Regression – Syndication AP

Longtime rivals Michigan State and No. 3 Notre Dame face off for the first time since 2017 in this week's most notable game featuring a Big Ten team. New Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald produced upset victories at Notre Dame as a Northwestern player in 1995 and as a Northwestern coach in 2014. Other interesting nonconference matchups featuring a Big Ten school against a Power Four opponent have Northwestern hosting Colorado and Maryland hosting Virginia Tech. UCLA's Bob Chesney coaches his first Big Ten game when the Bruins host Purdue.

The Big 12 Conference has some exciting matchups this week. On Friday, No. 22 Houston faces No. 13 Texas Tech. Texas Tech, the reigning Big 12 champion, has won its last nine home games. Houston is looking for a breakthrough in its third season under coach Willie Fritz. On Saturday, Arizona State and Kansas will play at Wembley Stadium in London. It's the Big 12's third international game in two seasons. West Virginia will face border rival Virginia.

The big college football game this Saturday is No. 7 LSU at No. 8 Mississippi. On Friday, No. 22 Houston visits No. 13 Texas Tech in the Big 12, and No. 16 SMU faces No. 23 Louisville in the ACC. Most Top 25 teams are heavily favored in their games. AP is picking LSU to win the showdown at Ole Miss.

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham decided the Sun Devils should head to London immediately after their loss to Texas A&M for Saturday's game against Kansas. Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold chose to leave on Tuesday for the Union Jack Classic. The approaches mirror those of the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, who had contrasting results in Australia. The 49ers ran roughshod over the Rams in the NFL opener for each team. Dillingham wants his players to acclimate and enjoy the city before focusing on the game, while Leipold emphasized preparation at home before squeezing in some sightseeing in London. Both coaches, though, were quick to say they want their teams to balance business with a memorable experience.

Coach Ryan Day might have been understating things slightly when he said there’s a lot that comes with a loss at Ohio State. Last Saturday’s historic fourth-quarter collapse by the Buckeyes in their 24-23 loss at Texas has brought angst and second-guessing usually reserved for losses to arch-rival Michigan. Day spent Tuesday’s news conference going through the post-mortem after experiencing only his second setback in 27 games in September while trying to outline his hopes of preventing the loss from snowballing and impacting the rest of the season. Day says “the last couple of days haven’t been fun around here.”

One look at the newest members of the Big Ten’s head coaching fraternity reveals two distinct schools of thought regarding hiring strategies. Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State chose coaches with at least a decade of Power Four head coaching experience. UCLA went in a different direction. The contrasting approaches show a range of opinions on how much experience matters. Nebraska's Matt Rhule believes schools may be more concerned about what players a new coach can bring with him. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti orchestrated his stunning turnaround with help from 13 of his former James Madison players.

The Big Ten faced a tough Week 2 in college football, with Ohio State losing a 20-point lead to Texas and Oregon getting upset by Oklahoma State. The conference lost six of eight games against Power Four opponents. Meanwhile, the SEC won five of seven nonconference games, including two against the Big Ten. Texas's comeback over Ohio State and Oregon's struggles were major talking points. Oregon's loss dropped the Ducks from No. 6 to No. 21 in the AP poll. Michigan and Iowa managed wins, but the Big Ten's overall performance raised concerns about its strength this season.

Oklahoma State pulled off the biggest upset of the early college football season, taking down No. 6 Oregon to end a 12-game losing streak. Top-ranked Ohio State at No. 4 Texas topped it by living up to the hype once the Longhorns snapped out of their doldrums. Down 20 in the third quarter, the Longhorns and Arch Manning rallied with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, pulling out a 24-23 win on Hollywood Smothers’ 1-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left. Texas turned it over on its first two possessions and seemed overmatched until Manning pulled off a Heisman Trophy-boosting performance down the stretch.