I had a dream one night early this week that every weekend this college football season would be as dynamic, with great match-ups, as we saw in Week 1. Then I printed up the schedule of games for Week 2 and came back down to reality. Even the prettiest girl doesn’t look so stunning sans makeup in most cases. So here are some of the best of an overall mediocre slate for Week 2.
PENN STATE @ PITTSBURGH by 2 … Saturday Sept. 10 NOON/ET ESPN
IMO this is the year we find out how the FRANKLIN rebuild is going in Happy Valley. Good to see this natural rivalry game on the schedule. For better or worse the HACKENBERG Era is over and FRANKLIN can run his style of offense. There is talent on both teams though most of it is young. Both these teams are capable of winning seasons, but not much more. This could be the start of a very competitive program match-up for years to come with FRANKLIN & NARDUZZI both being solid coaches. For this year I will cop out and give the field goal nod to the home team. Prospects to watch:
PENN STATE PITTSBURGH
#11 BRANDON BELL/LB 6’1/231 #69 ADAM BISNOWATY/OT 6’6/300
#72 BRIAN GAIA/OC 6’3/305 #47 MATT GALAMBOS/ILB 6’2/240
#6 MALIK GOLDEN/S 6’/205 #54 TYRIQUE JARRETT/DT 6’3/330
#5 NYEEM WARTMAN-WHITE/ILB 6’1/243 #83 SCOTT ORNDORFF/TE 6’5/265
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx #5 EJUAN PRICE/ER 6’0/250
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx #24 JAMES CONNER/RB/6’2/250
NORTH CAROLINA by 5 @ ILLINOIS … SATURDAY 7:30 PM/ET BIG TEN NETWORK
The Illini face the first real test of the LOVIE SMITH regime hosting the Tar Heels who lost a tough one to GEORGIA last week. I look for UNC to recover and beat the Illini, but not by much. There are some nice match-ups in this one including a tough/talented DL for Illinois trying to stop a 2-headed UNC running attack of HOOD & LOGAN behind a solid OL. I think Lovie and his boys get a taste of playing against the big guys this week and lose at home. Interesting to watch will be Cal transfer LB HARDY NICKERSON, who came to Illinois to play for his NFL alum dad of the same name, who is on Lovie’s staff. He is undersized but has some of the old man’s genes. He pursues and attacks all over the field. Prospects to watch:
NORTH CAROLINA ILLINOIS
#45 MIKEY BART/DE 6’3/270 #3 TAYLOR BARTON/SS 6’1/215
#71 JON HECK/OT 6’7/300 #12 WES LUNT/QB 6’5/225
#13 MACK HOLLINS/WR 6’4/210 #10 HARDY NICKERSON/LB 6’0/230
#2 DESMOND LAWRENCE/CB 6’1/185 #91 DAWUANE SMOOT/DE 6’3/265
#3 RYAN SWITZER/WR/RS 5’10/185 #87 TYLER WHITE/TE 6’5/255
TENNESSEE by 8 VS VIRGINIA TECH; Bristol Motor Speedway; SATURDAY 8PM/ET ABC ***TOP GAME
BUTCH JONES and his Vols barely escaped a major upset in OT last week, while the Hokies showed new life under new HC JUSTIN FUENTE, ex-Memphis. I am guessing the Vols players had a tough week’s work under JONES and his staff and are ready to bounce back and look like the SEC Title contender most perceive them to be. But TECH will not be an easy out under FUENTE and his coaching crew. Give him another year to recruit his type of guys and TECH will be a very tough foe even for SEC teams. Prospects to watch:
TENNESSEE VIRGINIA TECH
#11 JOSHUA DOBBS/QB 6’3/207 #19 CHUCK CLARK/FS 6’1/205
#21 JALEN REEVES-MAYBIN/LB 6’0/225 #45 SAM ROGERS/FB 5’10/228
#23 CAM SUTTON/CB 5’11/185 #72 AUGIE CONTE/OG 6’6/303
#50 COREY VEREEN/DE 6’2/250 #95 NIGEL WILLIAMS/DT 6’4/295
#71 DYLAN WEISMAN/OG 6’4/305 #7 BUCKY HODGES/TE/6’6/245/JR
#1 JALEN HURD/RB/6’3/240/JR #1 ISAIAH FORD/WR/6’1/190/JR
TEXAS TECH @ ARIZONA STATE by 5 … SATURDAY 10PM/ET FOX SPORTS 1
Both of these teams will have to struggle to rise above .500 this season, IMO. But a combination of factors make this a solid watch on a lackluster schedule board in Week 2. And to me QB/PAT MAHOMES,II will be worth staying up late to watch. he’s a running/gunning guy whose dad was an MLB Pitcher. The younger MAHOMES has all the tools to play in the NFL, kind of like a more disciplined COLIN K. The Sun Devils have just enough defensive talent to make life difficult for TECH. ASU is also likely to try to run the ball and control the clock, and may just have the legs to do so. I’ll take the Sun Devils, but if MAHOMES gets things cranked up watch out for a lopsided upset of minor proportions. Prospects to watch:
TEXAS TECH ARIZONA STATE
#65 BAYLEN BROWN/OT 6’5/305 #58 SALAMO FISO/LB 6’0/230
#2 REGINALD DAVIS/WR 6’0/185 #57 EVAN GOODMAN/OT 6’4/310
#5 PATRICK MAHOMES, II/QB 6’3/230 JR #83 KODY KOHL/TE 6’3/235
#99 ONDRE PIPKINS/NT 6’3/325 #41 VILIAMI LATU/DT 6’2/290
Hang in there and enjoy a light schedule for this week, then gird your loins for some big time action in Week 3, like OKLAHOMA/OHIO STATE, FSU/LOUISVILLE, MICH STATE/NOTRE DAME and more. And don’t forget to catch my prospect thumbnails every Tuesday profiling some of the top prospects in action over the previous weekend.
