College football is unpredictable and charming, so we live for what happens on Saturdays. And the second Saturday of the 2024 season did not disappoint, from an emotional standpoint. Thomas’s Hammock and his Northern Illinois Huskies upsetting No. 5 Notre Dame to Nebraska’s emphatic return to national relevance and much more.
Each Sunday, I’ll be posting the biggest takeaways from the weekend of college football. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, follow College Football Playoff contenders, and specifically highlight individual and team performances that deserve to be highlighted.
Here are my most important takeaways from Week 2:
1. The Marcus Freeman era at Notre Dame includes another bad surprise.
The Fighting Irish coach, who is in his third year on the job, has some big wins under his belt, but he also has a major problem. He’s the head coach of a blue-blood program, and he’s having trouble beating the teams he’s supposed to beat. Two years ago, it was Marshall in Freeman’s home opener. This time, it was Northern Illinois that notched the first win over an AP Top 10 team in program history. “We’ve been here before,” Freeman said after Saturday’s 16-14 loss to the Huskies. That’s not good. Notre Dame should easily dispatch overmatched opponents and instead strolls through games against teams that think they can actually beat them. The Irish are everyone’s Super Bowl, as the saying goes. And they forget it.
Beating Texas A&M last weekend was a huge accomplishment, one of the best wins anyone has managed so far this season. But the luster of a brilliant victory like that quickly fades when it’s followed by a huge disappointment and an inexplicable loss. Quarterback Riley Leonard He hasn’t done much to prove he can lead an explosive offense that can stretch the field vertically and sustain drives. I think he’s capable of both, but we haven’t seen it yet.
2. Texas is a real national title contender.
If anyone thought the Longhorns’ run to the College Football Playoff last year wasn’t replicable, what we saw from Texas in Ann Arbor should dispel any doubt. Of course, the 2024 Michigan team is a far cry from the 2023 version that won a national championship, but the Longhorns’ dominant performance on both sides of the ball against a team that used to control both in every game was nonetheless notable. Texas has a quarterback with Heisman Trophy hopes. Quinn’s Showers (along with the most enviable backup quarterback situation in the country), physicality on both lines of scrimmage and key players at skill positions. It’s time for us to include Texas in the small group of national championship contenders (along with Georgia and Ohio State) for the season.
3. Michigan has problems that may not be solved this season.
I didn’t expect the Wolverines to beat Texas on Saturday, but I thought they were going to win. By the end of Michigan’s first offensive possession, it was clear that the Wolverines wouldn’t have enough offense to get it done. That’s the fault of the offensive line. That’s the fault of the lack of a running game. That’s the fault of the quarterback. There are a few reasons Michigan couldn’t pursue a better quarterback than the one on the current roster (the Wolverines’ postseason run ran so late; their only chance would have been in the spring, and I don’t think there were any better options), but it’s a limiting factor. Davis Warren He can throw a good ball, but can he make up for a weak offensive line? Alex Orji He can run, but can he throw the ball effectively and efficiently if needed? And if this offense can’t control the game at the line of scrimmage and run the ball when called upon, what chance does its defense have? With a challenging schedule ahead, it’s hard to imagine an in-season solution. Maybe we’ll have to dedicate this season to a rebuild and see what happens in the offseason.
4. Nebraska is real.
I spent most of last week with the Huskers, who were feeling pretty confident that they could avenge last year’s loss to Colorado as long as they didn’t make a bunch of self-inflicted mistakes. So I wasn’t too surprised to see a completely dominant defensive performance — the defensive line felt like it was going to win. Shedeur Sanders on the field early and often, and an impressive performance from a true rookie Dylan RaiolaNebraska Coach Matt Rhule He said afterward that a lot of the pregame talk was about Colorado’s stars, but the Huskers’ defense is what really shined in the game. He’s right. But I’d argue the most significant development for this team overall is that Raiola doesn’t turn the ball over. He hasn’t in two games, and the minus-17 turnover differential a year ago is what cost Nebraska its chance at bowl eligibility. If the Huskers can play clean football like they have in two games, they’re going to be bowling by mid-October. They might even be 7-0 heading into their matchup against Ohio State, which is mind-boggling, considering the Huskers’ recent history, and also perfectly in line with the second-year surge that typically accompanies a Rhule rebuild.
5. Colorado is not real.
Last year, it took until the fourth game for the Buffs to confront the cold, hard truth … that they weren’t a great college football team. That they weren’t a Pac-12 or CFP contender. This year, that dose of reality came sooner, in a Week 2 loss to Nebraska. It turns out Colorado’s offensive line is as porous as we thought. And Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr. can only do so much as individuals, especially if Nebraska has figured out effective ways to limit them. What will Deion Sanders do next? How do you respond to a loss like Saturday’s to Nebraska? We haven’t seen Coach Prime recruit. We haven’t seen midseason adjustments beyond panicked personnel changes. We also haven’t seen him take concrete steps to build a program that lasts beyond him (or even accounts for next season and the season after that). So I don’t know what that means for this season. But I do know that this isn’t a team set up to win a lot of games.
6. Oregon is still a work in progress.
The Ducks are supposed to be national championship contenders. They’re not supposed to allow more sacks (7) through two games than they did all of last season (5). A last-second field goal isn’t supposed to be necessary to beat a Group of 5 opponent, even if said Group of 5 opponent is Boise State. Oregon coach Dan Lanning He was visibly frustrated at the end of Saturday’s game, which was understandable. Two games, two disappointing wins. Nobody expected the Ducks’ season to start like this, even considering everything that was lost in the NFL draft. While I’d say it’s nice to have about a month between now and the big game against Ohio State, that’s not exactly comforting because Oregon has struggled against teams it shouldn’t. The Ducks’ next three opponents are precisely the teams they should beat easily, but we’ll have to see how they fare.
7. Fran Brown is right: Kyle McCord is an ideal player for Syracuse.
Maybe he’s going to send some champagne to Columbus after all. We’re seeing production from McCord that we never saw from the quarterback during his lone year as the starting quarterback at Ohio State. Through two games (and two wins), McCord has thrown for 735 passing yards and eight touchdowns. He’s thrown for four touchdowns in both games, after never having a four-touchdown performance as a Buckeye with so much more talent around him. But it works at Syracuse! He seems more confident. He’s playing with more emotion. There’s something about this place and this player, and that’s why the transfer portal can be a good thing in this sport. It provides second chances and the opportunity for a better fit.
8. We are already seeing a byproduct of the CFP expansion.
The Group of 5 teams have a lot more to play for. I’m not saying they didn’t have anything to play for before, but when there’s a designated spot in the 12-team CFP field, it just feels different. Northern Illinois just got a win that could be unmatched by any of its peers with a top-five win over Notre Dame. Boise State had a chance to get a win over Oregon to considerably boost its CFP resume and narrowly missed out, but should still get credit for playing so closely to the Ducks. The committee is well aware of this. Ashton Jeanty And the damage it can do. This matters! And I think we are already seeing it in the effort, the motivation and even in the results so far.
9. Is Hugh Freeze’s seat heated?
At least things are heating up. An ugly 21-14 Auburn loss to Cal is not what you want to see in Year 2 for a coach who returned to the SEC because he had won virtually everywhere he’d been, regardless of the scandals. Payton Thorne He doesn’t have enough talent to help Auburn take a step forward, let alone when he throws four interceptions in a single game. Freeze has said he didn’t want to spend six figures on a newcomer quarterback this offseason, and it appears that was a mistake. In Thorne’s 15 games at Auburn against FBS teams, he’s averaging 126 passing yards per game, and he’s thrown a total of 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, according to CBS Sports. There’s some talent around Thorne, but he doesn’t seem like he’ll be able to maximize it. Which will further frustrate an impatient fan base.
10. Kentucky was sacked five times. Its quarterbacks completed just six passes total.
That was one of the worst performances the Wildcats could have had, particularly in the second half on Saturday. They were never ahead against South Carolina, a team that was predicted to finish among the worst in the Southeastern Conference in the preseason. The Georgia transfer quarterback Brock Vandagrifo Completed 3 of 10 passes for 30 yards. Backup (and transfer from Rutgers) Gavin Wimsatt He completed 3 of 7 passes for 14 yards. Each threw an interception. It was one of the most putrid offensive performances I’ve seen in a long time in a conference game, in the conference that is considered the strongest in the country. I don’t know what to say, but I find it remarkable and something to keep in mind as we continue to Mark leans over‘The program moves forward.