2023 College Football Watch Guide - Week 2

After the first full weekend of college football I felt like Randy Marsh in that meme where he finally was able to use the internet again. You know the one. It wasn’t just the sheer number of games on offer, it was that many of them were just so damn good. As I wrote in last week’s Watch Guide, the week 0 games were nice to have but none of them really felt like must see TV. You can’t say the same for week one.

Everybody and their dog seems to have an opinion about Deion Sanders, either as a person or coach. But you cannot deny what we saw last Saturday in Fort Worth. For all the speculation about whether or not a team consisting of so many transfers could come together in action, the Buffaloes went blow for blow with a ranked opponent. This isn’t the same TCU that reached the national championship last year, but to grab such a high-profile win on the road in the national spotlight was the perfect start to the Prime era in Boulder.

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Texas State staged an incredible upset over Baylor as 27.5 point underdogs, grabbing their first win against a power-5 opponent. Meanwhile, Wyoming erased a 17-0 deficit and forced the Texas Tech into double overtime before coming out on top as home underdogs. But the team of the week award has to go to the Florida State Seminoles after their demolition of the then-#5 ranked LSU Tigers. The Noles backed up an off season full of talk and catapulted themselves into the CFP conversation one week in.

As quickly as Florida State has risen, their ACC rival Clemson has plummeted after losing to the Duke Blue Devils 28-7 Monday night. Actually “upset” is too mild a word, this was a humiliation of the Tigers for all the college football world to see, and it was fantastic. This was Duke’s version of the 2017 Ohio State game: a world class beat down that came out of nowhere and left us all laughing at the other teams despondent coach.

And that brings us to week 2. The NFL season opens tonight, so the weekday games are somewhat light, but let’s take a look at what’s on deck and which games are most intriguing.

Do yourself a favor and watch the NFL opener on Thursday night. I know this is the college football watch guide, but the Chiefs and Lions is infinitely more interesting than Murray State @ Louisville. At the very least, Friday night gives us a couple of Big Ten games with Indiana State @ Indiana and Illinois @ Kansas. I expect Illinois to bounce back from a sluggish outing against Toledo and take care of business in Lawrence.

#12 Utah @ Baylor

Utah was impressive in its opener against Florida. The Gators never really stood a chance, even with the Ute’s star QB Cam Rising on the bench. Baylor is reeling after the upset by Texas State, but can they put up a fight and earn some pride back?

Nebraska @ #22 Colorado

Coach Prime’s power-5 debut was always going to be a television gold mine, but the game itself delivered as well. Now the Buffaloes are ranked and the Cornhuskers provide a classic Big 12 rivalry. With Matt Rhule losing last Thursday in the most Scott Frost way possible, a win against Colorado would inject major excitement back into the program.

Others of Note: #10 Notre Dame @ NC State

Iowa @ Iowa State

This one’s a gimme since, you know, I’m an Iowa fan and this here’s an Iowa Hawkeyes site. Nationally, it’s an underrated rivalry but more often than not it provides some quality games. Both teams failed to really impress last week, although the Cyclones were the more pleasant surprise. We’ll see if Iowa can grab their sixth straight win in Ames.

Appalachian State @ #17 North Carolina

I’ll admit, there’s not a ton of must-see games Saturday afternoon. I’m picking the Mountaineers and Tar Heels here simply for Carolina’s talent and App State’s penchant for upsets.

Others of note: #20 Ole Miss @ #24 Tulane, Tulsa @ #8 Washington

#11 Texas @ #3 Alabama

The big one of the day and rightfully so. If Texas wants to be considered, or indeed is, truly “back” they need to show up against the SEC’s powers. Starting next year these are the types of teams they’ll see week in and week out. Are they up to the challenge?

#19 Wisconsin @ Washington State

The Badgers head west for a payback game against the Cougars. You’ll recall, last year Washington State topped Wisconsin 17-14 in Madison, setting the tone for a disappointing season. However, a trip to the Pacific time zone is always fraught with peril for us Midwestern teams. Be careful, Badgers.

[Editor’s note: don’t be careful, Badgers. Be so uncareful you get your asses handed to you. Please, I’m begging you!]

#13 Oregon @ Texas Tech

In case you missed it, Oregon dropped 81 on Portland State last week. Poor Puddles had to do 546 pushups. The Red Raiders are coming off that 2OT loss to Wyoming but they did score 35, so between these two teams the mascots could be doing an entire boot camp’s worth of pushups in one night.

Others of note: SMU @ #18 Oklahoma, UCF @ Boise State, Oklahoma State @ Arizona State