The Best and Worst of Week 2 in College Football 9/12/2021

There was a lot of craziness in Week 2 with unexpected upsets and few top teams that barely escaped with their lives. Life in college football is a roller coaster and every team better be ready to play. Let’s look at the best and the worst from Saturday the 11th.

Most Impressive:

No.1: Oregon in the Horseshoe: The Ducks went into Columbus with an all-time record of 0-9 against the mighty Buckeyes and came out of there with their first win ever against Ohio State. They accomplished this without their two best defensive players who were injured. And it wasn’t a fluke, either. They dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and established themselves as the early favorite to win the Pac-12 and possibly secure a spot in the playoffs down the road. EVERYONE GETS A GAME BALL

No.2: The Iowa Hawkeyes: They put on a clinic on how to play defense in Ames on Saturday. They shut down Iowa State and forced quarterback Brock Purdy out of his comfort zone and the sky was raining turnovers in the 2nd half for the Cyclones. There is no team (including Alabama) that is any better coached than Iowa. Does that mean they are a powerhouse? No, they aren’t, because they are deficient on offense and somewhere that will get them beat. EVERYONE ON THE DEFENSE GETS A GAME BALL

No.3 Arkansas’s Thrashing of Texas: This was a total domination on both sides of the ball for the Razorbacks as they slaughtered the favored Longhorns in Fayetteville where they probably are still celebrating. And they should be. The Hogs have gone through some tough times in the last few years but this is a place where you can win and they have one of the craziest fan bases anywhere if they are given a product worth watching. They should win next week and that will set up a showdown with Texas A&M in Arlington. EVERYBODY GETS A GAMEBALL

No.4 BYU Winning the Holy War: Utah came into Provo as seven point favorites and left town with their tucked between their legs. It was the first victory for BYU in this rivalry since 2009. Their offense was balanced and they got good play out of their new quarterback, Jaren Hall who threw three touchdown passes. The Cougars have a schedule that is manageable and this might not be a fluke. EVERYBODY GETS A GAMEBALL

No.5 Georgia Does Have an Offense: Yeah, I know they were playing UAB, but the Blazers aren’t terrible and the Bulldogs put up 56 with their back-up quarterback. Coming off that huge win against Clemson, they could have been flat, but they demolished UAB from the get-go. While I am enormously impressed with Alabama, I’m not ready to give them the national championship yet, and if Georgia can find an offense to go along with their stout defense, we suddenly have a solid contender for the Tide. GEORGIA OFFENSE GETS A GAME BALL

Biggest Disappointments:

No.1 Ohio State’s Defense: As I hinted on last week’s podcast, I thought Ohio State was shaky on defense especially against the run. Oregon gashed them for 269 yards rushing on 38 carries which is an average of 7.1 yards per carry. That is inexcusable for the Buckeyes. They simply could not stop the run and that is the second week in a row that has happened. Defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs is feeling a hot fire in the seat of his pants in Columbus today. Someone will have to take the fall if things don’t improve. Grade for Ohio State’s Defense: F

No.2 USC’s Inconsistency: Ok, it is not a sin to lose to Stanford which is a very well-coached team. But, this Stanford team scored a touchdown late to keep from getting shut out to Kansas State last week. This week they score 42 on the Trojans and go on to win 42-28. This is another example of a lack of focus, or toughness, or consistency within the USC program. This was a horrible loss. Grade on USC Program: F

No.3 Texas: Arkansas completely dominated the Longhorns on Saturday outscoring them 40-21, and outgainning them 471 yards to 256. The Razorbacks rushed for 333 yards on 47 carries for a 7 yard average per carry. They did this with a quarterback who is an average passer at best and Texas still couldn’t stop them. Since 2010, the Longhorns have finished in the Top-10 in recruiting seven times and in the Top-5 five times. Yet, their record during that time is 80-61. They are on their 4th coach during these years and (I’m not taking anything away from Arkansas because they were fantastic) but the team on the field in Fayetteville Saturday night was anything but well coached. Texas Program Grade (As of Now): F

No.4 The Big 12 Conference: On the surface, the Big 12 has a cumulative record of 16-4 in the first two weeks which is 2nd to the SEC. However, on closer examination, 9 of those wins have come against FBS schools and 5 of the wins have been by 8 points or less. The best non-conference win has been Kansas State over Stanford 24-7. (Sorry Texas your 38-18 win over Louisiana was not impressive). Oklahoma beat Tulane 40-35 in Norman, Iowa State was throttled by Iowa at home 27-17, Oklahoma State beat a FBS school by 7 and then bested Tulsa who had lost to a FBS school, by 5 in Stillwater. And, of course, Texas was embarrassed at Arkansas 40-21. Oklahoma, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Texas are the league’s best teams or that’s what people think. Is it any wonder why Cincinnati, Houston, BYU, and UCF are knocking down the door to get into this league? They see plenty of wins in their future. Big 12 Conference Grade: F-

No.5 Florida State: The Seminoles were oh-so-close to upsetting Notre Dame last Sunday and one could expect that they would be flat against FBS opponent, Jacksonville State. They had a 17-7 lead going into the 4th quarter and a 17-14 advantage with 4 seconds left. Jacksonville State had the ball on their 41 yard line and threw a pass to a receiver at about the Florida State 20 and with some of the worst tackling in the history of Division-1 football from the Seminoles they managed to score and win 20-17. You can’t lose games like that. Florida State Program: F

Dishonorable Mentions: Iowa State, Washington Offense, Illinois (again)