College Football Week 2 Wrap Up
Estimated 7 minute read
Weekly round up featuring rankings, media, and analysis from this week in college football.
In Week 2 we finally learned more about teams who were unchallenged in Week 1. We also saw some upsets after an opening week that went mostly to script.
Games of the week
Northern Illinois 16, No. 5 Notre Dame 14
The Huskies of the MAC came into Notre Dame Stadium as 28.5 point underdogs and left 2 point winners. Defensive lineman Devonte O’Malley was a force for Northern Illinois, finishing with 4 tackles, 3 TFLs, and 2 sacks. Cade Haberman made 5 stops but most importantly, blocked 2 FGs, including knocking down Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter’s desperation 62 yard attempt at the end to seal the win.
No. 17 Kansas State 34, Tulane 27
The Wildcats and Green Wave kicked off at 11am local time in New Orleans and early on, it looked like a Tulane rout was on. Tulane took a 20-10 lead into halftime but came out flat in the 2nd half. Barely recruited Green Wave redshirt freshman QB Darian Mensah, who defeated former top recruit Ty Thompson for the starting job, threw for 342 yards and 2 TDs and outplayed K-State’s top QB recruit Avery Johnson. Mensah’s first freshman mistake came when he retreated from the pocket, fumbled, and watched Kansas State return the dropped ball for a touchdown to take a 34-27 lead. Not done yet, Mensah brought the Wave back down the field to the K-State 2 yard line, throwing a TD with 17 seconds remaining to tie the game. The touchdown was taken off the board by a questionable offensive pass interference call. The game ended when Mensah threw an interception on a desperation pass into the end zone.
Pittsburgh 28, Cincinnati 27
In a rematch of the 200 Big East Championship game, Cincinnati looked well on their way to a promising 2-0 start against the Panthers, going up 27-6 with 4:50 to go in the 3rd quarter. Pitt QB Eli Holstein threw 3 TDs to cut the lead to 2. Pitt kicker Ben Sauls kicked a 35 yard field with 17 seconds left to complete the comeback.
Week 2 Heisman Top 5
Ashton Jeanty, RB Boise State, 45 carries, 459 yards, 10.2 yards per carry, 9 TDs
Travis Hunter, WR/DB Colorado, 17 receptions, 242 yards, 14.2 yards per catch, 3 TDs, 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed
Quinn Ewers, QB Texas, 506 yards, 69.8% completion, 6 TDs, 1 int
Cam Ward, QB Miami, 689 yards, 75.4% completion, 7 TDs (1 rush)
Jaxson Dart, QB Ole Miss, 795 yards, 87% completion, 8 TDs (2 rush), 0 ints
Week 2 Players of the Week
Offensive: Cade Klubnik, QB Clemson - 24/26 378 yards, 7 TDs (2 rush)
Defensive: Xavier Scott, DB Illinois - 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 2 INTs, 1 TD
Special Teams: Cade Haberman, DT Northern Illinois - 5 tackles, 2 blocked FGs
Week 2 Trending Up
Florida Gators
The Gators exacted revenge for their Week 1 blowout loss to Miami on the Samford Bulldogs, winning 45-7. Freshman DJ Lagway threw for 456 yards and 3 TDs on only 25 pass attempts. Will Florida remain on track against Texas A&M next week or will their season implode against tougher competition?
Tennessee Volunteers
Once No. 14 Tennessee got rolling against No. 24 NC State in Duke’s Mayo Classic, the Volunteers were equally as efficient as their Week 1 performance against Chattanooga. The Vols outgained the Wildcats 460-143. Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava shined again.
Clemson Tigers
What a bounceback from the Tigers’ 31 point season opening loss to Georgia. Favored by 13.5, Clemson scored touchdowns on their first 8 possessions in a 66-20 rout of App State. Cade Klubnik starred after struggling against Georgia.
Texas State Bobcats
I’ve been high on the Bobcats since the summer, profiling WR Joey Hobert and picking Texas State to win the Sun Belt. QB Jordan McCloud accounted for 4 TDs and the Bobcats raced to a 35-3 lead against UTSA, who entered the season as one of the frontrunners to earn a playoff spot.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska bullied Coach Prime and Colorado 28-10, racking up 6 sacks, 10 TFLs, returning a Shedeur Sanders INT for a touchdown, recovering a fumble - all while allowing only 16 rushing yards. Nebraska’s true freshman QB Dylan Raiola didn’t commit a turnover and didn’t take a sack. Nebraska demonstrated offseason improvement and flipped the script from last season’s 36-14 loss to Colorado where they were outgained 454-341 and committed 4 turnovers.
Florida State Seminoles
The Seminoles had their best week of the young season. The Seminoles had an open week after playing in Week 0 and Week 1. They face a 2-0 Memphis team in Week 3 as a 7 point favorite.
G5 Power Rankings
Northern Illinois Huskies (2-0)
The Huskies own the G5’s best win of the season by upsetting Notre Dame. A signature win and a MAC conference title is a direct line to the CFP.
UNLV Rebels (2-0)
UNLV dominated Houston defensively on the road in Week 1 and followed it up with an offensive explosion against Utah Tech in Week 2. The Rebels need to up their passing efficiency as they enter a prove it stretch against Kansas, Fresno, Syracuse, Oregon State, and Boise State.
Texas State Bobcats (2-0)
The Bobcats made quick and thorough work of the UTSA Roadrunners. Texas State catches Arizona State at home this week with the chance to upset a power conference opponent and start 3-0 for the first time.
Memphis Tigers (2-0)
Memphis got bad news when coach Ryan Silverfield revealed that running back Sutton Smith will miss the rest of 2024. The Tigers go to Tallahassee next week to face 0-2 Florida State.
5. Boise State Broncos (1-1)
The Broncos are possibly the best G5 team, with Heisman frontrunner Ashton Jeanty running through everyone. Boise was this close to beating Oregon on the road, a win that would put the Broncos at the top of this list. As it stands, Boise slots in behind the undefeated teams ahead of them.
Week 2 Most Miserable
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame becomes the highest ranked program to lose to a MAC opponent in the history of college football. Another loss that has Irish fans scratching their heads with coach Marcus Freeman. Can Notre Dame recover? With Florida State struggling, the schedule doesn’t offer much in terms of statement wins. Not having the conference championship lane to the playoff makes the Irish’s path less straightforward than teams who suffer out of conference losses.
Literally everything and everyone associated with and connected to Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado struggled on the offensive line and could not stop the run in an 18 point loss to Nebraska. It doesn’t feel like anything has progressed from last season, especially against an opponent the Buffaloes beat 36-14 last season.
UTSA Roadrunners
UTSA was annihilated by fellow G5 school Texas State. You have to assume this loss ends UTSA’s chances at the CFP this season.
Iowa Hawkeyes
In the first half against rival Iowa State, it looked like Iowa would be able to win an ugly game. The Cyclones outscored the Hawkeyes 20-6 in the second half, taking their first and only lead of the game on a Kyle Konrady 54 yard FG with 6 seconds left to play. Has anything changed?
NC State Wolfpack
A lot of teams struggle Week 1 against FCS schools. Sometimes it’s meaningless, other times it’s predictive. NC State was able to overcome a slow start with a 21 point 4th quarter against Western Carolina. Against the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers, the Wolfpack were completely overmatched, with touted transfer QB Grayson McCall throwing for only 104 yards and failing to score a touchdown on offense. The good news is that NC State is still undefeated in ACC play, and the winner of the ACC is a virtual lock for a playoff bye.
SMU Mustangs
Like NC State, SMU still has a direct road to the CFP: win the ACC. The Mustangs were adequate in Weeks 0 and 1, winning a tough game on the road against Nevada and demolishing the Houston Christian Huskies. SMU has gotten a bunch of hype from us here at Analysts Arena but fell on their face in Week 2, falling to a BYU squad with no expectations this season as a 12.5 point favorite. As was the theme this week, the Cougars won on a chip shot field goal with 1:58 to play. SMU kicker Collin Rogers booted 5 field goals for a combined 216 yards, including 52 and 53 yard efforts.
Week 2 Most Anxious
Oregon Ducks
Another close call as a multi touchdown favorite. Oregon escaped Boise with 10 points in the final 10 minutes, including the walk off winning field goal. The Ducks were outgained and scored twice on special teams in a 3 point win.
