Texas A&M can shock the world at Clemson
The second week of college football is a little better than the first, in terms of quality games, leading with LSU at Texas and Texas A&M at Clemson. We find out very quickly if the estranged Lone Star rivals are national contenders.
Along with a coach on the hot seat and my weekly upset special, here are the rankings of the 10 best non-Big 12 games Saturday, along with:
1. Texas A&M at Clemson, 2:30 p.m., ABC: The Tigers have won 16 straight home games. The Aggies have won just three of their last 10 true road games. 2. Stanford at Southern Cal, 9:30 p.m. ESPN: Neither is a division favorite in the Pac-12, but the winner gets near that status. 3. Army at Michigan, 11 a.m., Fox: The most fascinating game on the schedule. How will Michigan handle the Army triple option? 4. Miami at North Carolina, 7
p.m., ACC Network: Mack Brown beat Will Muschamp (South Carolina) last week; now Brown goes against another of his Texas defensive coordinators, Manny Diaz, in his first season as head coach at Miami. 5. Nebraska at Colorado, 2:30 p.m., Fox: Wonder if this rivalry renewal has generated enthusiasm in Boulder? If not, what will? 6. Syracuse at Maryland, 11 a.m., ESPN: Maryland has been notable three straight season openers — two victories over Texas, plus a 79-0 victory over Howard last week. 7. Cincinnati at Ohio State, 11 a.m., ABC: Cincy is 0-5 all-time against the Buckeyes; they didn't meet until 1999. 8. Brigham Young at Tennessee, 6 p.m., ESPN: This is a big game in the same way that a major wreck on the highway is a tourist
attraction. You can't avert your eyes. 9. Minnesota at Fresno State, 9:30
p.m., CBS Sports Network: A lastminute Minnesota interception on a trick play let the Gophers survive 21-14 last season against Fresno State. 10. Nevada at Oregon, 6:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network: Wolf Pack got a big win over Purdue last week and now get an even bigger fish.
Upset special
Hard to believe, but since 2008, USC has won only one Pac-12 football title. That came in 2017.
In the same span, Stanford has won three, Washington two and Oregon four. So the Trojans' status as top dog out West is in serious jeopardy.
Now comes a USC team that was picked to finish behind Utah in the Pac-12 South, that struggled to beat Fresno State last week and a team that will be missing starting J.T. Daniels, who was injured last week and is sidelined for the season.
Now Stanford comes to the Los Angeles Coliseum, and a victory would give the Trojans hope that they can make 2019 a special season. But a loss makes it even tougher to win the South Division.
USC is a 3½ point favorite at home, but Stanford has the better recent pedigree. Let's go with the Cardinal in the upset.
Coach on the hot seat
Most second-year coaches don't worry too much about job security. Most secondyear coaches don't coach in a 100,000-seat stadium and lose there to Georgia State.
Tennessee's Jeremy Pruitt is 5-8 with the Volunteers. He was hired as a compromise choice after the fans revolted at the idea of hiring Greg Schiano. So Tennessee got Pruitt, who was born in Alabama, played at Alabama and coached at Alabama, most recently as defensive coordinator.
Not exactly an endearing resumé for Tennessee fans.
And the 38-30 loss to Georgia State last week, which was anything but a fluke, has a storm brewing on the Tennessee River.
Saturday, the Vols host Brigham Young, another faded power. It seems a tossup game, and if it goes BYU's way, Neyland Stadium could become unpleasant. How much longer would Pruitt have?