College Football Roundup: Massive Upsets In Week Two Action
Carnage. Chaos. Confusion. Week 2 of this college football season had it all, reminding us what makes this sport so unique, so exhilarating, and at times, so painful. In the wreckage from this weekend lie the playoff hopes of three contenders, the career of one of Nebraska’s favorite sons, and plenty of questions for other top teams.
Now, let’s get to the action.
ALABAMA 20 TEXAS 19
Oh, what could have been. In Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, Alabama traveled to Austin for a rare non-conference road game under Nick Saban. Freshman Quinn Ewers and the Texas offense started fast, but Ewers was knocked out of the game at the end of the first quarter (and will miss 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury). Still, the Longhorns went into halftime tied 10-10 with the heavily favored Tide.
Over the past decade, Texas has always had talent, but when the lights were brightest, the Longhorns would wilt under pressure. This team – in Steve Sarkisian’s second year – might be a little different though. The Longhorn defense held firm, pressuring Alabama QB Bryce Young all game and forcing punts on 6 straight possessions at one point, backup QB Hudson Card managed the game effectively after Ewers was injured, going 14-22 for 158 yards, and kicker Bert Auburn hit 4 field goals, including a 49-yarder with 1:29 remaining to give Texas a 19-17 lead.
However, that still wasn’t enough to overcome the championship pedigree of Alabama. The Tide were sloppy all day, committing 15 penalties, and if not for a controversial third quarter call that overturned what would have been a Texas safety and given the Horns a 12-10 lead, would have needed a touchdown on the final drive. But Young and the Tide wouldn’t be denied and made the plays they had to. Bryce Young showed why he is the Heisman frontrunner, leading Alabama 61 yards in 1:19 for the game-winning Will Reichard field goal as Alabama avoided its first non-conference loss since 2007, Saban’s first season.
BYU 26 Baylor 20 (2 OT)
Baylor and BYU played arguably the best game of the day in a wild, back-and-forth affair in Provo that ended after 2 AM Eastern Time. This game had it all – stingy defenses, questionable play-calling, plenty of penalty flags (14 for 117 yards for Baylor alone), special teams nightmares, and the emergence of BYU QB Jaren Hall as a star. Oh, and it also went into double overtime.
Despite missing his two leading receivers, Hall was still 23-39 for 261 yards and a touchdown and made big-time throw after big-time throw, many of which to freshman WR Chase Roberts, who stepped up and finished with 122 yards receiving. The Cougars defense also rose to the occasion, holding Baylor to just 2.9 YPC despite the Bears running it 52 (!) times, and keeping Baylor out of the end zone in the second overtime.
You knew the loser of this game would be kicking themselves today (pun intended). BYU kicker Jake Oldroyd missed both of his changes to win the game, as his kicks at the end of regulation and the end of the first overtime both missed wide left. On the other sideline, Baylor kicker Isaiah Hankins missed an extra point (that ended up being huge in a game that ended regulation tied 20-20) and also missed a field goal in the first overtime.
With the victory over Baylor, BYU sets up a massive showdown next week on the road at Oregon. Get past the Ducks, and the schedule sets up nicely for the Cougars to impress the College Football Playoff committee, with games against a suddenly vulnerable Notre Dame in Las Vegas, a home game against Arkansas, and November road games at Boise State and Stanford. With Jaren Hall at the helm and a strong defense, BYU has to be viewed as a legitimate contender for the CFP.
Kentucky 26 Florida 16
After a massive victory last week over Utah, the question going into this weekend was whether this Florida team could handle success and build on the early season momentum. At the hands of a physical Kentucky defense, Florida’s dream season came crashing back to reality.
Florida led 16-7 with just over 4 minutes remaining in the first half and had the ball. The Gators held all the momentum, having just turned a Will Levis interception into a touchdown drive, which was immediately followed by the defense forcing a three-and-out. On the ensuing Kentucky punt, a bad snap led to a safety, giving the Gators the 16-7 advantage. However, Anthony Richardson was picked off on an incredible play by Jordan Wright, who returned the ball to the Florida 6-yard-line, and Kentucky would punch it in for a score to head into half trailing 16-13. The second half was all Wildcats, as Florida would only manage 91 yards and Richardson threw a pick-six to give Kentucky a lead it would never relinquish.
One week after Richardson’s dual-threat ability took down then-#7 Utah and vaulted him into the early Heisman conversation, his inaccuracy and inexperience surfaced against a stout Kentucky defense. The Wildcats took away Richardson’s ability to run (6 carries for 4 yards) and made him sit in the pocket, where he completed only 14 of 35 passes for 143 yards with 2 interceptions that led directly to Wildcat touchdowns.
Florida is trending in the right direction under Billy Napier but are at least a year away from really challenging in the SEC. On the other side, Kentucky’s defense should keep it in every game with the exception of probably Georgia. The Wildcats are very much alive for a New Year’s Six bowl.
McDONOUGH’S MUSINGS
~ With a 26-21 loss to Marshall on Saturday that was not as close as the score indicated, Notre Dame is officially at a crossroads. Marcus Freeman needs to make immediate changes to how this football program is run to keep this season from going off the rails. While it is impossible to predict what the rest of the season will look like, 2016 provides both a best-case and worst-case scenario.
- Notre Dame’s 2016 team opened with a close loss at Texas in a game the Irish should have won. After a win over a bad Nevada team, the Irish dropped back-to-back contests against Michigan State and Duke, leading to staff changes with Brian Van Gorder’s removal. A fractured locker room never healed, and Notre Dame bottomed out at 4-8.
- On the other hand, USC opened the 2016 season with an embarrassing 52-6 loss to USC. The Trojans were led by Clay Helton in his first full season. Helton was charged with overhauling the program’s culture following Steve Sarkisian’s turbulent tenure. After a week 2 win over Utah State, the Trojans dropped back-to-back games at Stanford and at Utah. They wouldn’t lose again though. Helton leaned into his team’s youth and went with freshman QB Sam Darnold starting with the Utah game (a close 31-27 loss). USC won the final 9 games on the schedule, including a Rose Bowl win over Penn State, and finished the year ranked third in the country.
~ Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts announced on Sunday that he had fired Scott Frost. Nebraska’s 45-42 home loss to Georgia Southern this weekend was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Frost will receive the full $15 million buyout, a number which would have dropped to $7.5 million on October 1st, underscoring how urgent this move was for Nebraska. Frost’s tenure may be one of the most disappointing in college football history. He took over his alma mater after leading UCF to an undefeated season in 2017 and was hailed as the man who could finally restore the Cornhuskers to glory. He leaves Nebraska with the second-worst winning percentage among Big Ten schools since 2018 and a 5-22 record in one-score games (including ten straight). Even more ignominiously, Nebraska’s loss to Georgia Southern on Saturday moved the Cornhuskers to 214-1 all-time when scoring 42 points or more. How far away Bo Pelini’s seven straight seasons of at least nine wins seem.
~ With the first two weeks of the season in the books, let’s check in on the concern level for a set of teams ranked in the preseason top-15 whose starts have been less impressive than hoped. Concern level goes from 1 (no concern) to 10 (extremely concerned).
- Alabama (2) – The Tide needed late-game heroics from Bryce Young (and some controversial calls) to pull out a win over Texas, but still found a way to win in a tough road environment. Expect master motivator Nick Saban to use this experience as a building block heading into the SEC season. There’s no reason to think that Alabama will not be representing the SEC West in Atlanta and contending for the College Football Playoff.
- Clemson (4) – The Tigers were outgained by Furman in week 2 as they sleepwalked to a 35-12 win, a week after pulling away late from Georgia Tech in week 1. The Tigers haven’t clicked yet on offense but have one more “get right game” against Louisiana Tech before traveling to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest. Should Clemson continue to struggle, Dabo Swinney could be tempted to hand over the offense to talented freshman Cade Klubnik.
- Notre Dame (10) – An 0-2 start and listless home loss to Marshall constitute a three-alarm fire in South Bend. Marcus Freeman and his staff need to right the ship fast, as suddenly no game on the schedule looks easy, let alone matchups against BYU, Clemson, and a resurgent USC team. If Tyler Buchner is out for an extended period of time, that job gets even harder.
- Texas A&M (10) – When desperate Aggie boosters wrote $30 million of checks for a single recruiting class (don’t you always want 8 defensive linemen in a recruiting class?), I don’t think they expected home losses to Appalachian State to be part of the package. The Mountaineers gave up 63 points to North Carolina in week 1, yet bullied Texas A&M in College Station all day. A&M only had 18:17 time of possession, 189 total yards, and 9 first downs in the loss. With home games against #13 Miami, #10 Arkansas, and a road trip to Mississippi State on the docket before the October 8th trip to Tuscaloosa, Jimbo Fisher’s seat could get real hot real fast.
- Utah (4) – The Florida loss in week 1 showed that Utah is a long way from being a national title contender, but there’s no shame in losing a night game on the road in The Swamp. The Utes got back on track in their quest for a second straight Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl berth with a 73-7 dismantling of Southern Utah.
- Baylor (6) – There’s also no shame in losing at BYU, but the loss showed that Baylor is lacking playmakers, and it’s hard to see this team having the offense to go into Norman or Austin and challenge the top teams in the Big 12. The Bears defense is legit, but the fact remains that they lost their top two receivers and top two running backs from last season, and against BYU, QB Blake Shapen averaged only 4.9 yards per completion. That won’t get it done, especially when the run game only averages 2.9 YPC.
- Oregon (8) – A 70-14 win over an overmatched Eastern Washington team isn’t going to erase the memories of the 49-3 week 1 drubbing at the paws of Georgia. This program was rising under Mario Cristobal, and questions remain as to whether Dan Lanning has the chops to continue that momentum. Lanning and the Ducks have a giant opportunity to flush the Georgia loss next weekend with a home date with BYU at Autzen Stadium. Win that game, and the Ducks re-assert themselves as the class of the Pac-12 North.
STOCK UP FROM THE WEEKEND
~ Sun Belt Conference – Saturday, September 10th was probably the greatest day in the history of the Sun Belt conference, a league that has slowly but surely increased its brand and member schools. Marshall upset Notre Dame in South Bend, Appalachian State upset Texas A&M in College Station, and Georgia Southern upset Nebraska in Lincoln – and none of those games were flukes! Additionally, Coastal Carolina built on its week 1 victory over Army by surviving Gardner-Webb to keep its hopes of an undefeated season alive. This is a league on the rise with some established big-name coaches (Clay Helton, Butch Jones) along with some up-and-coming young minds (Jamey Chadwell, Charles Huff).
~ USC – Two games into the 2022 season, the Lincoln Riley experiment is going as planned. The Trojans jumped out to a 41-14 lead at Stanford before the Cardinal scored two late touchdowns to make the final margin look closer than it actually was. Caleb Williams threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns, and the USC defense forced four turnovers. The Trojans host a tricky Fresno State team next week before a manageable start to the conference schedule, which should take them into an October 15th showdown in Salt Lake City against Utah with an undefeated record.
~ BYU – In their last season as an Independent before joining the Big 12, the Cougars put together a schedule that will intrigue the CFP committee, with games against Baylor, Oregon, Notre Dame, Arkansas, Boise State, and Stanford. Led by Jaren Hall, BYU outlasted a tough Baylor team and now travels to Oregon for a showdown with the Ducks. Get through Oregon and BYU should bring a top-ten ranking and undefeated record to Las Vegas against Notre Dame.
~ Mark Stoops – Congratulations are in order for Mark Stoops, who with the victory over Florida become the all-time winningest coach in Kentucky history, passing Bear Bryant. Win a few more of these marquee SEC matchups and maybe Kentucky could turn into a football school.
STOCK DOWN FROM THE WEEKEND
~ Big Ten West – I’m not sure if my eyes were stinging this weekend from the wildfire smoke in Seattle (the AQI got up to around 150) or from watching the “offenses” in the Big Ten West. Wisconsin fell 17-14 at home to Washington State, and the Badgers are now 0-7 when Graham Mertz has to pass 24 times or more. Iowa’s defense was unable to outscore its offense this game and committed the cardinal sin of allowing a touchdown, dooming the Hawkeyes to a 10-7 loss against Iowa State in a game that comfortably hit the 39-point under. We’ve already talked about Nebraska, though at least the Cornhuskers put up some points. One wonders if commissioner Kevin Warren is thinking about just having Ohio State and Michigan play a rematch for the Big Ten title.
~ Notre Dame – There will be plenty of coverage this week at Irish Breakdown on what has gone wrong this season for Notre Dame and what the Irish need to do to get the season back on the rails, but the fact remains that Notre Dame’s start to the 2022 season – and Marcus Freeman’s start to his tenure – is going historically poorly. Freeman become the first Notre Dame coach to start his career 0-3, and though the competition has been tough, the Irish have still held late third quarter leads in all three games but have not been able to finish. This weekend’s loss to Marshall was Notre Dame’s first against an unranked opponent since 2016, and the Irish became just the third team since 2000 to start the year ranked in the top-five and lose the first two games.
~ Houston – The Cougars in all likelihood lost their opportunity to be the Group of Five New Year’s Six representative, falling 33-30 in overtime against Texas Tech. While Houston entered the game as an underdog, they find themselves here based on how the game ended. The Cougars allowed TTU backup QB Donavan Smith to throw for 351 yards, and after they took the lead with a field goal with 35 seconds remaining, let Smith and the Red Raiders go 46 yards in 34 seconds for the tying score. When you lose a game in which you held three leads with less than 35 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, let a backup QB torch your defense, commit 11 penalties – and the loss effectively ends your dream of a NY6 bowl – you find yourself on the Stock Down list.
BEST GAMES OF WEEK 3
- #6 Oklahoma at Nebraska, 12 PM, FOX
- California at Notre Dame, 2:30 PM, NBC
- #12 BYU at #25 Oregon, 3:30 PM, FOX
- #22 Penn State at Auburn, 3:30 PM, CBS
- #11 Michigan State at Washington, 7:30 PM, ABC
- #13 Miami at #24 Texas A&M, 9 PM, ESPN
- San Diego State at #14 Utah, 10 PM, ESPN2
- Fresno State at #7 USC, 10:30 PM, FOX
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