Week Two Guide: Games to Watch

Welcome to Week Two of the College Football Season.

The Hawkeyes are headed to Ames this Saturday for the Cy-Hawk rivalry against Iowa State, but that’s not the only big game on the docket. There’s plenty of good football set to be played around the country. If you are someone who sets up 2-3 TVs, like me, that means watching several games at a time. We’ve got you covered with what to watch. Once again, let’s skip an extended intro and just get into the games. HawkeyeReport breaks down the top games to watch during week two of the college football season.

***All betting odds/lines are provided by Bet MGM***

Must Watch Game of the Week: #15 Michigan at #18 Oklahoma

Game Info: Saturday, September 6th – 6:30pm CT – ABC Line: Oklahoma -5.5

Not quite the game that we had in this spot last week, but this another Big Ten vs SEC battle that will factor into shaping conference perceptions as the season goes on. The Wolverines opened the season with a 34-17 win over New Mexico last week, with true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood passing for 251 yards and one score. Oklahoma didn’t have much trouble either taking down Illinois State 35-3 behind 392 passing yards and three touchdowns from Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer. This matchup should tell us a lot about both teams, but it will be really interesting to see how Bryce Underwood plays in a road environment at night. I’m not sold on Michigan or Oklahoma yet, but the winner of this game will have a nice feather to stick in their cap.

Best 11:00am Game: Baylor at #17 SMU

Game Info: Saturday, September 6th – 11:00am CT – CW Network Line: SMU -2.5

There are a couple of games during the 11:00am kickoff slot worth watching if you have a couple of TV’s on hand and this is one of them. This could have been a ranked matchup had Baylor defeated Auburn, but the Bears did not look great, falling 38-24 in Waco on Friday night. Quarterback Sawyer Robertson threw for 419 yards and three touchdowns, but completed just 56.3% of his passes, while the Bears run game struggled mightily (64 yds, 2.7 ypc). Meanwhile, the Mustangs, coming off a CFP appearance in their first year as an ACC member, handled business, comfortably defeating East Texas A&M 42-13 in their opener. Quarterback Kevin Jennings may have found a couple of new favorite targets, as Romello Brinson and freshman Jalen Cooper combined for 12 receptions and 194 yards. If Baylor plays closer to their capabilities, this could end up being a good game.

Best 2:30pm Game: Kansas at Missouri

Game Info: Saturday, September 6th – 2:30pm CT – ESPN2 Line: Missouri -6.5

The return of the Border War for the first time since 2011, this is a heated rivalry that should also deliver a pretty good game. For almost 15 years, Kansas fans have had to hear about how the Missouri won five of the last six meetings before they left for the SEC. The Jayhawks enter this week with a 2-0 record, tallying wins over Fresno State (31-7) and Wagner (46-7), with quarterback Jalon Daniels tossing seven touchdown passes already. As for the Tigers, they dismantled Central Arkansas 61-6, behind Penn State transfer Beau Pribula who passed for 283, rushed for 65 and totaled four touchdowns. This is easily the best afternoon game on the schedule.

Best After Dark Game: Stanford at #26 BYU

Game Info: Saturday, September 6th – 9:15pm CT – ESPN Line: BYU -18.5

Last weekend’s after dark slate looked promising on paper, but did not pan out, with just one of five games finishing within three scores. This week, the after dark slate doesn’t look at all enticing, so maybe something will surprise us. Stanford didn’t exactly get off to a great start, as they lost on a last-second field goal at Hawaii back in Week Zero, but they’ve had an early bye week to regroup for BYU. The Cougars were not tested in their opener, defeating Portland State 69-0, with new quarterback Bear Bachmeier tossing three touchdowns on 11 pass attempts. I don’t expect this to be that close, but I also thought Utah-UCLA would be close, so there’s that.

Underrated Game of the Week: Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech

Game Info: Saturday, September 6th – 6:30pm CT – ACC Network Line: Virginia Tech -1

It was between this game and Illinois-Duke for the most underrated game of the week, but this one went to OT when they met last season in Nashville. Vanderbilt made waves last season, knocking off then #1 Alabama and finishing with a Birmingham Bowl win over Georgia Tech. With Diego Pavia at quarterback, the Commodores got more preseason talk and recognition than they have since James Franklin was the head coach. In their opener, Pavia was 20/25 and tossed three touchdowns passes in a 45-3 win over Charleston Southern. As for Virginia Tech, they played a high-profile opener in Atlanta against South Carolina but fell 24-11 to the Gamecocks. Kyron Drones really struggled, tossing a pair of interceptions and only completed 15 of 35 passes. They’ll need him to be much better if the Hokies are going to go 1-1 against the SEC to start the year.

Other Games to Watch

Oklahoma State at #6 Oregon (-28.5) (Saturday- 2:30pm CT – CBS)

This would have been a really exciting game and potentially the game of the week if it happened almost any other time in the past decade, but that’s not the case and Oregon comes into this one as a major favorite. Oklahoma State finished 3-9 last season, but did end their nine-game losing streak with a 27-7 win over UT Martin the opener. However, they lost quarterback Hauss Hejny with a broken bone in his foot. The Ducks defeated Montana State 59-13 in the opener, with quarterback Dante Moore completing 18 passes to ten receivers for 213 yards and three touchdowns.

#11 Illinois (-3) at Duke (Saturday- 11:00am CT – ESPN)

For whatever reason, this line feels like a trap and gives reason to believe that Vegas knows this is going to be a much closer game that expected. Illinois opened the season on Friday with a 52-3 win over Western Illinois, while Duke shook off a slow start against Elon, pulling away for a 45-17 win. The Blue Devils are led by Tulane transfer Darian Mensah at quarterback, but the Illini have Luke Altmeyer leading their offense. Duke has a strong front four and a good secondary, which must have oddsmakers thinking this could be a close game.

Boston College at Michigan State (-5) (Saturday – 6:30pm CT – NBC)

When the end of the season rolls around and programs are fighting for bowl eligibility, this game could be one that decides whether it’s the Eagles or the Spartans playing in the postseason. Boston College won their opener 66-10 over Fordham, with Alabama transfer Dylan Longeran tossing four touchdown passes, while receiver Lewis Bond caught 11 passes for 138 yards. The Spartans jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half against Western Michigan and coasted to a 23-6 win in the opener, with the defense tallying 12 (!) tackles for loss. Quarterback Aidan Chiles had pretty pedestrian numbers, but he didn’t really need to light it up against the Broncos.

#12 Arizona State (-6.5) at Mississippi State (Saturday – 6:30pm CT – ESPN2)

When these two teams met in Tempe last season the matchup yielded a one-score game and that’s where the line sits coming into the week, with ASU favored by seven points. Arizona State is no longer going to sneak up on people after going 11-3 last season and making the CFP. They enter this week ranked 12th in the country, after defeating Northern Arizona 38-19 in the opener, with quarterback Sam Leavitt finding All-American receiver Jordyn Tyson 12 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Mississippi State had to grind out a 34-17 win down in Hattiesburg against Southern Miss, with former Baylor transfer Blake Shapen making his debut at quarterback (26/34, 270 yds, 1-1).

Week Two Big Ten Schedule

• Western Illinois at Northwestern – Friday, 6:30pm CT, BTN
• Northern Illinois at Maryland (-17.5) – Friday, 6:30pm CT, BTN
• Florida International at Penn State (-41.5) – Saturday, 11:00am CT, BTN
• Kennesaw State at #23 Indiana (-35.5) – Saturday, 11:00am CT, FS1
• Iowa (+3) at #16 Iowa State – Saturday, 11:00am CT, FOX
• Northwestern State at Minnesota – Saturday, 11:00am CT, BTN
• Grambling State at #1 Ohio State – Saturday, 2:30pm CT, BTN
• Miami OH at Rutgers (-15.5) – Saturday, 2:30pm CT, Peacock
• Middle Tennessee at Wisconsin (-28.5) – Saturday, 3:00pm CT – FS1
• Akron at Nebraska (-34.5) – Saturday, 6:30pm CT, BTN
• Georgia Southern at USC (-28.5) – Saturday, 6:30pm CT, FS1
• Southern Illinois at Purdue – Saturday, 6:30pm CT, BTN
• UCLA (-2.5) at UNLV – Saturday, 7:00pm CT, CBSSN
• UC Davis at Washington – Saturday, 10:00pm CT, BTN