After Week 1 in college football saw several upsets, the schedule lightened up with several Power 4 schools playing FCS opponents in Week 2 in an effort to fine-tune things before conference play begins. Perhaps a bit surprising is that Georgia, LSU, and Clemson all played non-Power 4 teams, and their games were relatively close. The combined margin of victory for the three programs against Austin Peay, LA Tech, and Troy was an average of 16.3 points. Before we look ahead to Week 3’s upset pick and the game of the week, let’s recap Week 2 in college football.
Hint: There’ll be a lot to cover in the SEC.
College Football: Recap of Week 2
Saturday Spotlight: Michigan versus Oklahoma
In last week’s preview, one major area of focus was how successful Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables would be in confusing Bryce Underwood and giving him different looks. Venables was terrific in his schemes against Underwood, and held the true freshman quarterback in check. Underwood completed only 9-of-24 passing. What’s more impressive is that Oklahoma bottled him up as a runner, holding him to -1 yard rushing for the game.
Defensively, Michigan didn’t limit the big play enough, and it hurt them. Jaishawn Barham entered the game in the second half due to a suspension, and you could see the life he brought to the Michigan defense, but it was not enough. Oklahoma was just one step ahead of the Wolverines’ defense.
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer had a good performance against one of the nation’s top defenses. He made some big-time throws connecting with Deion Burks, who went over 100 yards on Saturday. Mateer also led the Sooners in rushing with 74 tough yards on 19 carries.
Hats off to Venables for his defense stifling the freshman quarterback, and his quarterback managing the game to a quality win.
Upset Special: Mississippi State over Arizona State
It was a tale of two halves for Mississippi State and Arizona State in the upset pick last week. The Bulldogs got off to a fast start, as Sam Leavitt and the Sun Devils offense couldn’t gain any traction in the first half. Mississippi State had its offensive challenges also, but thanks to two big strikes to Anthony Evans (48-yard touchdown) and Brenen Thompson (47-yard touchdown) from Blake Shapen, the Bulldogs scored 17 unanswered points to take the early lead versus Arizona State.
The Sun Devils got some late momentum heading into the break after Jesus Gomez made a 51-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter. From there, Arizona State stormed back into the game with its running game.
Arizona State later tied the game to open the fourth quarter. The last 10 minutes of the game were gut-wrenching. The Sun Devils went on a 17-play, 8-plus-minute drive to chew the clock in hopes of a last-second touchdown to seal the win. However, Mississippi State stood firm pressed against their own goal line with the Sun Devils having first and goal from the three-yard line. Uncharacteristically for Kenny Dillingham, he settled for a field goal, giving Mississippi State a chance to win the game with a late drive. It was Brennen Thompson striking once again on a 58-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left, effectively burning the Sun Devils one last time.
It’s a disappointing game for Arizona State as their running backs, Raleek Brown and Kanye Udoh, combined for 215 yards rushing on the night. Also, the offense overcame a 17-point deficit to put itself in position to win, but its defense could not hold.
Who hurt themselves the most in Week 2?
First off, the USF Bulls deserves a lot of credit for navigating a difficult schedule to open the season. Beating Boise State in a convincing fashion was a statement. However, beating Florida says a lot more about the Gators’ lack of discipline than USF’s resilience. With that said, Florida is easily the team that hurt themselves the worst last week.
After finally taking a late 16-15 lead against USF, Florida had multiple chances to put the Bulls away. They forced USF into a punt, but couldn’t score points. They then got gifted a missed field but then went three-and-out afterwards. The worst part is Florida committed two critical penalties on USF’s game-winning drive. This included Florida’s Brendan Bett spitting on Cole Skinner to give USF 15 extra yards before Nico Gramatica made the chip shot field goal to win the game.
It’s a bad look for Florida quarterback D.J. Lagway, seen as one of the premier players in the country, not being able to muster up enough offense to close out a game. Yet, it also speaks to Billy Napier not having control of his team. Moreover, the loss Saturday gives Napier his sixth loss versus unranked teams as Florida’s head coach. Furthermore, he has a losing record in the SEC, has never beaten Georgia, and faces rival No. 3 LSU this Saturday. And it won’t get any easier after that. Per USA Today, the Gators have the toughest strength of schedule; and so far, they haven’t been able to handle it. When it rains, it pours in the Swamp.
College Football: Week 3 Spotlight and Upset Special
Saturday Spotlight: Georgia vs. Tennessee
After games against Marshall and the aforementioned Austin Peay, we get to see what Georgia is made of in their SEC conference opener against Tennessee. It’s been smooth sailing for Gunnar Stockton, who has coasted the last two games. However, he now has to match up against a Tennessee defense that has been steadily improving over the past few seasons. Yet, one thing to consider entering this matchup is that Tennessee will be without Rickey Gibson and Jermod McCoy, leaving big shoes to fill.
USC transfer Zachariah Branch is a shifty playmaker that you can expect the Bulldogs to utilize all over the formation and create conflict in Tennessee’s defensive communication. However, Joshua Joseph is a lengthy edge rusher with great athleticism and flexibility around the edge. If he and the Volunteers’ defense can generate a pass rush to keep Stockton in check, that’ll go a long way for the Volunteers to get the win.
Tennessee quarterback, Joey Aguilar, has done a great job so far this season. The former App State quarterback has 535 passing yards with five touchdowns. However, he does have a history with turnovers, and the Bulldogs’ defense will make you pay if you are careless with the football.
Should Tennessee win, it may not lose another game for the remainder of its conference schedule. Whereas Georgia has challenging games against Auburn, Ole Miss, and Texas on their schedule. A big game for both teams this week.
Upset Special: Texas A&M over Notre Dame
While college football can be wildly unpredictable from week to week, it’s not often that you see Notre Dame get beaten in the trenches the way they did versus Miami in their season opener. The Fighting Irish have started slow in recent years, but Texas A&M will bring the heat in Week 3.
Cassius Howell leads the Aggies with three sacks, and he’s got the motor to be relentless in getting to the quarterback. Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr was under constant pressure versus Miami and didn’t have time in the pocket to make his reads. It won’t get much easier this week against A&M’s defense and Howell.
Mario Craver has emerged as an explosive playmaker early this season for Texas A&M with three touchdowns on 18.2 yards per reception. Then, in the backfield, the Aggies have a three-headed monster rushing attack with the combination of quarterback Marcell Reed, Le’Veon Moss, and Reuben Owens. A&M is a 6.5-point underdog on the road, but the Aggies could shake up the polls with the upset win in South Bend.
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