UCLA at #5 Oklahoma Saturday, September 1st, 1:00 pm, FOX
The Chip Kelly era in Los Angeles didn’t get off to a very good start with a loss to Cincinnati in the first week of the season. Now the Bruins have to go up against an Oklahoma team that looked really good regardless of the opponent in their season opener. The Sooners put up over 10 yards per play of offense against Florida Atlantic and don’t seem to have skipped a beat with the departure of Baker Mayfield. On the flip side, UCLA managed just 4.5 yards per play against Cincinnati.
#3 Georgia at #24 South Carolina Saturday, September 8th, 3:30 pm, CBS
This game will arguably decide the SEC East, though I’d give Georgia a better shot of running the table than South Carolina. Neither team had much of challenge in the opener as both teams played lower level schools and dominated from start to finish. South Carolina’s fans will be geared up for the upset and I think they keep in close, but Georgia is too good for the Gamecocks.
#2 Clemson at Texas A&M, Saturday, September 8th, 7:00 pm, ESPN
I’m sure Florida State fans will have an eye to this game as they watch their Noles take on Samford about the same time. Clemson looked good in the opener against an overmatched Furman squad and Texas A&M dismantled a poor Northwestern State team. Jimbo Fisher had his offense working quickly as A&M cranked out 96 plays for over 700 yards, including 500 on the ground. They’re about to go up against an excellent Clemson defense though. Fisher has had success against Clemson, but I expect Clemson to be too much for A&M.
#10 Penn State at Pittsburgh, Saturday, September 8th, 8:00 pm, ABC
Penn State was almost involved in the upset of the weekend as Appalachian State had the Nittany Lions on the brink before losing in overtime. Pittsburgh cruised to an easy victory over a lesser quality opponent, though statistically this game wasn’t that big a domination. It will be interesting to see if the App State game was the wake up call that James Franklin’s squad needed or if that performance was a harbinger of things to come.
#12 USC at #9 Stanford, Saturday, September 8th, 8:30 pm, FOX
Possibly the game of the year in the Pac12. Stanford and USC has become quite the competitive rivalry after decades of USC dominating their neighbors to the north. Since 1990, USC holds a narrow 16-14 edge over the Cardinal. Both teams coasted to victory last weekend and will get their first real test on Saturday night.