Winners and Losers from Week 2 of College Football
A boring slate of games turned into an amazing day of college football—just like what always seems to happen.
There were upsets. There was controversy. There were highlights unlike anything we've ever seen.
And that was just Oklahoma State-Central Michigan!
With so much going on—including one player tying the FBS touchdown record—there were bound to be winners and losers.
Here's a look at where things settled after Week 2.
Winner: Lamar Jackson
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A one-week wonder, Lamar Jackson is not.
Fresh off an eight-touchdown half against Charlotte, the breakout sophomore looked even better against Syracuse. He shredded the Orange for 411 passing yards, 199 rushing yards and five total touchdowns in a 62-28 rout, running circles through a defense that quite literally looked beneath him.
No other FBS quarterback has ever thrown for 400 yards and rushed for 175 yards in the same game, according to Paul Myerberg of USA Today. Jackson posted those numbers in the first three quarters and fell one yard short of a ludicrous 400-200.
"You get mad because they couldn’t catch the guy," Syracuse head coach Dino Babers told reporters after the game. "He’s the fastest guy on the football field, on both teams.
"I saw him outrun contain, where three guys were exactly where they were supposed to be and we should have tackled for a two‐yard loss, and he runs all the way to the other side for an eight-yard gain."
Jackson has already clinched the "September Heisman." If he keeps this up, the real Heisman might be next.
Loser: Deshaun Watson
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Another thing helping Lamar Jackson's Heisman bid? One of the preseason favorites, Deshaun Watson, has been a mess.
His final stats look decent (292 yards passing, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 55 yards rushing), but don't let them deceive you into thinking he played well. His deep ball remained erratic, his decision-making wasn't much better and his offense scored just 13 points in the first three quarters in a 30-24 win over Troy.
Even on his one first-half touchdown, Watson overthrew his target, forcing Austin Renfrow to make an acrobatic catch. Later in the half, he underthrew an open receiver on what should have been an easy touchdown, allowing the defender to recover and break up the pass.
A win is a win, but Week 2 damaged Watson's Heisman stock. It can't have helped his NFL draft stock, either. Last week's sluggish effort got a mulligan because Auburn might be good—but struggling against a Sun Belt team?
That's harder to excuse.
Winner: The Cardiac Chippewas
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Central Michigan upset No. 22 Oklahoma State on a play you need to see to believe.
Trailing 27-24 at the buzzer, Chippewas quarterback Cooper Rush launched a bomb. It was caught on the 9-yard line by Jesse Kroll, who was bear-hugged by a defender and appeared to be going down. But just before his knee touched the ground, he squirted a lateral to his teammate, Malik Fountain.
Fountain cut across the field and scored the game-winning touchdown.
The finish conjured memories of the 2014 Bahamas Bowl, when Central Michigan scored at the buzzer on a miraculous hook-and-lateral. The Chippewas went for two instead of kicking the PAT and forcing overtime, and they failed the conversion and lost by one.
On Saturday, they performed a miracle and came out victorious.
Despite what you're about to read on the next slide, they earned this spot.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Loser: MAC Refs
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One thing we failed to mention on the previous slide: Central Michigan's last-second touchdown shouldn't have counted.
In fact, it should have never taken place.
With four seconds left, Oklahoma State had the ball and faced fourth down near midfield. Instead of punting, it ran a play designed to last more than four seconds. Mason Rudolph dropped back and aired a pass that ran the clock out, which appeared to end the game.
But since Rudolph was in the pocket and had no intended receiver, the referees flagged him for intentional grounding. That's how Central Michigan got the ball back.
The issue? Even with that penalty, the game should have been over, as explained by Nick Bromberg of Dr. Saturday:
"The NCAA rulebook states that a period is extended if a penalty is accepted for a live ball foul but “the period is not extended if the foul is by the team in possession and the statement of the penalty includes loss of down.” The sentence in quotes applies perfectly to Oklahoma State. The Cowboys had the ball and committed a foul (intentional grounding) that includes a loss of down.
Oops. This game will go down in the annals of officiating mistakes as one of the more memorable ones.
"
The Mid-American Conference crew that worked the game admitted afterward it got the call wrong, according to Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman. But final scores are just that: final.
There's nothing Oklahoma State can do.
Winner: Kalen Ballage
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Kalen Ballage might still be shedding arm tackles.
The Arizona State running back tied an FBS record with eight touchdowns against Texas Tech. He scored on more than half of his 15 touches and in the process racked up 185 yards.
Granted, he posted those numbers against Texas Tech—a defense softer than that of most Division II teams. It was still a ridiculous showing for a player, and an offense, that has flown under the national radar.
It's hard to make national headlines in games that kick off at 10:30 p.m. ET, but there's no way to ignore this type of performance.
ASU beat Texas Tech, 68-55.
Winner: Pittsburgh's Ground Game
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Even with depth issues at linebacker, Penn State's defense isn't terrible.
But you wouldn't know from watching Pittsburgh steamroll it.
Until a slow finish, the Panthers did whatever they wanted on the ground, looking bigger, stronger and tougher than their in-state rival. By the fourth quarter, they already had 328 rushing yards—more than Penn State had allowed in a game under head coach James Franklin.
James Conner led the way with 117 yards on 22 carries, while receiver Quadree Henderson and quarterback Nathan Peterman contributed with 50-plus yards apiece. Behind them, three more players rushed for 28-36 yards, which shows what kind of holes the line was paving.
It's worth noting that Penn State scored 39 points of its own, and the Panthers won by just three, 42-39. But if head coach Pat Narduzzi can fix the defense—which happens to be his speciality—this team could have a nice year.
Loser: Georgia
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Stop me if you've heard this before.
A historically strong SEC team enters the season with high expectations. In Week 1, it looks a little sloppy but prevails against an ACC team in Atlanta. In Week 2, it inexplicably struggles against—but escapes from—what should have been an FCS pushover.
You've heard that before? Yup. It was 2015 Auburn.
And now, it's officially 2016 Georgia too.
The Bulldogs survived a close call Saturday, beating Nicholls State 26-24. The game stayed in doubt for all 60 minutes, and despite the win, the team took a giant step back. Auburn at least struggled against a good FCS team (Jacksonville State). Nicholls State has gone 9-48 the past five years.
The Tigers were an abject disappointment last season, going 6-6 after preseason playoff hype, including 4-6 after those first two victories. Georgia needs to shake this comparison ASAP.
Winner: Florida
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After struggling last week against UMass, Florida bounced back and beat the stuffing out of Kentucky.
The Gators held the Wildcats to 55 yards passing—including 10 on their first 13 attempts—and beat UK for the 30th consecutive time. After close calls the past two seasons, Florida got back to what it does best and blew Kentucky off the field, 45-7.
The most important takeaway was the state of Florida's offense, which easily hung six touchdowns on Kentucky. After appearing a little nervous in the opener, quarterback Luke Del Rio looked at ease and finished with 19 completions for 320 yards and four scores.
According to Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun, that's the first 300-yard game by a Florida quarterback since Tyler Murphy in 2013 against Vanderbilt.
Even if that's sad—in so many ways—for the Gators program, it's an encouraging sign for the current team.
Loser: Mark Stoops
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Last week, Kentucky blew a 25-point lead to Southern Miss, adding insult to injury by allowing former offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson's unit to score 34 unanswered points.
Understandably, that made this a big week for head coach Mark Stoops. He started strong in Lexington, making waves on the recruiting trail and in spring games, but his offseason success never translated to actual seasons.
He entered the year, and the week, on a burning seat.
And that's why what happened at Florida was so discouraging. The Wildcats came out with no energy, no plan and apparently no intention of winning, looking like a team that had quit on its coach.
"Stoops might catch a pink slip at the half," Robby Kalland of CBS Sports tweeted.
He didn't—but at some point, that seems inevitable.
Winner: Bret Bielema
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Bret Bielema has developed a reputation. He can't win in September or October, and he can't lose in November and December.
On Saturday, it appeared like more of the same. Arkansas led 20-7 after 50 minutes at TCU, but then the wheels started flying off. The Horned Frogs scored a touchdown. Then another. Then another. And just like that, they led 28-20.
But then, another plot twist. Arkansas didn't just fold. It fought back with a beautiful two-minute drill, driving 58 yards on four plays.
Needing a two-point conversion to force overtime, Bielema reached into the playbook and found a reverse pass to quarterback Austin Allen. It worked like a charm and was perfectly, Bert-tastically on brand.
From there, Arkansas made a number of winning plays, including blocking a 28-yard field goal to force overtime. It scored touchdowns in both overtime sessions, winning on the second after previously holding TCU to a field goal.
In total, it felt like a "turn the corner" moment for Bielema. And it came full circle against a quarterback—Kenny Hill—who two years ago led a comeback to beat Arkansas in overtime.
This year, things might finally be different.
Loser: Bob Diaco
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UConn played its tail off to set up a winnable scenario against Navy.
With 17 seconds to play, it had 2nd-and-goal from the Midshipmen goal line. Navy led 28-24. As long as it played its cards right, UConn had three shots at the end zone to win the game.
Bob Diaco did not play his cards right. Instead, he did the one thing he couldn't do.
He had UConn run straight up the middle, which got stuffed with no timeouts. But worse than no timeouts, it had no urgency, no plan of attack. The Huskies moseyed back to the line as time quickly ticked to zero.
Instead of three shots at the end zone, they got one.
"I am not making any excuses," Diaco said afterward, per Jim Fuller of the New Haven Register. "I take full accountability."
That's a noble response that underscores why Diaco—in spite of Saturday—is the right man to lead the rebuild at Connecticut. But it's not enough to earn him a free pass.
There's no excuse for such inept clock management.
Winner: Butch Jones
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Virginia Tech punched Tennessee in the mouth. After one quarter, it was 14-0 Hokies—and if not for a missed field goal, it could have been more.
But from there, it was all Vols everything. Butch Jones' team went on a 45-3 run, looking dominant on both sides of the ball. The offensive line finally clicked and moved bodies in the trenches, and the defense forced five Hokies turnovers.
It's hard to overstate how much Jones needed this. Tennessee opened the season No. 9 in the Associated Press poll, but through five quarters it barely looked like it belonged in the Top 50. Jones has been a great recruiter, but he was starting to look like that and nothing more.
In getting his team to roar back and throttle Virginia Tech, he proved he is also, you know…a football coach. He's capable of making adjustments, devising a game plan, inspiring a team.
Recruiting will always be his strength, but he's not just a recruiter—and Tennessee is not just a recruiting destination.
It's a contender.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
