This is Part 2 of a series where I go week by week ranking what I expect to be the biggest games in college football. Check out part 1 here!

As we get deeper in the season there will be some nuance in guessing who has a decent record and who has fallen off. The elephant in the room is very much overshadowing some quality matchups this week.

3rd – Utah at Baylor

Massive props to Utah for scheduling hard! They have 9 conference games plus 2 high-quality P5 non-conference matchups (this one and Florida week 1). 

This is good for:

• Season Ticket holders
• Comparing  conference strength
• The overall quality of College Football

Baylor is an enigma to most CFB fans outside of the Big 12; they are 5th in conference title odds. With how chaotic the Big 12 is, Baylor finishing anywhere from 1st to 11th seems reasonable. After Texas and Oklahoma leave, Baylor aims to be a flagship brand in the Big 12. If the Big 12 wants to remain respected among the P5 (or P-whatever) their power players like Baylor need to win these non-con games.

2nd – Oregon at Texas Tech

How the hell is this game slept on so much? Once in a while, you see some random blog online hyping this game up, but most national media is completely ignoring it. It’s like people think the only good game this week is #1 on this list. Oregon has the 2nd best odds to win the Pac-12, is playoff hopeful, and has a Heisman candidate QB. Texas Tech has the 4th best odds to win the Big 12, went 8-5 last year with a bowl win over Ole Miss, and a probable year 2 jump with HC Joey McGuire. This should be a fun non-conference showdown in Lubbock with 2 teams that both expect to make their conference title game. 

1st – Texas at Alabama

Two weeks into the season and we have two obvious picks for the best game of the week. Many writers, including myself, believe that if Quin Ewers stayed healthy, Texas would’ve beaten Alabama last year. This year, they are fully loaded. A proven QB, the 2nd best WR room in college football, and a lights-out secondary are just the highlights of the team that most are picking to win the Big 12. 

Alabama, on the other hand, has more questions than ever. QB remains uncertain. They have potential at WR, but no one is proven. Offensive Line isn’t as deep as a traditional Alabama team. All that being said, it’s still Bama, it’s still Nick Saban, and it’s at Bryant-Denny Stadium. This game is in the running for regular season game of the year.

Honorable Mentions: Nebraska at Colorado

What does a Matt Rhule Nebraska team play like? Is Deion coming off a win or a loss, and how does he handle either? This game will try to partially answer these burning questions and should be enjoyable to watch regardless of the answers.

This article was written by Cole Tollison and edited by Hayden Breene