Week 2 of the 2024 college football season saw plenty of unranked teams knock off ranked teams, plenty of ranked teams struggle in close victories, and plenty of interesting nuggets in out-of-conference matchups. Let’s dive right in!
● Oh, #5 Notre Dame is favored to win every game on the rest of their schedule after beating Texas A&M… oh, there’s no way they could lose at home to a MAC team that went 7-6 last season… Well, they did. The Fighting Irish were a 28-point favorite and lost, and it marks the third embarrassing home loss for Marcus Freeman as head coach in South Bend (they lost to G5 Marshall and 3-9 Stanford in 2022). With this kind of loss, Notre Dame basically has to win out now to have a shot to make the CFP, because I don’t think a 10-2 ND team has a shot against SEC or B1G teams with similar records. This is the biggest upset in the history of Northern Illinois football, and you have to hear what their head coach Thomas Hammock had to say after the upset.
● From the opening drive, you could tell #3 Texas wholly outclassed the defending champs. The Longhorns made #10 Michigan look silly all day long, with QB Quinn Ewers throwing three touchdown passes and the defense picking off Wolverines QB Davis Warren twice. It's an impressive win that stopped Michigan's 23-game winning streak at the Big House, one that shows Big Blue isn’t a true contender this year and Texas is.
● For the second week in a row, #7 Oregon did not look the part of a Top 10 team. They emerged victorious 37-34 in a back and forth battle with G5 contender Boise State, needing a field goal with no time left to win. The Ducks couldn’t contain Broncos star RB Ashton Jeanty, who ran for almost 200 yards and two touchdowns, including this 70 yard dash. Oregon’s offensive line has allowed 7 sacks in 2 games, 2 more than they allowed all of last season. I’m still a believer in my preseason championship pick but they have more to clean up than I thought.
● On a day #4 Alabama dedicated their field to Nick Saban, they beat South Florida 42-16, but don’t let the final score fool you. The Bulls were as close as 21-16 with less than 7 minutes left in the game before the game got out of hand. 17-year old WR Ryan Williams amazed for the second straight week.
● A week after impressing us all with a revamped offense, #8 Penn State was trailing at home at the half to… Bowling Green??? Perhaps we were a little too early to crown the Nittany Lions. They escaped with a 34-27 win, but the questions about Penn State as a true contender won’t go away after a result like this.
● Top ranked teams that rolled: #1 Georgia, #2 Ohio State, #6 Ole Miss and #9 Mizzou outscored their opponents 194-6.
Best of the Weekend
● The battle for the Cy-Hawk trophy (lovingly known as El Assico) looked to be a one-sided affair this year as Iowa led 13-0 at halftime over Iowa State. But you can’t keep a good Cyclone down, and they took advantage of a dreadful Hawkeye offensive performance (where have we heard that before?) to chip away at their lead over the course of the second half. With 35 seconds left and only needing a field goal to win, Iowa State marched down the field and kicked a 54-yard game-winner with 6 seconds remaining to pick up their 3rd win in 11 years over Iowa. ISU remains an interesting wild card in the Big 12 and picks up a key non-conference victory that could carry some weight with the selection committee come December.
● Illinois couldn’t build on an 8-4 2022 season last year, but maybe some of that magic is back. They knocked off #19 Kansas at home, picking off Jayhawks QB Jalon Daniels three times to avenge a loss in Lawrence last season. KU ran the ball well but made too many mistakes to win, and the Illini have to feel better about facing some of the other ranked opponents coming up on their schedule.
● One of the more underrated games of the weekend happened in New Orleans, with Tulane giving #17 Kansas State all they could handle all game long. It took a fumble return TD and an end zone interception on the Green Wave’s final drive for the Wildcats to seal this one away. Just look at that win probability!
● Nebraska might have something cooking. Their freshman QB phenom Dylan Raiola looked more like a seasoned veteran than a kid making his second career college start, while their smothering defense from last season is back in full force. They dominated old rival Colorado for most of the game, and ended up ranked in the latest AP Poll for the first time since 2019(!).
● #14 Tennessee put a beatdown on what I think will be a good team in #24 NC State 51-10 in Charlotte.
Freshman stud Nico Iamaleava was great again for the Volunteers, who might be more of a contender than we thought coming into the season.
● Small school success: FCS St. Francis ran all over Kent State, FCS Idaho took down Wyoming, and FCS Southern Utah kicked a game-winning field goal in overtime to knock off UTEP.
● Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman’s seat is very hot, and he had the perfect opportunity to get a big win over a ranked team on the road. But alas, despite 648 yards of offense, holding star Pokes RB Ollie Gordon II to less than 50 rushing yards, and a double-digit halftime lead, the Hogs found a way to lose in double OT to #16 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. They did not, in fact, embrace the hog, and Pittman’s seat has to be on fire now.
● #15 Oklahoma wore some slick 1950’s throwbacks against Houston and honored the great Sooners teams of that era by playing some true stone age football on offense. They eked by the Coogs 16-12 only thanks to a stellar defensive effort. The offense didn’t score in the second half of this game, and they need to answer questions about the offensive line and the receiver unit quickly.
● Auburn remains one of the most mysterious programs in the FBS. They recruit like crazy but find miraculous ways to lose games, like turning the ball over five times in a home loss to Cal. QB Payton Thorne threw four INTs against a mediocre Golden Bears defense, and it looks like their QB problems from last season still aren’t fixed.
● Utah QB Cam Rising can’t catch a break. He was excellent in the first half of a win against Baylor, but at the end of the second quarter he left the game after getting hit into some sideline equipment. The Utes didn’t score a point in the second half without him.
● They say when you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks. Well, that’s what happened to SMU on Friday night, and neither Preston Stone or Kevin Jennings could muster any offense for the Mustangs and allowed BYU to win 18-15 in Dallas. The Cougars just looked like they wanted it more. SMU kicker Collin Rogers did set a school record with 5 field goals, but no touchdowns doomed the Ponies to a loss before conference play begins.
● While blocking a Baylor kick and returning it for a touchdown, two Utah special teams players high fived as they entered the endzone.
● Who doesn’t love an animal on the football field? A bunny made its way onto Northwestern’s temporary field Friday night. Not even mascot Willie could contain it!
● UNT is 2-0 and paying homage to Mean Green legend Stone Cold Steve Austin with this turnover celebration.
● Your drive of the week: Houston had the ball for 7:25 and moved the ball… 20 yards.
● The most agile thicc-six you’ll see all season happened late at night in Tempe as Arizona State knocked off Mississippi State 30-23.
● A field goal post got a little droopy during the Old Dominion/East Carolina game, so they had to get a crane out to fix it during halftime.
● Your catch of the week goes to Marshall WR Christian Fitzpatrick, who emulated program legend Randy Moss with this one-handed grab.
1. Quinn Ewers, Texas QB: Two straight years we’ve seen Quinn Ewers go into a cathedral of college football and make it his own, Alabama last year and now Michigan this year. He and Cam Ward both have marquee road wins but I’ll give Ewers the edge since Michigan actually has good players on its roster and I’m not sure Florida does.
2. Cam Ward, Miami QB: Ward wasted no time in slicing up Florida A&M’s defense to the tune of 304 passing yards and four total touchdowns. He’s been everything Miami fans have wanted in his first two games in Coral Gables.
3. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State RB: He did everything in his power to get his Broncos a win in Eugene this weekend and came up just short. Jeanty’s averaging 10.2 yards per carry through two games.
4. Travis Hunter, Colorado WR/CB: Colorado is going to lose a lot more games this season if they play like they did against Nebraska, but it won’t be because of Hunter. He’s played 96% of his team’s snaps through two games, and I’ll never not be amazed by numbers like these.
5. Kyle McCord, Syracuse QB: Quietly, the much-maligned former Ohio State quarterback has Syracuse rolling, including this week with a win over #23 Georgia Tech. He’s up to 735 passing yards and 8 TD passes through two games.