ACC & Big 12 Week Two Preview

Early on in the season, members of the Florida Citrus Sports Team Selection Committee are out on the road to meet with fans of our partner schools (including new Big 12 partners) to spread the word about the Russell Athletic Bowl’s new matchup and our brand-new home field opening for the 2014 bowl season.

Here are three of the notable games across our partner conferences (including Notre Dame) where we will be in attendance this weekend:

Following a week one shutout win at home against the University of Delaware, Pittsburgh (1-0) travels to Alumni Stadium for its conference-opener against Boston College (1-0). The Eagles also earned a week one victory, defeating the University of Massachusetts 31-7. This Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between the two schools. Pittsburgh joined the ACC in 2013 after being a member of the Big East Conference since 1979.

Kansas State faces its first in-conference opponent this weekend playing Iowa State at home in Jack Trice Stadium. The Wildcats maintained their spot in early rankings with a decisive win over Stephen F. Austin in week one. The Cyclones lost to North Dakota State University 34-14 in their home-opener. The meeting between these teams in 2013 resulted in a 41-7 Kansas State victory and was the fifth loss in a row for Iowa State that season.

Both Michigan and Notre Dame kicked off the 2014 season with wins and both outscored their opponents by more than 30 points. The Wolverines defeated the Appalachian State Mountaineers 52-14 while the Fighting Irish put up 48 against the Rice Owls, who were able to score just 17. When these schools met last season, Notre Dame was ahead of Michigan in the rankings (No. 14 and No. 17) but suffered a 41-30 loss and a four-place drop in the rankings. This season’s meeting will be the last between the two as the series has been suspended until at least the 2019 season. The Wolverines lead the series record 24-16-1.