After a Week 1 that saw three Top 10 matchups, some thought Week 2 in college football could be a slower week in the sport. Oh how wrong the doubters were. We saw some pretty surprising upsets, a gritty ranked clash in Oklahoma and more. Let’s recap it all below!
Top 10 Headlines
● Turns out Arch Manning didn’t forget how to play football as #7 Texas crushed San Jose State, a nice bounce back after last week’s struggles.
● SEC slow starts: #3 LSU, #4 Georgia and #10 South Carolina would probably like to forget how they started their Week 2 games, but they all overcame those slow starts to beat Louisiana Tech, FCS Austin Peay and FCS South Carolina State respectively.
● Big Ten blowouts: #1 Ohio State had a much easier time beating down FCS Grambling State a week after knocking off Texas, #2 Penn State shrugged off a slow start to run away from FIU, and #6 Oregon absolutely beat the brakes off of Oklahoma State. More on the Pokes in Worst of the Weekend…
● #8 Clemson faced a 16-0(!) home deficit to Troy at halftime, but held the Trojans scoreless in the second half to end up winning 27-16. Meanwhile, #5 Miami rocked FCS Bethune-Cookman 45-3, with QB Carson Beck completing 15 passes in a row at one point. Wild what he can do when his receivers catch the ball!
Best of the Weekend
● John Mateer is the real deal folks. He and #18 Oklahoma beat #15 Michigan in a game where both Mateer and the Sooners defense shined. Mateer accounted for 344 total yards and three touchdowns, calmly leading OU to scores any time the Wolverines threatened. Michigan only really scored off of OU mistakes, but despite losing the turnover, special teams and penalty battles, the Sooners still won by double digits. Wolverines QB Bryce Underwood looked pedestrian in his first road start, and the Sooners got a much-needed early season victory for Brent Venables.
● Your leading G5 CFP contender at the moment? How about the Bulls of South Florida? Two weeks into the season, they’ve beaten two ranked opponents after Saturday’s stunning upset of #13 Florida on the road. USF held UF QB DJ Lagway to a forgettable stat line and a few field goals, and given the chance to drive down the field for a game-winning field goal, they were more than up for the challenge. The Bulls were aided by a bizarre spitting personal foul against Florida that pushed them into UF territory that ended in a walk-off field goal. Combined with their Week 1 win against Boise State, USF is the leader in the G5 clubhouse right now.
● The 11am slate’s best game was no-doubt an old Southwest Conference rivalry renewed. #17 SMU got out to a strong start, with Mustangs QB Kevin Jennings completing his first 10 passes for over 200 yards to stake his team out to a double-digit lead over Baylor deep into the 4th quarter. But Bears QB Sawyer Robertson wasn’t to be outdone, leading his team on two clutch TD drives to send the game to overtime. SMU’s All-ACC kicker missed three field goals, including one that would’ve won the game in regulation and one that would’ve given them the lead in 2OT, and Baylor took advantage in a 48-45 win. It was the 14th straight time the Bears have beaten SMU dating back to the 1980s, and a needed win for Baylor after dropping a Week 1 game to Auburn. The defense still has a lot of questions though.
● We need the Border War more often than every 15 years. Kansas vs. Mizzou was electric from beginning to end; the Jayhawks got out to a 21-6 road lead only for the Tigers to tie things up by halftime. This game was gritty and a ton of fun, from a Mizzou fan kicking a ball into the Kansas sideline to Missouri pulling away late to seal a 42-31 win. Tiger QB Beau Pribula overcame an early fumble to account for 334 passing yards and a victory in one of the country’s most underrated rivalries.
● Did you know Mississippi State hadn’t beaten an out-of-conference ranked opponent since 1991? That streak is no more after a stunning upset over #12 Arizona State in Starkville Saturday night. The Bulldogs raced out to a 17-0 lead, only to allow the Sun Devils to crawl back, tie the game and take the lead after a near 9 minute drive. But it only took the Bulldogs a minute to take the lead right back after a 56-yard touchdown catch by Brenen Thompson, sending Stark Vegas into a frenzy. By the way, the team Mississippi State beat in 1991? The Texas Longhorns, who come to town later this season…
● The CyHawk battle was again a low-scoring affair, and again won by #16 Iowa State. They beat rival Iowa 16-13 in Ames for the first time since 2011, again on the strength of a late Kyle Konrardy field goal. Wouldn’t you know it, Iowa still can’t move the ball much on offense, and it came back to cost them in a tight game.
Worst of the Weekend
● Mike Gundy has led Oklahoma State to places they’ve never been before over his 20-year tenure in Stillwater, including their only conference title since 1976. But the bad vibes from last year’s 3-9 campaign have leaked into this season, and it reached its low point on Saturday. Oregon led 69-3 after 3 quarters, bruising the Cowboys on the ground, through the air, and with three(!) pick-sixes to hand OSU as embarrassing of a loss as they might have ever had. Will the school fire their winningest head coach of all time midseason? TCU did so with Gary Patterson years ago, and it’s hard to envision Gundy getting through the mess he’s created.
● Syracuse found themselves in a dogfight (no pun intended) with the Huskies of UConn, needing overtime to take home a 27-20 win. HC Fran Brown was so disgusted with his team’s performance that he made them run sprints in uniform after the game. They did win, but Brown’s second season in Western New York isn’t off to the best start.
● How hot is Billy Napier’s seat after losing at home to an unranked South Florida team? It looked like we were past these Florida struggles after last season’s strong finish, but the lack of offense looked eerily similar to past UF teams. Not good when you pay a smaller in-state school to come into your house and beat you when you have dark horse CFP hopes.
● Kansas State began the season ranked with Big 12 title game aspirations. After three games, they sit 1-2 after losing at home to an Army team that just lost to an FCS opponent a week ago. They could easily be 0-3 without a miracle comeback last weekend over FCS North Dakota. Bad times in the Little Apple.
● North Carolina did get their first win under Bill Belichick on Saturday, beating Charlotte on the road. But the UNC headlines this week weren’t about the game, they were about the team banning Patriots personnel from visiting the team. Belichick doubled down in the postgame presser, and the weird vibes surrounding this team keep getting weirder.
● I'm sure UCLA would like a refund on their Nico Iamaleava investment. The Bruins are 0-2 after losing 30-23 to UNLV on the road. Iamaleava tried to lead a comeback but threw a late pick to seal his team's fate. I'm not the biggest believer in karma but after his weird offseason, this start seems fitting.
Fun Corner
● Did you see Bo Jackson scored a touchdown on Saturday? No, not that Bo Jackson. The Ohio State freshman scored his first career TD in the team’s blowout win over Grambling State.
● Only in college football would you see an illegal kicking turned into a touchdown return, and that’s exactly what happened for Fresno State against Oregon State. Beavs head coach Trent Bray was understandably not happy. Neither was this offensive lineman after a holding penalty in the same game that Oregon State lost late.
● It’s not often you see an 8-yard punt, but that’s exactly what we got when a James Madison punt took a very friendly Louisville bounce on Friday night.
● #21 Alabama got back on track in Week 2 and did something a Nick Saban-coached Bama team never did in their 73-0 victory over Louisiana Monroe.
● This Labubu stuff has gone too far.
Week 2 Heisman Standings
1. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU QB: Nuss didn’t do much in his team’s win over Louisiana Tech, but I’m still impressed by the win over Clemson last week enough to keep him at #1 in my rankings.
2. Sawyer Robertson, Baylor QB: Is Robertson the most underrated QB in the country? He’s at 859 passing yards, 7 touchdown passes and no interceptions through two games. He’s the only reason the Bears have been competitive this year.
3. Devon Dampier, Utah QB: In blowing out FCS Cal Poly, Dampier added another 200+ scrimmage yards and 3 touchdowns to his season total. He’s a threat any time he touches the ball.
4. John Mateer, Oklahoma QB: In his first big game as the Sooners quarterback, the Wazzu transfer delivered. 344 total scrimmage yards and 3 TDs powered his team to a ranked win, and his willingness to run and get tough yards stood out.
5. Rocco Becht, Iowa State QB: His counting stats weren’t much to write home about against Iowa, but Becht has his Cyclones at 3-0 and looking about as gritty as any team in the country right now.