A look at major issues heading into the second college football Saturday of 2014. Track the action and get a schedule of games on Sporting News' scoreboard.
1. B1G hopes
Here we are again, in the same situation with the same rhetoric parameters of what happens if you do and what happens if you don’t.
Only now, there’s a little more juice to the Big Ten’s need to get off the mat in non-conference games: a little thing called the College Football Playoff.
Because strength of schedule will be such an important factor in selecting the CFP’s four teams — we’re told, anyway — the Big Ten needs key non-conference wins not only for teams involved in the CFP chase, but for teams who played the teams involved.
MORE: Big Ten perception at stake | Playoff chase: Four in, four out | Week 2 picks
It’s complicated, so we’ll look at it another way: the Big Ten didn’t help itself last week when Wisconsin blew a 17-point lead on LSU. It can help itself this weekend when Michigan State — the league’s preseason favorite — leads a a trio of teams facing big non-conference games that can go a long way in dictating strength of schedule narrative for the remainder of the season.
Only there’s a slight problem. The Big Ten will be underdogs in two of the games (Michigan State at Oregon, Michigan at Notre Dame), and probably should be an underdog in the third (Virginia Tech at Ohio State) — or at least until we see how new Buckeyes QB JT Barrett reacts to a defense that will force him to make quick decisions (Navy did not; VT will).
Win those three games, and suddenly the entire landscape of what could be this fall changes for the Big Ten. Lose all three — and that’s a distinct possibility — and the Big Ten’s push for the first playoff could be over before we reach Week 3.
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. ET at Eugene.
2. Run to win
It’s feel-good time in Michigan. Who cares if the numbers were built on the backs of a former FCS team?
The team that averaged a measly 3.3 yards per carry last year nearly tripled that number last week against Appalachian State by hitting 9.7.
The team that ran for 1,634 yards last season got 22 percent of that 13-game total in one game last week when it rushed for 350 yards.
MORE: UM-ND shouldn’t disappoint | 10 best games of rivalry | Defining faces
And whaddaya know, overworked QB Devin Gardner didn’t throw an interception (11 in 2013), and missed on all of one pass. Simple, right?
Now that new offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier has the Wolverines feeling good about the run game, it’s time to test it out on a team of significance. If Michigan can run with power and efficiency against Notre Dame with TBs Derrick Green and DeVeon Smith, that embarrassing run game from 2013 gets further in the rear view with a victory in the last game of this rivalry for the foreseeable future.
A mega freshman recruit in 2013 who rarely got on the field because of weight and attitude problems, Green looked sleek and dynamic last weekend, rushing for 170 yards on 15 carries and becoming the home run threat UM has lacked at the position. His 62-yard run last week was 22 yards longer than the team’s longest run in 2013.
Rice ran for 141 yards on Notre Dame last week, and essentially gave up on the run midway through the third quarter when trailing by 21.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET at South Bend, Ind.
3. The silent star
Quietly and efficiently, Cody Kessler has become one of the best quarterbacks in the game.
It began midway through last season, and continued in last week’s season-opening rout of Fresno State. Since late October of last season, Kessler has led USC to a 7-1 record, and has thrown 16 TDs and only 2 interceptions.
He has completed 70 percent of his passes in those eight games (160-of-230), and has a 164.9 quarterback rating. Among those games: a victory over Stanford last year in Los Angeles.
MORE: Heisman watch | Can Sarkisian, USC take control of state?
Kessler’s play last year was overshadowed by interim coach Ed Orgeron’s late-season run to get the USC job (it didn’t happen), and his offseason was overshadowed by UCLA QB Brett Hundley.
The emergence of freshman WR JuJu Smith gives Kessler another elite talent on the outside with star WR Nelson Agholor. If USC can win on The Farm this weekend (it hasn’t won at Stanford since 2008), Kessler will move from the obscure to the comfortable position USC quarterbacks of the last 15 years have enjoyed: Heisman Trophy candidate.
Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET at Salt Lake City.
4. Looking ahead
It was all so perfect last week in Dublin. Penn State’s long trip for a season-opening bowl game finished with a last-second victory over UCF, and a record-setting performance for sophomore QB Christian Hackenberg.
And now, reality: Akron is a good team — and will be a tough out for a Penn State team still coming down from the high of the moment in Dublin.
The Zips should have beaten Michigan last year in Ann Arbor, and were much better than their 5-7 record — they lost three games by a combined 16 points. Moreover, there’s one disturbing takeaway for Penn State from the UCF victory: when the Knights finally found their quarterback, the Lions struggled in coverage.
Akron’s Kyle Pohl, beginning his third season in coach Terry Bowden’s offense, won’t make mistakes like the two UCF quarterbacks. Pohl, who threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns last week vs. Howard, will be the best pure passer Penn State will play this season — until the last game of the season against Michigan State and Connor Cook.
Kickoff: noon ET at Happy Valley.
5. Slow it down
Among the myriad problems road teams face in Autzen Stadium is the desire to keep pace with Oregon early in the game. They’re almost bullied into playing faster than they want.
Michigan State can’t fall into that trap. The Spartans can’t fall behind early, press to get back in the game and give up a couple of quick three and outs on offense. Those problems, more times than not at Oregon, translate to 21-0 deficits.
NUMBERS THAT MATTER: Michigan State at Oregon
You beat Oregon the same way Stanford has beaten Oregon over the years: you get physical at the point of attack and you throw over the top on play action. That’s exactly what Michigan State does best.
Stanford has won two of the last three with Oregon under coach David Shaw, including the 2012 game in Eugene. Shaw tried to stand toe to toe with the Ducks’ speed game in 2011, and got blown out.
In the two years since, Stanford has slowed the pace and won both games by a combined nine points.