Week 1 is in the books, and it’s on to Week 2! Time for more ranked matchups and nonconference clashes!
No. 2 Clemson University (1-0) at Texas A&M (1-0) – 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
The first big game of the Jimbo Fisher era kicks off Saturday night in College Station. The Aggies lured the national championship-winning coach from Florida State, one of the nation’s perennial powerhouse programs, with a 10-year, $75 million contract.
Both teams ran roughshod over their Week 1 opponents. Texas A&M downed Northwestern State, 59-7, and Clemson beat Furman, 48-7.
Clemson comes in as a double-digit favorite, and that’s to be expected. The Tigers are stacked all over the place on defense and the Tigers offense features explosive playmakers.
As is the key in most football games, quarterback play will be crucial. A&M’s sophomore QB Kellen Mond may have had a great game against the Demons, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another in just the first half, but this is the best defensive line he’ll go up against this year — and that says a lot, because the Aggies still have Alabama on the schedule. Trayveon Williams ran for 240 yards and three scores against Northwestern State. If he can’t produce against Clemson’s defense, the Tigers are going to pin their ears back and make it a long day for Mond.
On the other side, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced that both Kelly Bryant and true freshman Trevor Lawrence will play against Texas A&M, just as they did against Furman. As a junior, Bryant steered the Tigers to a 12-1 regular season record and an ACC Championship. However, he couldn’t lead them past Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals last season.
Lawrence was a Georgia high school football legend. As a senior, he was the country’s top pro-style QB recruit and the No. 2 overall recruit in the country. I’ve seen the kid play, and he has an absolute cannon for an arm. At the beginning of 2017, Deshaun Watson, the superstar Clemson QB who led the Tigers to the national championship over Alabama in 2016, held the Georgia state record for career passing yards and touchdowns. Those records now belong to Lawrence.
Like Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama, Lawrence unlocks more of Clemson’s playbook and offensive potential than his competitor, Bryant, does. The Clemson QB battle rages on in Week 2, and a lot of people will be watching this game to see whether Lawrence gains the upper hand.
No. 17 University of Southern California (1-0) at No. 10 Stanford University (1-0) – 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox
This early-season Pac-12 matchup has some big unknowns that make it a game to watch.
JT Daniels became just the second freshman ever to start a season opener for USC and he led them to a 43-21 win over University of Nevada, Las Vegas, that left a lot to be desired from the Trojans on both sides of the ball. Stanford started off very slowly, taking a 9-7 lead into halftime before beating San Diego State by a final score of 31-10.
Bryce Love, the returning Heisman runner-up, carried the ball 18 times for 29 yards against the Aztecs. That won’t get it done against USC. USC’s defense inexplicably gave up 308 rushing yards to UNLV on 43 carries, an average of 7.2 yards per rush. That’s not going to get it done against Stanford. Whichever team dominates the line of scrimmage is going to have the clear edge in this game.
This game also has major college football playoff implications. After this week, USC only has one game remaining on the schedule against a team currently ranked, and that’s the season finale against top-10 Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Stanford still has three ranked opponents remaining with Oregon, top-10 Notre Dame, and top-10 Washington left on the schedule. If USC loses this game, the Trojans will almost certainly have to run the table and dominate a highly ranked team in the Pac-12 title game to have a shot at making the College Football Playoff. They need statement wins against ranked opponents and there just aren’t many to be found on USC’s schedule.
If Stanford loses this game, the Cardinal might still have an outside shot at the playoff, but the Oregon and Washington games turn into must-wins. Stanford would need to win the Pac-12 North and then the Pac-12 title. If USC wins the Pac-12 South, a Stanford win in the title game would go a long way towards convincing the committee that they’re worthy of a spot in the CFP.
Fun fact: the Trojans are 1-3 in their last four trips to The Farm.
No. 3 University of Georgia (1-0) at No. 24 University of South Carolina (1-0) – 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS
The Bulldogs were one play short of winning the national championship against Alabama last season and lost some special players to the NFL Draft in Roquan Smith, Nick Chubb, and Sony Michel. But Georgia is still loaded with talent and looking to repeat as champion of the Southeastern Conference East.
Neither team was challenged in their season openers. UGA crushed Austin Peay, 45-0, and South Carolina throttled Coastal Carolina University by 34 points, winning 49-15.
Fun fact: Both of the head coaches in this matchup, UGA’s Kirby Smart and South Carolina’s Will Muschamp, played college football at Georgia.
This was a pretty close game last year, and the Bulldogs took care of business between the hedges, winning 24-10. They got 242 rushing yards and 183 of those came from Chubb and Michel. The Gamecocks managed only 43 rushing yards on 17 carries. Needless to say, South Carolina is going to need a whole lot more than 43 rushing yards if it wants to beat the Bulldogs.
Jake Fromm won’t set the world on fire for Georgia, but he’s a steady QB who takes care of the ball. If Jake Bentley can do the same for South Carolina, we’re probably in for a defensive slugfest, where running the ball and the turnover battle will be the biggest factors in who wins the game.
Another fun fact: While the Bulldogs have won their last three in a row against the Gamecocks, UGA is also 1-3 in its last four road games against South Carolina.
Keep your eye on South Carolina wideout Deebo Samuel. He was a preseason all-SEC first team selection and Smart says he might be the most underrated player in the country.
Noah Niederhoffer (@Noah715) is a producer at SiriusXM and a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Originally from Atlanta, he now lives in Washington, D.C.
