Should we just jump into this and talk about Marshall and Appalachian State coming up with huge upsets that sent NCAAF odds experts through the clouds or should we ease into it?
Alright, perfect, let’s ease into it and talk about what week 2 of the 2022 college football season left us with. After the second week of thrilling action coming from the world of college football, NCAA football fans were treated to yet another slew of games that did not disappoint whatsoever when it came to action.
From Alabama’s takeover of DKR Texas Memorial Stadium in their win over the Longhorns and BYU’s road upset against Baylor to Kentucky toppling the Gators in Florida and Texas Tech’s massive win at home against Houston, the second week of college football action had it all and we are here to pinpoint some of the winners and losers from the past weekend. So, let’s get to it.
Winners: Appalachian State and Marshall
The Sun Belt Conference came out swinging this weekend, with two of their representatives, Appalachian State and Marshall coming up with huge, impressive upset wins over No. 6 ranked Texas A&M and No. 8 ranked Notre Dame respectively, both on the road.
The Mountaineers took the fight to the Aggies and outplayed them in almost every aspect of the game. They almost doubled the Aggies in total yards and ran double the number of plays that Texas A&M did. Again, from anywhere you see this game and its stats, Appalachian State took the Aggies to football school on Saturday at College Station.
The Marshall Thundering Herd made its presence felt at Notre Dame and showed the world why the Fighting Irish should not be considered a Top 10 squad in college football this season. Marshall not only exposed Notre Dame’s faulty offense, which couldn’t capitalize at home against a lower-tiered opponent but also showed how easy it can be to get under Notre Dame’s skin on defense and beat the Fighting Irish fair and square.
While many people might remember this game as the one where the Fighting Irish fell, I’d much rather remember it as the game where Marshall stood up and thrived.
Losers: Notre Dame
Year in and year out college football fans go through the same story over and over again, how this is going to be the year in which Notre Dame once again takes over the NCAA football scene and bursts out into the scene once again. Well, we’re here, in a new season, and guess what, Notre Dame hasn’t done anything to back its hype and claims.
The Irish offense has shown over two games that it lacks the firepower needed to become a true pretender for a College Football Playoff spot. If they want to become relevant and gain any sort of momentum, they will need to give their offense a makeover and fast and focus on winning their upcoming games with dominance, something the Irish can’t seem to grasp.
Winners: USC
There was a lot of speculation before the start of the season as to how Lincoln Riley would adjust his style of coaching to the West Coast as he took the job as head coach of the USC Trojans, one of the most storied schools in College Football history. Now, after starting the season at 2-0 and, after beating Stanford over the weekend 41-28, Riley’s Trojans are starting to look all sorts of good.
Yes, it’s early in the season and we still have to see how the Trojans will fare down the line, but if we take the game against Stanford as an example, USC could be in for a season in which conference title contention and maybe even a shot at making the playoffs is not something so farfetched. Also, as a heads up, keep an eye on QB Caleb Williams, that kid might be on to something big with the Trojans.
Losers: Iowa and Nebraska
Can somebody please remind Iowa how to score points? They managed to earn a win in Week 1 against South Dakota State by 7-3, a score that’s hard to believe happened in college football.
The Hawkeyes managed to only score seven points once again this past week, but this time in a losing effort against Iowa State, 10-7. Sure, Iowa State has a rather decent defensive line, but come on, this is not about the Cyclones’ defense, this is about the Hawkeyes’ offense, or lack there off. If they continue to play this way, maybe trying out pee-wee football should be their next big step.
Finally, you know what’s worse than having to sack your coach so early in the season because of poor results and a poor football culture? Sacking him without waiting out a couple of weeks for the buyout clause to be cut in half, going from $16.25 million to $8.125 million. Well, that’s exactly the story with Nebraska and their former coach Scott Frost.
After losing yet another game by one possession, something that’s common for the Cornhuskers, this time against Georgia Southern, Nebraska decided to give its coach his walking papers, bypassing the fact that if they had waited until October 1st, the Cornhuskers would’ve had to pay him 50% of his buyout clause.
Who knows, maybe Nebraska could’ve picked up the slack and played some better football, but for now, all it will be picking up is the check to pay Frost.
