What's on the Menu: Week Two

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As awesome as week one was, week two is looking even better. We've got a showdown between two of the sport's most iconic programs, Deion Sanders' home debut against Colorado's biggest rival, and a fully loaded slate of mid-card games that has potential to change the playoff race more than you'd think at first glance. Here's everything I'm consuming during week two:

Which Texas shows up at Alabama?

Texas threw everything they had at Alabama last year. Even though they came up a point short, it was the type of performance that showed the Longhorns could compete with the elite of the sport, and set the stage for what most people thought was a Big 12 Championship type-season. We all know what happened next. Despite losing Bijan Robinson to the NFL, the 2023 Longhorns are significantly more hyped than last year, entering their showdown in Tuscaloosa with seemingly more realistic conference title dreams and a top-15 ranking.

I don't buy it.

It's tough to take away too much from a season opener, but there wasn't anything from Texas' 37-10 win over Rice that made me think this group is any different than last year's - only this one doesn't have a generational running back to feed the ball to. Their offensive line had a tough time protecting Quinn Ewers (3 sacks), and consistently let Rice defenders shoot through the line of scrimmage (eight total TFLs). They looked sluggish until about midway through the third quarter, when they scored touchdowns on three straight drives to put the game away. Their defense was fantastic, but aren't we past the point of giving Texas props for shutting down an offense that ranked 84th nationally in scoring last year?

Maybe some of it was not wanting to show their hand before Alabama, but again; what's Texas done to earn that benefit of the doubt? They don't have to beat the Crimson Tide to prove they've turned the corner for good, but at least giving them another run for their money would go a long way in convincing me that we aren't looking at the same Texas team we've seen for most of the last decade.

Coach Prime's home debut feels like a WrestleMania

There are certain things in life that make me think the idea of 'fate' is irrefutable. Sometimes things come together too perfectly for it to be random chance. Deion Sanders' first home game at Colorado being against Nebraska is one of them.