Week 2 College Football Viewing Guide

Eric Walder
Sep 6, 2018 · 7 min read

Often Week 2 of the College Football Season is marked by the ridiculous matchups scheduled between Top 25 teams and FCS (lower division) teams. And yes, while it is true that a third of the Top 25 have decided to “eat dessert first” by scheduling these early season cupcakes, Week 2 is filled with some great non-conference rivalry games, funny looking rivalry trophies, great SEC and Pac-12 kickoffs, and Kentucky trying to do something it hasn’t done since the Berlin Wall still stood. We should be in for a lot of fun.

Friday Night Lights

#16 TCU @ SMU (8pm EST/5pm PST on ESPN2) — I don’t know what your plans were for Friday night, but… cancel them. Because Friday marks the annual reunion of a century’s old rivalry. It’sssssss… The Battle for the Iron Skillet! It’s the DFW DUEL! It’s TCU-SMU. Of all the things that make college football great, the unquestioned #1 is the rivalries, and while the battle between Fort Worth’s TCU and Dallas’s SMU doesn’t exactly provoke the imagery of Auburn-Alabama, it is a rivalry that has significance for the non-Longhorn/Aggie/Sooners in the DFW, as proven by the existence of its very own rivalry trophy, the Iron Skillet.

To the victor goes the Skillet.

According to the source of all reliable knowledge, wikipedia, there are two different versions of how the Iron Skillet originated exist, however only one of them is entertaining, so we’ll go with that one:

TCU and SMU fans began the tradition back in 1946. During pre-game festivities, an SMU fan was frying frog legs as a joke before the game. A TCU fan, seeing this desecration of the “frog”, went over and told him that eating the frog legs was going well beyond the rivalry and that they should let the game decide who would get the skillet and the frog legs. SMU won the game, and the skillet and frog legs went to SMU. The tradition eventually spilled over into the actual game and the Iron Skillet is now passed to the winner.[2]

Brunch

Not sure how you’re going to be able to pull off sitting at home on the couch all day on Saturday, well do I have news for you… you actually have some freedom this Saturday morning. Thanks in large part to the aforementioned pay-per-win games where many top teams schedule FCS opponents for an easy early-season victory, the morning window of games is a bit of a snoozer. Saturday morning is what Ty Hildenbrandt of the classic college football podcast, the Solid Verbal, has coined your “window of opportunity” — your time do a favor for your significant other, get those weekend errands done, or go leave a tribute at the alter of the pigskin gods and request some help for your team’s afternoon kickoff. For the college football-aholics, you still have a few options of intriguing matchups:

#18 Mississippi State (-9) @ Kansas State (9am PST, ESPN) — Kansas State’s Bill Snyder is 78-years old and signed a new 5-year contract last month. Imagine how terrible his golf game must be that he’s this afraid of retiring, again. (Snyder tried retirement from 2006–2008, but just couldn’t be kept away.)

Arizona @ Houston (-4)(9am, ABC/ESPN2) The Wildcats’ Kevin Sumlin takes his recently tamed ‘cats back to H-town, where he first made a name for himself. Speaking of making a name for yourself in Houston, the Cougar’s Ed Oliver is special, he’s going to be one of the first picks in the next NFL draft, and everybody has known that since he was 16. He could have gone and played anywhere in the country, but chose to stay home and play for his hometown Cougars, where he has been every bit as good as billed. Based on the frequency it is mentioned in every article about him, it appears that the key to his superpowers lies in his regular trips to Burns Original BBQ.

Duke @ Northwestern (-2.5)(9am, ESPNU)— Battle of the NERDS… who both happen to be living through arguably their best era of football.

UCLA @ #6 Oklahoma (-30)(10am, FOX)— The Bruins’ roll into Norman fresh off losing to Cincinnati as a two-touchdown favorite. If ever there was a team that will have the Sooners’ trembling in their…. alright, alright, probably nothing to see here, but still… WE GOT CHIP!

The secret fuel for Houston’s Ed Oliver, a mortal lock to be a top-5 pick in next year’s NFL draft.

Lunch

#3 Georgia (-10) @ #24 South Carolina (12:30pm, CBS) — Is this just hype for the SEC opener? Perhaps. Georgia is really, really good (SEE: 2017 national runner-ups; 2018 #1 recruiting class), but for whatever reason, as soon as the Sandstorm hits Williams-Brice (see video below), the Dawgs seem to fall apart. The Dawgs finally stopped its Columbia, SC losing streak on its last trip out, but this Gamecocks’ squad isn’t any SEC doormat, they’ll make the Dawgs earn every inch, and if all-world receiver Deebo Samuel can turn in a few special moments against the Georgia D, havoc could hit the SEC right out of the starting gate.

Also on the menu:

Colorado @ Nebraska (-4)(12:30pm, ABC) — Colorado and Nebraska spent most of the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s as arch-rivals, often battling for the Big XII on the Friday after Thanksgiving. But with Nebraska’s move to the B1G Ten and Colorado’s move to the Pac-12, the classic rivalry fell by the wayside, which just so happened to coincide with the downfall of both once-proud programs. But with Colorado’s somewhat surprising shellacking of their in-state rival Colorado State on opening weekend and the hope that favorite son Scott Frost’s return to Lincoln will lead the ‘Huskers back to the glory days experienced when Frost was under center himself, this rivalry just might be in the perfect spot to kickoff a new era for each of these squads. Who knows? If things get going, they might even bring back marshmallow fights for next year at Folsom.

Iowa State @ Iowa (-4)(2pm, FOX)— The Cyclones and Hawkeyes enter this year’s edition of the Battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy having equally split the past 20 contests at 10 wins apiece. Iowa, per usual, comes in with the more heralded squad, but Iowa State has one of the best running backs in the country in David Montgomery and arguably the hottest up-and-coming coach in Matt Campbell.

The Cy-Hawk trophy has changed over the years, but the emotions sure remain the same.

Dinner

#2 Clemson (-12) @ Texas A&M (4pm, ESPN) — Jimbo Fisher must have thought it was a practical joke when he pulled up A&M’s schedule after becoming the highest paid employee in the state of Texas. After having to deal with Dabo Swinnery and Clemson for the past 8 years as the head ballcoach at Florida State, Jimbo arrived in College Station just in time to welcome Clemson for an outrageous early season exam. Clemson brings one of the most talented teams in college football to town, but even with answers at seemingly every position on the team, there still remains that ever intimidating question of who the Tigers will go with at quarterback, Kelly Bryant, the incredible leader who steered Clemson to an ACC title and CFP appearance or Trevor Lawrence, the top recruit in last year’s recruiting class, who throws an incredible ball, but equally importantly is the fact that Lawrence an absolute doppelganger of “Sunshine,” the QB from Remember the Titans. College Gameday will be in town and A&M’s 12th man will certainly be at full octave for the highest-ranked non-conference opponent to ever make the trip to College Station.

Also on the menu:

Kentucky @ #25 Florida (-14)(4:30pm, SECN)— 32nd time’s the charm. Florida almost, kinda looked like good Florida again in their opener against Charlesto Southern and will be going for their 32nd straight win over Kentucky. Yes, that’s correct Florida has won 31 straight against Kentucky. The last time Kentucky won…. However, Kentucky is undefeated against Florida since Haley Baldwin and Justin Bieber got engaged, so one of these equally impressive strings in guaranteed to end Saturday in the Swamp.

Fresno State @ Minnesota (-2)(4:30pm, FS1)— If you like football for the actual football, this appears to be a sneaky good game. Fresno State has been doing a whole lot of winning and will certainly be ranked with a win in Minneapolis, while many are expecting Minnesota’s Fighting Flecks a.k.a. Golden Gophers to take a big leap forward this year.

#13 Penn State (-9) @ Pitt (5pm PST, ABC) — The 99th version of a classic (yet complicated) rivalry is never a bad viewing option.

#17 USC @ #10 Stanford (5:30pm, FOX) — In the newly founded September tradition, Pac-12 play kicks off with a rerun of the Pac-12 championship matchup. USC is loaded as always with massive talent, including an incredible QB-WR connection between true freshmen J.T. Daniels and Amon-Ra St. Brown who were working on that same connection as high school teammates at this time last year. Stanford is similarly stacked with talent, and with weapons like JJ Arcega-Whiteside (6' 3" WR who can jump out of the building and turned in a 3-TD performance in Week 1), Heisman-candidate Bryce Love, and elite TE Kaden Smith, if Stanford QB K.J. Costello continues on his rapidly rising trajectory, this game could tell us whether the Pac-12 has a legitimate shot to get back in the College Football Playoff after missing out 2 of the past 3 years.

#15 Michigan State @ Arizona State (7:45pm PST)— The much-hyped Spartans were extremely lucky to escape East Lansing with a season opening win over Utah State while Herm Edwards’ debut on Arizona State’s sideline went somewhat swimmingly. With a late night duel in the desert kicking off at 10:45pm Michigan time, things could interesting for your late night viewing.

1st & 5

The Ultimate College Football Viewing Guide

Eric Walder

Written by

Author of 13saturdays.com — a trip through the tailgates and traditions of the Pac-12 Conference

1st & 5

1st & 5

The Ultimate College Football Viewing Guide

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