 is already bearing down on us with some scintillating matchups.
USC at Stanford
The Trojans are off to Palo Alto after an impressive 52-13 drumming of Fresno State. Junior quarterback Cody Kessler threw for 394 yards and four touchdowns on 25 completions.
Through one game, the Trojans are certainly living up to the preseason hype but things are about to get very real very quickly.
The PAC-12 will be an absolute gauntlet this year, with six teams in the top 25. Stanford is the two-time defending champion of the league and is entering this week after a 45-0 beatdown of UC Davis.
The Cardinal’s senior quarterback, Kevin Hogan, threw for three touchdowns but Stanford will always be known for its bone crushing defense.
This will be a classic example of high-powered offense versus equally high-powered defense. Only one can win, look for the Stanford home-field advantage to push it in their favor.
Michigan State at Oregon
The moment we’ve all been waiting for! The defending Big Ten champion heads to Eugene for a top 10 collision with the Ducks. Both teams had cupcake games last week. The Spartans beat Jacksonville St. 45-7, and the Ducks beat South Dakota 62-13.
Oregon’s Heisman Trophy candidate, redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota, threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 43 yards on the ground with a rushing touchdown. Obviously, there will be a steep step up in the competition next week.
The Spartan offense seems to be clicking as well. Returning starting junior quarterback Connor Cook threw more touchdowns than incompletions last week, and running back Nick Hill added two touchdowns on the ground.
The Ducks bring a high-flying offense about as frequently as the IRS mails out tax refunds. Saying they’re going to score is a given. But recently, the Ducks’ potent offensive attack has been held in check by overly physical teams like Stanford, and last season, Arizona.
Look for the stiff Spartan defense to punish the finesse of the Oregon attack. One more thing to keep an eye on, Oregon lost redshirt junior left tackle Tyler Johnstone to an ACL tear. The Spartans’ path to Mariota just got a little easier.
Michigan at Notre Dame
The annual clash between Michigan and Notre Dame will be in South Bend this year. Notre Dame senior quarterback Everett Golson leads the Irish once again after missing a year to academic suspension.
The Irish handled Rice in their season opener 48-17. Golson threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for three more.
The Notre Dame offense was impressive to say the least, and new receiver corps looks to be in sync with Golson; the quarterback completed passes to seven different receivers.
This week, Notre Dame gets the Michigan Wolverines who are fresh off killing the demons of their 2007 loss to Appalachian State. Michigan left nothing up to debate and throttled the Mountaineers 52-14.
Michigan senior quarterback Devin Gardner threw three touchdown passes in the game, all of them were reeled in by junior wide receiver Devin Funchess.
Look for a high-scoring affair in South Bend on Saturday night. There is plenty of history between these two sides and the last few matchups have been incredibly entertaining.
This could also be the last matchup between these two in a while, as Notre Dame was forced to bail out in its move to the ACC.
Virginia Tech at Ohio State
The Buckeyes have been the topic of national conversation ever since quarterback Braxton Miller went out for the season with a shoulder injury.
The signal caller for the Buckeyes is now freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett. He played well against Navy, completing 80 percent of his passes. He also led the team in rushing yards with 50 on the ground.
Ohio State struggled in its season opener, pulling away late to win 34-17. The offense sputtered to a measly six points in the first half, and the defense struggled with Navy’s triple option game.
It’s never easy to play on the road, but Ohio State certainly didn’t look like the fifth best team in the country.
This week they get Virginia Tech in Columbus. The Hokies come to town behind freshman running back Shai McKenzie, who had more than 100 yards on the ground in the Tech season opener against William & Mary. The Hokies got the win 34-9.
Look for McKenzie to have another big game if Virginia Tech hopes to win. Navy exposed the Buckeye run defense last week, but winning a game in Columbus will be a much steeper task.
