CFB South: Week 2 Preview

Written By Jordan Brown

Intro

We managed to survive a wild Week 1 of College Football’s 2025-26 season.  Some teams in the South walked away from their season openers/Week 1 games with a lot to be excited about and others, not so much.  Let’s put it all into context through the Week 2 preview lens, though.

 Byes

Fort Worth’s TCU probably had one of the biggest opening weekends among the Southern teams.  They were gifted with the opportunity of providing NFL legend Bill Belichick with an introduction to CFB coaching and they beat him and his North Carolina Tarheels a in truly decisive way.  The final score was 48-14 but the actual performance looked much worse for North Carolina.  The Horned-Frogs definitely aren’t going to the College Football Playoff this year but commentators worldwide are reviling in the way that they walked all over Belichick. 

And for their efforts, they get a Week 2 bye.  Even though that was scheduled long before.

 In-State

There are a bunch of in-state games throughout the South in Week 2.  And wo of the most noteworthy are going to take place in Texas.

  • SMU (1-0) will be taking on Baylor (0-1) in a Central-North Texas matchup.  The Mustangs are coming off a 42-13 win over East Texas A&M last week.  The Baylor Bears suffered a Week 1 defeat at the hands of fellow Southern program, Auburn.  It was a decisive victory for the Tigers and Baylor will be looking to bounce back from the 24-38 loss. 

  • The next biggest in-state matchup will be between Houston (1-0) and Rice (1-0).  Houston shutout fellow Texas program, Stephen F. Austin, 27-0 in Week 1.  And although Rice isn’t a Power 4 team, currently being a member of the American conference, they did come out with a 14-12 win over not scrub Louisiana. 

  • LSU (1-0) and Louisiana Tech (1-0) will duke it out in Baton Rouge’s Tiger Stadium.  LSU pulled off a very noteworthy 17-10 win over Clemson while Tech shutout Southeastern Louisiana 24-0 in Week 1.

  • Arkansas (1-0) will be meeting up with Arkansas State (1-0).  The Razorbacks trounced the SWAC’s Alabama A&M 52-7 last week and Arkansas State beat Southeast Missouri 42-24. 

  • Week 2 will see Tennessee (1-0) matching up with East Tennessee State (1-0).  The Volunteers ransacked Syracuse 45-26 in Week 1 and the Buccaneers finished their opening week with a 45-17 victory over Murray State.

 Cross-State

There are only two interregional games during Week 2. 

  • Alabama (0-1) will be looking for some redemption following their 17-31 loss to Florida State in Week 1.  And they’ll likely find it at home against UL Monroe (1-0).  The lesser tier Louisiana program shutout Saint Francis 29-0 in their season opener. 

  • We’re getting some early SEC in-conference action!  Ole Miss (1-0) is slated to meet Kentucky (1-0) in Lexington, Kentucky.  Ole Miss knocked off Georgia State 63-7 in Week 1 and Kentucky beat up on Toledo, 24-16. 

 Southeast

There are two games where teams from the South’s West and Core will be playing against programs from the region’s East Coast. 

  • Louisville (1-0) will be hosting Virginia’s James Madison (1-0).  The Cardinals dealt a real blow, 51-17, to Eastern Kentucky during Week 1 and JMU is coming off a 45-10 victory over Weber State.

  • Vanderbilt (1-0) beat Charleston Southern 45-3 and is looking for another win over Virginia Tech (0-1). The Hokies dropped their Week 1 game to South Carolina, 24-11. 

 Out-Region

There are seven games during Week 2 where teams from the South will play against out-region teams. 

  • Oklahoma (1-0) versus Michigan (1-0) will be of most interest to me.  The Sooners toppled Illinois State 35-3 in their season opener and the Wolverines beat New Mexico 34-17.  Both teams are set to be in the middle-tip of the pack in their respective conferences. 

  • Mississippi State (1-0) is coming off a 34-17 win over Southern Miss.  They’ll be playing against Arizona State (1-0).  The Sun Devils made it to the College Football Playoff last season and beat Northern Arizona 38-19 during Week 1.

  • Oklahoma State (1-0) beat out UT Martin 27-7 to open up the 2025-26 season.  They’re set to meet up with #6 ranked Oregon (1-0).  The Ducks finished Week 1 with a 59-13 victory over Montana State.

  • Auburn (1-0) will be playing against Ball State (0-1) in Week 2.  Ball State got shutout, 0-31,  to bigger in-state program Indiana during Week 1.

  • Texas Tech (1-0) will also be facing off against a MAC program.  The Red Raiders are coming off a 67-7 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and will hope to go up 2-0 over Kent State.  The odds are in their favor.  Kent State barely beat Merrimack 21-17 in Week 1. 

Two of Texas’ marquee CFB programs will both be playing Mountain West schools during Week 2.

  • Texas (0-1) is hoping to get back on track with a victory over San Jose State (0-1).  The Longhorns’ opponent dropped a 14-16 Week 1 loss to Central Michigan. 

  • Texas A&M (1-0) is planning to notch its second win in a game against Utah State (1-0).  The Aggies’ opponent pulled of a 28-16 win over UTEP in Week 1.

Jordan Brown
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CFB South: Texas’ Week 1 Loss