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Week 2’s top 10 college football games: Texas visits Michigan in top-10 blockbuster

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Week 2’s top 10 college football games: Texas visits Michigan in top-10 blockbuster

A handful of Week 1 results set the stage for what should be an epic season of college football. A few other programs leaned on FCS opponents to hit the turbo button on hype and expectations.

Week 2 offers the chance for teams to either change or fortify those narratives against stiffer competition, featuring in-state battles, rekindled rivalries, upset specials and a top-10 tilt in The Big House.

Honorable Mention: BYU at SMU (Friday), No. 23 Georgia Tech at Syracuse, Baylor at No. 11 Utah, South Carolina at Kentucky, Michigan State at Maryland, No. 19 Kansas at Illinois, Oregon State at San Diego State.

(All point spreads come from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)

10. USF (1-0) at No. 4 Alabama (1-0), 7 p.m., ESPN

Before someone jumps in the comments complaining about the big point spread, remember that this same matchup last season — when the Tide limped to a 17-3 win in Tampa and the sky was falling for Bama fans — was a 34.5-point spread. I’m not suggesting there will be a repeat of that in Tuscaloosa, but this game can be viewed through the lens of all that has changed for the Tide since the previous meeting, when quarterback Jalen Milroe got benched and people openly wondered whether Nick Saban was washed.

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Now Milroe is a Heisman contender and Saban (very much NOT washed) is sitting next to Pat McAfee on Saturday mornings. Credit to USF as well. The program has made significant strides under second-year coach coach Alex Golesh and has a dynamic quarterback of its own in Byrum Brown. I’ll be tuning in to see how Milroe and the Kalen DeBoer-led Crimson Tide fare against the Bulls a year later.

Line: Alabama -30.5

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9. UTSA (1-0) at Texas State (1-0), 4 p.m., ESPNU

It’s the I-35 Rivalry between two of the top Group of 5 contenders. Both are coming off underwhelming Week 1 victories but were picked second in their respective preseason conference polls, with a chance to nab that G5 College Football Playoff spot if the rest of the season goes their way. Texas State, led by coach GJ Kinne and quarterback Jordan McCloud, was my preseason Playoff sleeper pick out of the Sun Belt, but the Bobcats will need a win over Jeff Traylor and the Roadrunners, who have ambitions of their own in the AAC and have won five straight in the rivalry. If those stakes aren’t enough, Kinne played quarterback for Traylor as a high-school senior — and their bond runs even deeper than that.

Line: Texas State -1.5

8. No. 17 Kansas State (1-0) at Tulane (1-0), Noon, ESPN

K-State made easy work of an FCS opponent last week while flashing its run-game potency, racking up 283 yards at 9.1 yards a pop. And after a couple of ACC favorites face-planted out of the starting blocks, the path to two Big 12 programs making the 12-team Playoff field seems much wider, which absolutely benefits the Wildcats. But going on the road to face Tulane is a tougher task after the Green Wave dominated its own FCS opponent with a strong debut by redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah. Reminder: Tulane upset K-State in Manhattan two years ago, a Wildcat team that went on to win the Big 12.

Line: Kansas State -9.5

7. Appalachian State (1-0) at No. 25 Clemson (0-1), 8 p.m., ACC Network

Are the Tigers on upset alert? I’m not ready to predict this one either, but App State does have a history of taking down the big boys, most recently sixth-ranked Texas A&M on the road in 2022. The Mountaineers were preseason favorites in the Sun Belt and looked solid in their Week 1 win, with QB Joey Aguilar throwing for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Clemson’s rough showing against Georgia — and the subsequent anti-Dabo discourse — makes the Tigers a must-watch against any opponent with a pulse. App State certainly qualifies.

Line: Clemson -17.5

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The Pokes took care of business against an admirable South Dakota State side — as a top-20 team should — and running back Ollie Gordon II picked up where he left off in 2023 with 126 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Can Oklahoma State show the same promise against an SEC opponent? Any talk of Sam Pittman’s hot seat got back-burnered after Arkansas’ 70-0 shutout in Week 1, and Boise State transfer QB Taylen Green looked good in his Razorbacks debut. But this showdown in Stillwater — reviving a regional rivalry that’s been dormant since 1980 — should offer a clearer sense of what to expect from both teams.

Line: Oklahoma State -7.5

5. Colorado (1-0) at Nebraska (1-0), 7:30 p.m., NBC

Another renewed rivalry, this one from the old Big 12 (and Big Eight) days, now featuring a Big 12 team once again. Travis Hunter caught three touchdowns, Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and Coach Prime made his usual postgame headlines after Colorado pulled out a win over North Dakota State last week. But the most anticipated aspect of this game might be Nebraska true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. The five-star recruit fueled the hype by going 19-for-27 for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the Cornhuskers’ 40-7 win over UTEP. Now he faces a Buffs’ defense that gave up 449 yards to NDSU, and is at the helm of a Nebraska team that will be looking to avenge last year’s 36-14 loss in Boulder.

Line: Nebraska -7.5

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4. Boise State (1-0) at No. 7 Oregon (1-0), 10 p.m., Peacock

The jury is still out on the Ducks, who dropped from No. 3 to No. 7 in the AP Poll after an uninspiring 24-14 win over FCS Idaho last weekend, a game in which Oregon was favored by 49.5 points. The Ducks completely dominated the box score, including 380 passing yards from quarterback Dillon Gabriel on 41 of 49 completions. But a missed field goal, fumble and a couple of failed fourth-down attempts kept the game close and dolloped some skepticism onto Oregon. Boise State won a 56-45 shootout with Georgia Southern that featured 1,112 yards of combined offense, including 267 rushing yards and six touchdowns for Broncos stud running back Ashton Jeanty (who yours truly just happened to select in The Athletic’s Heisman draft). If the Ducks get their act together, I’d bet the over (61.5 points) in this one.

Line: Oregon -19.5

3. No. 14 Tennessee (1-0) vs. No. 24 NC State (1-0), 7:30 p.m., ABC

For those tuning into the Duke’s Mayo Classic, add Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava to the list of much-hyped players who backed it up in Week 1. The redshirt freshman went 22-of-28 passing for 314 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout win over Chattanooga, gassing up the Knoxville faithful. Tennessee finished with 718 yards of total offense. Coastal Carolina transfer QB Grayson McCall looked pretty good in his NC State debut as well, but the Wolfpack struggled with Western Carolina and were trailing entering the fourth quarter before scoring 21 unanswered. NC State won’t have that same luxury against what has the early makings of another high-octane Tennessee offense.

Line: Tennessee -7.5

2. Iowa State (1-0) at No. 21 Iowa (1-0), 3:30 p.m., CBS

The Cy-Hawk series hasn’t been high-scoring lately, and that will probably be the case again, despite the Hawkeyes putting up 40 in the first game under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester. The over/under is 35.5, and the last Cy-Hawk matchup to surpass 45 combined points was Iowa’s 44-41 overtime win in 2017. But it should be another high-stakes slugfest between intrastate rivals with dark-horse Playoff hopes. The Cyclones had a workmanlike win over North Dakota but will need to be better running the ball against an Iowa defense that allowed only 189 total yards to Illinois State. Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz is back on the sideline after a one-game suspension. Iowa has won seven of the past eight over Iowa State.

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Line: Iowa -3

1. No. 3 Texas (1-0) at No. 10 Michigan (1-0), Noon, Fox

“Big Noon Kickoff” heads to Ann Arbor for a blue-blooded heavyweight clash. Michigan let Fresno State crawl within six points in the fourth quarter before slamming the door shut, but it will need to get much more from a new-look offense that failed to top 300 yards and scored only two of the team’s three touchdowns. Starting quarterback Davis Warren struggled, and running back Donovan Edwards never got revved up. The Wolverines will have to figure things out against a Texas squad that blanked Colorado State 52-0, including 260 yards and three touchdowns from Fansville’s own Deputy Quinn Ewers. The Longhorns went on the road for a massive Week 2 win over Alabama last year on their way to the Playoff. Michigan gets a chance to prove just how stout its national title defense can be.

Line: Texas -7.5

(Photo of Donovan Edwards: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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Culture

Do You Recognize These Lines From Popular Science Fiction?

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Do You Recognize These Lines From Popular Science Fiction?

Welcome to Literary Quotable Quotes, a quiz that tests your recognition of classic lines. This week’s installment highlights observations from future or alternate worlds depicted in popular science fiction. In the five multiple-choice questions below, tap or click on the answer you think is correct. After the last question, you’ll find links to the books if you’re intrigued and inspired to read more.

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Culture

Test Your Memory of These Books That Changed the World

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Test Your Memory of These Books That Changed the World

Welcome to Lit Trivia, the Book Review’s regular quiz about books, authors and literary culture. This week’s challenge tests your memory of books that made huge impacts on society after they were published — some of them even spurring changes to American laws. In the five multiple-choice questions below, tap or click on the answer you think is correct. After the last question, you’ll find links to the books if you’d like to do further reading.

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Culture

Finding Wisdom in a Poem by Wendy Cope

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Finding Wisdom in a Poem by Wendy Cope

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Where do you turn when you need advice? A chatbot? A life coach? A wise and trusted friend?

How about a poet? Poets may not be famous for making the best life choices, but because they subject the mess of human existence to the discipline of language, they can be as helpful as any therapist or mentor.

Good poets know the rules and when to break them, which is something they can teach the rest of us.

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To wit:

Giving advice is a peculiar literary undertaking. It flourishes in certain popular genres — graduation speeches, newspaper columns, country and western songs and poems like this one — but what, in these contexts, is it really for?

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I’m thinking of situations when you don’t urgently need help but nonetheless enjoy reading answers to questions you may not have thought to ask. What interests you isn’t the content of the advice — you could get all the life hacks you want from A.I. — so much as the voice of the person dispensing it.

Wendy Cope is an English poet, born in 1945, who has been a fixture of her country’s literary scene since the 1980s. More recently, her short, buoyant poem “The Orange” has been widely memed online, bringing her to the attention of new readers beyond Britain.

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Cope favors rhyme, meter, brisk jokes and tart aperçus. She addresses romance, friendship and the petty absurdities of modern life with disarming good humor. The last line of “The Orange” is “I love you. I’m glad I exist.” Somehow she makes it the opposite of cringe.

This isn’t the kind of poetry you would describe as “confessional.” And yet …

Want to learn this poem by heart? We’ll help.

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Fill in the missing words below. You can always refer to the reading by A.O. Scott and full
text above.

Question 1/7

Let’s start with the first stanza.

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Stop, if the car is going clunk 

Or if the sun has made you blind. 

Dont answer emails when youre drunk. 

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Tap a word above to fill in the highlighted blank.

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