One piece of common wisdom in college football is this: Teams make their greatest strides between the first week and the second week of the season.

This may be true, but it often seems to be a function of scheduling. Many teams schedule a walk-over for their first game but others, especially those that start with a tougher game, line up a schlub team for that second outing.

Look at Alabama, ranked No. 2. After a fairly tough test in their Kickoff Classic opener with West Virginia in Atlanta, the Crimson Tide come home to play Florida Atlantic (no, not the ocean). Florida Atlantic got its skull crushed 55-7 by Nebraska last week, giving up 784 yards. This should be a beauty.

Top-ranked Florida State, which beat Oklahoma State 37-31, welcomes The Citadel to Tallahassee. The Citadel plays in the Football Championship Division and lost to Coastal Carolina. Hope the scoreboard can show triple digits.

On it goes. Fifth-ranked Auburn plays at home against San Jose State. Texas A&M, ranked ninth, hosts Lamar (not Odom). Fourth-ranked Oklahoma gets a friendly against Tulsa.

There are, of course, reversals. Michigan opened with FCS level Appalachian State, and leveled the Apps 52-14. The Wolverines now move on to play 16^th-ranked Notre Dame for the last time in a storied series. Notre Dame said it could not squeeze Michigan onto its schedule any longer but just announced the start of a series with Ohio State. That will no doubt irk the Wolverines just a tad.

What we’re watching:

No. 7 Michigan State at No. 3 Oregon: The Spartans had their cakewalk against Jacksonville State. Oregon had its cakewalk and ate it too, drubbing South Dakota. Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota is a Heisman Trophy candidate.

No. 14 Southern Cal at No. 13 Stanford: The Trojans have 11 noteworthy freshmen, including receivers JuJu Smith and Adoree’ Jackson and tight end Bryce Dixon. One of Stanford’s studs is redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Hogan.

Today’s question: Which games will you be watching? Answers in the comment box, please.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .