2018 College football look ahead: Week 2

Photo Credit: Jay LaPrete/AP Photo

by Chris Asbrock

We are over a week into the 2018 college football season and we have seen a few surprises already. One of the biggest surprises was Luke Fickell and the Cincinnati Bearcats knocking off the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl. That could have been the biggest headline of the weekend. There were also some major storylines this past weekend as well, seeing Alabama, Clemson and Georgia continuing to roll. Ohio State trounced Oregon State, while Michigan fell on the road in South Bend. This weekend will be major for some of the big teams to rebound from a tough opening weekend. Let’s take a look at 3 storylines to follow this weekend.

1. Who will come away with victories during big rivalry games?

There are some big rivalry games that will be taking place this weekend. We see the renewal of the Colorado/Nebraska rivalry that has seen some fantastic games over the years.

The Buffaloes come into this match up, fresh off of a blowout win over Colorado State last weekend. This is the opening game for Nebraska so a win for either team will be huge for them moving forward. The USC Trojans head North to face a top ten Stanford team. This will be a huge game for both teams as both are looking to improve to 2-0 on the season. Both the Trojans and Cardinal are expecting to compete for the PAC-12 championship. With both teams in separate divisions, the team coming away with a win will have a leg up moving forward. The Cincinnati Bearcats and Miami Redhawks will battle it out for the Victory Bell. These two teams first met in 1888 and is the oldest non-conference rivalry game in the nation. Miami leads the all-time series 59-56-7 but the Bearcats have won 12 straight games. This could be the perfect time for the Redhawks to step up and knock off Cincinnati, who could come crashing back to earth after their major win over UCLA last weekend.

2. Will the big teams that fell last weekend, rebound with a win?

The Texas Longhorns, Michigan Wolverines, Miami Hurricanes and Washington Huskies all dropped games last week. Texas was the only team out of this group to drop a game to a team that was not ranked. The Longhorns once again fell the Maryland Terrapins and will need to knock off Tulsa to get back on track. The Wolverines went on the road to South Bend and dropped a game to a very good Notre Dame team. Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines face a crucial game at home against Western Michigan and must come away with a victory. Both the Hurricanes and Huskies face FCS opponents. Anything less than a win over those FCS teams would be catastrophic.


3. Can Bryce Love get back into the Heisman race?

Bryce Love came into the season as the favorite for the Heisman Trophy. He now comes into this weekend well outside of the favorites. Love was held to only 29 yards rushing on 18 carries and 18 receiving yards on just three receptions. San Diego State did an amazing job of shutting down Love, giving him absolutely nothing to work with. Things will not get any easier for Love and the Cardinal as they face the USC Trojans. Another game that is below average for Love will effectively end any chances of him of winning hardware as a top running back.

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