Week Two serves up 85 games — down from 88 games in Week One, but still plenty of college football action to go around.

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN

Unlike the previous week, Week Two will offer fans six more Power 5 vs Power 5 matchups, while keeping the Football Bowl Championship (FCS) vs. Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) games about the same:

• 38 out of 85 games are FCS teams facing an FBS team
• 16 games played will pit two Power 5 conference teams against one another
• 15 Group of 5 schools travel to take on a Power 5 opponent
• 12 games will showcase a Group of 5 teams taking on another Group of 5 teams

Only 4 games will see a Power 5 team travel to take on a Group of 5 opponent.

YOU THOUGHT YOU’D SEEN THE LAST OF ME?

Here are the Week Two games that have seen at least 30 years pass since the last meeting on the gridiron:

Illinois at Kansas – Last met in 1968 (first met in 1892!); Kansas won that meeting 47-7 but trails the all time series 3-2.

James Madison at Virginia – Last met in 1983; the Cavaliers won that one 21-14 and lead the series 2-1.

Oregon at Texas Tech – Last met in 1992; Oregon leads the series 2-0.

NICE TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE

The following matchups have never been seen by any college football fan:

• Utah at Baylor
• Auburn at California
• Ball State at Georgia
• Kent State at Arkansas
• Eastern Michigan at Minnesota
• UTEP at Northwestern
• Tulsa at Washington
• Connecticut at Georgia State
• Air Force at Sam Houston State
• Louisiana at Old Dominion

SO… WE MEET AGAIN…

Bad blood, bragging rights and trophies are on the line in these Week Two games:

Stanford at USC — Will be the 101st meeting; USC leads 63-34-3

Holy Cross at Boston College — 83rd meeting; Boston College leads the battle of these two Massachusetts institutions 48-32-3

Nebraska at Colorado — Old Big 12 rivals meet again for the 72nd time; Nebraska leads 49-20-2 but Colorado has won two straight

Ole Miss at Tulane — 71st meeting between these one time conference foes; Ole Miss leads series 42-28

Iowa at Iowa State — Play for the Cy-Hawk Trophy; 70th meeting between these in state rivals with Iowa leading 46-23

Houston at Rice — Play for the Bayou Bucket; this will be the 45th meeting with Houston leading 33-11

Texas State at UTSA — I-35 Rivalry; only the fifth meeting with UTSA leading 4-0

Memphis at Arkansas State — Will play the 61st meeting of the Paint Bucket Bowl with Memphis owning a 32-23-5 series advantage

Cincinnati at Pitt — River City Rivalry, Bearcats and Panthers play for the 13th time with Cincy holding a two game series win streak but trailing Pitt 8-4 overall)*

*This game previously awarded the 95-pound Paddlewheel Trophy to the victor, signifying the shared connection both schools have with the Ohio River but with conference realignment, that was discontinued this year. 

START THE BUS, BOARD THE PLANE

Shortest and longest trips in Week Two include:

Houston at Rice — 4 miles separate the campuses

Texas State at UTSA — Only 53 miles separate San Marcos from San Antonio

James Madison at Virginia — 56 miles are all that separate these two Virginia institutions

New Mexico State at Liberty — The Aggies will fly 1,,599 miles to play conference foe Liberty

UCF at Boise State — 2,600-mile trip from Orlando, Fla. to Boise, Idaho

Albany at Hawaii — 4,940 miles separate Albany, N.Y. from Honolulu, Hawaii

GAMES TO WATCH

Nebraska at (22) Colorado 
Noon ET  – FOX

Coach Prime and the new Buffs will try and show America that they are for real as the host former conference rival Nebraska in a big home rivalry game.

(20) Ole Miss at (24) Tulane
3:30 ET – ESPN2

Tulane just defeated a solid South Alabama team and will try to follow that up by beating SEC foe Ole Miss. Coach Kiffin will be greeted with a sold out Yulman Stadium and a Tulane team hungry to make a statement.

(11) Texas at (3) Alabama 
7:00 ET – ESPN

Steve Sarkisian faces his former boss for a second straight year, this time in Tuscaloosa. Alabama kicked a field goal with :10 remaining to escape Texas with a 20-19 victory in 2022. Can Texas get a big early season victory?

A GAME 25 YEARS IN THE MAKING

Finally, this Saturday, Washington State hosts Wisconsin in the first home non-conference game against a Power 5 opponent in 25 years.

What’s even more surprising is that it’s only the third time Washington State has ever hosted a Power 5 team in football! 

Kickoff is scheduled for Satuday, September 9 at 7:30 ET on ABC.

Football Schedules

• 2023 College Football Schedule (FBS only)
• 2023 FCS Schedule (FCS only)
• College Football TV Schedule (FBS and FCS)