Week 2 of the college football season doesn't feature many marquee matchups, but there's plenty of intrigue around the nation this Saturday. The SEC welcomes Texas A&M and Missouri, while a handful of non-conference games should help compensate for the lack of matchups between top 25 teams.

Top Storylines for Week 2

College football's bowl season is still a few months away, but it's never too early to take a look at what the matchups might look like. With only one week of results in the books, it's hard to make long-term projections about teams. A team like Houston was expected to win Conference USA's West Division in the preseason but stumbled in the opener against Texas State. For now, the Cougars remain in our projections but that could change after Week 2.

Week 1 of the college football season is in the books and plenty of coaches are feeling the pressure to win. Kentucky showed some progress in the season opener against Louisville, but Joker Phillips passes Boston College's Frank Spaziani as the No. 1 coach on the hot seat. Some new names have joined the top 20, including Houston's Tony Levine and Colorado's Jon Embree. 

The 2012 college football season kicks off on Thursday night and the next 14 weeks are crucial to the job status of several coaches around the nation. Boston College's Frank Spaziani tops Athlon's post-fall practice hot seat rankings, while Kentucky's Joker Phillips checks in at No. 2. 

College Football's Top 20 Coaches on the Hot Seat: Post Fall-Practice Edition

Winning the battle in the trenches is crucial to claiming college football's national championship. The SEC has claimed six consecutive national titles, so it should come as no surprise this conference has some of the top defensive linemen. South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney is in for a monster sophomore season, while LSU's Sam Montgomery will make a run at first-team All-American honors. The SEC is represented in the defensive tackles, as four of the top 10 reside from the conference.

Playing on the offensive line is one of the least glamorous positions on the field. However, the players in the trenches are some of the most important, as the offense can't move the ball with a line that struggles to block. The 2012 college football season has plenty of talented linemen ready to challenge for All-American honors, led by Alabama's Barrett Jones. The senior is switching from left tackle to center but is expected to have another standout year. 

The Pac-12 and Big 12 are two of college football's top conferences for offense, so it's no surprise that eight of the top 10 receivers hail from those two leagues. USC's Robert Woods is coming off a stellar sophomore season and can only get better in 2012, especially if he is 100 percent recovered from an ankle injury. Clemson's Sammy Watkins will miss the first two games of the year but will be one of college football's top receivers by the end of 2012.

The tight end position has been lacking in recent years, but there's a good crop of players ready to emerge in 2012. Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert ranks as Athlon's No. 1 tight end for this season, while Washington's Austin Seferian-Jenkins will only get better after a solid freshman campaign in 2011. Ohio State's Jake Stoneburner and Iowa's C.J. Fiedorowicz are two players who should easily surpass last year's totals, while non-BCS standouts Jack Doyle, Ryan Otten and Gavin Escobar should not be overlooked.

With the college football season right around the corner, it's time to countdown the best of the best. Athlon continues the countdown to kickoff with a look at the top quarterbacks in college football for 2012. It should be no surprise USC's Matt Barkley tops the rankings as the No. 1 quarterback in the nation. The senior is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and has the Trojans as one of the frontrunners to claim the 2012 national title.