College football week 2 is in the books. After every week fans can take away things from what happened on the field. Here are 5 things learned from college football week 2.
Related: 5 Things to watch in college football week 2
The most hyped-up game of the weekend was Michigan hosting Texas. In the game, Texas controlled the game and won easily, 31-12. On the side of the Longhorns, they looks like they are even better than last season, when they reached the CFP semifinals. They have a good offensive line and the defense has played well to start the season.
On the other hand, Michigan has a lot to figure out. It wasn’t going to be easy replacing so many coaches and players from their national championship season. They don’t recruit at an elite level, which hurts depth and now they have some holes on the depth chart. The quarterback position is the most notable thing to figure out, but receivers weren’t separating as well. Michigan’s offensive line didn’t get as much push. The Wolverines have a lot to figure out if they want to compete in the Big Ten this season.
Before the season, Nebraska and Tennessee had some decent expectations for the season. Even with those expectations, it looks like both were underrated. Nebraska defeated Colorado 28-10 and it looks like they have a star quarterback in Dylan Raiola. The schedule looks like the Cornhuskers could be 7-0 before taking on Ohio State.
Tennessee didn’t get the best play from young quarterback Nico Iamaleava, but still blew out a ranked NC State team. Their defense really stepped up and they were able to run the ball effectively. The Volunteers now look like CFP contenders and a current top 10 team.
Marcus Freeman has only been at Notre Dame for a few years, but it has been an up-and-down time for the Fighting Irish. They have notched some big wins, like they got in week 1 on the road against Texas A&M, but they also have some critical losses. That includes their loss to Marshall in 2022.
Another big loss for Notre Dame happened in week 2, as they lost to Northern Illinois 16-14. They were four-touchdown favorites. While the talent on the roster falls below the elite levels, they certainly had enough talent on the roster to win the game by a few scores. Freeman will have to do some soul-searching to figure out how to avoid these letdown losses.
There were a few games that looked like they were locked up, but then ended up going the other way. Iowa State was mentioned. They were down by 13 at halftime. While that’s not a large number, playing against Iowa’s defense makes that tough to overcome. The Cyclones got the job done. Another Big 12 team came back as Arkansas was up 21-10 on Oklahoma State. Mike Gundy’s squad came back to win in overtime 39-31.
Two other games had giant comebacks. Cincinnati was leading Pitt 27-6 and it looked like they had the game in the bag. Pittsburgh scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to win the game. Virginia also had a nice comeback at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons led 30-17. Virginia made a comeback at the end to win 31-30. These comebacks made the slate of games very entertaining.
Several things happened this week that impacted the group of five conferences’ spot for the College Football Playoff. Northern Illinois defeated Notre Dame on the road. The Huskies have a long way to go to earn CFP talk, but continuing to win will put them in the conversation. On top of that, Liberty stayed undefeated in regular season play by coming back to win against New Mexico State. They haven’t lost a regular season game since 2022.
Other teams showed up well in losses, which could impact the CFP committee’s impression of them at the end of the season. Boise State lost to Oregon by three on the road. USF played Alabama close before the Crimson Tide pulled away late. Tulane kept the game against Kansas State close. The battle between group of five teams for the CFP spot will be entertaining to watch in the first year of the 12-team playoff.
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