The first week of the college football season is in the books, and what a week it was.
There were no shortage of upsets – looking at you, Fresno State over Purdue and Texas State over Baylor – as well as plenty of arrivals – hello, Coach Prime – that helped usher college football back to our screens, and the good vibes should keep on rolling this week with another slate of games to take in.
Here are some of the top matchups for this week:
Nebraska at No. 22 Colorado (12 p.m., FOX): Getting back to Deion Sanders, it was an impressive debut for him and the Buffaloes, knocking off TCU – who, some might remember, were in the national title game last season – but not so much for the coach on the opposite side of this game.
Despite having moved on from Scott Frost, Nebraska – who is now coached by Matt Rhule – appeared to have not changed all that much, blowing a late lead against Minnesota while turning the ball over four times. The Cornhuskers did not look very capable last week against the Gophers, while Colorado looked ready to compete with just about any team in the country, led by quarterback Shedeur Sanders and utility man Travis Hunter, who played over 100 snaps at wide receiver and cornerback.
Many had marked this once down as a win for Nebraska entering the season, but the tables have flipped entirely just one week in, and Rhule could be looking at an 0-2 start to begin his career in Lincoln.
No. 22 Ole Miss at No. 24 Tulane (3:30 p.m., ESPN2): This one may fly under the radar for some fans, but on paper, this – other than the next matchup I’m highlighting here – might be the best game of the weekend.
Ole Miss and Tulane both have high-scoring offenses, with the Rebels’ Jaxson Dart throwing for four touchdowns in Ole Miss’ opener and Tulane’s Michael Pratt matching that mark while also leading the Green Wave with 39 rushing yards in a 37-17 win over South Alabama, one of the better teams in the Sun Belt.
Tulane might be a bit more warmed up for this one, as Ole Miss’ Week 1 opponent was Mercer from the FCS, a 73-7 win for the Rebels. With the Green Wave having already been in a battle, look for a close one between these ranked teams, one of just two ranked matchups this weekend.
No. 11 Texas at No. 4 Alabama (7 p.m., ESPN): This is the one everyone’s been waiting for since the schedule came out, and since Alabama escaped Austin, Texas, last season with a 20-19 win in which Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers was injured.
This time around, Ewers is healthy for Texas, while the Crimson Tide will be going to battle with Jalen Milroe after Bryce Young departed for the NFL following last season. In his first start against Middle Tennessee State, Milroe threw for 194 yards and three touchdowns while completing 72.2 percent of his passes.
While Texas seemed up for the challenge last season, there’s some question as to which version of the Longhorns will show up in Tuscaloosa after starting slow in the 37-10 win over Rice to begin the season. Regardless, this should set the tone early this season for both programs.
Other notable games on the schedule include:
- Youngstown State at No. 5 Ohio State (12 p.m., BTN)
- Troy at No. 16 Kansas State (12 p.m., FS1)
- No. 13 Notre Dame at NC State (12 p.m., ABC)
- No. 14 Utah at Baylor (12 p.m., ESPN)
- Purdue at Virginia Tech (12 p.m., ESPN2)
- No. 23 Texas A&M at Miami (Fla.) (3:30 p.m., ABC)
- No. 25 Iowa at Iowa State (3:30 p.m., FOX)
- Tulsa at No. 10 Washington (5 p.m. P12N)
- SMU at No. 20 Oklahoma (6 p.m., ESPN+)
- Cincinnati at Pitt (6:30 p.m., CW)
- No. 15 Oregon at Texas Tech (7 p.m., FOX)
- No. 19 Wisconsin at Washington State (7:30 p.m., ABC)
- Stanford at No. 6 USC (10:30 p.m., FOX)
- Auburn at California (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
