Welcome back to the second week of the Quad Box. The Quad Box that was actually put in for the noon slate was possible, which was a fun surprise for those who followed the recommendations here. Before we dive into the rest of the weekend’s picks, I will acknowledge that there is one of these game picks that is not available via YouTube TV or standard cable. The goal of this is to try and find the most amount of potentially great, fun, and sometimes the “so bad it’s good” games each and every Saturday. Without further ado, let’s look at the Week 2 action and see what we can all dive into this week.

Weekday

The weekday slate is a little bare this week, mostly due to the NFL taking over this week with two games before it’s initial Sunday season start. If you are to watch one college game this week before Saturday, it has to be the second Northwestern home game, where Duke comes to town. The game itself may not be incredible football, but the views should be amazing. With their stadium renovations in full swing, this will be the second opportunity to see the makeshift stadium on the banks of Lake Michigan; the first that will be at night. The vistas alone make this the game to be on the lookout for on Friday night.

Noon Slate

The biggest game of the weekend, at least based on the preseason expectations, is Texas going to Michigan. The Longhorns, which appeared to have reloaded after their trip to the CFP last season, while Michigan seemed to have lost much of the luster off their National Championship season. This should be Longhorns going away, but it’s worth monitoring. Elsewhere, Tulane has an opportunity to get a leg up on the Group of 5 teams vying for a playoff spot, as they host a ranked Kansas State team, whom they already beat two seasons ago. It’s the first true test for HC Jon Sumrall in New Orleans. Georgia Tech looks to continue to show that their win Week 0 was not a fluke and the Yellow Jackets are contenders in the ACC. Finally, we have the beginnings of the potential last stand for Sam Pittman, as he brings the Razorbacks to Stillwater to take on Ollie Gordon and Oklahoma State.

Afternoon Slate

Once again, I am putting the Notre Dame game against Northern Illinois on the Quad Box for all Irish fans. The other games are potential Sickos games of the week. We have the annual spectacle that is Iowa State-Iowa in Iowa City. In actual football analysis, it will be interesting to see how and if the offense changes when faced with a more inspired defense and with the return of HC Kirk Ferentz from his one game suspension. The other two games selected almost certainly will be car crashes, but they are both ones that seem like they will be entertaining at the very least for a couple of quarters. The first is Cal making a return trip to Auburn. The Bears almost knocked off Auburn last year and will look to do so again on Saturday. We also have Baylor making a Big 12 conference trip to Salt Lake City. Utah looks like they are firing on all cylinders, so this could be the beginning of their steamrolling their new conference.

Primetime Slate

In the primetime window, we have some intriguing rematches, and one get right game that might be a get wrong, ala Florida State on Monday night. The first is Colorado’s trip to Nebraska. This is the type of game that Matt Rhule seems to thrive in, and after seeing their offense last week against UTEP, it may the first time Nebraska goes 2-0 since the Bo Pelini era in Lincoln. App State makes its seemingly annual trip to a local ACC team to give them a scare as they make the trip to Clemson. Dabo et al need to make sure that they get right here after their shellacking against Georgia in Atlanta. South Florida makes the return trip to Tuscaloosa after last years squeaker. Finally, Kansas football is fun! Watch them!

After Dark

We finally get to the After Dark section of the night. The one good thing about the west coast teams going to the ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten is that some of these games now are more easily accessible for the common fan to watch. That is, except for Oregon-Boise State. The game with the most potential CFP implications (a weird statement though true) Boise State looks to bring its vaunted rushing attack to Eugene. It’s a shame that this game is on Peacock and not readily available. I would get Peacock (again for you Irish fans) just for this game alone. Elsewhere we have Oregon State traveling to San Diego for the first of a Mountain West/Pac-2 clash. Arizona State hosts Mississippi State in the second half of a home and home. Finally, USC resets itself after its win over LSU last Sunday with a home game against a declining Utah State.