Bye Weeks Highlight Injuries and Tough Schedules

Several college football programs are using early-season bye weeks to regroup amid injuries and tough upcoming schedules. Texas used its first bye to prepare for a month-long October road stretch beginning at Florida, with the Red River matchup and Oklahoma's quarterback situation also looming. North Carolina returns from its bye to host a struggling Clemson while dealing with quarterback uncertainty after Gio Lopez suffered a lower-body injury, with veteran Max Johnson a possible starter. Clemson has underperformed this season with losses to LSU, Georgia Tech and Syracuse but will have extra prep time under Dabo Swinney. Utah State viewed its bye as timely after a 55-35 loss to Vanderbilt and multiple injuries to starters including QB Bryson Barnes, LT Jake Eichorn and LB Will Holmes, giving coach Bronco Mendenhall time to address health and scheme issues. Pac-12 Utah also suffered injuries despite a 48-14 win at West Virginia and will use the bye to evaluate recovery timelines.