2011 College Football: Grading the Top 25 Teams' Performances from Week 2

The second week of the 2011 college football season is in the books, and the Top 25 teams gave us another round of exciting action.

For some, the competition level increased somewhat over what they experienced in the first week. Others got to hone their setups against somewhat weaker competition. Still, others saw no particular change in that regard.

Questions were answered this weekend. Then again, other questions were raised. 

Did Auburn really take such a huge step back this season, or are they still capable of making a lot of noise in the SEC? Is Ohio State really OK after all of the drama and losses they've sustained? 

Who looks the best in the Pac-12? What about the Big Ten?

I'll grade the action of the Top 25 from this past week, and you can decide for yourself the answers to those questions.

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No. 25 TCU Beat Air Force 35-19

Air Force presented an interesting opponent for the Horned Frogs. The Falcons brought a very strong rush attack into the contest, and fans might note that TCU gave up 150 yards on the ground in the first week.

The difference in this game however, is that the Falcons have no particular pass attack. One dimensional offenses are easier to defend than the more balanced offenses, like the one Baylor brought to the table last week.

TCU never struggled in this one. They jumped out to a 21-0 lead and took a comfortable 21-3 lead into halftime. The Horned Frogs outscored the Falcons 14-6 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 35-9 before finally conceding a few points in the fourth.

Their passing efficiency was far better than Air Force's, and they out-gained them 206-167 through the air. The run game was a little less than the Falcons' (204-249), if only barely. They gave up some yards, but didn't give up the points, and that's what truly matters.

Defensively, the Frogs were strong again. They didn't allow anything meaningful until very late in the game when everything was well in hand. They grabbed a couple of fumble recoveries to help offset the one their offense turned over.

All-in-all, it was a solid performance against a team that is a little more dangerous than many will give them credit for.

Grade: A

No. 24 Texas over Brigham Young 17-16

BYU started the season with a road win at Ole Miss. Does that make them a power? Not really.

Texas was ranked.  Does that mean they should easily take care of such teams? Not necessarily.

Obviously, there are still issues with this Longhorn team that need to be addressed over the course of the season. The sooner the better.

As for this contest, Texas fell behind early. The Longhorns trailed 13-0 early in the second quarter and didn't get any points on the board until 1:44 left in the first half. They battled on through the second half, and Cody Johnson finally put them on top on a four-yard TD run with 8:46 left to go in the game.

From there, Texas' defense held on for the win.

It was ugly and largely unimpressive. The Longhorns were just 4-of-12 on third down conversions. Their messy quarterback situation provided just 123 meaningful yards and failed to score any points, while Garrett Gilbert tossed up a couple of picks.

The defense was OK. They gave up 192 yards through the air, but only allowed 43 yards on the ground on 23 attempts. They also took away a couple of interceptions of their own.

The toughest part to gauge is just how good BYU really is. The win over Ole Miss isn't overly impressive, and this game was somewhat sloppy. If they turn out to be a Top 25 team later on (don't count on it), then this could be a quality win for Texas, no matter how unimpressive it looks at the time. 

However, if BYU ends up a mid-tier team again, then this is just another too-close call for a team that so many want to be good—for the sake of the Big 12 if nothing else.

Grade: C+

No. 23 Penn State Drops to Alabama 11-27

Penn State needed to make a statement. They needed to clear up their quarterback controversy, and they needed to show that they could compete with the top programs in the nation.

Score aside, this wasn't a complete failure. They did clear up some of the quarterback controversy. Rob Bolden clearly looked to be the better choice for the Nittany Lions and earned the starting spot going forward. Whether Joe Paterno sees that is someone else's guess, but there should be no doubt about Bolden's potential.

What's more, the defense really didn't look bad at all against a very tough Crimson Tide attack.  Giving up 27 points isn't a great thing, but you can't expect a defense to hold down a team like Alabama for very long. The offense has to do their part to control the tempo of the game and keep the opponent off the field.

The stat sheets really aren't that far off.  Both teams were 8-of-17 on third down conversions.  Alabama only out-passed Penn State 163 yards to 144. 

The ground game is where the Tide outperformed Penn State (196 yards to 107), but even that isn't enough to indicate such a lopsided score.

As with last January's bowl game against Florida, turnovers killed Penn State. Two lost fumbles and an interception killed three potential drives. Those are needed points left on the field. 

The offense was merely OK, and the defense was about as good as you could expect. 

Grade: B-

No. 22 South Florida Dominates Ball State 37-7

How good is Ball State? We don't really know. They did beat Indiana in Week 1, but does that say anything? Last season, they finished just 4-8. 

So, it would be expected of a Top 25 team to dominate the Cardinals. South Florida delivered.

It wasn't without hiccups. The Bulls converted just 5 of 14 third down situations, and their quarterbacks combined for two turnovers while just tossing one touchdown. 

Darrell Scott had a good game, carrying the ball 11 times and picking up 82 yards and a touchdown.

The defense picked up a fumble early in the first quarter and carried it back for a score.  They held Ball State off the board until 13:13 left to go in the game and picked up a couple more fumbles through the course of the contest.

The offense more than doubled Ball State's passing yards (372 to 148) and nearly doubled the running yards as well (147 to 77). Overall, they out-gained the Cardinals 519 yards to 225.

Problems or not, that's dominance.

Still, we can't ignore the issues South Florida did have. We can't ignore the two interceptions thrown and we can't ignore the problems on third down, even though they did grab 33 first downs to Ball State's 12. 

These things won't hurt too much, though. They didn't allow those gaffes to affect the outcome of the game.

Grade: A-

No. 21 Missouri Loses to Arizona State 30-37 OT

This was maybe the strangest game of the weekend. I'm still befuddled over the ending to that game.

This wasn't a defensive showdown by any stretch. Missouri out-gained the Sun Devils 501 yards to 492. Even for overtime, that's a lot of yardage chewed up in one game.

The Sun Devils out-performed the Tigers through the air, completing for 388 yards on 33 attempts versus Missouri's 319 yards on 42 attempts. 

On the ground, Missouri held the edge, gaining 182 yards on 37 carries against Arizona State's 104 yards on 31 attempts. 

Arizona State had the lone turnover of the game, as they handed over a fumble.

The stats are all well and good, but they don't tell the story of how Missouri lost this game. In fact, based on stats alone, it's no wonder the thing went into overtime.  These two teams were about as evenly matched as you can get.

What baffles me most is what Head Coach Gary Pinkel did at the end of regulation.  With the game on the line, his team sitting 30 yards away from victory, and his kicker warmed up for a shot to nail it, Pinkel called time out.

Not just once, mind you. Twice.

The first time, I wondered what he saw that he didn't like. The second time, I was practically screaming at the television screen. 

Kickers don't need time to evaluate the situation. They need to just kick the ball. Was it outside of his range? Does it matter? 

He's got to kick it regardless.  Kickers need to just step up and kick—not think about how long the kick is or how big it is in the grand scheme of the game. 

They...just...kick.

Gary Pinkel iced his own kicker. I would have expected Arizona State to call time out. In fact, I expected them to burn all three of their timeouts.  They didn't need them with just 17 seconds left on the clock. 

But Arizona State didn't need to call them. Pinkel did the job for them. Adding three more timeouts to Grant Ressel's misery wouldn't have made a bit of difference. He'd already had plenty of time for his nerves to take over and to over-think the situation at hand.

Obviously, he missed the kick. Go ahead and gasp in shock. I know. I feel your consternation.

As for pure field performance, Missouri probably deserves at least a B.  Maybe a B-. 

James Franklin tossed the ball for 319 yards and two scores without a pick.  Henry Josey carried the rock just nine times for 94 yards.  The defense wasn't spectacular, but they did just enough to give Missouri a shot at winning the game.

However, thanks to the baffling drama of icing their own kicker, Gary Pinkel earns his team a C- (though I want to give them a D)

No. 20 Baylor Idle

Baylor also had a week off, watching their Big 12 brethren battle and paying close attention to what was going on around the nation.

After coming away with a defining win over TCU last week, Baylor has relatively smooth sailing for a while ahead.

Up next is a showdown with mighty (read the sarcasm) Stephen F. Austin, followed by a rousing home stand against Rice.

Early October sees a road trip to Kansas State followed by a home stand against Iowa State.

While it's not wise to underestimate opponents, regardless of how easy they may seem, there's no reason to think that Baylor can't go deep into October undefeated.

Mid-October through early November, however, has Baylor facing three (currently) ranked opponents. Two of them are on the road at Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. The home date following is against Missouri.

No. 1 Oklahoma looms late in the season on November 19.

The season will get awfully rough for the Bears later on. For now, they got to relax a little this weekend and prepare for a few very beatable teams in the near future.

Grade: N/A

No. 19 West Virginia Cruises over Norfolk State 55-12

Well, Norfolk State isn't a super thrilling competitor, so how harsh do we need to be in grading this West Virginia crew?

QB Geno Smith had an excellent showing. He completed 20 of 34 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns. The Mountaineers put up 533 yards to Norfolk State's 285. 

By far, most of that was through the air, as West Virginia threw for 431 yards compared to just 102 yards on the ground.

However, West Virginia was just 4-of-11 on third down conversions and lost the time-of-possession battle 25:53 to 34:07 for Norfolk State.

What's more, "cruising to victory" is something of a misnomer. In fact, Norfolk State put up the first six points (two field goals) and led the game 12-10 at the end of the first half.

The second half was all West Virginia, as they scored 45 unanswered points. Still, it took an awfully long time for things to start ticking. 

Both teams played relatively smart football, as there were no turnovers anywhere to be found.  However, the Mountaineers gave up 85 yards on penalties, and the ground game was less than impressive. 

The slow start wasn't detrimental, and a case can be made that the halftime adjustments were spot on. However, against a team like Norfolk State, the only adjustments that should have had to be made would be which back-ups are going in for the second half.

There's no good excuse for allowing the Spartans to put their backs against the wall the way they did in the first half, especially not for a FBS Top 25 program like West Virginia is supposed to be.

Several arguments have been made that the Big East doesn't deserve an automatic bid into a BCS bowl, and West Virginia did very little in the first half of this game to dispel those arguments. 

So, which should I grade, the first half or the second? I have to grade the overall performance, and overall, they were just OK.

Grade: C+

No. 18 Florida Beat UAB 39-0

This was our first shot at seeing UAB in action, and it didn't go so well.

Florida put up 512 yards of offense against the Blazers and jumped up to a 13-0 first quarter lead. At the half, the Gators were up 25-0 and added two more rushing TDs in the third quarter to reach the final score.

QB John Brantley was efficient, hitting on 12 of 19 passes for 195 yards, though he didn't find the end zone. 

The ground game was thoroughly dominant for the Gators, though. Chris Rainey, Mike Gillislee and Trey Burton all averaged over seven yards per carry and all three scored.  Rainey logged 119 yards on his 16 carries.

The defense was strong, not only holding the Blazers scoreless, but also holding them well under 100 yards rushing (71) and under 150 yards passing (141).

The Blazers went just 4-8 last year, though they did play tough against both Tennessee and Mississippi State, losing the first 29-32 and the second 24-29.

Those games aside, they weren't overly impressive last year, and we have little reason to believe they'll be a lot better this season.

With that in mind, Florida's victory is nice, but not spectacular. They did what they needed to do, performed well and came away with a convincing victory. It showcased their strength in the ground game and should provide a small measure of confidence going forward.

Nothing stood out as a huge weakness that needs to be addressed immediately, at least.

All-in-all, though the air attack could have been more impressive, this was exactly what was expected.

Grade: A

No. 17 Michigan State Bowled Florida Atlantic 44-0

Poor Florida Atlantic.  Their first game of the season was a 3-41 loss to Florida.  Their second was a 0-44 thumping to Michigan State. 

The start of the season couldn't be too much more difficult.

Want to talk dominance?  How about 27 first downs for the Spartans versus just one for the Owls?  How about 246 passing yards versus just 26?  Or what about 188 rushing yards to just 22?

It was a nearly flawless performance for Michigan State. 

QB Kirk Cousins completed 16 of 21 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Le'Veon Bell, Nick Hill and Edwin Baker all averaged four yards per carry or better. Both Baker and Bell scored touchdowns.

The defense not only held the Owls scoreless, but picked up a fumble and returned it 37 yards for a score.

There were no turnovers for the Spartans, and they only committed three penalties for just 20 yards. 

The special teams did allow a couple of long kick returns, if you're looking for something to hold against the Spartans. They weren't completely perfect on the day.

Still, it was a comfortable performance by a team looking to insert themselves back in the Big Ten title hunt.

That may be where the real importance of this game lies. While Ohio State looked very human, Iowa had their weaknesses exposed for all the world to see, and with Nebraska looking a little shaky, Michigan State looked the part of a conference title contender.

Grade: A

16. Mississippi State Loses to Auburn 34-41

Were the Bulldogs overrated? Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

It's too easy to point to a loss against an unraked team and say "see? They were overrated."  This wasn't just any unranked team, though. This was Auburn and the Tigers had a little something to prove after struggling in their opener to Utah State.

This was a dogfight to the bitter end. 

Auburn jumped up by two scores early in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs roared back to tie it at 14 before the start of the second. They briefly took the lead early in the second quarter, but allowed Auburn to put up two more scores.

A field goal to close the gap to 24-28 didn't last, as the Tigers stormed downfield and put up a field goal of their own to lead 31-24 at the break.

The second half was a dual of field goal-for-field goal and touchdown-for-touchdown. Ultimately, the Bulldogs couldn't get that one extra score to steal away the win.

Look at the stat sheets, though. Mississippi State out-performed the Tigers in nearly every category. 

They were 11 of 20 on third down conversions. The Bulldogs put up 531 yards to Auburn's 381.  They had roughly 50 more passing yards and nearly 100 more rushing yards.

They dominated the time of possession 36:07 to 23:53. 

The turnovers were pretty much a wash, with both teams picking off passes for touchdowns.

So, how did they lose?

I think it all comes down to timing. Mississippi State allowed Auburn to make the big plays when they needed them. The Bulldogs allowed Auburn to jump out to a lead and gain needed confidence and momentum. 

Even though they countered, they never quite found the ability to stop the Tigers when a huge stop would have been enough to turn the tide permanently in their favor. 

Offensively, the Bulldogs did well. Defensively, they didn't do enough.

Grade: B-

No. 15 Ohio State Escapes Toledo 27-22

After last week's 42-0 victory over Akron, I was prepared to state that the Buckeyes were going to be just fine without their departed/missing players. I was beginning to tell people that they could easily challenge Wisconsin for the Leaders Division title and Big Ten championship.

What a difference a week can make.

No, Akron wasn't anyone particularly good. But is Toledo that much better?

Sure, the Rockets finished 2010 with an 8-5 record that included a 31-20 victory over Purdue.  That was their only real win of note, though. 

Teams like Toledo just don't compete with the likes of Ohio State.

But compete they did. They kept Ohio State on the ropes all game long and even had the Buckeyes down 22-21 with just over three minutes to go in the game. A Carlos Hyde two-yard touchdown run with 3:17 to go, followed by one last defensive stand, sealed an unlikely escape for Ohio State.

The only statistic Ohio State dominated was the run game. The Buckeyes picked up 112 yards while allowing only 46.

In virtually every other category, Toledo went punch-for-punch with Ohio State. The Rockets even spotted the Buckeyes 102 yards on penalties while only getting 13 in return.

While future Big Ten opponents may take great heart in Ohio State's struggles with Toledo, this is exactly the opposite of what Luke Fickell and the Ohio State team wanted to see. They have been struggling mightily to put the off-field issues of last year behind them and have been stubbornly insisting that they would be just fine.

Last weekend, Ohio State looked anything but fine, and going forward, they are going to have a huge bullseye on their backs.

The only thing keeping this grade from being an outright F is the fact that they won, however ugly it may have been.

Grade: D-

No. 14 Arkansas Whips New Mexico 52-3

Arkansas made a strong statement for being a Top 10 team with a horribly lopsided victory over New Mexico.

Sure, this was just New Mexico—the Lobo team that went 1-11 last year and lost to Colorado State 10-14 in the first week. This wasn't the same as destroying a team with a pulse.

Still, we've already seen other teams struggle against opposition that should be far inferior.  Arkansas didn't allow that to happen to them.

The Razorbacks put up 373 yards through the air and 259 more on the ground to out-pace the Lobos 632 yards to 297.

QB Tyler Wilson 18 of 26 for 259 yards and a score. He also added a score on the ground, but threw a pick as well.

RB Ronnie Wingo Jr. averaged over six yards per each of his 12 carries.

The defense allowed only a 47-yard field goal in the first quarter, then locked the Lobos off the board the rest of the game.

The interception and a fumble provided the only dark spots of the afternoon. Other than those two gaffes, there is nothing to be upset about with this game.

What does it mean going forward? 

It means that Arkansas is what they're advertised to be at this point. They're not making mountains of mole hills and they're clearly capable of taking care of business. 

With Alabama, Texas A&M and Auburn coming up fairly quickly on the schedule, wins like this one are important. Arkansas has very good reason to believe they can compete with these teams and reason to suspect that they can win a fair number of them.

Those turnovers will affect their grade a little, though.

Grade: B+

No. 13 Oregon over Nevada 69-20

This was the kind of performance Oregon needed following their Week 1 loss to LSU.

No, it's not going to erase the memory of that stunning defeat, but it shows that this team is still a tough competitor and still capable of putting up a lot of points.

Certainly, there's nothing wrong with this offense. QB Darron Thomas tossed for 295 yards and six touchdowns. He also ran the ball eight times for 81 yards, showcasing his dual-threat capabilities.

LaMichael James also averaged 5.6 yards per carry and picked up a touchdown on the day.

Overall, Oregon put up 603 yards of offense on the day. Again, there's nothing wrong with that unit.

Now, you want the good news or the bad news?

The good news is, Oregon's defense came up with three interceptions on the day, returning them for 112 yards and a touchdown. More good news is that the special teams had a 58 yard return for a score.

The bad news is, this defense still isn't showing us much.

Oregon allowed the Wolfpack to put up 516 yards of offense of their own. That production was fairly evenly distributed between the air attack and the ground game. Nevada passed for 233 yards and ran for 283 more.

The score could have potentially been closer if the Wolfpack didn't shoot themselves in the feet with three turnovers. In fact, the Wolfpack held the ball a full 16.5 minutes longer than the Ducks did. They just couldn't finish off their drives with anything meaningful.

That, and Oregon scored fairly quickly when they had the ball.

Overall, the offense gets high marks. They were as dangerous and explosive as we thought they should be.  However, the defense is still a major issue and one that could cause them big problems down the road.

Grade: B

No. 12 South Carolina Edges Georgia 45-42

It's been a rough start to the year for Georgia, hasn't it?  First, they lose to Boise State and then they follow it up with a heart-breaker against South Carolina.

This isn't about the Bulldogs, though. This is about South Carolina.

The Gamecocks are either good at winning the close games, or are very lucky. Right now, it looks a little more like the former, but don't discount the latter.

Georgia actually out-paced South Carolina slightly, picking up 436 yards to 395.  The Bulldog pass attack grabbed 248 to the Gamecocks' 142.

RB Marcus Lattimore was the difference-maker, though. On 27 hard carries, Lattimore picked up 176 yards and a touchdown. That's called taking a game onto your shoulders and delivering.

Melvin Ingram also had a fantastic carry, scurrying 68 yards for a score. Ingram added to that with a five yard fumble recovery for another score.

It was that last score that sealed the day for South Carolina. The score at the time saw SC hanging onto a thin 38-35 lead. Ingram's recovery pushed it to 45-35, and Georgia just didn't have time to answer that many points.

This is arguably a nicer win for South Carolina than their Week 1 victory over East Carolina.  Don't snicker. East Carolina also gave Virginia Tech fits this past weekend. They're a pretty good team in their own right.

However, Georgia started the year ranked, and many thought they might return to the upper echelon in short order. They were a team on the cusp, which brings with it a certain amount of respectability.

This win, along with VT's struggles against ECU, are something of a justification for South Carolina.

The offense wasn't super pretty. Stephen Garcia was just 11 for 25 with a touchdown and two interceptions. He wasn't nearly the hero of this game that he was last week.

Lattimore provided the spark offensively, and that spark was more like a white-hot fire. 

The defense was hit and miss. They created and recovered two fumbles and intercepted one pass. On the other hand, they allowed Aaron Murray to throw for 248 yards and four touchdowns. 

They also allowed Isaiah Crowell to burn them for over seven yards per carry, 118 yards and another score. They allowed Georgia to pick up 23 first downs, while their own offense only picked up 15.

This was a good win for the Gamecocks—one they can take forward with a measure of confidence in their offense.  Their defense however, still has some questions to answer.

Grade: B

No 11. Virginia Tech Escapes East Carolina 17-10

So, you think East Carolina isn't for real? If not, then I guess you believe that both South Carolina and Virginia Tech are horribly overrated. Those are the only two choices you really have.

Virginia Tech had an idea what they were getting into. They had seen how rough it was for South Carolina to get past the Pirates the week before.

Knowing that wasn't enough to keep East Carolina from carrying a 7-3 lead into halftime. It wasn't enough to keep them from tying the game 10-10 in the third quarter.

The Hokies dominated the ground game. David Wilson picked up 138 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, and QB Logan Thomas gained another 66 yards, averaging six yards per carry. It was Jake Oglesby that provided Tech's two touchdowns on the ground.

The pass game was far less effective. Thomas completed just 8 of 20 passes for only 91 yards and an interception. 

The defense allowed QB Dominque Davis to complete 20 of 38 passes, but limited him to 127 yards and an interception. They held the Pirate run game to negative 15 yards.

The overall yardage saw VT nearly tripling ECU's offensive output 332 yards to 112. Tech just couldn't finish off the drives they put together.

Should we punish Virginia Tech for struggling against a team that also gave South Carolina fits—a team that shows a fierce defense and unbending offense?

We do expect a little better of our ranked teams. 

It was a good effort for a tough victory.

Grade: B-

No. 10 Nebraska Beats Fresno State 42-29

Don't kid yourself about that score. It wasn't as lopsided as the score may indicate. In fact, Fresno State led the Cornhuskers 17-14 at halftime. The Bulldogs clung a mere two-point deficit with just 12 minutes left to go in the game.

The Bulldogs went straight at Nebraska and didn't let off. They were never intimidated by the Cornhuskers and made Nebraska beat them in the trenches.

Nebraska's feared defense allowed 254 yards through the air and 190 more on the ground, surrendering 444 total yards to the Bulldogs. They took away a fumble—perhaps the brightest spot in the effort.

Ameer Abdullah had a fantastic 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Offensively, Taylor Martinez was up and down. On the one hand, he rushed the ball 15 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

On the other, he completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes and threw just one touchdown to two interceptions. 

Rex Burkhead was a little over average, picking up 55 yards on 15 carries (3.7 ave.), but scored twice.

It was an up-and-down day for Nebraska. They had highlights and they had low-lights. They struggled against a team that lost to California in the opening week by a score of 21-36. That would be unranked California. 

Nebraska is supposed to be one of the best in their new conference. They're supposed to be a Top 10 team. 

Overall, they played more like a mid-tier program than a contender.

Grade: C

No. 9 Oklahoma State over Arizona 37-14

Oklahoma State never struggled with Arizona. Jumping out immediately, the Cowboys ran up a 21-0 first half lead. It wasn't until midway through the third quarter that Keola Antonin put Arizona on the board.

The Wildcats wouldn't see another score until 10:03 in the fourth, when Nick Foles finally tossed a touchdown pass to Dan Buckner.

Oklahoma State never gave them a chance. That might actually be an overstatement.

Oklahoma State gave them some chances. However, they closed the door on them before they could materialize into points.

QB Brandon Weeden threw the ball for 397 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Joseph Randall ran the ball 15 times for 121 yards and two more touchdowns. Jeremy Smith added another 65 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

The defense did its job in the strictest sense of the word. They held Arizona long enough and hard enough to allow their offense to win the game.

In truth, the Cowboy defense stopped the Wildcat run game. Arizona only tried to carry the ball 21 times, and were held to 41 yards. Then, it became a moot point to even try.

They did allow Nick Foles to pass for nearly 400 yards. That's not overly damning considering Foles threw 51 passes and connected on 37 of them.

Weeden did throw an interception, but the defense never allowed it to become a factor.  Momentum never shifted. Arizona never got close to closing the gap.

This was a solid showing all the way around for Oklahoma State. They took hold of the momentum, grabbed the lead and never looked back.

Grade: A

No. 8 Wisconsin Crushed Oregon State 35-0

Once again, we're faced with grading the performance of a Top 25 team against a clearly inferior opponent.  The Beavers lost their opening game 28-29 to Sacramento State. Yup...quality competition.

QB Russell Wilson continues to look very comfortable in his new surrounding, with 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns. 

Montee Ball also continues to thunder onward, piling up 118 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns. James White also added 53 yards on the ground.

The defense allowed the Beavers to put up 261 yards through the air, but it didn't really matter.  They never allowed them to do anything with those yards. They held the Beavers to just 23 yards rushing on the day, and gave up zero turnovers.

Could the margin of victory been higher? Sure, it could have been. However, that's really nitpicking to the extreme. Is it really necessary to run the score sky high in order to make a statement?

So, what does Wisconsin take from this victory?

This victory tells Wisconsin that they're right on track. While they haven't been truly tested yet, they've not let their guard down or stumbled against anyone they should have dominated.  They've taken care of business and played smart, aggressive football.

Northern Illinois will provide a slightly tougher test. After that, the Badgers get another soft target in a visit from South Dakota.

After that however, things get interesting. Nebraska comes to town. Then, a couple of weeks later, the Badgers will have to go on the road to Michigan State and Ohio State on consecutive weeks.

In this one, Wisconsin took care of business. They dominated the scoreboard and allowed nothing significant from the other side.

Grade: A

No. 7 Texas A&M Idle

 Texas A&M was idle this week, resting from their 46-14 victory over SMU in week 1. 

Plus, I'm sure they've got some courting to do and some friends to make in their search for a place in the SEC.

Coming up, the Aggies have some stiff competition in front of them. This coming weekend, they host Utah. Immediately after, they host Oklahoma State followed by a visit from Arkansas. 

After all of that, it's a trip to Texas Tech and a home date against Baylor.

That amounts to three ranked teams in the next five opponents, with Oklahoma and Texas still waiting further down the schedule.

Hope they got some rest this week.

Grade: N/A

No. 6 Stanford Takes Care of Duke 44-14

Basketball power Duke lost to Richmond on the gridiron in Week 1. What chance did they stand against a Cardinal team that took care of Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl last January?

Stanford had a little bit of a fight on their hands in the first half. Duke kept the game to within 10-7 with under a minute to go in the half. A touchdown with just 39 seconds left extended the lead to 17-7 at the break.

Stanford took firm control in the second half, however, and put up 28 straight points before finally allowing the Blue Devils to put a final notch on the board on a touchdown with just 57 seconds left.

Andrew Luck continued to make a case for the Heisman Trophy, completing 20 of 28 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns.  A pick-six didn't help his cause any, though. It didn't really hurt Stanford in the end, but giving up points like that is never a good thing.

Stepfan Taylor led the charge on the ground, picking up 75 yards on just 14 carries. In total, Stanford's runners amassed 205 yards on the ground.

Stanford's defense allowed 305 yards, passing on 39 attempts. That's probably the bad news, along with the pick-six Luck threw. 

However, for the yards the Cardinal gave up through the air, they didn't allow a passing touchdown. They only allowed one rushing touchdown, and that was in junk time.

There were a few mistakes, but they didn't really hurt the overall outcome. 

The grade has to reflect those mistakes, however.  Against a team like Duke, near-perfection is expected.

Grade: B+

No. 5 Florida State Rolls Charleston Southern 62-10

Florida State got a nice little layup against Charleston Southern before they have to take on the top ranked team in the nation next week.

As would be expected, the outcome of this one was never in doubt. The Seminoles took command early in the game and never relinquished it, running up a 34-0 lead by halftime.

QB EJ Manuel completed 24 of 35 passes for 329 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.  Clint Trickett also completed 6-of-7 for 148 yards and two more touchdowns.

The pass game was working just fine. The interception aside, the Seminole quarterbacks were efficient and productive. 

James Wilder. Jr. carried the ball 10 times for 76 yards.

All said and told, the Seminoles put up 477 yards passing to just 63 by CSU and out-ran CSU 170 yards to 21. The Seminoles put up more than five times as many yards as CSU, out-pacing them 647 to 84. 

What more do you really want? I suppose a shutout would have been nice, but really?  Is that necessary?

The Seminoles did what you'd expect them to do against such a clearly inferior team.

Grade: A

No. 4 Boise State Idle

Question: Did the Broncos get rid of their hideous uniforms from the first week? Somebody please tell me we never have to see those things again. I may be in the minority, but I'd rather see Maryland's funky uniforms again before those horrible things Boise wore.

OK, enough of that, I suppose.

Boise was down this week, patiently waiting their trip to Toledo. What a statement it would make if the Broncos could make easier work of the Rockets on the road than Ohio State did, huh? 

Of course, that statement would likely be more about Ohio State's woes than Boise's relative strength, but that's beside the point.

After Toledo, Boise State has home dates against Tulsa and Nevada before going on the road to Fresno State and Colorado State.

The Broncos should be favored in the rest of their games this season.

Grade: N/A

No. 3 Alabama Defeats Penn State 27-11

The Crimson Tide went on the road to face their first real test of the 2011 season and came away looking good. Penn State didn't back down, but it made little difference, as Alabama knocked the Nittany Lions into submission.

AJ McCarron was efficient enough, completing 19 of 31 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown.  He never gave up a pick.

Trent Richardson crossed the century mark against a fairly stiff defense, picking up 111 yards on 26 carries and a pair of touchdowns. Eddie Lacy also picked up 85 yards on 11 carries.

The defense played solid, tough football. The Tide held Silas Redd to 65 yards on 22 carries and one score.  Rob Bolden was allowed to pass for 144 yards and run for 65 more, but he was unable to score.

Put this into perspective a moment. Alabama went into one of the largest venues in all of college football to play a strong defensive team with a dual-threat quarterback on the road. 

This Penn State team looks better than the one that came to Tuscaloosa last year. 

Despite all of that, Alabama held Penn State's bigger playmakers to minimal numbers and walked away with a big win.

Bama forced two fumbles and an interception while turning over nothing. The Crimson Tide had Penn State down 27-3 until the last two minutes, when they finally surrendered a touchdown and a two-point conversion. 

As if either mattered at that point.

Solid showing in a quality win.

Grade: A

No. 2 LSU Takes Care of Northwestern State 49-3

LSU was coming off a huge victory over Oregon in Week 1. Looming ahead are two more ranked opponents in Mississippi State and West Virginia.

This was what you'd call a break. It was a breather—a layup.

The Tigers did allow a field goal early in the second quarter. That was it. That was the only mercy score allowed in a romp that saw LSU out-pace Northwestern State 400 total yards to just 95.

If you want to really split hairs and look for something to pick on, LSU did give up a fumble.  Did it matter?  Not really.

They also took away an interception.

Jarrett Lee was efficient, completing 9-of-10 passes for a touchdown. Zach Mettenberger even got a shot to pad his stats, completing 8-of-11 and also tossing a score.

Michael Ford added a couple of scores on the back of 72 yards on 13 carries. Alfred Blue also picked up a score and 53 yards on the ground.

What is there really to say about this game? LSU looked like LSU beating up on a weak Northwestern State team. They did what you'd expect them to do.

Good showing, good win.  Now on to more difficult opponents.

Grade: A

No. 1 Oklahoma Was Idle

The No. 1 team in the nation wasn't in action this past weekend. Bummer for their fans. Down weeks can be long weeks, waiting for your team to take the field again.

Oklahoma got a chance to sit back, drink some cold beverages and watch their future competition in action. Call it a free scouting weekend. 

Next up for the Sooners is a road trip to play Florida State. After the Seminoles, the Sooners will host Missouri, Ball State and Texas.

At least a few of those teams might present something of a challenge. 

In light of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, allow me to please say: Remember those who were lost, Think of those who have sacrificed since, and never forget.  -SS