Trending College Football Teams Week Two

By Tyler Smith and Matt Hetzler

Tyler's Teams 

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#1 USC: Huge win for the Trojans vs. Stanford. USC now has some serious confidence and has put themselves in consideration for the College Football Playoff.

Next Up: At Boston College. This shouldn't be a problem for USC. 

#2 Northern Illinois: Life after Jordan Lynch has proved to be good. Taking down a in-state team in Northwestern was big for the program. 

Next Up: At UNLV. This will be another good test for the Huskies. I like Northern Illinois in this one but it will be tight. 

#3 Louisiana Tech: The Bulldogs went into Lafayette and came away a big winner. Running back Kenneth Dixon put up over 180 yards on 12 carries and scored a touchdown. 

Next Up: at North Texas. A big conference game in week three. Both teams are coming off good wins. Should be a great game.

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#1 Ohio State: The Buckeyes needed to prove that they would still compete for the Big Ten title without QB Braxton Miller. Barrett was underwhelming going 9/25 in the passing game and the Buckeyes barely crossed the century mark on the ground. 

Next Up: Kent State. You would like to think the Buckeyes wouldn't struggle vs. the Golden Flash but without how things have gone lately with Big Ten teams playing the MAC don't hold be too confident. 

#2 Michigan: The Big Blue didn't even score vs. Notre Dame. Four turnovers will give a team a loss the majority going forward they will need to fix that. 

Next Up: Miami (OH). Lucky for Michigan the Redhawks are one of the worst teams in the FBS. 

#3 Texas: I didn't think the Longhorns would win the game vs. BYU but the performance they gave on Saturday makes you wonder how the rest of the season will go.

Next Up: UCLA. Despite a little struggle from the Bruins, this won't go well for the Longhorns. 

Matt's Teams

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#1 Virginia Tech: the Hokies pulled off a big upset on the road against Ohio State. The defense looked great all night and Michael Brewer made some big plays late.  This win could catapult the Hokies to a big season.
 
Next Up: East Carolina. This should be a good game. ECU played really well against South Carolina last week. The Hokies better be ready to play and not have a hangover from this week’s big win.

#2 BYU: BYU dominated Texas for the second straight season. The defense held Texas to 258 total yards and forced 4 turnovers. BYU broke away in the 3rd quarter racing to a 34-0 lead.

Next Up: Houston. The Cougars play host to Houston on Thursday night. It’s a short turnaround but BYU should win easy at home this week.


#3 Notre Dame: The Irish put an exclamation mark on the end of this great rivalry with a 31-0 beat down of Michigan. Golson looked fantastic throwing for 3 TD’s. The defense forcing 4 turnovers was the difference.

Next Up: Purdue. Notre Dame should win this one easily even at a neutral site. Purdue will be no match for the defense or Golson.
 
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#1 B1G: This past weekend was really awful for the B1G conference. The conference had a chance to get back to a positive image and it fell flat on its face. Ohio State lost at home, Michigan State was dominated in the second half vs Oregon, and Michigan got shutout vs Notre Dame. The 3 big schools weren’t the only ones that struggled. Nebraska had a squeaker vs McNeese State, NW lost to NIU, Purdue lost to C. Michigan, Penn State struggled with Akron, Iowa needed a late comeback to beat Ball State and Maryland needed a 4th quarter comeback at USF.

Next Up: Maybe the B1G should send out some invites to MAC schools to join as new members.

#2 Texas Tech: The Red Raiders needed another late win against what should have been an inferior opponent. The defense has big issues and single digit wins vs UTEP and Central Arkansas are leaving big questions about the rest of the season.

Next Up: Arkansas. This is a big non-conference game for Texas Tech. The defense is going to have a big problem trying to stop the run against Arkansas. We will know a lot more about Texas Tech after Saturday.

#3 Washington State: Mike Leach could not have imagined this season to start any worse. Losses at home to Rutgers and by double digits on the road against Nevada is really bad. Washington State appears to not be making a bowl after a 0-2 start.

Next Up: Portland State. The Cougars should be able to win this one easily and get the first win of the season. A showdown with Oregon after this week is huge.