There is usually a lull afterwards Week 1 of the college football season. After all the excitement and glitz from the start of a new season wears off, the Week 2 plate can be filled with its share. Not this year. Not this week. The Texas Longhorns take the field before a game against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, September 3, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images) College football Saturday begins with a match between two traditional forces before ending the night late with a matchup between two future Big 12 foes. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM Let’s take a look at some matchups to catch up on Saturday as the college football season kicks off in Week 2.
Texas vs. No. 1 Alabama – 12 p.m. ET, FOX
There are moments in every program’s history where fans can point and see where the twist happened. For Texas, Saturday is one of those opportunities Nick Saban and #1 Alabama rolls into Austin, Texas, for the first meeting between the two schools since the 2010 national championship game. After a Week 1 win over UL Monroe, Texas faces its biggest test of the Steve Sarkisian era. On Tuesday, Sarkisian tried to downplay the matchup, saying Texas needed to focus on just playing “good football.” Alabama coach Nick Saban looks on during the first half of the team’s game against Utah State, Sept. 3, 2022, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt) “You can worry about Alabama,” Sarkisian said Monday. “You can worry about GameDay being here. You can get hung up on Fox being here. You can get caught up in things that are really unrelated to our ability to play good football. We’ve got to be in love with us. Focused on us ». ALABAMA’S NICK SABAN LOOKS FORWARD TO TEXAS STATE TRIP AS VARY FAVORITE: ‘LET’S GET A– KICKED’ It is the first time since 1922 Texas will host Alabama, and the Crimson Tide roll into town after beating Utah State 55-0. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young threw for five touchdowns and had 295 yards with six touchdowns against the Aggies. Alabama’s defense held Utah State to just 136 total yards and will look to shut down Heisman hopeful Bijan Robinson Jr. “Bijan is a great running back. Everybody knows that, everybody sees that. He’s fast, he’s elusive, he finds holes that an average linebacker can’t,” Alabama linebacker Henry To’oTo’o said. Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) leads the team down the field during a game against the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks on Sept. 3, 2022, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Alabama will be a 20-point favorite in Austin, but Saban isn’t thinking too much of the odds. TEXAS COACH STEVE SARKISIAN ON TACKLE NO. 1 ALABAMA: “YOU SHOULD BE BELOVED TOGETHER” “Everybody’s heard we’re a 20-point favorite in this game,” Saban said Thursday on his weekly radio show. “The last time we were a 20-point favorite and we went to Texas, they kicked our ass.” Texas leads the all-time series 7-1-1.
Appalachian State vs. No. 6 Texas A&M – 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Application status is not heading to College Station, Texas, to get a payday. They are playing an SEC school with an upset on their mind. After a wild 63-61 loss to North Carolinathe Mountaineers will look to build on a 40-point fourth quarter against the Tar Heels. “Well, I’ve been doing this 22 years and I’ve never scored 40 points in a quarter or scored nine touchdowns and gotten beat,” App State head coach Shawn Clark said this week when asked how his team is faring after Week 1 . loss. “But it happens. You’re talking about situations that come up over the course of a season with two-point conversions, onside kicks, time management. It all came up in the first home game or the first game of the season. Our guys, they expect to win.” TEXAS A&M’S JIMBO FISHER IN OFF-SEASON WAR OF WORDS WITH ALABAMA’S NICK SABAN: ‘TIME TO SHUT UP AND PLAY’ Quarterback Chase Brees threw for 361 yards and a school-record six touchdowns while The application state rushed for 288 yards on the ground. Texas A and M Aggies students sing during a game against the Sam Houston State University Bearkats on Sept. 3, 2022, at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. (Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Texas A&M allowed just 198 total yards against Sam Houston State in its Week 1 win, but coach Jimbo Fisher understands his team faces a much tougher challenge in Week 2. “This team can play in any league,” Fisher said. “They’ve got great players, they’ve gotten some signings and they’ve recruited well. This is a big team and they can play on both sides of the ball.” App State is best known for one of the biggest upsets in college football history, a 34-32 2007 win over No. 5 Michigan in The Big House.
No. 17 Pittsburgh vs. No. 24 Tennessee – 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
It’s the first time Tennessee is ranked in the Josh Heupel era, and the Vols will now look to beat a ranked team for just the second time in Heupel’s two seasons in Knoxville. Pitt is coming off a win over Tennessee in 2021, a shutout win over West Virginia in “The Backyard Brawl” in Week 1 and is fresh off an ACC Championship. However, the Panthers will be underdogs Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) dives into the end zone for a touchdown during a game against the Ball State Cardinals, Sept. 1, 2022, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. (Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) “You’ve heard all summer about the SEC, and there’s really only two Power Five conferences in the country — the SEC and the Big Ten,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “Well, we’re in the peewee league, and we’re going to line up and see if we can play.” PITT COME BACK IN FIRST BACK-TO-BACK IN 11 YEARS, DOWN WEST VIRGINIA, 38-31 Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, a Heisman Trophy dark horse, leads the high-powered Vols offense in Pittsburgh. “Hendon is a whole different guy,” Tennessee quarterbacks coach Joey Halzl said. “His confidence, his fundamentals, his development from there, he’s a completely different quarterback.” AFTER TENNESSEE COACH JOSH HEUPEL’S DEBUT 7-6 SEASON, VOLUNTEERS LOOK FOR MORE WINS The run game could be key as Tennessee rushed for 218 yards on the ground against Ball State in Week 1, while Pitt allowed 190 yards on the ground to West Virginia. Pittsburgh Panthers’ Kedon Slovis scrambles from the pocket in the first quarter during a game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Acrisure Stadium, Sept. 1, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (Justin Berl/Getty Images) It will be Tennessee’s biggest test before the start of the SEC conference schedule. “This is a big game for us, obviously,” Heupel said. “(It’s) the first road test for us against a very good football team.”
No. 12 Florida vs. No. 20 Kentucky – 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
For just the fourth time in 73 meetings, Florida and Kentucky will meet with both teams ranked in the AP Top 25. In the first SEC matchup of the season, the two quarterbacks will be the focus, with Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson coming off a masterful game against the Utah Utes and projected first-round NFL pick Will Lewis looking to improve after being intercepted and sacked four times in Week 1. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “They don’t need him to put that kind of pressure on himself,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said. “We love and respect his drive and motivation, and that’s evident. But there can also be added pressure when his expectations are high. “We just need him to be him. He’s very driven and plays at a very high level.” The Wildcats are expected to be without star Chris Rodriguez Jr. as the senior deals with an off-field issue. FLORIDA’S ANTHONY RICHARDSON LEADS GATORS TO RECOVERY NO. 7 UTAH IN HOME OPENER For Billy Napier and Florida, they’ll need Richardson to be monstrous again and build on his three-touchdown performance against Utah. Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson (15) runs into the end zone after rushing for a 45-yard touchdown during the first half against Utah, Sept. 3, 2022, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) “Everything you want in a quarterback, he’s got,” Ricky Pearsall said of Richardson. “He’s got a rocket for an arm. If he wants to throw it across the field, he can. Just ask him, he’ll throw it a hundred yards.” Stoops has turned around Kentucky football programgoing 60-53 in 10 seasons in Lexington. “People underestimate how hard it is to build an SEC program from the ground up,” Stoops said, according to ESPN. “There’s been a lot of investment here from a lot of different people.”
No. 21 BYU vs. No. 9 Baylor – 10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
A fantastic evening drink on a beautiful day of college football and an upcoming Big 12 matchup. It is the first time Baylor will travel to Provo, Utah since 1984 and the last time BYU will face the Bears before entering the Big 12 next season. “All I have to say about it is I’m excited to play them,” BYU offensive lineman Blake Freeland said. Brigham Young Cougars’ Jaren Hall (3) passes the ball to Lopini Katoa (4) in the first quarter against the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium, Sept. 3, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images ) BYU is 12-2 at LaVell Edwards Stadium over the last two years, and Baylor is ready for the Cougar faithful to bring the noise. BIG 12 COMMISSIONER EYES ‘GOING OUT WEST’ TO CONTINUE CONFERENCE EXPANSION “It’s packed. It’s loud,” Baylor coach Dave…
