Storyline Saturday: What to watch in college football's Week 2

While the classy patrons of Aggieland will be enamored with the beautiful monstrosity that is the new Kyle Field, there’s a lot more to look at across the world of college football this weekend.

That means you may have to stop watching last weekend's Texas A&M defensive highlights for a second.

Okay, maybe not. But at least pull up a second screen.

With three games featuring ranked teams, both the SEC and national landscapes will be a tiny bit clearer come Sunday morning. In addition to the marquee contests, some early Heisman names will also have a chance to pad their stats in week two.

The big games

Who: No. 19 Oklahoma at No. 23 Tennessee
Where: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn.
When: 5:00 pm ESPN

Rematch is apparently the theme of week two. That story begins with the Vols and Sooners. Last season Oklahoma jumped out early and kept its distance throughout the game. The Sooners also held the Tennessee offense to just over 300 yards. With Joshua Dobbs now in the picture, you have to assume those numbers rise considerably. In the 2015 edition, that’s what will be the defining aspect.

Which defense can limit the quarterback play? Dobbs may be the hot name, but Baker Mayfield accounted for four of OU’s five touchdowns while racking up 388 passing yards in the Sooners' opening game.

Who: No. 7 Oregon at No. 5 Michigan State
Where: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Mich.
When: 7:00 pm ABC

Meeting for just the sixth time in the programs' histories, the first top-ten matchup of the season is a must-watch. Last year Marcus Mariota led the Ducks to four unanswered touchdowns in a comeback victory. Now that he’s gone, it may be Conner Cook’s chance to return the favor.

After giving up nearly 450 yards to Eastern Washington (what?) last week, the Ducks secondary is obviously vulnerable. However, with Royce Freeman and two other options at running back, Oregon may be able to outscore the Spartans anyway. The winner gets bragging rights and a leg up on the early competition for a playoff spot.

Who: No. 14 LSU at No. 25 Mississippi State
Where: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Miss.
When: 8:15 pm ESPN

One team has a quarterback and a 1-0 record. The other apparently has neither. While the Tigers will be out for revenge after last year, seldom few know what to expect from Les Miles’ bunch. Will a cancellation in week one leave LSU rusty or ready? It better hope for the latter, as Dak Prescott represents true dual-threat ability. With that said, Leonard Fournette has to be chomping at the bit to play catch-up statistically. An angry, motivated Fournette … watch out.

Upset alert

With the majority of power five programs taking on cupcakes, the time is ripe for an upset.

We may not get the gigantic, earth-shaking upheaval that comes with an FCS team pulling off the long shot, but there are plenty of teams looking to pull their own versions. UTEP ended up getting trounced by Arkansas last week, but through two quarters, it hung in there.

Now the Miners turn their attention to a Texas Tech squad that surrendered 637 yards to Sam Houston State. Granted, SHSU isn't your typical tier-two school, but those numbers, to go along with 45 points, is absurd. Coming off the physicality of Arkansas, this one might end up going the Miners' way Saturday afternoon.

A few hours after things wrap up in Lubbock, Rice will come in, sans MOB, to DKR in Austin.

There might not be a more confident two-touchdown underdog than the Owls come 7:00. While 56 points against Wagner is nothing to write home about, it’s more than the Longhorns have scored in a game since their season opener … two years ago.

With a change at offensive coordinator, things could either shift in a hurry for the Horns, or they could get worse. If the latter happens, we may see Rice prevail for the first time since 1994.

Speaking of Texas, its performance last week has to make you wonder if the Notre Dame defense is really that good. We’ll get more of indication this week as the Irish face the Virginia Cavaliers. After going against UCLA’s Josh Rosen in his sparkling debut, the Cavs are looking for a better performance against Malik Zaire.

While pulling the upset is a big ask of Virginia against a top-ten team, it does have one thing working in its favor: they’re the Cavs.

I’m certainly fond of it.

Heisman hopefuls

Cardale Jones’ biggest Heisman competition may well be the man he’s handing the ball off to in Ezekiel Elliot. That’s according to the latest Heisman betting odds.

Both men will have a chance to pad their stats this week as Hawaii rolls into town. The Warriors held Colorado to 20 points in their season opener, but they’ll be lucky to see less than that in a quarter against the Buckeyes. Both the front runners will likely hold their positions after this weekend.

Outside of the Columbus duo, Nick Chubb will have his hands full against Vanderbilt. While the ‘Dores may not do much this year, they’re strong defensively and will be set on stopping anything Chubb does. If he can break out anyway, he may catapult further up the list. If not, there’s always South Carolina the next week.

The rest of the top names are mostly quarterbacks and among them, Jeremy Johnson is likely set for the biggest week. Against Jacksonville State, Johnson will have to put up gigantic numbers to counteract his week one performance. In his season debut JJ accounted for just 148 total yards and two touchdowns. Not quite stiff-arm quality.

So, how high can his numbers go?