Blue Bloods Battle, Second-Best ACC Team, and What to Watch For in Week 2

By Alec Nederveld

Michigan meets Bevo

You can't tell the story of College Football without mentioning Michigan or Texas. Despite that, the two programs have only met once, the 2005 Rose Bowl, a 38-37 win for the Longhorns. And with Michigan and Texas coming off their best seasons in a long time, hype is only being added to a matchup that would be unspectacular short of the team names in the past.

Despite the Texas College Football Playoff appearance and Michigan national championship last year, the two teams feel like they're on different trajectories. Texas will be playing their second-ever game with an SEC patch on their jersey and looked dominant with it in Week 1. They overwhelmed Colorado State, a solid Mountain West team 52-0. The Rams only had four plays over 10 yards and didn't crack 200 as a team.

Michigan meanwhile struggled more than they should have against a Fresno State team with an interim coach. You can make the argument that they didn't blow out their overmatched non-conference teams last year, which is true, but they weren't held to 269 yards by any team but Iowa. Davis Warren was far from impressive and the positives only come from the fantastic Wolverine defense.

On paper, Texas should take care of business. There's just so much different with this Michigan team while Texas has the more talented roster and improved from 2023 to 2024. But despite that, I don't know if Steve Sarkisian 's team has faced a team as physical as Michigan will be and Will Johnson and Co. won't make it easy to score. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on Week 1, and this game will be low-scoring, close, and among the best of the week.

The Battle for No. 2 in the ACC

One week into the season, Miami is a heavy favorite to reach the ACC Championship. But behind the Hurricanes, the other conference contenders have played poorly and the conference looks wide open.

Virginia Tech and Clemson, despite ugly non-conference losses, are certainly in the race to win the ACC. It's just one game that has no effect on conference standings. For Clemson, Georgia will be the toughest team they play all year and Vanderbilt may be better than we all expect. Florida State, with two conference losses is a different story , at least for now.

Past that, North Carolina State also looked sloppy in a win over FCS Western Carolina. They were trailing 21-17 entering the fourth quarter before pulling away to a 38-21 win. Like the Hokies and Tigers, they have a prove-it game vs. an SEC team, facing off against Tennessee in Charlotte on Saturday. A win would eliminate week one worries and put the Pack right behind Miami in power rankings.

We'll also find out more about three of the ACC's dark horses, Georgia Tech, SMU, and Syracuse. Brent Key and the Jackets started the 2024 season by upsetting then-No. 10 Florida State in Dublin, but that win seems less impressive after Florida State's blowout loss to Boston College. They're now ranked No. 23 and will take a trip to the JMA Wireless Dome to face a rebuilt Syracuse team.

The Orange did not play their best game against Ohio last week, allowing Anthony Tyus III to run for 203 yards and two touchdowns, but Kyle McCord showed what he could do with career-highs of 354 yards and four touchdowns. It led to a respectable 38-22 win and a win for either team would give a sense of legitimacy.

SMU's Week 0 scare vs. Nevada looks to be less of a worry (Nevada beat two-time Sun Belt Champion Troy on the road in Week 1) and they get BYU on Friday night. The Mustangs should win in their first P4 vs P4 game but the result will answer more questions about the Mustangs.

We'll have to wait to learn more about other potential ACC Championship contenders such as Boston College, Louisville, and Clemson, they all play FCS or Group of Five teams, but by week's end, we'll know a lot more about the biggest question mark conference.

A culture war in Lincoln

Colorado and Nebraska have many similarities as programs. They were both members of the Big 8/Big 12 and consistently look back to their program's peak in the 1990s which they have been far from in the past 20 years. After an embarrassing start to the 2022 season, Karl Dorrell and Scott Frost got the boot and another coaching search was in store. And here's where the differences begin.

Nebraska chose Matt Rhule , a program builder who found success at Temple and Baylor but is coming off a disastrous stretch with the Carolina Panthers. Colorado meanwhile went for a wild card. Deion Sanders , with only three years of college coaching spent at Jackson State where his rosters overwhelmed other HBCU schools.

Last year, Colorado pulled away from Nebraska late for a commanding 36-14 win. But they were aided by four Cornhuskers turnovers, three from Jeff Sims who didn't start another game all year. Dylan Raiola , the five-star freshman from Buford has taken the starting job and looked good in a Week 1 over UTEP. But there will be a lot more pressure on Saturday.

The Buffaloes roster still has Shedeur Sanders who threw for 393 yards and two touchdowns in last year's contest along with Travis Hunter , Jimmy Horn Jr. , and Shilo Sanders . But that's about it for contributors from last year's game. Coach Prime once again rebuilt with the portal , adding 43 players but losing 41. The offensive line is still underwhelming, as well as the pass defense which gave up 292 yards to North Dakota State.

Nebraska kept most of their core in the offseason, losing nine and adding 10 players via the transfer portal. Like in past stops, Rhule is attempting a true rebuild which takes more time and comes from success on the recruiting trail, which he's had, and hoping to further aid with a big recruiting weekend .

Adding to the game is the Memorial Stadium crowd which looks to be electric. Nebraska and their fans haven't forgotten about what happened last year. Future matchups have not been scheduled and it all adds to a potentially legendary atmosphere. All we can hope for now is for the game to live up to expectations and it should be a great watch.

Prove-it games for Group of Five Auto Bid hunters

Some of the best Group of Five teams will get a chance to make a statement in Week 2. Boise State will head to Eugene, Appalachian State goes to Clemson, and Tulane will host Kansas State.

Boise State may have the best player on the field in star RB Ashton Jeanty who may get himself some Heisman attention . He ran for 267 yards and 20 touchdowns in last week's shootout win over Georgia Southern.

Appalachian State looks to catch a Clemson team that's not the same as in years past after a blowout loss to Georgia. We all know about their upset pedigree, and they've been very consistent, winning nine or more games in eight of the last nine seasons. Can the Mountaineers strike again?

Tulane gets their second home shot at a top-25 win in a row after losing a close game to No. 20 Ole Miss without starting QB Michael Pratt a year ago. This time, No. 17 Kansas State comes into town. This Green Wave team is very different, Jon Sumrall has taken over the program and deserved his offseason praise in a 52-0 Week 1 win against Southern Louisiana.

While Boise and App State are both healthy three-score underdogs, oddsmakers see the Tulane/Kansas State game a little differently. Aided by home-field advantage, Kansas State is only around a 9-point underdog. That's not insurmountable for the Green Wave.