Even with two Irish opponents beating up on other teams scheduled to face Notre Dame, the 11 foes went 8-3, including Georgia’s victory over the Irish. Miami (FL) did not see action due to Hurricane Irma, and that will be the case for this week as well.
Temple (1-1): Owls head coach Geoff Collins got his first career win Saturday, barely. Perhaps it should have raised eyebrows when Temple was favored by less than a touchdown against FCS-level Villanova. Vegas knows. Vegas always knows. The Owls won 16-13, but let’s not spend any more time on that encounter.
Before jumping into a tough American Athletic stretch — Temple will travel to South Florida before hosting Houston — the Owls can try to gain some genuine momentum against Massachusetts on Friday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Favored by 14.5 with a combined over/under point total of 51.5, project a final score of 33-18.
Georgia (2-0): Does anyone know how the Bulldogs fared this past weekend?
Their level of competition will drop a bit, now facing FCS-level Samford at 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. From there, though, it will be directly into SEC play.
Boston College (1-1): The Eagles did themselves in against Wake Forest, falling at home 34-10. That lopsided score can be directly attributed to four turnovers, including three interceptions from freshman quarterback Anthony Brown. Senior Darius Wade stepped in to finish the game after the third pick. The Demon Deacons outgained Boston College by only four yards, 309-305.
Now the Eagles host Notre Dame at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Nearly two-touchdown underdogs with an over/under of 48.5, rounding indicates a theoretical final score of 31-18.
Michigan State (2-0): The Spartans had no trouble with Western Michigan, dispatching the Broncos 28-14 before entering a bye week. To open the season, Western Michigan managed 357 yards and 31 points at USC. Compare that to the 195 and 14 Michigan State allowed.
Miami (OH) (1-1): The RedHawks returned to winning ways with an easy 31-10 rout of FCS-level Austin Peay, though the score is misleading when considering Miami outgained the Governors by only 13 yards (283 to 270) and each team committed three turnovers. To counteract that, the RedHawks went 8-for-17 on third downs and 3-for-4 on fourth.
If they continue to keep drives alive like that, they should easily cover the 4.5-point spread against Cincinnati at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN3 this weekend. The over/under of 45.5 implies a final score of 25-21, as odd as 25 points may be in football. A touchdown and six field goals would certainly be an underwhelming delivery.
North Carolina (0-2): This could be a long season for the Tar Heels. They have now given up 82 points through two games, with Louisville accounting for 47 of those in the Cardinals 47-35 victory. To think, entering the season the wholesale turnover in offensive personnel was the biggest concern.
North Carolina can ease the misery on the road this weekend against Old Dominion. Favored by more than a touchdown in the 3:30 p.m. ET kick, the Tar Heels should win by more than a 32-25 margin.
USC (2-0): Oh, hey Trojans offense. Nice of you to make sure the world was aware of your abilities. USC blew past Stanford 42-24, despite being favored by less than a touchdown. The Trojans racked up 623 yards of total offense, 316 through the air and 307 on the ground, and converted 10 of 12 third downs. Both Stephen Carr and Ronald Jones exceeded 100 yards rushing. It just may seem USC could live up to the preseason hype.
The Trojans now host another highly-touted preseason team, though one that has not fared as well to date. Favored by 17 over Texas with an over/under of 67, USC could mimic last week’s final score. With that in mind, and presuming the Cardinal are indeed better than the Longhorns, perhaps that margin should be larger.
North Carolina State (1-1): The Wolfpack pulled away in the second half to beat Marshall 3-20. Not much else to that, and now North Carolina State gets to enjoy FCS-level Furman on the ACC Network at 12:20 p.m. ET.
Wake Forest (2-0): The 24-point victory over Boston College was a 26-point swing compared to the spread. In other words, perhaps the Deacons are better than anticipated despite the loss of their defensive coordinator and his right hand man (Mike Elko and Clark Lea, respectively).
Wake Forest can solidify that trend as it hosts Utah State this weekend. The Aggies were blown out by Wisconsin, but they are typically a formidable opponent. A 13.5-point spread favors the Deacons with an over/under of 48.5, implying a 31-18 conclusion.
Miami (FL) (1-0): The Hurricanes trip to Arkansas State was cancelled last week due to foreseeable difficulties returning to Miami after/during Hurricane Irma. I will admit, I was at first critical of this decision. The game was in Arkansas, not Florida, after all. But when considering the players may want to be in the mix with their nearby families during this threat, the decision makes sense.
It also made sense to postpone this coming weekend’s tilt with Florida State, since Miami’s campus will be closed most of the week.
From a speculating perspective, the Hurricanes win total over/under was nine entering the season. Missing the Arkansas State game greatly endangers the chances of hitting that over, though most would understand the schedule was abbreviated.
Navy (2-0): The Midshipmen got a conference victory, but a 23-21 final over Tulane was far closer than would ever have been expected. Junior quarterback Zach Abey still both ran and passed for more than 100 yards, though. Navy’s defense was the star against the Green Wave, holding Tulane to 71 passing yards.
Now, the Midshipmen get to enjoy a bye week.
Stanford (1-1): The Cardinal fell to USC 42-24. That was undoubtedly a disappointment, but it may be viewed as more a reflection on the Trojans than anything else. As it pertains to Stanford, junior running back Bryce Love was the bright spot, taking 17 carries for 160 yards and a touchdown.
Now the Cardinal travels to Mountain West heavyweight San Diego State as a 9.5-point favorite. The 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff on CBS Sports Network projects to end along the lines of 27-18. Don’t be too surprised if the Aztecs prove a stiffer challenge than that, partly because they do get to enjoy home-cooking.
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