College Football Scores 2014: Week 2 Results and Top Stars for Top 25 Teams
Last week's college football action got our feet wet. This week's has thrust us full bore into the journey leading to the first-ever College Football Playoff.
The game of the week was played in the pacific northwest. The No. 3 Oregon Ducks defended their turf against a tough and determined No. 7 Michigan State Spartans.
The Spartans used a 24-point second quarter to take a 24-18 lead into the half. Oregon's defense and Heisman candidate Marcus Mariota's surgical passing took over in the second half. The Ducks outscored the Spartans 28-3 in the second half to win it 46-27.
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Mariota threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter to spark his team.
In the biggest conference game on the weekend's schedule, the No. 14 USC Trojans gutted out a tough 13-10 win over archrival No. 13 Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto, California.
Despite being outgained and seemingly outplayed in several facets of the game, the Trojans defense came up with big plays when it needed to. With under two minutes remaining, Andre Heidari made the decisive field goal to beat Stanford for the second year in a row.
Senior outside linebacker J.R. Tavai sacked Stanford's Kevin Hogan and forced a fumble, which the Trojans recovered, with 19 seconds remaining.
The win snapped Stanford's 17-game win streak at home.
The teams near and ahead of the Ducks and Spartans in the rankings took care of business against less-threatening opponents. The top-ranked Florida State Seminoles defeated Citadel 37-12.
The No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners throttled in-state rival Tulsa 52-7, and the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide rebounded from a shaky win over the West Virginia Mountaineers in Week 1.
The Tide rolled to a 41-0 rout over Florida Atlantic in a game called because of weather.
Two ranked teams narrowly avoided upsets on Saturday; one did not. The No. 20 Kansas State Wildcats and No. 19 Nebraska Cornhuskers had to rally late to win.
The Wildcats trailed 28-13 at one point in the second quarter before reeling off the final 19 points of the game to get the win. Quarterback Jake Waters' eight-yard touchdown run with 1:30 left gave the Wildcats the win.
Nebraska's victory had its own share of drama.
Tied at 24 with the McNeese State Cowboys with just 4:21 remaining, the Cornhuskers' dark-horse Heisman candidate Ameer Abdullah caught a 58-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Armstrong Jr. with just 20 seconds remaining to secure the win.
The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes weren't as fortunate.
The Virginia Tech Hokies came into Columbus, Ohio and handed Urban Meyer's bunch a 35-21 defeat in a turnover-filled contest. The two teams committed six combined turnovers, but Ohio State's were the most costly.
In the fourth quarter with the Bucks already trailing 28-21 with less than a minute remaining, Donovan Riley picked off a J.T. Barrett pass and returned 63 yards for a score. It was the third interception Barrett had thrown on the day.
Needless to say, Ohio State is missing injured quarterback Braxton Miller in a major way.
Here's a look at all of the scores of the completed games involving teams in the Top 25. Just below the results is a closer look at the players whose performances really stood out on Saturday.
- No. 20 Kansas State 32, Iowa St. 28
- No. 24 Missouri 49, Toledo 24
- No. 4 Oklahoma 52, Tulsa 7
- Western Illinois 3, No. 18 Wisconsin 37
- McNeese State 24, No. 19 Nebraska 31
- Florida Atlantic 0, No. 2 Alabama 41
- South Carolina State 7, No. 23 Clemson 73
- No. 14 USC 13, No. 13 Stanford 10
- No. 15 Mississippi 41, Vanderbilt 3
- No. 7 Michigan State 27, No. 3 Oregon 46
- San Jose State 13, No. 5 Auburn 59
- No. 17 Arizona State 58, New Mexico 23
- East Carolina 23, No. 21 South Carolina 33
- Murray St. 21, No. 25 Louisville 66
- Michigan 0, No. 16 Notre Dame 31
- Citadel 12, No. 1 Florida State 37
- Northwestern St. 6, No. 10 Baylor 70
- Sam Houston St. 0, No. 12 LSU 56
- Lamar 3, No. 9 Texas A&M 73
- Virginia Tech 35, No. 8 Ohio St. 21
- San Diego St. 27, No. 21 North Carolina 31
- Memphis 35, No. 11 UCLA 42
Travin Dural, LSU, Three Rec., 94 Yards, Three TDs
Everything Dural caught on Saturday against Sam Houston State went for a score, and that included a 94-yard touchdown reception.
It made the second week in a row that the sophomore recorded a catch of 80 yards or more.
His speed and big-play ability will be a focus for the rest of the season for an LSU Tigers team that has no shortage of weapons.
Seth Russell, Baylor, 438 Passing Yards and Five TDs
Filling in for the injured Bryce Petty, Seth Russell lit up Northwestern St. in a major way. It's hard to have a better line of statistics than Russell did on Saturday.
The 6'3" 215-pound sophomore gave Baylor fans a glimpse of what they have to look forward to once he takes over the reins when Petty moves on to the NFL.
The 438 passing yards were more than Russell had accumulated during his entire freshman season. The most impressive aspect of the stat line is that it all came in the first half.
Amari Cooper, Alabama, 13 Rec., 189 Yards, TD
Only lightning could stop Amari Cooper and the Alabama offense on Saturday.
When an Alabama football record is equaled or broken, it's a big deal. On Saturday, Cooper matched DJ Hall's school record of 13 receptions. Cooper's 189 receiving yards marked the junior's fourth straight 100-plus-yard game. That's just one short of Hall's school record.
Obviously, Bama wasn't facing a premier opponent, but Cooper's production still deserves recognition.
Tanner McEvoy, Wisconsin, 338 Total Yards and Four TDs
The Western Illinois Leathernecks had no answer for Tanner McEvoy and the Wisconsin Badgers offense in the second half. After being held to just nine points through the first 30 minutes, the Badgers broke out, and McEvoy was a one-man wrecking crew in the second half.
McEvoy threw all three of his touchdown passes after halftime, and the defense clamped down to make this one a blowout.
This performance was a far cry from his two-interception struggle in Week 1 against LSU. Wisconsin fans can only hope McEvoy has saved some of this production for the remainder of the season.
Javorius "Buck" Allen, USC, 154 rushing yards
Though he didn't find the end zone, Javorius "Buck" Allen's day shouldn't be dismissed. Rushing for 154 yards against the Cardinal on the road is no small feat.
Last season, Stanford had the third-best rushing defense in the country. For Allen to have given USC such a steady performance on the ground, in a tight and sloppily played game, was invaluable.
If the Trojans' defense can continue to make the big plays it made today, and Allen can keep grinding out yards, USC could be the team to beat in the Pac-12.
Marcus Mariota, Oregon, 318 passing yards and Three TDs
Mariota did nothing but boost his Heisman Trophy chances on Saturday night. He stared down a Spartans defense that had begun to get to him late in the first half.
He used his weapons properly, hitting seven different receivers over the course of the game.
Mariota should have three weeks in a row to pad his stats against the likes of Wyoming, Washington State and Arizona before the Ducks meet UCLA on October 11.
Jake Waters, Kansas State, 377 Total Yards and Two TDs
Jake Waters simply wouldn't let his team lose. The Wildcats defense deserves credit for pitching a shutout in the second half, but Waters hurt the Cyclones with his arm and legs. Waters did most of his damage in the second half when the Wildcats turned the game around, but just before halftime, Waters led his team on a 10-play, 84-yard drive to grab momentum heading into the locker room.
Waters scored to culminate that drive.
His clutch run with less than two minutes was the play that most will remember from this very memorable game.
He now has six total touchdowns in two games this season.
Follow Brian Mazique, aka FranchisePlay, the Sports Video Game Journalist.
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