Five CFB Week 2 questions: Alabama's 2007 redux, emerging Group of Five CFP candidate and more

With a loaded Week 1 officially in the books, we're turning the page.

Here are five questions we have that Week 2 will help us answer.

1. How deep is the Big Ten?

The Big Ten conference, winners of the past two national championships, has a chance to prove its depth with three road games against power conference opponents. 

The Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0) begin the day at Associated Press No. 22 Iowa State Cyclones (2-0, 1-0 in Big 12), which looks like a potential Big 12 title contender for a second consecutive season. The odds are against Iowa, but in No. 12 Illinois' favor. The Fighting Illini travel to Duke (1-0), who needed a massive second half to pull away from FCS Elon after entering halftime tied at 10.

No. 14 Michigan (1-0) plays at No. 18 Oklahoma (1-0) in Week 2's biggest game. True freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood will make his first road start. He had a solid debut against New Mexico, completing 67.7 percent of his pass attempts for 251 yards (8.1 yards per attempt) and one touchdown.

Oklahoma presents a bigger challenge, and a win would not only raise expectations for Michigan this season but also give the Big Ten added credibility.

2. Are South Florida Bulls the College Football Playoff auto bid favorite?

The South Florida Bulls made one of the loudest statements in Week 1, soundly defeating No. 25 Boise State, which reached the CFP last season as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions, 34-7. 

Senior quarterback Byrum Brown was dynamic, averaging 8.8 yards per pass attempt and adding two rushing touchdowns. The defense wreaked havoc, forcing two fumbles, six pass breakups, five tackles for loss and one sack.

This weekend, it can firmly put itself ahead of the pack, which includes The American Conference peer Tulane (1-0), when it travels to No. 15 Florida (1-0). The Gators should be operating on all cylinders after last weekend's tune-up against FCS Long Island University, a 55-0 win.

3. Are the Alabama Crimson Tide reliving 2007?

Picture it: Tuscaloosa, 2007. In Nick Saban's first season as Alabama head coach, a ranked Crimson Tide squad lost to unranked Florida State, then fell to Louisiana-Monroe months later.

Flash forward to 2025, and Alabama follows a loss to unranked Florida State with a home game against UL Monroe. Things might not seem like they could get much worse for Kalen DeBoer at Alabama, but if the Tide find themselves stuck in a time loop, they have yet to reach rock bottom.

4. Are freshman quarterbacks as good as they look? 

Michigan's Underwood isn't the only true freshman who started his college career with a win. Maryland's Malik Washington was 27-of-43 for 258 yards and three touchdowns in a 39-7 win over Florida Atlantic. BYU's Bear Bachmeier only had 11 pass attempts but finished with five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) in a dominant 69-0 win over FCS Portland State.

Cal freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolotele arguably looked the most impressive, starting 9-of-9 for 146 yards and two touchdowns and finishing completing 66.7 percent of his attempts for 234 yards and three touchdowns.

Each of the three has easy games in Week 2, with Maryland and Cal playing FCS opponents and BYU hosting Stanford, which lost to Hawai'i in Week 0, giving the trio perfect opportunities to build on their outstanding debuts.

5. Is Kansas State's rocky start a legitimate cause of concern?

We advise TCU (1-0) and North Carolina (0-1) to reconsider next year's rematch of Monday's blowout in Ireland. Based on recent history, it will ruin one of their seasons. Since 2022, the loser of the annual kickoff game has gone on to have a lousy year.

Last season, Florida State's loss in Ireland to Georgia Tech sent it toward a 2-10 record, while Navy went 5-7 following a loss to Notre Dame in 2023. The previous year, Nebraska finished 4-8 and fired head coach Scott Frost in-season after losing to Northwestern.

Kansas State had a concerning return stateside following a 24-21 Week 0 loss to Iowa State, needing a touchdown with 42 seconds left to defeat FCS North Dakota, 38-35.

Kansas State entered the season No. 17 in the Associated Press poll, the second-highest-ranked Big 12 program. It can begin to right the ship from its rocky start against Army (0-1), or follow the path set by those that came before it. TCU and North Carolina should pay close attention.