College Football: 50 Things We Learned from Week 2

With two weeks of the college football season now in the books, people are starting to get a better feel for their program and the kind of season they may be in store for.

Although very few teams have gotten into conference play, the shape of the college football season is starting to take form and as fans, we know we are in for another outstanding season.

Here are 50 things that we learned from the second week of the college football season.

Justin Blackmon Is a Freak

As if this needed to be confirmed, Justin Blackmon is the most NFL ready player in college football and showed it once again this week.

Against Arizona, Blackmon looked like a man against boys and easily hauled in a couple of scores.

Arizona Struggles Without Juron Criner

Nick Foles has done a great job developing a solid chemistry with star receiver Juron Criner but when Criner was unavailable for their game against Oklahoma State, the Wildcat offense struggled big time.

As this year goes on, it is imperative for the Arizona offensive line to come together and for Criner to stay healthy. Without those two things, Arizona will not be competitive in the Pac-12.

Heisman Voters Need to Take Note of Brandon Weeden

Through two games of the 2011 season, Brandon Weeden is very quietly putting up huge numbers and should quickly find his name on many people's Heisman lists.

Weeden already has thrown for 785 yards this season and has added five touchdowns. Look for those numbers to become more impressive against next week's opponent, Tulsa.

Missouri Will Not Compete with the Schools from Oklahoma

After an unimpressive victory over Miami of Ohio in the first week of the season and a loss at Arizona State, you can see that Missouri is going to struggle to live up to some of the preseason expectations.

Unless the Tigers can turn things around on defense, this could be a long year for Missouri fans.

Arizona State's Offense May Be Its True Strength

Coming into 2011, many believed Arizona State could be a serious contender in the Pac-12 South and that it would be due to their defense.

While the defense has made some big plays and stops when they have needed to, it is clear that the Sun Devils offense will help this team compete all year long.

The ASU Uniforms Are a Good Move

One thing that has become common around college football is the integration of picking certain games to go to an all black uniform.

This past Friday night, Arizona State broke out their all black look and it was something that looked sharp and should be kept around for the Sun Devils program.

College Overtime Is the Way to Go

After watching college football long enough, you come to realize that college football truly got it right with their overtime rules.

Unlike the NFL, both teams are given an opportunity to win the game they just battled 60 minutes for. This has presented fans with outstanding games and heart stopping moments.

College GameDay Was a Success at Michigan

For the first time, ESPN's College GameDay made a trip out to the Big House and set up shop on the University of Michigan.

The school put together a solid crowd and looked like a great atmosphere leading up to the first night game with Notre Dame.

Russell Wilson Has Settled in at Wisconsin

Through two weeks with Wisconsin, Russell Wilson has done exactly what people thought he would: turn the Badgers from a Big Ten contender to a Big Ten front runner.

The only thing that remains to be seen is how well Wilson is able to do when Wisconsin enters their conference schedule.

Erin Andrews Is the Highlight of College GameDay

Regardless of what school they are visiting or what guest they may have on, the highlight of Saturday morning for college football fans is Erin Andrews.

Oregon State Is in for a Long Year

After losing to Sacramento State in the opening week of the season, Oregon State followed it up with another poor effort against Wisconsin.

If the Beavers do not get things figured out on offense soon, they will not get back into a bowl game.

Ohio State Took Toledo Lightly

It was clear from the start of their game that Ohio State thought they could sleep walk their way to a victory over Toledo.

While they did manage to pull out a victory, Ohio State must be more prepared for their game against Miami next week.

Michigan State Took Week 1 to Heart

During the first week of the season, Michigan State seemed to be unprepared and unfocused against Youngstown State. This week, the Spartans came out ready to play and earned a huge victory over Florida Atlantic.

Auburn Shows Signs of Life

One week after pulling out a miracle comeback against Utah State, Auburn showed some signs of life this past week.

Going up against Mississippi State, many believed that the Bulldogs would come out and earn an easy victory but instead, Auburn got people's attention by earning the victory.

Lousiville Is in for a Rough Season

Last year, Louisville managed to become bowl eligible and hoped to build off that in 2011. After the performance that they put together against FIU, it is clear that the Cardinals will be taking a step backwards this season.

Michigan State Defense Gets Stat of the Week

Not only did Michigan State step up their level of play from the first week to the second week, but their defense also locked up the stat of the week. In their game against Florida Atlantic, the Spartans defense allowed only one first down all game.

West Virginia Took the Week off

Ohio State was not the only program that came into Week 2 with zero motivation. West Virginia fell victim to the same lack of motivation in their game against Norfolk State.

After a miserable first half, West Virginia came out ready to go in the second half and secured a victory.

Toledo Got Boise State's Attention

The one good thing that came from the game between Ohio State and Toledo is the solid performance by the Rockets acts as a wake up call for Boise State.

This coming week, Boise State takes on Toledo and are now aware of the fact that the Rockets can play up to their level if you take them lightly.

Time Outs Are Important

The game between Mississippi State and Auburn taught everyone a very important lesson that sometimes needs reminding. With a second and goal inside the Auburn 5-yard line, Mississippi State was stopped short on an option run but without any time outs, the Bulldogs watched time expire.

Pitt Is Not a Big East Contender

What we learned about Pitt this week is not a good thing. With a game against Maine, Pitt was another team that struggled to ever pull away and barely pulled off the victory 35-29.

If Pitt plays that way in conference play, they will be a non-factor.

Tar Heels Still Staying Focused

In the week leading up to summer camp, North Carolina fired Butch Davis as their head coach. North Carolina has adjusted well and finds themselves at 2-0 with victories over James Madison and Rutgers.

We will learn much more about the Tar Heels in two weeks when they take on Georgia Tech on the road.

Conference Play Is Right Around the Corner

There were some limited conference games this week but what it showed us is how much better conference games are when compared to most teams out of conference scheduled games.

No better example is needed than the ending between Mississippi State and Auburn, which came down to the last play.

The Situation Is a Spartans Fan

This week also saw maybe the strangest combination of people. During the Michigan State and Florida Atlantic game, Tom Izzo, head coach of Michigan State's basketball team, and "The Situation" Mike Sorrentino were on the field together.

More interesting was the fact that Sorrentino paid his own way for this trip.

LSU Still Looks Like the Class of the SEC

In the first week of the season, LSU came out and made a statement heard around the nation by defeating Oregon. For their encore, the Tigers had it easy when they played Northwestern State and ended up winning 49-3.

Trent Richardson Can Handle the Load

After a less then memorable performance in the first week of the season, Trent Richardson and the Crimson Tide headed up to Happy Valley for a game against Penn State.

In his second game as the main back, Richardson had an outstanding game and proved he could handle the load in a big game by rushing for 111 yards and two scores.

Seminoles Are Ready for the Sooners

With next week's game against Oklahoma up next for Florida State, they have shown that they look sharp and ready for that huge home test.

This week, the Seminoles took out Charleston Southern and rolled up a 62-10 and begin to prepare for the Sooners.

Oregon Can Still Score and Score Fast

After the offense was shutdown by LSU, people started to question Oregon's offense and if they could be as explosive as they were last year.

In their second week of the season, Oregon took on Nevada, who went 13-1 last year. The game was never in doubt as Oregon rolled up a 69-20 win.

DeAnthony Thomas Is the Top Freshman in the Nation

Despite turning the ball over twice last week, DeAnthony Thomas looked impressive against LSU and continued that trend against Nevada. In a lopsided victory, Thomas racked up 81 rushing yards, 93 receiving yards and two scores.

Through two weeks, Thomas has been the most explosive and dynamic true freshman in the nation and only appears to be getting better.

Arkansas Still Looks Impressive

After losing Ryan Mallett in the offseason and then Knile Davis during summer workouts, Arkansas came into the 2011 season with some serious questions.

Through two games this season, Arkansas has answered those questions with big wins but we will know more in two weeks when they play Alabama.

South Carolina's Defense Has Not Taken a Step Forward

Coming into 2011, South Carolina knew that if they wanted to compete for a SEC title, the defense needed to make strides from last years performance.

After shootouts with both ECU and Georgia, it has become clear that the Gamecocks defense is not up to par and that the offense must be sharp every time they touch the ball.

Mark Richt's Job Is Hanging in the Balance

The worst case scenario has come true for Georgia and their head coach Mark Richt. After two games, the Bulldogs are 0-2 and have not been very impressive in either performance, especially their defense.

With the rumbles loud to begin with, the fans and people surrounding the program will begin to push Richt out as head coach.

Notre Dame Cannot Get out of Their Own Way

For the second straight week, turnovers did the Irish in and prevented them from putting away a team they should have beaten.

Going into the fourth quarter, Notre Dame had a 17-point lead and then also had a three point lead with 30 seconds remaining.

When Michigan won on a last second touchdown, Notre Dame can only wonder what if they didn't give up the ball so much.

Michigan's Defense Still Prevents Them from Being a Conference Contender

While Michigan fans will be high on their late night victory over Notre Dame, one thing is glaringly obvious and that is the Michigan defense has not improved from last year and will be their Achilles heel when they enter conference play.

Until the Wolverines get things fixed defensively, Michigan will remain around seven or eight wins.

Chris Rainey Continues to Impress for Florida

After an impressive first week, Chris Rainey was just as good in the second week of the season. More importantly, the Gators offense is rolling under new offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.

South Florida Will Push West Virginia for the Conference Title

After taking out Notre Dame in the first week of the season, South Florida continued to look impressive, this time against Ball State.

With as weak as the Big East appears, the Bulls appear to be the team that will challenge the Mountaineers for the conference crown.

Texas Still Has Some Issues

Anytime you see three quarterbacks get involved in a game that is won by one point and there were no injuries, you know that things do not go all that well.

For Texas, they managed to pull out a one point win over BYU but still have a lot to figure out on the offensive side of the ball.

It's Not over Til It's over

The game between Notre Dame and Michigan showed us that it truly isn't over til it's over. With a little over a minute left, Notre Dame drove the field in four plays and scored a touchdown that appeared to put them up for good.

With around 30 seconds left, Michigan got the ball back and pulled off a miracle of their own by getting into the end zone with two seconds remaining.

Cliff Harris Is Back

Preseason All-American Cliff Harris was suspended for the LSU game after some questionable decisions in the offseason.

On Saturday morning, Coach Kelly reinstated Harris but he did not end up seeing the field until clean up duty late in the game. It will be interesting to see when Harris is allowed to start again.

Andrew Luck Still Looks NFL Ready

The smart kids got together for a game this week as Stanford and Duke went up against each other. For the second straight week, Andrew Luck looked calm and cool and in control of the Stanford offense. It is clear that Luck will make an NFL team very lucky next year.

Notre Dame Is Not BCS Bound

After a second straight loss where Notre Dame should have won, it is yet another year where the Irish were all hype.

With games still remaining against Michigan State, USC and Stanford, Notre Dame will likely be a four or six loss team and not get back to the BCS.

Cheerleaders Still Help Pass the Time

In between whistles, quarters and plays, nothing helps pass the time better then the lovely ladies on the sideline.

Act More Like Dogs

We learned that college football coaches can provide us with outstanding moments at any time.

NFL Does Not Give Us the Same Thrills That College Does

While football is football, college football has shown us that with the fans, bands, cheerleaders and every week meaning something, that college football gives fans more bang for their buck.

Tyler Bray Is the Right Choice at Tennessee

For the second straight week, Tennessee has earned a victory and again, Tyler Bray has looked good as the Vols quarterback.

This week against Cincinnati, Bray threw for 405 yards and four scores and appears to be getting stronger.

TCU Will Not Challenge Boise State

After a first week loss to Baylor and a less then impressive victory over Air Force, it is clear that the losses in the offseason may be too much for TCU to handle.

The bad news for TCU this year is that Boise State is in their conference and the Horned Frogs are making a trip to the smurf turf this year.

LaMichael James Can Return Punts

With the injury to Kenjon Barney and suspension of Cliff Harris, LaMichael James had been put back deep to return punts in the first two weeks.

It was not until yesterday that James got an opportunity to do something with a punt and he ended up taking it the distance.

Florida State vs. Oklahoma Should Be Fun

Despite the Sooners having the week off and Florida State beating up on a lesser opponent, we all know that when Oklahoma heads to Florida we are in store for an outstanding game.

Both teams will enter the game with electric offenses and solid defenses and we should be in for a much better game than last year.

Night Game at the Big House Was Overdue

After the success of Saturday night's game at the Big House, one things is for sure and that is a night game at Michigan Stadium was well overdue.

Based on how successful this game was, I would expect that the Wolverines will look to schedule Michigan State at night in the near future.

Week 3 Should Be Fun

After a fun week of football, take a look at some of the games scheduled for next week:

• LSU vs. Mississippi State
• Michigan State vs. Notre Dame
• Ohio State vs. Miami
• Florida State vs. Oklahoma

Remember 9/11

As we continue to enjoy football, remember the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom.