College football Week 2: 15 players to watch

Last year, Addison won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the top receiver in the nation. Then, he was catching passes from Pitt's Kenny Pickett, the top quarterback taken in the 2022 NFL Draft. He transferred to USC and into Lincoln Riley's high-octane offense and got off to a great start in Week 1. Addison caught five passes for just 54 yards, but two of those receptions went for touchdowns in the 66-14 win over Rice. With the fast-paced offense the Trojans employ, Addison could get close to his 2021 stats (100 receptions, 1,593 yards, 17 TDs). USC heads to Stanford for their Pac-12 opener.

One of my favorite players, Allen, picked up where he left off in 2021 with another 100-yard game. Of course, he nearly got all 100 yards on one play when he popped off a 96-yard touchdown run to give the Badgers a 14-0 lead over Illinois State in the 2nd quarter. He'd finish the game with 148 yards and 2 TDs in the blowout win, his ninth 100-yard game in his last ten games. Wisconsin hosts Washington State this Saturday.

Sure, there will be some great Crimson Tide offense to see when Alabama heads to Austin to take on Texas, but take some time to watch edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. He may be the best player in the nation, and it should be fun watching him try to disrupt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns offense on Saturday afternoon. Last week, he was a viral sensation after his hit on a Utah State running back. If you like watching a game within a game, keep an eye on Anderson against a rebuilt Texas offensive line. 

Appalachian State may have lost the wildest game of the young season, but quarterback Chase Brice showed the country that you can't count him out. In the 63-61 loss to North Carolina last week, Brice completed 25 of 36 passes for 361 yards and 6 touchdowns. Brice was once Trevor Lawrence's backup at Clemson before transferring to Duke in 2020. After one season with the Blue Devils, he transferred to App State, where he threw for over 3,300 yards and 27 touchdowns last season. Brice and the Mountaineers head to College Station and face a really good Texas A&M squad.

Sean Clifford didn't have a very efficient game in the win over Purdue last week (20 of 37) but threw for 282 yards and 4 TDs. What was most impressive is how he kept fighting in the back-and-forth duel with the Boilermakers in hostile West Lafayette. He threw two touchdown passes to complete two separate comebacks in the 4th quarter, including his 10-yard TD to Keyvone Lee with 57 seconds left in the game. That's a game the Nittany Lions lost last season (they were 0-4 in games decided by 4 points or fewer). Up next is Ohio in Happy Valley.

Arizona won just one game all of last season. They equaled that after one week of the 2022 season with an outstanding effort at San Diego State on Saturday. Wide receiver Jacob Cowing had a breakout performance, catching 8 passes for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Aztecs. Cowing was a bright spot in an otherwise lousy 2021 campaign for the Wildcats, receiving over 1,354 yards and 7 TDs and hitting the 100-yard mark 8 times in 12 games. Arizona plays late-night host to Mississippi State in what should be quite an offensive shootout. 

I know dragging Nebraska is the "in" thing to do right now, but give some respect to what running back Anthony Grant has done so far this year. The junior from Buford, Georgia, piled up 189 yards and two touchdowns against North Dakota last week. That adds to the two TDs he scored in a Week 0 loss to Northwestern. Grant was Florida State's kick returner way back in 2018 before redshirting in 2019. For the last two seasons, he has been tearing it up at New Mexico Military Institute, where last year he led the JUCO ranks in rushing yards (1,730), yards per attempt (7.2) and rushing yards per game (144.2). Nebraska hosts Georgia Southern (which is about four hours away from Grant's home) on FS1 on Saturday night.

The Maye family has been very good to North Carolina. Mark Maye was the Tar Heels' quarterback in the mid-1980s. His son Luke Maye was a double-double machine for the Tar Heels in the late 2010s and is best known for hitting a last-second shot to beat Kentucky in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Current North Carolina quarterback, Drake Maye, is Mark's son and Luke's brother and is quickly making a name for himself. In two games, he has thrown for 646 yards and 9 touchdowns for two wins. The stats are one thing, but what's most impressive is how poised he is at such a young age. While the Heels couldn't stop Appalachian State's offense at all last Saturday, Maye came back on the field and continued to make plays -- and that was with his best receiver, Josh Downs, out with a leg injury. North Carolina heads to Georgia State to face one of the worst pass defenses from a year ago. 

KJ Jefferson is the straw that stirs the Razorbacks' drink, but Trey Knox may become his new favorite target. With Treylon Burks now in the NFL, Knox wants that role. He was a receiver last season (20 receptions, 141 yards, TD) but has converted to tight end this year. His combination of speed and height is a deadly combination in both the red zone and when he gets the ball in space. Both happened in last week's win over Cincinnati, as he caught a 5-yard score and a nifty 32-yard TD catch and run along the sideline to put the game out of reach. Arkansas hosts South Carolina in the Razorbacks' SEC opener. 

Former Washington transfer Puka Nacua simply makes plays. Last week against South Florida, the junior receiver had just four touches -- one reception for 22 yards and three rushes -- but two of those went for touchdowns. The first one was a 75-yard run for a score just 11 seconds into the game. He followed that up with a five-yard score on the next drive and the rout was on. He led the Cougars in receiving yards last season (both total and average, and tied for the team lead in TD receptions). BYU hosts Baylor in a big Top 25 showdown Saturday night.  

John Rhys Plumlee looked the part in the Knights' 56-10 win over South Carolina State last weekend. The Ole Miss transfer showed off his arm by tossing for 308 yards and 4 TDs, with a lot of that coming on big plays. Plumlee also showed off his legs, rushing for 86 yards and another score, as well as extending plays and finding open receivers. He still needs some work (not taking as many chances), but this is a quarterback that should make things exciting for UCF this season. The Knights host Louisville on Friday night. 

Richardson is one of the most explosive quarterbacks in the country. His passing numbers won't wow you, but he does enough to keep defenses honest so that his feet can make some huge plays. His 45-yard touchdown run before halftime really swung the momentum of the Gators' upset victory over Utah last Saturday. Richardson would rush for three total touchdowns to go with his 106 yards in the win. Next up is a very good Kentucky defense coming to The Swamp. 

Robinson didn't get much work in the Longhorns' 52-10 win over ULM last week, but he sure made it count. He had 10 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown while also catching three passes for 40 yards and another score. The Heisman contender will get a great shot at breaking out as the eyes of the college football world will be on Austin this Saturday. A big game against Alabama's defense would go a long way towards Robinson's (and Texas') season goals. 

I mentioned earlier that the Mississippi State-Arizona game could be one heck of a late-night shootout (kickoff is at 11 pm ET), and here is a reason why. Will Rogers went off against Memphis last week, completing 38 of 49 passes for 450 yards and five touchdowns. Last season, Rogers threw for over 4,700 yards and 36 TDs for Mike Leach and the Bulldogs ... but he never threw for over 450 yards (he did throw at least 5 TDs twice). Leach likes his quarterbacks to sling it, and Rogers will certainly do that against the Wildcats on Saturday night. 

Shapen continued to show the efficiency he displayed in last year's Big 12 championship game against Albany last week. The sophomore quarterback completed 17 of his 20 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns (he rushed for another TD). The Bears are looking to repeat as conference champs, and Shapen's ability to make the smart plays is vital for a team who wants to beat you with a physical defense and running attack. Baylor travels to BYU for a late-night tilt that is one of the most intriguing games on the Week 2 schedule.