The College Football Playoff is months away, but what happens this weekend will go a long way toward determining who gets there.
For a Saturday in early September, there are some high-stakes, nonconference games: Texas A&M travels to Clemson and LSU visits Texas. It's also going to be an extra-long day of football, as Ohio and Pittsburgh kick off at 11 a.m. ET. The final game of the weekend, Oregon State at Hawaii, starts 13 hours later.
theScore is here to guide your viewing experience. Here's our look at the can't-miss matchups and under-the-radar games for the second week of the season.
(All times ET)
The early slate
Must-watch: Cincinnati at No. 5 Ohio State (12 p.m., ABC)
There's no matchup between ranked teams in the first wave of games, but Cincinnati did receive votes in the AP Top 25 poll this week after defeating UCLA in its season opener. Bearcats coach Luke Fickell played at Ohio State and coached in Columbus from 2002-16.
The Buckeyes coasted to a 45-21 win over Florida Atlantic last week and quarterback Justin Fields looked like the real deal.
A win for Cincinnati would be historic. The Bearcats last defeated Ohio State in 1897 (!) and have lost in their previous 11 meetings.
Has potential: No. 21 Syracuse at Maryland (12 p.m., ESPN)
Syracuse gets one of the season's more difficult opening stretches as one of only four teams to play its first two games on the road (the Orange defeated Liberty 24-0 last Saturday). The home opener, next Saturday, is a date with No. 1 Clemson.
Syracuse's performance in its opener was a mix of positives (its first shutout of an FBS opponent since 2013) and negatives (new quarterback Tommy DeVito threw two interceptions).
Maryland's opener, meanwhile, was eye-popping. The Terrapins buried Howard 79-0 in the first game under head coach Mike Locksley. Virginia Tech transfer Josh Jackson threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns. For a program that hasn't thrown for 20 touchdowns in a season since 2010, it felt like the dawn of a new era.
Maryland's performance also makes this game look evenly matched. The potential is there for a fantastic finish.
Upset alert: Army at No. 7 Michigan (12 p.m., FOX)
This is such a fun matchup.
Michigan and Army played each other nine times between 1945-62, but they haven't met in 57 years. While the Wolverines are heavily favored, it wouldn't be shocking to see this game remain close. The Black Knights are 22-5 since the start of the 2017 season. Last year, they took Oklahoma to overtime before losing 28-21.
Neither team looked particularly convincing last week, with Michigan handling Middle Tennessee 40-21 and Army narrowly defeating Rice 14-7.
Midafternoon
Must-watch: No. 12 Texas A&M at No. 1 Clemson (3:30 p.m., ABC)
There's no debating which game belongs on your largest screen come 3:30 p.m. The defending national champion takes on one of the SEC's rising squads in a rematch of one of last season's best games.
Clemson defeated Texas A&M 28-26 last season in College Station, Texas, in Jimbo Fisher's second game as Aggies head coach. A year later, Fisher has Texas A&M knocking on the door of the top 10. Quarterback Kellen Mond looked like a Heisman candidate last week against Texas State, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for one.
The Tigers crushed Georgia Tech 52-14 in their opener but turned the football over three times. They can't make those mistakes against an opponent of Texas A&M's caliber.
In the coaching matchup, Dabo Swinney is 6-5 against Fisher. Clemson's coach has won the last four meetings against Fisher's teams at Texas A&M and Florida State.
Has potential: No. 25 Nebraska at Colorado (3:30 p.m., FOX)
If you've got a second screen in your setup, Nebraska-Colorado could be one of the best under-the-radar games of the second week.
The Cornhuskers struggled as 36-point favorites in their opener against South Alabama, relying on defense and special teams for three touchdowns in a 35-21 win. The game may have cooled the Adrian Martinez hype, as the quarterback threw for just 178 yards and an interception.
Colorado, meanwhile, couldn't stop scoring against rival Colorado State, winning 52-31 in the debut of head coach Mel Tucker. The Buffaloes have a dynamic offensive trio in quarterback Steven Montez, running back Alex Fontenot, and first-round receiving talent Laviska Shenault.
It's the second time the former Big 12 schools have met since leaving the conference. The Buffaloes won 33-28 last year in Lincoln.
Upset alert: Southern Miss at Mississippi State (3:30 p.m., ESPNU)
The midafternoon wave of games isn't super deep, but if we're searching for a game with upset potential, there's some intrigue in this battle between Mississippi teams.
Mississippi State is coming off a 38-28 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. The Bulldogs needed a late field goal to pull ahead by two scores. Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens passed for 236 yards and two touchdowns in an impressive debut.
Southern Miss has hit its stride as a consistent program, producing four consecutive winning seasons. It's hard to glean much from the Golden Eagles' 38-10 win over Alcorn State, but their defense did keep the FCS foe below 250 total yards. Just keep an eye on the score and be prepared to switch over if Southern Miss proves it can hang.
Evening
Must-watch: No. 6 LSU at No. 9 Texas (7:30 p.m., ABC)
The scene in Austin on Saturday night will give us a playoff feel in early September.
It's the first test for LSU, which unveiled a seemingly strengthened offense in its 55-3 win over Georgia Southern. If quarterback Joe Burrow (278 yards, five touchdowns) can play as well in this environment, we'll be talking about the Tigers as a legitimate contender.
Texas is a Big 12 contender, at least, but this is an opportunity to state its case as a playoff-caliber team. Though the Longhorns are home underdogs, they do have the advantage at quarterback. Sam Ehlinger did Sam Ehlinger things (276 yards, four touchdowns) in last week's win over Louisiana Tech.
Has potential: Miami (Fla.) at North Carolina (8 p.m., ACC Network)
It feels too early for games with conference title ramifications, but we'll have one in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, between two programs with new head coaches.
The return to North Carolina could not have gone better for Mack Brown, as his Tar Heels upset South Carolina in Charlotte. True freshman quarterback Sam Howell showed why he earned Brown's trust, leading a fourth-quarter comeback. North Carolina's future is bright, but what about right now?
A win over Coastal foe Miami would thrust UNC into the race to win the wide-open division. The Hurricanes were off last week after dropping their opener to Florida. Miami's offensive line is an issue; Florida sacked quarterback Jarren Williams 10 times.
North Carolina got to Jake Bentley three times last week, once thanks to Chazz Surratt, a quarterback-turned-linebacker. Surratt, who started seven games as UNC's signal-caller in 2017, finished his defensive debut with 12 tackles.
Upset alert: BYU at Tennessee (7 p.m., ESPN) or Tulane at No. 10 Auburn (7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
Speaking of early-season games with significant ramifications, Tennessee-BYU will be hard to turn away from. The Volunteers were hoping to get back to a bowl this year for the first time since 2016. Losing to Georgia State made the path to six wins a whole lot more complicated.
Any sequence that gets Tennessee to bowl eligibility likely includes a win against BYU, which lost its opener to Utah 30-12. But the Cougars are no pushover. Sophomore Zach Wilson was a 65% passer last season and is a dynamic runner, too.
Make sure to monitor the situation in Auburn as well. Though it went largely unnoticed, Tulane produced one of the more impressive opening-week performances, dominating Florida International. The Green Wave have a capable quarterback in LSU transfer Justin McMillan and ran for 350 yards as a team last week.
If the Tigers suffer a letdown after their big win over Oregon, Tulane can stick around.
After dark (the Pac-12 hour)
Must-watch: No. 23 Stanford at USC (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
The Pac-12 opener for both schools has become more about who isn't playing.
USC's season took a hit when quarterback JT Daniels suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Trojans' win over Fresno State. True freshman Kedon Slovis makes his first career start Saturday. USC's next five games are against Stanford, BYU, Utah, Washington, and Notre Dame.
Stanford won ugly against Northwestern 17-7 but lost starting quarterback (and Heisman sleeper candidate) K.J. Costello to a concussion. Stanford ruled him out Thursday for the USC game. Junior Davis Mills will make his first career start. He completed 7-of-14 passes for 81 yards last week.
Has potential: Oregon State at Hawaii (12 a.m. Sept. 8, Facebook stream)
This is the holy grail for college football junkies - a game that kicks off at midnight on the East Coast. Assuming the game will end after 3 a.m., it means you could spend 16 consecutive hours watching college football this weekend.
Watching Oregon State's and Hawaii's offenses should provide a jolt, too.
The Beavers scored 36 points in a loss to Oklahoma State. We knew about running back Jermar Jefferson, who ran for 1,380 yards last season, but receiver Isaiah Hodgins (nine catches, 170 yards, two touchdowns) could be one of the Pac-12's breakout players.
The real treat will be getting the Cole McDonald experience once again. In Hawaii's Week 0 win over Arizona, McDonald threw for four touchdowns. And four interceptions. And was benched.
Upset alert: Minnesota at Fresno State (10:30 p.m., CBSSN)
Based on last week's performances, this game seems ripe for an upset.
Minnesota sputtered last Thursday against one of the FCS' best programs in South Dakota State. The Golden Gophers pulled out a 28-21 win despite getting outgained 367-308. Now they travel to a Mountain West program's home field - and one of the conference's better programs, at that.
The Mountain West is 4-3 against Power 5 opponents this season but 3-0 when the game is at the Mountain West school (Hawaii-Arizona, Nevada-Purdue, Wyoming-Missouri).
Mark Cooper is theScore's NCAA writer. You can find him on Twitter @mark_cooperjr.