What I'm Watching For, Week 2

I apologize if this is incoherent, well, more incoherent than usual, but I'm stuck in bed with the flu and images tend to blur together every now and then. Swine '09, catch it! Sorry, UNC, didn't mean for you to take that literally.

So what are the matchups I'm looking forward to watching in week two?

1. Neuhiesal v Kiffin: UCLA travels to Rocky Top to play Tennessee at 4 pm tomorrow. Both are storied programs that have fallen on hard times. Both are schools that hired young, energetic, but controversial coaches to rebuild the programs. Now, we get to see who is doing a better job. Rick Neuheisal is trying to rebuild the Bruins by going head-t0-head in recruiting with crosstown rival USC. Lane Kiffin is trying to set the record for most secondary violations in order to make us all forget that he was actually the awful coach of the Raiders. UCLA's win last year in the Rose Bowl was the highlight of their season, and both coaches could use a big non-conference win to show their fan bases that they have their teams back on track.

2. DE Brandon Graham v. Weiss' 'Max Pro': After both Michigan and Notre Dame won their season openers in convincing fashion for the same time since 2006, the national media is all over this game. While much has been made about both teams QBs, the real intriguing match up is going to be in the trenches. Michigan's best player is without a doubt DE Brandon Graham, he has led the team in sacks the past two years and is a projected first round pick. Notre Dame's failures on the O Line have been well documented the past two years, and Charlie Weiss tried to compensate for it last week by using a lot of maximum protection. It is expected that Weiss will put his tackle, guard and tight end all on Graham in an effort to slow him down. If Graham can beat the double and triple teams to get to QB Jimmy Clausen, Michigan will slow down the Irish and win. If he can't and Clausen gets all the time he wants, it will be a long afternoon for the boys in Blue.

3. Terrelle Pryor v USC Linebackers: USC-Ohio State is unquestionable the game of the week, and possibly the best non-conference match up we will see this season. For Ohio State to have any chance at winning, QB sensation Terrelle Pryor will have to have the best game of his career to date. He showed that he is an improved passer against Navy, but only ran the ball 6 times all game (once for a touchdown.) There will be too many broken plays against USC for him to stay in the pocket tomorrow, so he needs to be prepared to extend and make plays with his legs. USC has struggled against mobile QBs like Vince Young and Dennis Dixon in the past, so it will be interesting to see how they try to contain Pryor. My guess is that they will rotate a spy between their three linebackers and hope their speed is enough to keep Pryor in the pocket. If they do, USC is walking out of the Horseshoe 2-0 and in position to return to the National Title game. If they don't, the Big 10 will have it's first major non-conference win in five years.