By ERIC OLSON AP College Football Writer
Things to watch during Week 2 of play in the Big Ten Conference:
GAME OF THE WEEK
Nebraska (0-1) at No. 22 Colorado (1-0), Saturday 11 CDT (Fox)
A lot of Nebraska fans came into the season predicting a victory over the completely overhauled Colorado team that won one game last year. Those same fans are nervous after coach Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes shocked the college football world with their upset at TCU and the Cornhuskers turned in a lackluster performance in a loss at Minnesota.
Coach Prime, his quarterback son Shedeur and two-way phenom Travis Hunter are the main attractions. The Colorado-Nebraska rivalry from their days as Big Eight and Big 12 foes has become a secondary storyline.
The Huskers went from being an eight-point favorite a week ago to a 2.5-point underdog now, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. A win in Boulder would make up for what happened at Minnesota and end the Huskers’ 21-game losing streak against Top 25 opponents.
BEST MATCHUP
Iowa (1-0) at Iowa State (1-0), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Fox)
Iowa State is going for two wins a row against the Hawkeyes after claiming the CyHawk Trophy for the first time in seven years. The Cyclones will try to do it with former President Donald Trump scheduled to be in attendance.
Cade McNamara and the Iowa offense didn’t show much after the first couple of series in last week’s win over Utah State. The Hawkeyes will be going against an Iowa State defense that’s ranked first or second in the Big 12 three straight years.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Purdue, which visits Virginia Tech, will be one of only five schools to play back-to-back games against Power Five opponents so far this season. The Boilermakers host Syracuse next week. Purdue lost to Fresno State last week and hopes to avoid an 0-2 start for the first time since 2018. … Wisconsin has won 17 straight night games entering its visit to Washington State under the lights. … Michigan State’s Cal Haladay, who led the Big Ten with 10 tackles per game last year, opened the season with 10 against Central Michigan. … Maryland hasn’t allowed a touchdown in three straight games, the longest streak of its kind since 1976. The last one against the Terrapins came in the fourth quarter against Ohio State Nov. 19. They held Rutgers and Duke (bowl) to no TDs to end 2022. … Dragan Kesich’s 47-yard field goal in Minnesota’s 13-10 win over Nebraska was the Gophers’ first walkoff FG in regulation since 2003. … Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy goes into his game against UNLV off his best passing performance at Michigan Stadium. He threw for 280 yards and three TDs against East Carolina. His 86.7% completion rate (26 of 30) was best in program history for a quarterback with at least 30 attempts.
LONG SHOT?
Temple is a 9.5-point underdog at Rutgers, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Rutgers won 24-7 over Northwestern but averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. Temple was down 14 points at home late in the first half against Akron and scored 17 straight to win 24-21, their first victory in an opener since 2019. The Owls lost 16-14 to Rutgers last year, the difference being an interception returned for a touchdown. Rutgers is coming off a short week after playing its opener Sunday.
IMPACT PLAYER
Luke Altmyer gets his first road test as Illinois’ quarterback when the Illini visit Kansas on Friday night. Last week, the transfer from Mississippi led back-to-back scoring drives in the second half to put the Illini up against Toledo. After the Rockets went up by a point late, he converted a fourth-and-4 on the way to setting up the winning field goal with five seconds left. Illinois will be playing Kansas for the first time since 1968.
