Week 2 of college football is almost here.
The first week of the season was all about Boise State‘s superstar running back racking up six touchdowns. What can Ashton Jeanty do for an encore against an Oregon team that struggled to put away Idaho last week? The game of the week is in Ann Arbor, where the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines host the Texas Longhorns. What matchups will determine who wins that game?
Speaking of the state of Texas, an underrated rivalry game between UTSA and Texas State kicks off Saturday. The best part of that one is how Texas State coach G.J. Kinne played for UTSA’s Jeff Traylor back in high school, after meeting up for some ice cream.
And then there are the freshman phenom wide receivers at Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn and Texas. How will they live up to their scintillating debuts?
Our college football reporters give insight on big storylines and players to keep your eyes on in Week 2.
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Interstate 35 rivalry | Michigan-Texas | Ashton Jeanty
Freshmen wide receivers
Battle for Interstate 35
Texas and Texas A&M are finally renewing their conference rivalry this season, but it might not even be as Texas-centric as the I-35 Rivalry between UTSA and Texas State. The two schools, less than 60 miles apart, have a lot more in common than just proximity.
Their two coaches first met in 2005 at a Dairy Queen in Gilmer, Texas.
Now-Texas State coach G.J. Kinne was then a star quarterback whose dad, Gary Joe, was his coach at Canton High School in East Texas, before the father was shot by a disgruntled parent in the team’s locker room. Jeff Traylor, now at UTSA, was the coach of his hometown Gilmer Buckeyes, about 70 miles away from Canton, where he had built a powerhouse that won three state championships. (The Buckeyes now play at Jeff Traylor Stadium.) In 2005, Traylor and G.J. Kinne first matched wits when Canton and Kinne beat Gilmer and Traylor 61-58 in a playoff game. After that season, Gary Joe Kinne landed a job at Baylor and G.J., whose mother and father were divorced, decided he wanted to escape the family history in town — and his mom and stepdad opted to move to Gilmer.
This came as a shock to Traylor, who had a star quarterback, Jamell Kennedy, who was committed to SMU.
“We meet at the Dairy Queen,” Traylor said of G.J. Kinne. “You can’t make this up, now. I said, ‘You sure we want to do this?'”
“I think he was trying to talk me out of it,” Kinne said, but he was determined to play for Traylor if he couldn’t play for his dad, even noting he also had admired Traylor’s work with the McCown brothers (Randy, Josh and Luke) as their QB coach at another East Texas school.
Kinne enrolled then Kennedy got hurt. Kinne stepped in, threw for 3,216 yards and 47 touchdowns with one interception and rushed for 11 more scores. He was named the Texas 3A Offensive Player of the Year and signed with Texas Longhorns before eventually transferring to Tulsa, where he starred for Gus Malzahn. (Kinne also later worked for Malzahn at UCF, after working with Traylor at SMU then at Arkansas for Chad Morris, who is now on Kinne’s staff at Texas State. Got all that?)
Now, less than two decades since they met at DQ, they’re two of the hottest coaches in the country going head-to-head in a blizzard of emotions. Traylor has a 40-14 record with two American Athletic Conference titles at UTSA. Kinne went 12-2, won a Southland Conference championship and went to an FCS semifinal in a single season at Incarnate Word, before taking Texas State to its first bowl game in history last season and winning it to finish 8-5 after the Bobcats finished 4-8 the year before. Traylor made every phone call he could to help get Kinne the job, and Kinne can’t help sharing his praise for Traylor. Both have jokingly said maybe those were bad ideas as the heat gets turned up in the matchup. Last year’s game drew 49,000 at San Antonio’s Alamodome.
UTSA is 5-0 in the series that dates back to 2012, when both schools became full FBS members, but four of the contests were decided by one score or less. When the two coaches meet Saturday (4 p.m. ET, ESPNU), Kinne will face Traylor along with UTSA’s starting QB, Owen McCown, the son of Josh McCown.
The coaches will be on opposite sidelines, but they are still family.
Kinne — who was in the wedding of Traylor’s son Jordan, an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints — said this week that Jordan texted him asking whom he was supposed to root for. Kinne said he better pick Dad on that one.
Meanwhile, when Kinne’s daughter, Swayze Jo, was born this summer, “Jeff was one of the first people I called,” Kinne said.
The opposing coaches have a mutual love and admiration, but Traylor will always be Kinne’s old coach.
“You can’t help but love the kid,” Traylor said of Kinne last year. “He’s good-looking. He’s young. He’s smart. He’s the whole package. I know you’re not supposed to say that because I’m competing against him. But I’m just telling you, I think the world of him, and I’ll be the big fan.” — Dave Wilson
What Michigan, Texas need to capitalize on to win in their game
Michigan: The Wolverines need to control the line of scrimmage much better than they did in their opener against Fresno State. Texas has significant edges at quarterback and wide receiver, and Michigan must dictate tempo with both its offensive line and D-line to limit the damage from Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns’ offense.
Despite new faces on its O-line, Michigan should be able to find vulnerabilities in a Texas front that no longer includes first-round draft pick Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat, a second-round selection and the Outland Trophy winner. If the Wolverines can take pressure off of quarterback Davis Warren with their run game and their defense, and also shorten the game, they should have a good chance on their home field, where they are 53-8 since the start of the 2015 season. — Adam Rittenberg
Texas: Adam is right. Michigan’s offensive line versus Texas’ retooled defensive line is the key. Texas had the rare ability to plug in two very large fifth-year seniors in 6-foot-5, 320-pound Alfred Collins and 6-5, 305-pound Vernon Broughton to fill the gaps up front following the departure of Murphy and Sweat. So, the Longhorns are still big and experienced up front.
Last year, Ewers — an Ohio State transfer, remember? — went into Tuscaloosa, where Alabama hadn’t lost a nonconference game since 2007, and finished 24-of-38 for 349 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-24 win. If the Longhorns can hold the Wolverines’ powerful running game in check and force Michigan into a shootout, they’ll be in their comfort zone. — Wilson
Ashton Jeanty is ready for the hype. The Boise State running back has been working on his speed, refining his strength and improving his knowledge of the many defenses this season that will try their best to stop him every time he touches the ball. He also has been working on the pose. That one.
“I’m fully aware,” Jeanty told ESPN of the early Heisman Trophy chatter during a phone call Tuesday. “I’ve been practicing it.”
It didn’t take long for Jeanty to showcase it, either. The junior from Jacksonville, Florida, kicked off his year with a video game stat line in a 56-45 win against Georgia Southern: 267 yards on 20 carries — a single-game school record. His first touchdown of the game was a 77-yard run that culminated in the aforementioned Heisman pose. He would go on to score five more times, good enough to break another school record.
“That’s up there in terms of games for me,” Jeanty, who had 41 touchdowns during his senior season at Lone Star High School in Texas, said. “But we got 11 more games so, I don’t know, I might have a better one.”
Jeanty is no stranger to big games. Last season, he had seven games where he accounted for at least 150 offensive yards and only three games where he didn’t score. Jeanty’s growth at Boise State has been gradual, but there has never been any doubt about his production or his potential. In his freshman season, he was not the starter, but he accounted for nearly 900 yards of offense and six touchdowns. During his second season, Jeanty became a weapon in the passing game, totaling 569 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the year.
“Each year I’ve gotten the ball more,” Jeanty said. “So, I’ve gotten a chance to be able to display what I can do.”
On paper, it would have made sense if Jeanty chose to transfer to a Power 4 program going into his junior year. There would have been no shortage of teams vying for his commitment. Jeanty, however, had other plans.
“For me it’s just being able to leave a legacy,” he said. “At other places, that’s going there for one year, maybe getting some more money, it’s just not the same. It’s just not special. And doing it with this team to me is really what makes it special.”
Sticking with Boise allowed Jeanty to know exactly what he wanted to work on heading into this season. His focus was on improving his football IQ and learning more about defensive schemes and coverages so he could chart his path before the ball was in his hands.
This past Saturday, Jeanty had already scored five times, but he saw the defense’s alignment before the snap and knew he would have an open lane to run through. Seventy-five yards later, Jeanty was in the end zone. No one had touched him.
“I think this is the best running back I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said earlier this week in advance of his team’s matchup against Boise State this weekend. “He’s certainly an NFL guy.”
Jeanty said the Heisman is not his main focus, but he knows that winning as a team — and potentially making the College Football Playoff — will be what opens the door for the accolades, including that one. When asked whether he thinks there’s a better running back in the nation than him, Jeanty doesn’t just give the stock answer. Even after the game of his life, he knows it’s only the beginning.
“I don’t,” Jeanty said. “And I’m going to prove that all year.” — Paolo Uggetti
Six freshman wide receivers to know
Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State: On the day the Buckeyes unveiled the country’s most expensive roster, the freshman wideout stole the show in a 52-6 win over Akron and Smith will be worth keeping an eye on again in Week 2 when Western Michigan visits Columbus.
Smith led all Ohio State pass catchers with six catches for 92 yards in Week 1 and became the first Buckeyes freshman to catch two touchdown passes in his debut since 1996, but more impressive was the way he did it. After dropping a screen pass on Ohio State’s opening drive, Smith completed three third-down conversions on the next series, including a 16-yard touchdown reception. Smith hauled in another score in the second quarter, and his 45-yard connection with Will Howard after halftime marked the Buckeyes’ longest play of the day.
Smith’s eight targets in his debut were more than any other Ohio State wide receiver in Week 1. Alongside Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate, the five-star newcomer will continue to be one of the most fascinating pieces in the new-look attack being led by first-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly in Week 2.
Ryan Williams, Alabama: Kalen DeBoer and his staff made retaining Ryan Williams a priority when they arrived back in January. In Week 1, ESPN’s No. 3 prospect in the 2024 class showed exactly why the Crimson Tide worked so hard to keep him.
Williams needed little time to flash the big play ability he brought to Tuscaloosa, torching an overmatched Western Kentucky secondary in his college debut. His first career reception came on an 84-yard score when Williams hauled in a deep ball from Jalen Milroe, then sprinted 44 yards beyond the Hilltoppers’ defense into the end zone in the close minutes of the first quarter. Later in the half, Milroe found Williams again, this time over the middle where the speedy freshman split a pair of defenders on his way to a 55-yard touchdown before halftime.
Two catches for two touchdowns, 139 receiving yards and 79 yards after the catch that ranks 10th nationally — that’s how Williams introduced himself to Alabama, all at 17 years old. The 6-foot, 175-pound pass catcher gets his next opportunity to impress in Week 2 against a South Florida secondary that allowed just 122 passing yards in its opener against Bethune-Cookman.
Ryan Wingo, Texas: The 6-2, 210-pound freshman was the Longhorns’ most productive pass catcher in their Week 1 rout of Colorado State. Can he follow an impressive debut with another standout performance in front of a sold-out crowd at Michigan on Saturday?
Wingo authored an impressive debut, hauling in a pair of first-half passes before making another two catches after halftime, including a 30-yard connection with Arch Manning. Wingo closed the day as Texas’ leading wide receiver with 70 yards on his four catches, earning praise for his physicality and poise from Texas coach Steve Sarkisian afterward.
“He’s been doing nothing but that for us,” Sarkisian said of the five-star freshman.
Wingo is part of a new-look wide receivers group for the Longhorns this fall. Transfers Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond and Silas Bolden each delivered strong Texas debuts of their own in Week 1. On Saturday, that unit meets a Michigan secondary led by All-America cornerback Will Johnson and Wingo will have a role to play as the Longhorns make a hotly anticipated trip to Ann Arbor.
Auburn‘s wide receiver trio: As freshman receivers starred across the country in Week 1, the Tigers upped the ante on everyone else and opened up opportunities to three first-year pass catchers. In a 73-3 win over Alabama A&M, Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson and Malcolm Simmons met the moment.
Coleman, ESPN’s No. 5 prospect in the 2024 class, wowed the Auburn staff with his playmaking ability in the spring and summer. In Week 1, he flashed it for the crowd inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, pulling in each of his two targets for 62 yards, highlighted by a nifty double-move on his 44-yard touchdown just 3:21 into his college debut.
Thompson was ESPN’s 13th-ranked wide receiver in 2024. His pair of catches in Week 1 went for 82 yards, including his 70-yard, second-quarter touchdown that accounted for Auburn’s longest play of the day. Simmons, meanwhile, closed his debut as the Tigers’ leading receiver, hauling in three passes for 91 yards with help from a 51-yard score in the closing minutes of the third quarter.
Wide receivers tend to succeed under Hugh Freeze. As the Tigers settle in with a pass-catching group heavily made up of first-year transfers, this freshman trio will be worth following this fall. — Eli Lederman
