Jake Russell
@oreojakesters
This slate of college football games is yet another one of the “football is BACK” moments that we’ve been waiting for. There’s week 0 where we were salivating over the appetizer, there’s week 1 where we get the first slate, there’s the blood week full of unexpected chaos, but this is the first one where we get a silver platter of big time matchups that will set the tone for playoff-like atmospheres.
It does still feel very early with so much riding on these matchups, and with the expanded playoff, it still might mean nothing in determining postseason spots. It always does, however, teach lessons. Let’s see what this week can teach us from some of the biggest matchups heading into the slate you want to be glued to your couch cushion.
USC @ Illinois: Is this the Lincoln Riley USC we hoped for?
Quarterback whisperer and offensive guru Lincoln Riley responsible for some of the best arms in the NFL from his time at OU has done nothing but put up milquetoast seasons at USC with the expectation of leading them back to the powerhouse Pete Carroll days. It’s been the same old story year after year with Lincoln in spite of the quarterback success- they’re a soft team that can’t tackle well enough to compete as a competent program in the B1G. Despite the massive loss to Indiana last week, Illinois is still the epitome of a bruising, tougher, disciplined program that USC would lose to on the road. With a win here and Jayden Maiava answering every question thus far, it’s fair to ask if they’re a team that’s seen amongst some of the best in the conference rather than skill-based fool’s gold.
Ohio State @ Washington: Just how good is this Ohio State team from the beginning?
It’s a bit odd for the reigning champs that are favored to win the championship and go back-to-back are still almost a complete unknown, but that’s what happens when you have new coordinators and so many highly-touted moving parts that are new; there hasn’t been an established “great” team thus far in college football now that the week 1 win against Texas is seen as lesser than impressive with how much we’ve soured on Arch, so this is the first barometer game. They’re talented enough to get better over time with Ryan Day, but from the very beginning, can they establish dominance? Julian Sayin is making his first true road game start on the west coast against a Washington hostile environment, and the Ohio State defense will now have to stifle a Washington offense that has scored the second-most points per game. Are they our first great team?
LSU @ Ole Miss: Which is the hungrier shark with blood in the water?
Both LSU and Ole Miss are consistently the content creators in the SEC that are a reality TV show trying to prove they’re in the same “consistently elite” category as Alabama and Georgia but with flare of their own a la Lane Kiffin social media masterclasses and angry sweaty Brian Kelly rants. It’s even more elevated now with Whit Weeks somehow dropping that he’s in a relationship with Lane’s daughter the week of the rivalry game. Who is this benefitting? Why drop the news now? There’s so much external motivation for teams that are vying for what feels like a wide open SEC. There’s blood in the water.
Oregon @ Penn State: Who is team #2 in the conference?
It’s only fair that the #1 spot in the B1G is Ohio State’s until proven otherwise as the National Champ, but both of these teams are in a bit of a jockeying situation as to who is better of the elite three as two teams that are consistently criticized for not being able to win the big one. James Franklin and Drew Allar were hyped as the school with all the returning production to take a leap by staying in school with unfinished business, but Penn State has played a strength of schedule ranked 97th(!) and shown nothing for it. Dante Moore at Oregon stepped in as the unproven padawan ready to learn from the offensive master Will Stein and while they haven’t been tested either, he’s only rising up as an NFL draft prospect and gets better week by week. They’ll both still be elite at the top of the conference, but who will be silver and potentially gold by the end is at stake here.
Alabama @ Georgia: How in trouble is Alabama?
There was the disasterclass game where they lost to an unranked Florida State week 1 and we were calling for Kalen Deboer’s head after one game 31-17, but running up the score 73-0 on ULM and beating down Wisconsin 38-14 with Ty Simpson looking more comfortable can make us forget. We did forget the early instant reactions, but it WAS against far lesser competition. Does Alabama have their groove back, or were these last two victories just putting duct tape on leaking holes in the ship?