B/R's 2026 College Football Winners and Losers from Week 2

Welcome back, chaos. We're glad you're here.

Oklahoma State kicked off Week 2 in style, taking down No. 6 Oregon and providing the first shocking upset of the 2026 season. Also in the early window, Michigan bounced back from a horrible day to topple 11th-ranked Oklahoma.

And, as always, there's been a whole lot notable developments to track all around the college football world.

In addition to several other ranked teams playing in the evening, the prime-time spotlight will be shining on No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Texas for their Saturday night showdown in Austin.

This piece will be updated throughout Saturday's action.

Winner: Michigan's Recovery

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Western Michigan is a quality Group of Six team. It's important to remember that context when discussing Michigan's performance in Week 1.

At the same time, it was wholly embarrassing for the Wolverines to play so poorly. The offense looked horrible, and only a controversial replay decision gave U-M an opportunity to complete a miracle Hail Mary.

Given that performance, of course U-M was an underdog in Week 2. Oklahoma shut down Michigan's offense in last season's meeting, too.

So, naturally, the Wolverines knocked off OU 17-10.

Michigan still struggled to move the ball, gaining just 263 yards and scoring its winning touchdown after Jyaire Hill returned an interception to the six-yard line. This defense continues to carry the Maize and Blue.

But after such a terrible Week 1 showing, that's a massive win for Michigan.

Winner: Oklahoma State's Revenge

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Last season, Oregon laid a 69-3 smackdown on Oklahoma State while racking up 631 yards of offense and ceding only 211. About two weeks later, OSU fired longtime head coach Mike Gundy.

What a difference a year makes.

Oklahoma State—which was a 24-point underdog—stunned Oregon 39-31 this time around. Drew Mestemaker threw for 317 yards, rushed for 109 and totaled three touchdowns, including a gutsy rushing score in which he leapt over one Oregon defender and took a monster hit from another while airborne.

Incredibly, the Pokes became the first team in FBS history to snap a 10-plus game losing streak by beating a top-10 opponent.

Much of the national conversation will focus on how Oregon's rest-of-season outlook has changed, but Oklahoma State fully deserves its crown today.

Loser: Prediction Logic

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It doesn't make sense.

How does Michigan, on the heels of nearly falling to a MAC team, outlast a borderline top-10 SEC team? How does Oklahoma State, following a 14-point loss at Tulsa, turn around and defeat a perceived national championship threat?

For good measure, how does Utah State fall to lower-division Idaho State last Saturday yet take No. 19 Washington to the brink in a 16-14 U-Dub win?

It doesn't make sense.

As a card-carrying member of Team Chaos, I love that college football does not make sense. Upsets fuel an essential part of the sport.

How in the world, though, are we supposed to predict that? You want educated analysis, and I—along with hundreds, thousands of others—spend a large number of hours watching, dissecting, reviewing and explaining these games.

But sometimes, this beautiful sport just doesn't make sense. It's the best.

Winner: Michael Scott's Special Day

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When the final score is an 87-3 blowout—and that's not a typo—you're bound to see an impressive stat line or two. Generally, those players merit a golf clap while acknowledging the enormous gap in competition level.

However, we need to talk about Michael Scott's Dundie-worthy performance in James Madison's rout of FCS program Wagner.

A sophomore wideout, Scott made three catches for 45 yards. Oh, and he returned two punts for touchdowns—a couple of fun runs, you could say—and nearly took a kickoff to the house, returning it 92 yards before getting pushed out of bounds.

It's only Week 2. Because there aren't a ton of return touchdowns in a given season, though, Scott has legitimately put himself on the All-American radar.

That's a very quiet, very important takeaway from an otherwise forgettable game.

Loser: Big Ten's Afternoon

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Jedd Fisch

Michigan won! That was neat for the Big Ten.

Even beyond Oregon's jaw-dropping loss to Oklahoma State, though, the conference had a rather mediocre set of games in the daylight.

Washington needed to defend a Hail Mary as time expired to clip Utah State, escaping with a 16-14 victory. Minnesota had no answers for Kamario Taylor as visiting Mississippi State rolled to a 38-13 rout.

Purdue dropped a dramatic 38-36 double-overtime game at home to Wake Forest, and Illinois walked off its field with a 31-27 loss to Duke.

Safe to say the Big Ten would like Ohio State to salvage the evening slate!

Winner: BYU's Big 12 Opener

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Reggie Frischknecht

One down, eight to go.

BYU entered the campaign as a front-runner in the Big 12, but opening its conference slate with Arizona was no gift. Last year, it took a couple of overtimes for BYU to emerge with a nerve-wracking win.

Fortunately for the Cougars, they finished off the Cats more comfortably this season. Bear Bachmeier totaled 254 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-17 triumph.

The outcome wasn't a surprise, given 15th-ranked BYU's status as the favorite. The result doesn't alter the Big 12 discussion, either—but that's exactly the point. BYU prevented Arizona from throwing an early wrench into the league race.

For the Cougs, maintaining the status quo was the goal. Mission accomplished.