4-Down Territory: Old Faces in New Places and Rivalry Week...in September?

First Down: Rivalry Week….in September?: September features four rivalry games that are no longer late-season conference battles. Four of these rivalries have been played a combined 431 times. But with the latest conference shifts settled, this is where these games have landed…….#9 Oregon (2-0) at Oregon State (2-0) 3:30 FOX: Oregon’s seemingly lackluster start to the season has included a close win over Idaho and a last-second win over Boise State. It remains to be seen if these struggles have exposed the real Oregon or if they will play to the potential that made them a preseason Top-5 pick. As it relates to Oregon’s win over Boise State, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty is a guy that you have to see to believe. As for Oregon, there are speedy playmakers, but they need to mesh with new QB Dylan Gabriel……

Washington (2-0) vs Washington State (2-0) 3:30 Peacock: This game is being played at Lumen Field home of the Seahawks for The Boeing Apple Cup. Given recent commercial aircraft and space station issues it’s good to see that the Boeing Apple Cup has not been grounded. Of note: the Huskies have had less offseason turnover and drama than Michigan. But the Wolverines started the season in the Top 10 and the Huskies are unranked. Veteran QB Will Rogers brought 12,000+ passing yards from his SEC career at Mississippi State to U-Dub. That gives Washington one of the most experienced QBs in the Big 10. The schedule has not been challenging yet, so this will be an early gauge against a WSU team that blasted Texas Tech last week by three TDs……West Virginia (1-1) at Pitt (2-0) 3:30 ESPN2: WVU’s opening weekend chance to make a statement against PSU went flat. Pitt made a big comeback in week two to beat Cincinnati. This game is always fun. After all, you don’t name a rivalry “The Backyard Brawl” for nothing……Maryland (1-1) at Virginia (2-0) 8:00 ACC Network: These long-time ACC rivals took a decade off after Maryland split for the Big Ten before playing last year. Emotions will be key in this one. Virginia is coming off the high of a late comeback win over Wake Forest while Maryland dropped their Big Ten opener to a last-second field goal against Michigan State……#18 Notre Dame (1-1) at Purdue (1-0) 3:30 CBS: While this is not a big rivalry game, these two in-state teams have played quite a few times. And speaking of emotions, Notre Dame is coming off a jaw-dropping upset at home to Northern Illinois. QB Riley Leonard and the offense have not found their footing and if they are going to start a run to get back in the playoff mix, they will need to find an offense that can make big plays and consistently put points on the board…….Colorado (1-1) at Colorado State (1-1) 7:30 CBS: With a seven-game losing streak against FBS opponents already giving them borderline relevancy, losing to an in-state/non Power-4 rivalry would definitely be embarrassing for Colorado.

Second Down: Stay Focused: After big wins it is easy to get trapped into a false sense of invincibility when everyone on campus is patting you on the back. Just ask Notre Dame…….UTSA (1-1) at #2 Texas (2-0) 7:00 ESPN: The UTSA Roadrunners come to town to play Texas. Was Texas’ win at Michigan impressive? Yes. Was Michigan a Top 10 team? No. But Texas is a really good team. Their defense smothered the Michigan offense. QB Quinn Ewers was impressive against a Michigan defense that did force him at times to move in the pocket. The difference maker? He was impressive on the move finding open receivers downfield for big plays. Stay focused and they should have much better luck against the roadrunners than Wiley Coyote did all those years……Central Michigan (1-1) at Illinois (2-0) 12:00 Peacock: The Illinois defense put up a great effort in the upset win over #19 Kansas last week. Limiting big plays and nabbing 3 turnovers were key. To compete week in and week out the Illini will need better production from the run game on offense. This game is a week to build that, if they stay focused…..Northern Iowa (2-0) at #23 Nebraska (2-0) 7:30 Big Ten Network: The defense played a great game against Colorado. That was expected. The offense protected the ball and made sure they finished the win. Does beating Colorado (a 4-8 team last year) mean that Nebraska is back? Not yet it doesn’t, and you can be sure that Coach Matt Rhule will be hammering that home all week.

Third Down: Old Faces in New Places: #20 Arizona (2-0) at #14 Kansas State (2-0) FRIDAY 8:00 FOX: This is a Big 12 conference game between two of the conference favorites. Seems odd to say that. Last year Arizona had one of the strongest finishes in the country winning 7 straight games –5 against Top 20 teams. The catalyst of that run was the change to QB Noah Fifita who started the team’s last nine games and led the offense to an average of 38 points per game. He's back, along with WR Tetairoa McMillan. So far, the biggest change through two games has been more of a downfield push in the pass game. For Kansas State their QB from a year ago, Will Howard is at Ohio State. But K-State has athletic QB Avery Johnson who led the team to a delicious win over NC State in last year’s Pop-Tarts Bowl. Defensively K-State has been strong through two games, but this will be a much tougher test. For Arizona a win here would be their 6th-straight over a ranked team and signal that last year’s momentum was not a fluke…….Indiana (2-0) at UCLA (2-0) 7:30 NBC: This represents UCLA’s first conference game in the Big 10. While UCLA’s defense seems to be continuing the strength it showed last year, they will need to find their offense to compete in the Big Ten—particularly running the ball which struggled in their win at Hawaii. As for Indiana they are already showing the confidence that new coach Curt Cignetti brought with him. They’ve shown an aggressive new offense and WR Omar Cooper may be one of those guys that is a rising star in the Big Ten this year. With road games at LSU and Penn State in the next few weeks, UCLA will need to hold serve at home to get momentum going.

Fourth Down: Indicator Games: We’ll know a lot more about these teams after this week…….#4 Alabama (2-0) at Wisconsin (2-0) 12:00 FOX: The Tide had a slow start and let USF hang around for most of the game before kicking it into high gear and winning 42-16. In fact there were even some boos heard from the home fans. Wisconsin over the years has often had underwhelming wins over less impressive non-conference opponents before kicking it into gear. Badger fans hope they can kick it into gear in a hurry. It will be up to the Badger defense to limit the big plays and get some turnovers which they will need to pull this upset…….#16 LSU (1-1) at South Carolina (2-0) 12:00 ABC: The Gamecocks blew the doors off Kentucky last week. Are they that good or did we overestimate Kentucky? LSU has replaced a Heisman quarterback and has improved defensively. But in a limited data set can anyone be sure how good the Bayou Bengals are? We’ll have some answers to those questions after this one……#1 Georgia (2-0) at Kentucky (1-1) 7:30 ABC: A year ago Kentucky was 5-0 and was a trendy pick to perhaps upset Georgia. Georgia won that one 51-13. The number one fix the Wildcats need is offense. They have racked up just 500 yards combined through two games. Finding that mojo on offense will not be easy against Georgia’s smothering defense…..#24 Boston College (2-0) at #6 Missouri (2-0) 12:45 SEC Network: The Tigers have not allowed a point this year, but the games were against Buffalo and Murray State. Is Mizzou Top 6 in the country good, or is that ranking based on how they closed the season last year? BC impressed the country by going into FSU and dismantling the Seminoles at home. QB Thomas Castellanos may stand just 5’9” but new Head Coach Bill O’Brien has elevated his game. Part of that has been getting RB Treshaun Ward involved in that pass game. Key for the Mizzou defense will be keeping Castellanos in the pocket and limiting his ability to throw on the move.