College Football 2023: Winners and Losers from Week 2
While the showdown between Texas and Alabama headlined Saturday's slate, Week 2 had plenty of interesting results.
Utah survived a scare at Baylor as Colorado rolled over traditional rival Nebraska in the early afternoon. Ole Miss and Miami then picked up valuable wins before Texas recorded an emphatic win in Tuscaloosa.
The Longhorns are back*, baby!
As always, B/R embraced the responsibility of watching as many games as possible and relaying key storylines of the day.
This piece will be updated Saturday night.
* - Texas might not be back.
Winner: Utah's Late Surge
1 of 10Utah leaned on its backup quarterbacks to beat Florida in the absence of Cameron Rising last Thursday. The veteran didn't play again at Baylor, and the 12th-ranked Utes had a little more trouble this time around.
During the first half, they mustered a single field goal. In the third quarter, Utah scored only three more points, and the offense didn't sustain a long drive to get those—the drive started at Baylor's 37 after an interception.
But the fourth quarter belonged to the Utes.
After forcing an early three-and-out, Nate Johnson capped an eight-minute, 88-yard drive with a touchdown run.
On the ensuing possession, star safety Cole Bishop capitalized on a terrible decision. Baylor's Sawyer Robertson, who was replacing an injured Blake Shapen, committed the cardinal sin of being a quarterback: He threw late, over the middle.
Utah jumped ahead on an 11-yard touchdown run from Jaylon Glover and survived a last-second end-zone heave—and a, uh, fortuitous no-call on a possible pass interference—to steal a 20-13 victory.
Loser: Virginia's Late Meltdown
2 of 10
What an exasperating way to lose.
Virginia fell behind James Madison 14-0 but flipped the script and took a 28-17 edge in the third quarter. On a day the program honored Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry—the three players killed in a shooting last year—a win would've felt extra special.
However, a weather delay crushed the Hoos. The teams exited the field with UVA up 35-24 at the 12:06 mark of the fourth quarter.
After the unexpected break, JMU covered 80 yards on eight plays for a touchdown to make it 35-30. Virginia punted on its next possession, and an identical scoring drive pushed the Dukes to their 36-35 win.
Virginia is now 0-2 on the season.
Winner: Colorado's Encore
3 of 10
As the Deion Sanders era made its official debut in Boulder, the Buffs used a dominant second half to put away Nebraska.
Colorado held a 13-7 lead after Nebraska scored with 9:50 to play in the third quarter. From there, CU scored 23 straight points over the next four possessions to build a commanding edge and earn a 36-14 win.
Shedeur Sanders overcame a slow start to finish 31-of-42 with 393 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, adding a six-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter. Two-way standout Travis Hunter had a quieter game but still notched 73 receiving yards, four tackles and a pass breakup.
Look, the Buffs are a flawed team; the defense was a problem at TCU, and Nebraska piled up eight sacks on Saturday. They have plenty to prove before being labeled more than a legitimate bowl contender.
Two games into Deion Sanders' tenure, however, CU has already doubled its 2023 win total compared to last season.
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Loser: Texas A&M's Flop in Miami
4 of 10
The final margin is bad enough for No. 23 Texas A&M, yet the Aggies legitimately looked even worse.
Yes, they get credit for blocking Miami's first punt and jumping on a mishandled punt. However, the offense needed to cover just 24 yards to score two ensuing touchdowns. Were it not for those two implosions from the Hurricanes, this one could've been really ugly.
Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke shredded A&M for 374 yards and five touchdowns, including a crushing 64-yard score to Jacolby George that sealed the 48-33 victory.
That warmth you're feeling is Jimbo Fisher's hot seat.
Texas A&M should beat Louisiana-Monroe next week, but Fisher may start feeling the pressure with an opening SEC stretch of Auburn, Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee.
Winner: Lane Kiffin's Aggressiveness
5 of 10
For better or worse, Lane Kiffin plays to win.
Ole Miss tallied an FBS-high 49 fourth-down attempts in 2021 and finished with the 10th-most tries (35) in 2022. Unfortunately for the Rebels, the aggressiveness has stung them in several games over the last two years. Overall, they converted only 48.6 percent last season.
Week 2, though, brought an ideal reminder of why those frustrating moments are worth enduring.
Clinging to a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter at No. 24 Tulane, Ole Miss could've kicked a 38-yard field goal on 4th-and-4. Kiffin rolled the dice, and Jaxson Dart side-stepped a blitzer before tossing a 21-yard score to Michael Trigg to give the Rebs a two-possession lead.
Even the 56-yard field goal from Caden Davis on the ensuing possession can apply, too. The safe decision would've been to punt while up 27-20 at the 39-yard line; instead, Ole Miss iced the win.
Add in a late defensive score to make it 37-20, and the Rebs earned a respectable road win against a ranked opponent.
Loser: FBS Teams Against FCS Teams
6 of 10
Last week, 42 games included a lower-division team, and in every matchup, the Football Bowl Subdivision team picked up the win.
That trend did not continue on Saturday.
Northern Illinois—which just defeated the ACC's Boston College—fell to Southern Illinois 14-11. Buffalo joined the list after a 40-37 defeat at the hands of Fordham, dropping a contest to an FCS opponent for the second straight year.
Later in the day, former FBS program Idaho outgained Nevada by nearly 200 yards and steamrolled the Wolf Pack 33-6.
The path to bowl eligibility gets much tougher for a Group of Five program when it drops a game to an FCS school.
Winner: Texas Is Back! (Maybe?)
7 of 10
For a brief moment, it seemed the game might be slipping out of the Longhorns' hands. Jalen Milroe uncorked a gorgeous 49-yard touchdown to give Alabama a 16-13 edge as the third quarter ended.
The rest of the night, however, illuminated Quinn Ewers and a Texas offense that could not be stopped in the final frame.
Ewers hit Adonai Mitchell for a touchdown, and then running back Jonathon Brooks turned Jerrin Thompson's interception into a five-yard score. Ewers and Mitchell connected for a second touchdown before the Horns assembled a beautiful clock-killing drive down the stretch.
As Texas celebrates a 34-24 victory, the college football world is left wondering if the Horns are for real.
While clearly not as strong as previous years, Alabama has a roster only eclipsed in talent by maybe Georgia. Texas still has to navigate a Big 12 schedule full of programs that would love to spoil the Longhorns' year.
But that answer can wait.
On this night in Tuscaloosa, Texas took a critical step toward being a national contender again.
Loser: Texas Tech Folds vs. Oregon
8 of 10
We can talk about the controversial overturn on what Texas Tech thought was an interception in the end zone. If the play stood as initially called, Tech would've protected a 27-25 lead early in the fourth quarter.
However, we can't change the outcome.
Following a loss at Wyoming last week, the Red Raiders fell in devastating fashion once again.
They didn't get a favorable call on that review, and Tyler Shough tossed a pick-six in the final minute as Tech trailed Oregon 31-30. Shough's desperation heave landed in the arms of an Oregon defender as time expired, too. The Red Raiders committed four turnovers in the 38-30 loss.
Texas Tech, which is now 0-2 for the first time in 33 seasons, will be glad to host Tarleton State next weekend and finally get on the right side of the final score.
Winner: The Pac-2
9 of 10
Earlier this week, Oregon State and Washington State filed a legal complaint as the future of the Pac-12 is entirely uncertain.
Meanwhile, the football teams just keep winning.
Oregon State began the season with a 42-17 triumph at San Jose State and cruised to a 55-7 rout of UC Davis on Saturday. DJ Uiagalelei accounted for three touchdowns in his lone half of action, and Damien Martinez rushed for more than 100 yards on just seven carries.
Washington State followed up its 50-24 victory over Colorado State with a statement-worthy 31-22 win against No. 19 Wisconsin. Wazzu coach Jake Dickert had a simple message on ESPN after the game, too.
"We belong in the Power Five."
The reality is that might not happen, but it's clear that OSU and Wazzu are going down swinging in 2023.
Loser: Stanford Slowing the USC Train
10 of 10
Because of conference realignment, Stanford and USC—one of the oldest rivalries in the sport—will no longer be played annually in 2024 and beyond.
And the last matchup was a dud. Stanford entered as a four-touchdown underdog, sure. But the Trojans almost covered the line in a 21-point first quarter.
By halftime, USC owned a 49-3 advantage. Caleb Williams threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns and scampered 21 yards for a fourth score.
For the second week in a row, he didn't play in the second half. Most remarkably, Stanford's new-look offense could hardly connect on a pass. Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson combined to complete just 10 of their 25 attempts for 140 yards. USC improved to 3-0 in the 56-10 laugher.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
