FBS Calendar: Week 2 USC-Ohio State dominates the season's second weekend of action

June 18, 2009

By Adam Caparell
NCAA.com

Over the summer, NCAA.com will look at the FBS schedule, highlighting the top matchups, the can't-miss games and the best storylines for each of the 15 weeks of the regular season. Check in every week to find out which games you simply have to see.

There are some intriguing non-conference matchups on the schedule for Week 2, but all of them will take a backseat to USC-Ohio State when two of the premier powers in the game meet in Columbus.

Week 2's Can't Miss Games

Thursday, Sept. 10 - Clemson at Georgia Tech
Another early ACC clash. This time it's an inter-divisional showdown between the Atlantic (Clemson) and the Coastal (Georgia Tech). Tech was a 21-17 winner last year at Death Valley. Dabo Swinney made his debut as the Tigers' interim coach that afternoon. Now that he's been installed as the head coach will he have an answer for the Yellow Jackets this time around? Tech didn't run wild on the Tigers last fall, but won the game thanks to a great defensive performance.

Saturday, Sept. 12 - ECU at West Virginia
A game against a BCS-affiliated team is big for the Pirates. So big, in fact, that their A.D. Terry Holland calls them their "own bowl games." Well, ECU certainly got up for its bowl game last September when it hosted the No. 8 Mountaineers and breezed to the big upset. The 24-3 rout was the school's first victory over a top-10 program since a 1999 defeat of No. 9 Miami. ECU did a great job keeping Pat White in check that afternoon. White's getting paid to play for the Dolphins these days so the QB spotlight will be shown on Patrick Pickney, who practically played a perfect game for the Pirates last year.

Saturday, Sept. 12 - South Carolina at Georgia
The SEC East isn't going to feature two preseason top 10 teams like they did last year, but its trademark brand of physical football will be on full display Between the Hedges. These two met in Week 3 last season with the Bulldogs earning a seven-point win on the road. Georgia dominated the time of possession as South Carolina struggled to generate any kind of offense, but that was a very different Bulldogs team. They won't look the same this time out minus Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. Steve Spurrier is just 1-3 against Georgia since his arrival at South Carolina and when these two meet the defenses usually shine. The winner has yet to score more than 20 points in any of the last five games.

Saturday, Sept. 12 - USC at Ohio State
This is the big one. Two top 10 - potentially top 5 - teams meet in a rematch of last fall's highly-hyped Big Ten-Pac-10 showdown. USC was an easy winner in the Coliseum behind a big day from Mark Sanchez in its 35-3 rout. But Sanchez is gone and so are plenty of defensive starters for the Trojans. Terrelle Pryor essentially made his national debut that day and now he's firmly entrenched as one of the premier athletic QBs in the country. Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has readily admitted that he and his players are already thinking about this one as Ohio State is presented with yet another chance to quiet its many critics. The Buckeyes' struggles in these high-profile non-conference matchups, including bowl games, is well documented and it doesn't help that USC is undefeated in its last eight meetings with the Big Ten, winning each of those games by at least 10 points.

Other Games To Keep An Eye On

Saturday, Sept. 12 - Iowa at Iowa State
The Cy-Hawk Trophy will be up for grabs when these two rivals meet in Aimes. The two squads have split the trophy over the last four years.

Saturday, Sept. 12 - UCLA at Tennessee
These two played a memorable game on the West Coast last fall with the Bruins pulling off the 27-24 overtime upset of the No. 18 Vols.

Saturday, Sept. 12 - Notre Dame at Michigan
These two schools aren't on top of their game, but the rivalry continues between two of the top- three winningest programs in college football history.