College football 2023: 10 games and names to know this weekend

If you missed Week 1 in college this year, you may have missed one the most entertaining opening weekends in recent memory. Hopefully football fans get more the same this week. We gave you some names to watch for last week, now it’s onto Week 2 and a whole new list of names to keep an eye on.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Texas Longhorns (11) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (3)
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
QB Jalen Milroe
Last year this game was a close one. Quinn Ewers went out with an injury before he could finish the game. That meant Hudson Card had to take over on offense for the Longhorns and he failed to close out the game. The end result was a field goal in the dying minutes of the game to help Alabama win 20-19. This year the Crimson Tide will look to be more disciplined. Last year’s penalty count by Alabama helped to keep Texas in the game. The Texas defense will be hoping they aren’t having to face a player like Bryce Young again. If Jalen Milroe plays like he did last week against Middle Tennessee then it looks like Texas’ nightmare could be returning. Milroe threw for three touchdowns last week on 18 attempts. He threw for nearly 200 yards while also adding 48 yards rushing. He also had two rushing touchdowns meaning he led Alabama last week in passing and on the ground.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10) vs. NC State Wolfpack
Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
CB Shyheim Battle
So the Fighting Irish are off to an improved start than what they were last season. Of course that leads to a few overreactions. But this is an interesting matchup this week as this is the first real test for Notre Dame. NC State had their struggles against UConn in Week 1 but still managed to grind out a win. This game is a good yard-stick to find out where both teams are at this year. The Wolfpack own one of the top secondaries in the ACC, one major part of that is cornerback Shyheim Battle. Last year Battle had 34 tackles, two interceptions and five pass breakups. He’s facing Notre Dame’s quarterback Sam Hartman, who has been electric so far and a breath of fresh air for Irish fans. Hartman has helped ignite a fire on offense that hasn’t been seen in several years for Notre Dame. He has now led 12 drives for the Irish, resulting in 11 touchdowns.

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Colorado Buffaloes (22)
Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
QB Shedeur Sanders
Deion Sanders gets his first taste of victory as head coach of the Buffaloes, and it was one of the best games of the opening weekend. This week he gets his first taste of a major team rivalry. If the team can make another statement against the Cornhuskers in a massive rivalry game, then talk of Colorado making it to a bowl game this year could start to get more traction. Last week Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders smashed school records when he threw for 510 yards and four touchdowns against TCU in an exciting thriller. Can he do it again with more pressure and facing Huskers cornerback Omar Brown, who already has an interception? If Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims can find a way to not turn the ball over, they can make this another exciting game. Also watch for Travis Hunter, the two-way player from Colorado to see if he can dominate again.

Texas A&M Aggies (23) vs. Miami Hurricane
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
C Bryce Foster (Generally the OLine)
Last week the Aggies quarterback, Connor Weigman, ended the week with highest QB rating in the nation with a rating of 97.2. He looks to try and accomplish the same again, this time against a more formidable opponent. Helping him get there will be his offensive line, which last week played complacent. If the Aggies offensive line can keep the Hurricanes defensive line back, this will help Weigman have more time in the pocket to let his receivers get deep and win over the top. Trying to disrupt the play for Miami will be Leonard Taylor, who will move up and down the line. Taylor had three sacks with 10.5 tackles for a loss last year.

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Iowa State Cyclones
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
TE Luke Lachey
Yes another rivalry game, the CyHawk rivalry. Last year Iowa State got the win in a 10-7 game that ended in a missed field goal. This year, Iowa will want to get this game back. They have tried in the offseason to revive its offense that looked exhausted last year. One part that looked ready to step up for the Hawkeye offense was tight end Luke Lachey. He will look to emulate the only offensive threat for Iowa last year, Sam LaPorta. Last week Lachey looked to continue the tradition of tight end at Iowa by catching seven passes for 73 yards. If he can do the same again this week it could be enough to clinch the win against the Cyclones.

Ole Miss Rebels (20) vs. Tulane Green Wave (24)
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
WR Tre Harris
This one could go either way as a close battle or complete blowout. Ole Miss beat Mercer pretty handily, while Tulane got a victory against South Alabama. But this week they face each other as ranked opponents, and both need a victory to prove their worth and make a push for a bowl game this year. Last week, although the Rebels faced an FCS team, they put up over 70 points against them. What was impressive was Tre Harris and his performance. He made six catches last week, four of them for touchdowns. This week Harris will be facing Tulane’s top cornerback, Jarius Monroe. He led the team last year in interceptions and will this will be a fun fight to watch this weekend.

Oregon Ducks (13) vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
RB Bucky Irving
Last week the Red Raiders managed to lose 35-33 in a double-overtime game at Wyoming. The team will want to try and bounce back from an embarrassing loss but their task is tougher this week playing Oregon. Texas Tech quarterback Tyler Shough (Shuck), faces his former team this week and is now in his fifth year after injuries cut his last two seasons short.

As for Oregon, they have RB Bucky Irving who had 119 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just four carries last week. Wyoming managed to drop 171 yards of rushing against Texas Tech in Week 1 so this should be an eventful day for Irving.

Utah Utes (12) vs. Baylor Bears
Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
S Cole Bishop
This is the first time these two teams face each other, but with the realignment of the PAC 12 this won’t be the last when Utah moves to the BIG 12 next year. Utah’s star safety Cole Bishop will hope to have another big game after the team’s big win last week against Florida. Bishop made 11 tackles, one tackle for a loss, one sack and one fumble last week. If he pulls the same level of production this week expect some more conversation about him in the near future.

Wisconsin Badgers (19) vs. Washington State Cougars
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
QB Cameron Ward
Wisconsin went complete Wisconsin-style last week against Buffalo using their ground game. The Badgers run for 314 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns to get the win. But the team will be looking for more from its passing game, which was the reason for the coaching hire this year. QB Tanner Mordecai continued having issues with interceptions and threw two last week.

On the opposite side Washington State’s quarterback, Cameron Ward, threw for 451 yards and three touchdowns. He looked very precise and made good decisions with the football. This week Ward will look to pick apart the Wisconsin secondary, and if Washington State can get ahead this will leave the Badgers struggling to use its ground-and-pound style of football to get back in the game. That will end in Mordecai throwing picks and helping Washington State earn the victory.

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Pittsburgh Panthers
Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
WR Xzavier Henderson
This has the potential of being one of the more entertaining games this week as the “River City Rivalry” returns after over a decade. Cincinnati will be feeling positive this week after beating Eastern Kentucky 66-13. Pittsburgh will also have confidence after beating Wofford with a score of 45-7. Home advantage will play a big role here for Pittsburgh to help them get the win. The Pittsburgh defense will look to key in on Bearcats wide receiver Xzavier Henderson. He had 149 yards receiving last week on seven receptions and scored a touchdown. This helped Cincinnati quarterback Emory Jones win Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week last week after he scored seven total touchdowns. If the Panthers secondary can contain Henderson and the other Cincinnati receivers they should get the win.