Weekly Syllabus: Ohio State-Texas, Oklahoma-Michigan headline upcoming week in college football

Our Weekly Syllabus this week includes quick glimpses into the two biggest college football games of Week 2 — Ohio State-Texas, Oklahoma-Michigan — the end (for now) of a storied rivalry and the latest update into an ugly situation brewing in Chapel Hill.

Ohio State, Texas meet in potential national championship preview

Associated Press preseason No. 1 Ohio State and No. 5 Texas took care of business on Saturday, setting the table for the biggest game of Week 2.

The rematch of last year's opener — a 14-7 Ohio State home win — may look different with Texas quarterback Arch Manning having a year's worth of starting experience and the game in Austin. We'd expect a more high-scoring affair, especially with Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (21-of-25, 320 passing yards, four total touchdowns) and wideout Jeremiah Smith (eight receptions, 151 yards, two touchdowns) already in midseason form based on their Week 1 performances.

The winner will stake an early claim as the nation's best team, while the loser's margin for error will shrink moving forward. And both teams have difficult conference schedules. Ohio State plays No. 22 Iowa (Oct. 3), No. 6 Indiana (Oct. 17) and No. 14 USC (Oct. 31) on the road while hosting No. 2 Oregon (Nov. 7) and No. 16 Michigan (Nov. 28). Texas, meanwhile, has remaining games against six AP top 25 teams — No. 20 Tennessee (Sep. 26), No. 10 Oklahoma (Oct. 10), No. 9 Ole Miss (Oct. 24), No. 25 Missouri (Nov. 7), No. 11 LSU (Nov. 14) and No. 8 Texas A&M (Nov. 27) — with only Ole Miss at home.

Michigan (and Big Ten referees) vs. Everybody (and Oklahoma)

Lane Kiffin and LSU took a reprieve as college football's public enemy No. 1 on Saturday when Michigan reclaimed the title following its controversial added-second win over Western Michigan. 

It took the Big Ten two hours to come up with an excuse, and it boiled down to telling viewers the clock seen on television isn't real. That was too little, too late in the court of public opinion while repositioning Michigan as a villain after previously filling the role amid a sign-stealing controversy that marred the team's 2023 national championship.

With SEC referees set to officiate Saturday's game, Michigan's favoritism will be at a minimum, which could be a problem for a team with a growing quarterback problem. Sophomore Bryce Underwood was abysmal against Western Michigan before being gifted the extra down, and first-year Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham shared his lack of patience with the 2025 five-star recruit on Monday, describing him as "our QB right now... At some point, we've got to turn a corner." (h/t ESPN)

After ranking seventh in FBS in points allowed (15.5 per game) a season ago and pitched a shutout in its opener, Oklahoma may not be the right team to get Underwood on track.

The Border War rages on

The Missouri Tigers (1-0) and Kansas Jayhawks (1-0) meet in the 123rd edition of The Border War this Friday. The Tigers have won the last four in the series, which resumed in 2025 after being suspended from 2012-24 following Missouri's SEC move. After this coming Saturday, the rivalry will take a four-year pause before returning in 2031, leaving the winner with bragging rights for the foreseeable future.

North Carolina's growing scandal

Just when it appeared North Carolina turned a corner, it's back to square one. Last Thursday, former general manager Michael Lombardi resigned amid an investigation initially blasted by his representative Tom Mars as a "witch hunt."

Shortly after that same day, WRAL News published an explosive report into troubling allegations surrounding the program, including questions about potential drug use by defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, head coach Bill Belichick's son who has been away from the team since early August.

"Unrelated to Steve Belichick," WRAL wrote, a lawyer who is part of the probe "asked about reports of a purported sexual relationship between a female recruiting staff member and at least one UNC player."

On Monday — following North Carolina's Week 1 bye — Belichick spoke with reporters about the unfolding situation, saying, "We want to run the program in the very best way. And if there's things we need to do to correct it, then we'll obviously do them.

"Everybody's responsible, including me, for doing things properly," Belichick added. Depending on the validity and scope of issues uncovered in the investigation, it might not be his problem much longer.