Weekend Walk-through: Week 2, 2022

Here’s a quick walk-through of things we are watching this weekend in games we did not preview individually. Items will appear in the order they will appear on your televisions this weekend.

UCF Ready for Launch?

UCF had a solid but unspectacular 2021 season, partially because they lost their starting quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, in a loss at Louisville in week 3. A year later, the Knights face Louisville at home with a new quarterback at the helm. John Rhys Plumlee had a dynamic debut against South Carolina State and will look to carry that momentum into what was expected to be UCF’s toughest out of conference game this year. Louisville was dominated in their season opener by Syracuse and does not appear to be the tough test it was once thought to be. The Knights have an opportunity to right the wrongs from a year ago and pick up a win over a power five team, building momentum towards what could be an excellent season.

Texas’ Stars Take Their Shot at Alabama

While, Texas is almost a three touchdown underdog against Alabama, the Longhorns do have some superstars who can give Alabama fits. Alabama has been the gold standard in college football for over a decade now, so it will be interesting to see how some of Texas’ talented stars measure up Saturday.

Junior running back, Bijan Robinson, is the best running back in college football, but he will be the focus of a fast and talented Alabama defense. His ability to make defenders miss one on one and make big plays could give Texas a chance on Saturday. Sophomore wide receiver, Xavier Worthy, is one of the most explosive receivers in the country. He will have to make plays against a secondary laden with stars and depth. Lastly, freshman quarterback, Quinn Ewers, is facing his first true test as a starter and what may be his toughest test of the season in the same game. Ewers will have the opportunity to show just how good he can be against the best. For Texas to have a chance these three have to put on a show, we’ll be watching to see if they can do just that.

Sam Hartman Returns

Wake Forest received some terrible new early in fall camp when it was announced that Sam Hartman would be out with a “non-football medical condition.” The vague label made it unclear how long he would be out and if he could play in 2022 at all. This Tuesday, news broke that Hartman was cleared to return and expected to start vs Vanderbilt on Saturday. Mitch Griffis played well in his absence against VMI, but the Demon Deacons will be happy to have their starting quarterback for a match-up against what appears to be an improved Vanderbilt team. Vanderbilt has been scoring 52.5 points per game the first two weeks, so Hartman may need to be sharp in his season debut to get the win.

Spencer Rattler’s SEC Debut

Before the 2021 season started, few thought Spencer Rattler would be playing college football in 2022, much less somewhere other than Oklahoma. A year later here we are, with Rattler the starting quarterback for South Carolina ready to make his first SEC start for the Gamecocks. With a win over a solid group of five team in Georgia State, there is optimism that South Carolina is ready to build on it’s 7 – 6 season in 2021. For that to happen, Rattler will have to play well at quarterback, definitely better than he did in the season opener (6.1 yards per attempt, 2 Int). Arkansas is a good team who had an impressive win over Cincinnati in week one, but they did give up some plays in the passing game when they didn’t get to the quarterback and allowed 7.6 yards per pass attempt. If Rattler is able to attack that pass defense and have a successful SEC debut, South Carolina will be in great shape this year.

Can Tennessee’s Offense Light it up at Pitt?

Tennessee scored 59 points in their season opener against Ball State and really didn’t look like they broke a sweat doing it. Everything went smoothly, but Ball State was a tune-up game and tougher tests are coming. In week two the Volunteers will hit the road and take on reigning ACC Champion Pittsburgh. Pitt beat Tennessee 41 – 34 a year ago in Knoxville, a result Tennessee will look to learn from and avenge this weekend. Pittsburgh’s defense is a step up from Ball State, but struggled at times against West Virginia. They do pressure the quarterback and force turnovers, but also give up some big plays in the process. Hendon Hooker and company will be on the road playing in a hostile environment, against a team they lost to a year ago. Success Saturday will bode well for the Volunteers prospects the rest of the season.

Offense vs Defense in College Station

It’s early in the season so numbers can be misleading, but College Station will host a match-up between Appalachian State’s high powered offense and Texas A&M‘s shutdown defense. The Mountaineers scored 61 points against North Carolina last week, with 40 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Texas A&M pitched a shutout against Sam Houston State to start their season. Saturday will be a tougher test for both and give us a better idea where these units stand.

Appalachian State has experience and depth on the offensive side of the ball. They have several weapons who can make plays and are balanced offensively, making them tough to game-plan for. Against North Carolina, they racked up 361 passing yards and 288 rushing yards, averaging just over 8 yards per play for the game. That balance and production makes the Mountaineers difficult to stop.

Texas A&M’s shutout week one was hardly an aberration. The Aggies held opponents to ten points or less five times last season, allowing just 15.9 points per game for the year. They have a deep and talented defensive line that is young and will keep getting better as they season progresses. That line creates opportunities for several play-makers in the back seven. Texas A&M will look to put the shackles on the high powered Appalachian State offense and prove they are again one of the best defenses in college football.

Graham Mertz First Test of 2022

Wisconsin had a good tune-up against Illinois State. We knew Braelon Allen and company would run the ball well, but the more encouraging sign was the efficiency of quarterback, Graham Mertz. The opponent was not very good, but Mertz was nearly perfect. He has struggled so far in his career and averaged less than seven yards per attempt last season and threw more interceptions than touchdowns. One game against Illinois State is not going to mean much if he cannot put together a good performance this week against Washington State. The Cougars’ defense will be a better test to see if Mertz is ready to be the quarterback Wisconsin thought they were getting at the beginning of 2020.

Anthony Richardson Looking to Carry Momentum Forward

Anthony Richardson flashed his talent last season and despite some inconsistency in the passing game had Florida fans calling for him to be the starter a year ago. A year later and under a new coaching regime, Richardson won the starting job and carried his team to a season opening win over then #7 Utah. It’s one thing to play well, but what makes a quarterback great is the ability to string together a series of good games. Richardson will have the opportunity to do just that as Florida opens SEC play this week with another top 25 match-up against Kentucky. Another dynamic showing from Richardson will have his stock shooting up the charts.

Lincoln Riley’s First Pac-12 Game

Lincoln Riley surprised the college football world when he left Oklahoma to take the USC job. He made his debut against an over-matched Rice team in a 66 – 14 win. Saturday will be Riley’s first Pac-12 game against Stanford. The Cardinal may not be the cream of the crop in the conference, but when they are good they have a tough defense and are a physical team. Riley has a imported a plethora of talent from the transfer portal, this will be a better gauge than last week to see how well that talent has gelled and what realistic expectations should be for the Trojans this year.

Baylor and BYU a Future Big-12 Preview

Closing out Saturday will be an excellent match-up between Baylor and BYU. Baylor won the Big-12 a year ago and is coming off a 69 – 10 win against Albany. BYU has won at least ten games each of the last two season and went on the road and pounded USF 50 – 21 in week one. This will be an excellent match-up between two quality teams and future conference opponents.

Baylor’s Dave Aranda had plenty of interest from other schools but opted to remain in Waco and continue to build the Baylor program. With a new quarterback at the helm, the Bears were balanced and efficient against Albany. Several underclassmen played well in key roles and it appears the program is ready to compete for a conference title once again. Obviously, Albany was not the level of competition that BYU is, so this week will be a better test for Baylor. Nonetheless, Baylor appeared to be ready to continue their strong play from a year ago.

BYU will be joining the Big-12 conference next season. Of course they would love to introduce themselves to the conference with a win against the reigning Big-12 champions. The Cougars have a talented quarterback and a punishing running game, but may be without their most explosive offensive weapon, Puka Nacua, and another top receiver, Gunner Romney. Even without the two receivers, BYU is capable of getting the win and will be motivated to do just that. The Cougars won plenty of match-ups against power five teams last year, but they did lose to Baylor in Waco, a loss they will look to avenge on Saturday night.

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