The college football season moves to Week 2, and while Week 1 offered some glimpses of what teams are – and what they can become, for better or worse – it is still very early in the evaluation process. Teams which did not play strong opponents in Week 1 will be challenged a lot more in Week 2. This will begin to give a lot of analysts a lot more information for the future. This week is more uncertain, which means that a lot of currently ranked teams might not deserve their ranking. They could be paper tigers waiting to be torn apart. Here are four teams that have to be very careful in Week 2:
No, 23 TCU Horned Frogs at Arkansas Razorbacks
College Football Odds: TCU -3
The Horned Frogs barely lost at home to Arkansas last season. They have to find a way to be more consistent on offense, and that goes to quarterback Kenny Hill, who endured a rough 2016 season and has to work on his ball security a lot more in 2017. Hill simply could not read defenses consistently. His recognition of defensive patterns and his understanding of the game were not up to par. Head coach Gary Patterson and offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie have to get a great performance out of Hill in this game, because Arkansas’ offense and quarterback Austin Allen are both very good. TCU is favored, but that doesn’t seem to mean much of anything in light of the Horned Frogs’ horribly disappointing 2016 season and the need to prove something before a top-25 ranking can acquire any real value.
No. 21 South Florida Bulls at Connecticut Huskies
College Football Odds: South Florida -17
The Bulls have looked terrible through two games, and now they will probably face an opponent better than their first two foes. South Florida played awful first quarters against San Jose State and FCS member Stony Brook. This game at Connecticut occurs at 10:30 a.m. local time, 90 minutes earlier than what South Florida players are used to. The possibility of another sluggish first quarter exists, and with Connecticut being led by coach Randy Edsall – who led the team to a New Year’s Day bowl game at the start of this decade – the Huskies could definitely spring the upset. Take the Huskies to cover but South Florida better be hoping that UConn’s struggles from Week 1 carry over. Connecticut barely got by Holy Cross with a 27-20 win, so it’s not as if they’ve been that impressive.
No. 6 USC Trojans at home vs. Stanford Cardinal
College Football Odds: USC -6
The Trojans are six-point favorites, but they cannot feel comfortable at all. They played poorly last week against Western Michigan. They were trailing in the second half against a Broncos team that really shouldn’t be challenging them if USC is as good as the rankings suggest. It is true that they didn’t show much of their playbook and tried to keep things under wraps for Stanford, but they still made a lot of basic mistakes that Stanford is good enough to pounce on.
USC has a lot to clean up, and although Stanford has a very uncertain situation at quarterback, the Cardinal own a very powerful defense. If Stanford can establish a physical and slow-paced game, it can win without having to score 30 or 35 points against the Trojans.
No. 20 Washington State Cougars at home vs. Boise State Broncos
College Football Odds: Washington State -10.5
The Cougars are at home, and Boise State did not look good at all against Troy on offense, but Boise State – if you look at the Broncos over the past few seasons – has a tendency to be a boom-or-bust team, especially on offense. The Bronco can be awful in one game and great in the next. Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien has a lot to learn on film, but he can study the Troy game and make great progress this week. If he does, Washington State will have to outscore him in a shootout. The Cougars can’t miss opportunities on offense if they want to feel comfortable in this game.
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