New Polls, New Questions: College Football Recap Week 2

Week two in college football taught us a few things, and has posed some new questions as well. Plenty of upsets across the board, as well as numerous close calls for the big boys in college football. With week two wrapped up, let's take a look at the week's winners and losers for week two:

ACC Winners:

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets were rolling Clemson, then it all fell apart. The inability for Josh Nesbitt to hit water from a boat was apparent all night. Tech got it together in the fourth quarter to seal up a much needed win for the Yellow Jackets against Clemson.

Clemson: Sure they lost, but the old Tigers would have rolled over and died. Dabo Sweeney is an excellent motivator for his players. A tough loss no doubt, but Clemson has shown the rest of the ACC how to defend Paul Johnson's spread.

North Carolina: A game that the ACC could not afford to lose. UCONN seemed to have it all the way, but the fourth quarter did the Huskies in. Butch Davis should be proud of his defense, but the Offense was nowhere to be found.

Wake Forest: Another must win for credibility for the ACC. Wake and Riley Skinner got it done against the Cardinal. Good OOC win.

ACC Losers:

Maryland: The Terrapins went to overtime, at home, against James Madison! They didn't lose, but it's been a tough two weeks for Ralph Friedgen and his Terps, after a blowout against Cal, and a nail biter from JMU.

Florida State: Close call against Jacksonville State? They better get it together when the travel to Provo for a clash with BYU. BYU will not fear the Seminoles.

Big Ten Winners:

Michigan: Tate Forcier and Rich Rodriguez look like a match made in Maize and Blue. Beating Notre Dame puts them in the Top 25. Maybe Rodriguez will infuse speed into this slacking conference.

Big Ten Losers:

Northwestern: A cupcake turns into a close game with Eastern Michigan, it seems like directional Michigan's gave the Big Ten trouble all week. N'western kicks two field goals in the fourth quarter to win the game by 3!

Michigan State: MSU loses to Central Michigan, after jumping offsides on a CMU field goal attempt, allowing the Chippewas another shot to beat the Spartans. CMU hits the field goal for the big "W."

Indiana: This time it's Western Michigan. Only a five point win, come on guys, they're called body bag games, not comedy routines.

Wisconsin: Fresno State comes to Madison, and should have left a winner. QB Ryan Colburn throws 3 interceptions, allowing Wisconsin to let out a sigh of relief.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes needed to beat USC, and should have won the game. Problem is that they didn't. No they allowed USC to drive down for the leading Touchdown and two-point conversion. The Ohio State broken record.

Purdue: Remember conference recognition and Big Ten football? Yeah, Purdue couldn't beat Oregon, just another loss against real competition.

Big 12 Winners:

None: Only cupcake wins this week.

Big 12 Losers:

Oklahoma State: Houston? On your home stadium? After you beat Georgia? Ladies and Gentleman: The College Football Conundrum.

Colorado: Blown out by Toledo. Dan Hawkins needs to go back to his Boise roots. Urban Meyer trusted his offense when he moved to a bigger conference. Hawkins hasn't trusted his.

Missouri: Bowling Green is on the road, and you need 14 fourth quarter points to win? After destroying Illinois? Maybe that's just proof of how bad the Illini are. At least you won the game.

Kansas State: A BCS win for the Sunbelt as Louisiana Lafayette wins with a field goal by a kicker who had never, I repeat never, attempted a field goal in college. Bad timing for that Bill Snyder five year extension.

Big East Winners:

Cupcakes again Big East? No real winners for this week, but we'll give 'em some credit.

Cincinnati: After destroying Rutgers, the Bearcats do the same to South East Missouri State. It's not impressive, but it got the 'Cats to jump Utah in the polls. No BCS bias, I'm sure..... NOT!

West Virginia: East Carolina isn't very good, they should be 0-2 but they can thank the lawn mower gods for thier first win. The Mountaineers showed, that they are mediocre at best this season.

Big East Losers:

UCONN: The only team to play a real BCS team, sorry Penn State v. Syracuse. Huskies choke away a shot at conference rep. At least there's basketball, well North Carolina has that too... Hmm.....

Conference USA Winners:

Houston: What to say? Houston took Oklahoma State out in their place, they're ranked and rightfully so. A GREAT win for the C-USA.

SMU: June Jones and Co. beat the Blazers of UAB. Any win for the program is a positive, especially a conference win.

Conference USA Losers:

East Carolina: Last year looks like a fluke after losing to a mediocre West Virginia squad.

Rice: Texas Tech without Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, and the Owls lose 55-10.

Memphis: Owned with a capital "O" against Middle Tennessee. The vaunted running game was shut down, as was all of the Tiger offense. Not a statement game for C-USA

Independent Winners:

Navy: Only team to win this week, beating Louisiana Tech.

Independent Losers:

Notre Dame: The Irish make Lou Holtz look crazier than we once thought. From undefeated and BCS title game to a Charlie Weis disappointment.

Army: Can't beat Duke, gave up 14 points on 2 plays, 2 interceptions returned for TDs.

MAC Winners:

Central Michigan: They went toe-to-toe with Michigan State. Dan Lefevour's first BCS win, he deserves it after his storied career.

Ohio: Goes for two against North Texas for the win in double over time. Ohio needed this game, as a North Texas loss would only hurt the league.

Bowling Green: My pick for the MAC Champions. Already beat Troy, and had Missouri on the ropes. Not a win, but still a great showing.

Toledo: Beating Colorado lost some of its luster after the Colorado State loss, but still a BCS win for the MAC.

MAC Losers:

Ball State: New Hampshire, if you didn't know they dont' play 1-A football. That means a North Texas and New Hampshire loss out of conference. Not good.

Buffalo: Playing at home and blown away by Pitt, the Bulls wouldn't be here if they put up a respectable showing.

Mountain West Winners:

TCU: Horned Frogs say no warm ups and put a stomping on Virginia on the road. The Horned Frogs were up 30-0 before bringing in the second team, that's where Virginia's 14 points came from.

BYU: Gotta win 'em all, and beat the teams you're supposed to convincingly. Done and Done as BYU storms the Green Wave of Tulane.

Utah: The Utes haven't lost since 2007. The streak continues as they beat San Jose state. This win of course, dropped Utah 2 spots in the polls.

UNLV: The Rebels were up on Oregon State until :07 seconds left as the Beavers escaped with a 23-21 win. Good showing for a team with not much to hope for in-conference.

Mountain West Losers:

Air Force: The Falcons would have loved a win against the Gophers on the road. Up 10-3 in the fourth quarter, Minnesota scored 17 points in a row. Leaving the Falcons with a sour taste in their mouths on the trip home.

Colorado State: The rams sneak by Webber State, with a fourth quarter touchdown. A win, but not one to brag about.

Pac-10 Winners:

UCLA: The Bruins show that last year wasn't a fluke and that the Vols aren't back. Winning a big game in Knoxville for Pac-10 pride.

USC: Southern Cal shows why they win championships and why Ohio State simply attends the games.

Oregon: The Ducks get a big win for the Pac-10 over the Big Ten. They also show some offense.

Pac-10 Losers:

Stanford: Up 17-3 at the half and losing 24-17 at the end. Not what Jim Harbaugh had in mind for his Cardinal.

Washington: First win in 15 games, sure it's Idaho, but a win is a win with a 15 game losing streak on your back.

Washington State: Blown away by the Warriors of Hawaii. Hawaii looks like a whole new club after week two.

Oregon State: Late drive gets the Beavers out of Paradise, Nevada with a 'W' not too impressive a road exhibition.

SEC Winners:

None: Cupcake games out of conference.

SEC Losers:

Tennessee: Jonathan Crompton throws for 96 yards and three interceptions. Looks like Western Kentucky makes everybody look like an All Star.

Georgia: After Losing to Oklahoma State, and now playing South Carolina tight, ranking this team in the top 25 is strictly based upon name recognition, not on the field play.

LSU: Vanderbilt comes to Death Valley and LSU makes them look competitive. LSU needs to figure it out, one week its the defense, next week it's the offense.

Sun Belt Winners:

Middle Tennessee: A Convincing win over Memphis. Tony Franklin's spread cuts through the Memphis defense. MT shuts down every facet of the Memphis ground game.

Louisiana Lafayette: The Ragin Cajuns get the Sun Belt's first BCS win of the season. Bill Snyder learns a valuable lesson regarding the changes in College Football.

Sun Belt Losers:

North Texas: If the Mean Green stop the two point conversion, they're 2-0 both winning as underdogs. Todd Dodge looks like he's getting the hang of the College Game.

The rest of the Sun Belt played BCS Squads: Alabama, Florida, South Florida, and Nebraska. Only South Florida traveled away from home, but they played Western Kentucky.

WAC Winners:

Boise State: See BYU. The Broncos took care of business the way you're forced to; to gain respect in the polls.

Hawaii: The Warriors win one against the Pac-10. It helps the perception of the conference not matter who it was.

Fresno State: Pat Hill takes on another BCS squad and gives them all they can handle. Mistakes cause the Bulldogs the agony of defeat, not the Badgers.

WAC Losers:

Louisiana Tech: La-Tech joined this conference for notoriety, they showed they haven't earned much as the fall to Navy.

My Top Ten Rankings:

As always, ratings are subject to change week to week. I take the teams based on their showings on the field, as opposed to where they play. Notoriety means nothing, all that matters is whose playing the best football.

• Florida
• USC
• Texas
• BYU
• Alabama
• Boise State
• Cal
• Penn State
• Ohio State
• Mississippi

This is after week two. I'll gladly answer any of your questions regarding opinions and rankings from this article. Remember, this is just one man's opinions, so let's keep the discussion civil.

Until next week college football fans.