College Football Corner: Key Clashes

Updated from Sept. 17

The U is back.

The No. 22 Miami Hurricanes showed flashes of that 1980s dominance in a 33-17 bust-up of No. 13 Georgia Tech Thursday night. The big win likely raised some eyebrows up in Gainesville.

Miami's sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris completed 20 of 25 passes for 270 yards and three TDs. But it also was the defense that harkened back to the glory days in Coral Gables. The U's D held Yellow Jackets' star running back Jonathan Dwyer to seven yards rushing on five carries in the first half before he left with an injury.

So Miami has served notice in the ACC, and maybe this is the weekend its former conference, the Big East, gets some respect, with two big interconference tilts on tap.

No. 21

Cincinnati

, which is averaging close to 60 points a game, travels to No. 24

Oregon State

of the Pac-10.

West Virginia

will play at

Auburn

in a matchup of 2-0 teams, and if any team has represented the conference well over the past decade, it's been the Mountaineers, particularly against the SEC.

Prior to Cincy's opening-day pasting of conference rival

Rutgers

, no Big East team was ranked in the top 25. So beating a Pac-10 team that has had

USC's

number at times the past few years would be a good statement game for the Bearcats.

Speaking of USC, they head to the Northwest this weekend against a reviving

Washington

team. And the team that USC disposed of in a classic last Saturday --

Ohio State

-- will need to stay alert against a

Toledo

club that put up 54 points in a win against

Colorado

of the Big 12 last week.

There are two big conference clashes on tap this weekend. No. 2

Texas

vs. unranked

Texas Tech

, which perhaps was the most ballyhooed and exciting game of the 2008 season, and No. 1

Florida

vs.

Tennessee

. Even though it's the Gators' first big-time opponent this season, this game probably lost a little luster after the Vols fell to the UCLA Bruins last Saturday.

On Friday, No. 10

Boise State

travels to "anybody, anyplace, anytime"

Fresno State

at 9 p.m. EDT (ESPN).

Now here are a few big games the Corner is watching closely this weekend.

Texas Tech (2-0) at No. 2 Texas (2-0), Saturday, 8 p.m. EDT, ABC

It was, by many accounts, the marquee matchup of last season. Ending on a stunning last- second touchdown in the nighttime Lubbock air at 39-33, Texas Tech shocked a Longhorn team that had spent the previous three weeks vanquishing contenders like

Oklahoma

,

Missouri

and

Oklahoma State

in straight succession.

So, this year's rematch in Austin has all the makings of an apocalypse-style grudge match for the 'Horns. That is, it would be if Head Coach Mack Brown would just play along.

"It really isn't about the one second last year," Brown said during a press conference this week. "That's our goal. To be the best team we can be. We quit talking about last year."

Full Disclosure: This Corner writer is, in fact, a Texas grad and knows of more than a few 'Horns alums who have thought about this game way more than they should have.

For Texas Tech, the bookends on that magical last-second pass are both gone. In their stead is a cadre of no-name receivers and Lubbock's newest plug-in-and-play quarterback, Taylor Potts. But through the first two games, the results are pretty much the same. Potts both leads the FBS with 861 passing yards and runs an offense that's scoring 47 points per clip.

For Texas, the lack of a consistent, dependable running game may have found its answer last week against

Wyoming

. Freshman running back Tre' Newton ran for 62 yards on eight carries in the second half, helping to awaken a sluggish Texas start and cementing his place as a co-starter in this week's prime time affair.

So, like most years, the game will be full of offense. The question, then, will be about the defenses. The Longhorns' entire secondary is one year wiser. Meanwhile, Tech's best pass rushers are gone.

If Tech can stop the Texas ground game, it'll be an interesting affair. Otherwise, look for the burnt orange crew to exorcise some demons, hold on to the ball in long stretches with both Newton and quarterback Colt McCoy making plays with their legs, and make the home fans happy.

Corner's choice: Texas 42, Texas Tech 28

-- Written by Sung Moss

No. 21 Cincinnati at No. 24 Oregon State, ESPN

: A team can never know what it's in for with a trip to Corvallis (ask USC). Oregon State has won 26 straight non-conference games at home since 1996. But something tells the Corner that this Cincy team is the real deal, totaling more than 500 yards of offense in each of its first two games. That offense is led by the smooth-throwing quarterback Tony Pike and the outstanding wide receiver Mardy Gilyard. In the teams' last meeting, in 2007, Cincinnati was a 34-3 winner at home.

Corner's choice: Cincinnati 39, Oregon State 22

No. 18 Nebraska (2-0) at No. 14 Virginia Tech (1-1), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EDT, ABC

Nebraska is still aways away from those vaunted Tom Osborne days, when a group of Midwestern walk-ons and some of the country's best prepsters, filled with swagger and purpose, blew past the college football landscape with options and power-I's and those blood-red N's on their helmets.

Though the Huskers aren't quite at their black-shirt-D peak, the team is starting to mount some buzz. But that may say more about the leadership vacuum left in the Big-12 following No. 12 Oklahoma's stunning Week One loss to No. 9

BYU

, No. 17

Oklahoma State's

fall against

Houston

and Missouri's dull win over

Bowling Green

.

Nebraska can make a statement with a win against the Hokies this week, and they may have the firepower to do it.

Quick. Name the Big 12's top-rated passer? If you said Texas's Colt McCoy, Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson, Texas Tech's Potts or Missouri's Blaine Gabbert, you'd be wrong. It's Nebraska's Zac Lee, who'll be matched up against a Virginia Tech defense that gave up only 126 yards passing to

Marshall

last week.

Of course, that's also the same Virginia Tech defense that's still smarting after giving up 498 yards of offense in a disappointing 34-24 first-week loss to No. 4

Alabama

.

If Virginia Tech can replicate the 605 yards of offense from last week, or show any semblance of a passing game from quarterback Tyrod Taylor's throwing arm, Nebraska will have fight on its hands.

Of course, the 31-straight nonconference home winning streak the Hokies are carrying into Lane Stadium doesn't hurt either.

Corner's Choice: Virginia Tech 24, Nebraska 17

-- Sung Moss

Get all your back issues of the Corner by clicking here

.