College football Week 2: 15 players to watch

You like that? As a true freshman, Bachmeier took his Boise State Broncos across the country and beat Florida State in Tallahassee. What makes it all the more impressive is that the Broncos were down 31-13 in the second quarter and it looked like the game was getting away from them. Bachmeier threw 51 times in that game for 407 yards and led the comeback against a storied, yet struggling, program. This week he will get his first start on the blue turf in Boise against Marshall on a nationally televised game under the Friday night lights. 

New coach, same video game offensive output in Lubbock. Bowman threw 55 passes (tops in the country last week) for 436 yards (also tops) and two touchdowns in the 45-10 win over Montana State. Last season, Bowman averaged nearly 41 attempts per game, and thus far it looks as 2019 will be the same under new head coach Matt Wells. That's great since the Red Raiders are welcoming UTEP to town, one of the worst teams in the country. Look for another air raid from Bowman and Tech. 

Kelly Bryant is best known for being the Clemson quarterback between Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence and who transferred during the 2018 season. His first game for Missouri went well, except for the result. He completed 31 of 48 passes for 423 yards and two touchdowns against Wyoming but ended up with a 37-31 loss. This will be Bryant's senior season — needing to put up big numbers because the Tigers defense isn't good. Mizzou hosts a West Virginia team this week that struggled against James Madison...so Bryant could have another huge statistical game. 

I'm a sucker for watching Hawaii's offense when it's clicking. Against Arizona in Week 0, Byrd caught 14 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns. His speed was on display as the Wildcats defense struggled to keep him in front of it and couldn't catch him when he got loose. Last season he got off to a great start before tapering off for the bulk of the year. The Rainbow Warriors love to sling the ball, and if Byrd can continue to poke and prod for those open spots in the defense then he can have the next big season for a Hawaii receiver. This week he gets to take on an Oregon State defense that isn't good, so it could be another opportunity to light it up.

The biggest college football game of the weekend is LSU at Texas, and Grant Delpit will be a huge key to that matchup. Delpit is the latest in the long line of great defensive backs to come out of Baton Rouge and even switched his number to 7 — like Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu — in honor of continuing that legacy. The Texas offense is a stiff test for the LSU defense. Delpit will be key in keeping Longhorn quarterback Sam Ehlinger from creating big plays. 

Ever since Ehlinger took a stranglehold on the Longhorns' starting QB gig, he's been lighting up the scoreboard. Last Saturday Ehlinger completed 28 of 38 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech. This week he faces Louisiana State...or LSU to the layperson...which is a much, much tougher test. A win over a talented Tigers team vaults Texas into legitimate national championship conversation. If Ehlinger has a big game in front of a national audience on Saturday night, he could find himself in the thick of the early Heisman race.

Clemson is loaded and while everyone wants to see what Trevor Lawrence does for an encore, it could be Etienne who is the best player in that offense. Against Georgia Tech, he carried the ball just 12 times but gained 205 yards and ended up in the end zone three times. Texas A&M's defense will a bigger test for the Tigers, but Etienne is certainly up for the challenge. In last year's matchup with the Aggies, he only had eight carries and rushed for just 44 yards (he did score a TD, though), so look for a motivated running back Saturday afternoon.

We all got to finally see Fields stretch out a bit against Florida Atlantic last week. Fields completed 18 of 25 passes for 234 yards and 4 TDs in the win over the Owls. Let's just talk about the passing part of his his game: he looked good, but this is just a solid foundation to build on for the season. It was a strong start, albeit to a lesser opponent. Adding 61 rushing yards and another score showed the dynamic player he is and what this Buckeyes offense can be in 2019. Ohio State hosts in-state rival and sneaky good Cincinnati on Saturday.

Fontenot took advantage of his opportunity to be the primary ball-handler this season by ripping up rival Colorado State last week. The sophomore back ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs, in the 52-31 win over the Rams. Fontenot has embraced the challenge of being Colorado's every-down back who can do everything. This week the Buffaloes host their old rival Nebraska in Boulder for what should be a great atmosphere for college football. Fontenot hopes to continue his hot start to the season. 

Gross-Matos will be a problem for offenses all year. Last week YGM recorded 2.5 sacks for the Nittany Lions in the 79-7 win over the Idaho Vandals. He has 10.5 sacks over the last two seasons despite having to stay away from the team over the summer due to a suspension for violating team rules. A likely early first-round pick next spring, he's made his mark already and should be a force as Penn State hosts Buffalo on Saturday. 

Saturday's loss to Auburn was an introduction of sorts of Herbert to the rest of the nation. While there certainly were some throws he wish he had back, Herbert did a fine job. He threw for 242 yards and a touchdown, which isn't a stat line worthy of a possible No. 1 overall draft pick but was pretty good against a great Auburn defensive front and while missing key members of his receiving corps. It remains to be seen who will be available to catch his passes against Nevada this Saturday, but look for Herbert to air it out against the Wolf Pack. 

The Army-Michigan game is interesting. We know that Michigan is the better team and should win the game at the Big House. What will be interesting is to see how Army holds up in Ann Arbor. Army is good, and Hopkins is a good option quarterback who rises to the occasion. In the Black Knights' biggest games of the 2018 season (Oklahoma, Duke, Navy, Houston), he showed up in a big way and nearly pulled off the upset at Oklahoma. This is easily the biggest challenge for Army in 2019, which means it is Hopkins' time to shine.

The Cowboys will host McNeese on Saturday, so expect another spectacular outing by Hubbard. Against Oregon State last week, Hubbard blew through the Beavers defense by gaining 221 yards and scoring three touchdowns in the win. The sophomore from Alberta showed flashes of this kind of performance last year in three of the Cowboys' last four games of 2018 but nothing like this 200-plus-yards output. 

The Terps had an offensive explosion against Howard, winning 79-0 and finishing just a point shy from tying the program's record for points in a game. Josh Jackson excelled in his Maryland debut. The Virginia Tech transfer threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns while sitting the second half. Jackson broke his leg in the Hokies' second game of the 2018 season and worried how he'd perform after the injury and the layoff. He passed with flying colors. This week will be a stiffer test, as Syracuse heads to College Park this Saturday. 

USC is in a bit of a bind after losing quarterback JT Daniels for the season after he suffered an ACL tear in the Trojans' win over Fresno State. Slovis, a true freshman, takes over as the starter and will be entrusted to be the guy who turns around USC's football fortunes — no pressure! Slovis completed 6 of 8 pass attempts in relief last week, though he threw one interception. USC hosts Stanford in a huge Pac-12 battle that will see the Cardinal with some quarterback questions, as K.J. Costello was knocked out of last week's win over Northwestern after he was hit in the head. After watching several freshman quarterbacks lead their schools to big wins last week, USC's head coach Clay Helton has all the faith in Slovis and his skill.