Big Ten & SEC 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 to spread the word about our brand-new home field opening for the 2014 bowl season.

This weekend, we’ll be at two notable games featuring teams from our partner conferences*:

Ohio State (1-0) hosts Virginia Tech (1-0) in a primetime matchup on ESPN. After losing star quarterback and team captain Braxton Miller to season-ending injury just two weeks before the season, Redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett took over the Buckeyes reins. Trailing 7-6 at halftime, Barrett stepped up in the second half throwing two touchdowns and leading the Buckeyes to a 34-17 win on the road in his collegiate debut. Virginia Tech held William & Mary to just 193 yards of total offense, soundly defeating the Tribe 34-9 in their season opener at home. This will be the first-ever meeting between these two programs who will meet again next year in Blacksburg, Va. for the final-half of the home-and-home series.

Ole Miss (1-0) travels to Vanderbilt (0-1) to open their conference schedule. The Rebels scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to knock off Boise State 35-13 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome last week. Despite throwing three interceptions, Bo Wallace led Ole Miss to victory with four touchdown passes while the Rebels defense picked off Broncos quarterback Grant Hedrick four times in the win. The Commodores fell at home to Temple in Derek Mason’s first game as head coach, 37-7. Temple caused seven Vanderbilt turnovers and scored the game’s final 30 points en route to victory. Ole Miss holds the edge in the all-time series, 48-38-2.

* — In years when a Big Ten team is assigned to a non-semifinal Orange Bowl, we will replace our Big Ten selection with the first post-CFP selection from the ACC, inclusive of Notre Dame. We’re already on the road at ACC partner schools via our relationship for the Russell Athletic Bowl.