Week 1 Recap

Well that was certainly a fun start. Alabama suddenly looks very average, Arch Manning decided to emulate 2019 Eli, and Miami wasn’t disappointing for once. Clemson, Alabama, Texas, and Notre Dame now have to play catch-up while teams like Ohio State can coast through the rest of the non-conference schedule. Week 2 has substantially less flash in comparison to Week 1, but sometimes unranked matchups can be more fun than ranked ones. Hopefully the quarterback play this week is a bit less sloppy than last week.

Top 25 Matchups

Rankings are from AP Poll (CFP Poll after release)

Saturday 9/6:

12:00-3:00PM

• Florida International @ #2 Penn State, BTN
• Kent State @ #24 Texas Tech, TNT
• Baylor @ #17 SMU, The CW
• #11 Illinois @ Duke, ESPN
• Iowa @ #16 Iowa State, FOX
• San Jose State @ #7 Texas, ABC
• Utah State @ #19 Texas A&M, SECN
• East Texas A&M @ #14 Florida State, ACCN

3:30PM-6:30PM

• #20 Ole Miss @ Kentucky, ABC
• Oklahoma State @ #6 Oregon, CBS
• Troy @ #8 Clemson, ACCN,
• East Tennessee State @ #22 Tennessee, SECN+
• Austin Peay @ #4 Georgia, SECN+
• Grambling State @ #1 Ohio State, BTN
• South Florida @ #13 Florida, SECN
• Cal Poly @ #25 Utah, ESPN+

7:00-10:00PM

• Bethune-Cookman @ #5 Miami (FL), ACCN Extra
• South Carolina State @ #10 South Carolina, SECN+
• #15 Michigan @ #18 Oklahoma, ABC
• Louisiana Tech @ #3 LSU, SECN+
• #12 Arizona State @ Mississippi State, ESPN2
• Louisiana-Monroe @ #21 Alabama, SECN

Most Interesting Matchups

Iowa @ Iowa State: The battle for the Cy-Hawk trophy may feature football that is more at home in 1925 than 2025, but at the very least it’s usually a competitive matchup.

Michigan @ Oklahoma: Two teams coming of relatively disappointing 2024 seasons collide to prove that they belong in the playoff discussion, at least for now. Both certainly looked good last weekend, but the level of competition here is much higher.

Kansas @ Missouri: The Border War is back! After a 14-year hiatus, the Jayhawks and Tigers finally face off for the 121st time. Realignment has taken away so many regional rivalries, and I for one appreciate when teams and ADs find a way to keep those competitive juices flowing.

FCS Game of the Week

South Dakota State @ Montana State, 9/6, 8PM, ESPN+

The upper Rocky Mountain States have proven to be the home of quite a few powerhouse FCS teams, two of which will collide Saturday night as the Jackrabbits take on the Bobcats in an early top 5 matchup this Saturday in Bozeman.

Selected Pick ATS

Last Week: 1-4 (Woof.) Season: 2-6

• Iowa (+2.5) @ Iowa State
• Michigan (+5.5) @ Oklahoma
• Kansas @ Missouri (-6.5)
• Arizona State (-6.5) @ Mississippi State
• Vanderbilt(+1.5) @ Virginia Tech