Upsets reshuffle early expectations
If you wanted chaos, Week 2 delivered. South Florida walked off No. 13 Florida 18-16 on the road, stacking a second straight win over a ranked opponent after blasting then-No. 25 Boise State a week ago. Two weeks, two ranked scalps, and suddenly the Bulls are the team nobody had circled in August.
In Dallas, Baylor extended its mastery of SMU to 13 straight with a 48-45 double-overtime win decided by a walk-off field goal. The Bears kept answering in a game that turned into a nerve test, and the Mustangs learned again how thin the margin is in a rivalry they haven’t flipped in more than a decade.
The fallout? Florida faces a rankings freefall and some hard questions on offense after failing to close at home. Baylor’s road résumé gets an instant boost, while SMU’s ranking—No. 17 on kickoff—looks fragile after a defensive letdown in crunch time. And USF, now the best story through two Saturdays, is positioned to crash the Top 25 for the first time in years if pollsters reward actual results over brand names.
Elsewhere, rivalry edges stayed razor-thin. No. 16 Iowa State edged Iowa 16-13 to move to 3-0, a clean, patient performance built on field position and a fourth-quarter stand. Missouri slammed the door on its Border War matchup with a 63-yard touchdown sprint from Jamal Roberts, the kind of backbreaker that empties a sideline before it hits the end zone. Fresno State turned defense into points with a late pick-six to bury Oregon State, a reminder that style points come from both sides of the ball.
Scoreboards light up and the power teams flex
This was a big-number Saturday. Six teams crossed 60 points, and Ohio State set the tone with a 70-0 demolition of Grambling—a talent gap on full display from the first series. Blowouts like that don’t tell you everything, but they do confirm depth, tempo, and execution are already in midseason shape in Columbus.
No. 23 Indiana didn’t mess around either, rolling Kennesaw State 56-9 behind a clean, confident day from Fernando Mendoza. He went 18-of-25 for 245 yards and four touchdowns, found rhythm early, and kept it. Elijah Sarratt was the matchup problem all day—nine grabs, 97 yards, and three scores—while Lucas Beebe Jr. added 90 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries. That’s the kind of distribution that makes coordinators sleep better.
No. 24 Texas Tech shredded Kent State 62-14 with a balanced plan. Behren Morton carved up the secondary (18-of-26, 258 yards, three touchdowns) and didn’t force throws. Ashton Hill churned out 127 yards on 16 carries, giving the Red Raiders control of pace and field position. That combination—efficient quarterback play and a steady ground game—is exactly what wins tight conference games in October.
Top-15 brands handled business with fewer fireworks but plenty of control. No. 2 Penn State blanked FIU 34-0, a shutout that will please a defensive staff measuring fits and finishing, even if the offense didn’t have to empty the playbook. No. 11 Illinois beat Duke 45-19 with a mature performance—limit the freebies, finish drives, get off the field on third down. LSU swatted aside Louisiana Tech 23-7, while Georgia’s 28-6 cruise against Austin Peay looked like scripted reps for a team focused on the long haul.
So why all the scoring? Early September always skews toward offense: new coordinators unveiling packages, tempo snapping faster than defenses can substitute, and mismatches in nonconference scheduling amplifying talent gaps. The sport’s expanded playoff era also nudges teams to chase efficiency and margins—computers notice when you string together clean, explosive quarters.
Beyond the box scores, the storylines stack up fast:
- USF’s identity is travel-ready. Back-to-back ranked wins—one a battering, one a late-kick escape—hint at a defense that tightens in the fourth quarter and a special teams unit that doesn’t blink.
- Baylor’s resilience translates. Overtime execution requires communication, trust, and a kicker with a short memory. They had all three in Dallas.
- Ohio State’s depth is the headline. Second- and third-team rotations still overwhelmed, which is exactly what you want to see before league play.
- Indiana and Texas Tech showed repeatable formulas—accurate quarterbacks, featured playmakers, and balance. That travels.
Rankings ripple effects come next. Expect Florida to slide into the mid-20s or out of the poll entirely after the home loss. SMU likely dips several spots. Baylor should climb, maybe nudging toward the teens if voters weigh the road environment and the streak. And there’s a strong case for USF to join the Top 25 after two weeks of results that would move almost anyone in.
Rivalry takeaways are simple: Iowa State’s win over Iowa wasn’t pretty, and that’s the point. The Cyclones won the middle eight minutes around halftime, defended the whole field, and put the game in the hands of their defense late. Missouri trusted speed when it mattered; Roberts’s 63-yarder iced it because the offensive line carved a crease and a backfoot angle never closed. Fresno State’s pick-six is the cleanest sign a team is communicating in the secondary—jump the route, finish the play, and celebrate with a scoreboard that reflects it.
Drilling down on key performers, a few popped off the tape:
- Fernando Mendoza, Indiana: Four touchdown passes on 72% completions told the story—decision-making, touch, and comfort in structure.
- Elijah Sarratt, Indiana: Three touchdowns from a wideout changes red-zone math for defensive coordinators.
- Behren Morton, Texas Tech: Efficient, patient, and in rhythm. When he’s taking what’s there, the Red Raiders hum.
- Ashton Hill, Texas Tech: 127 on 16 carries isn’t just volume; it’s chunk plays and consistent second-and-short.
Zooming out, Week 2 felt like a microcosm of modern college football. Aggressive play-calling, special teams deciding ranked matchups, and depth dictating blowouts. For coaches, the film notes write themselves: tighten two-minute defense, tidy kickoff coverage, and keep third-and-medium manageable for your quarterback. For fans, it’s pure theater—walk-off kicks in Texas, defensive haymakers in the Valley, and a scoreboard sprint in Columbus.
The nightcap brought name recognition and stakes: No. 15 Michigan versus No. 18 Oklahoma, a late window tilt worthy of a spotlight. Michigan’s defense against Oklahoma’s pace is a classic contrast—the Wolverines want to muddy timing, the Sooners want to stretch windows horizontally and vertically. Win or lose, the prime-time pairing capped a Saturday that touched every corner of the sport: upstarts making noise, bluebloods flexing muscle, and the middle class trying to prove it belongs.
As conference slates loom, the checklist is clear for the teams that mattered Saturday: USF needs to turn adrenaline into consistency; Baylor has to bottle its overtime poise; Penn State will want cleaner red-zone efficiency; Georgia can sharpen chunk-play creation; Indiana and Texas Tech must show that balance works against better fronts. The next few weeks separate box-score bullies from programs with layered answers when opponents punch back.
For now, Week 2 gave us the snapshots that stick: a kick splitting uprights in Dallas, a shutout in State College, a 70-point avalanche in Columbus, and a sprint to the end zone in Columbia that felt like a track meet broke into a football game. September isn’t supposed to tell the whole story, but it sure knows how to write a compelling first chapter.
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