Week 2 of the college football season has come and gone, and it was certainly a doozy.
The highlight came in Tuscaloosa as Texas handed Alabama its first non-conference loss at Bryant-Denny Stadium since coach Nick Saban’s first season in 2007, sending a message to its future SEC foe.
In addition to the Longhorns announcing themselves under Steve Sarkisian, Miami seems to have made some strides in Year 2 under Mario Cristobal after handing Texas A&M a loss that will surely be frustrating for Aggies fans.
Deion Sanders kept Colorado rolling in its home-opener against Nebraska, as well, setting up a potentially fascinating matchup between likely unbeaten teams when the Buffs travel to face Oregon in Week 4.
With the second weekend of the season now behind us, here were the winners and losers.
Winner: A Notre Dame offense with the juice to compete
The early returns on Wake Forest transfer quarterback Sam Hartman were promising, but contests against Navy and Tennessee State weren’t the best to gauge how explosive this offense could be against Power Five competition.
Well, that unit passed its first real test on the road against NC State, battling a rain delay to eventually pull away in what was mostly a tight game to win 45-24. Hartman continued his prolific start to the year, throwing for 286 yards and four touchdowns on just 15 completions.
Just discussing Hartman would be telling only half the story, though. This team has a dangerous run game led by Audric Estime, who had 134 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries Saturday. Through just three games, he already sits at 345 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the campaign.
Every Power Five conference has at least one team that looks capable of making the College Football Playoff, but the Fighting Irish could prove to be a wild card in that race.
Loser: The worst case scenario for Houston
They don’t make losses much more brutal than the one Houston took on Saturday. The Cougars had a stunningly bad start to their game against Rice, falling behind 28-0 behind an explosive passing attack from quarterback JT Daniels.
Houston overcame that deficit with an improbable comeback to force overtime, but they ultimately fell by two points in two extra periods.
For a coach in Dana Holgorsen whose seat was far from cool, this is the kind of early-season loss you just can’t afford to take, especially when you’re staring down the barrel of a Big 12 conference schedule for the first time.
Money folks in Houston are surely not pleased about the Cougs losing to their cross-town rival (and perceived little brother) in the Owls, and it feels like the only thing that could save Holgorsen at this point would be an upset win over a big-time in-state program like Texas in league play.
Winner: Miami silences the critics
Year 1 was brutal for Miami under Cristobal, no matter how you slice it. The Hurricanes missed a bowl game at 5-7, they suffered several embarrassing losses and they ultimately parted with both coordinators after just one season.
After all of that, there were some justifiable concerns coming into this year. Miami’s win over a Texas A&M team with a lot of questions itself doesn’t exactly erase those concerns, but it sure goes a long way.
Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke looked like the passer who flashed down the stretch in 2021, not the one who struggled to even hold down the job in 2022. He threw for 374 yards and five touchdowns, three of which went to Jacolby George.
Despite finishing with 94 yards, George wasn’t even the leading receiver. That honor went to Xavier Restrepo, who had 126 yards on six catches.
This Miami offense looks dangerous, and while the defense allowing 33 points is a bit concerning, it forced turnovers when it mattered. We’ll see if this team can pose a threat to Florida State and others at the top of the conference.
Loser: Same old, same old from Texas A&M
On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine this game playing out in a more demoralizing way for the Aggies. The defense has all kinds of cause for concern after this one, and while the offense was productive, it also turned the ball over three times.
Two of those were interceptions from Connor Weigman, who clearly has talent but is also still being asked to do a lot in this offense, a sign that Jimbo Fisher may not have completely given the reins to new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
That’s not the only issue, either. Sophomore receiver Evan Stewart is a stud, but Texas A&M needs to find more playmakers around him. He caught 11 of Weigman’s 31 completions, and he may be shouldering too much of a load in this offense.
The Aggies are likely a more talented team overall than they were during last year’s five-win campaign. But some of the same issues persist, and with SEC play coming up, it feels like we could be heading for some trouble this fall in College Station.
Winner: Texas kills the meme
It’s over, folks. You can’t make the joke anymore.
They’re back. Texas is back.
And I don’t just mean back to relative consistency. I don’t even mean back to contending for conference titles. This team is a legitimate national championship contender, right now.
That’s what Steve Sarkisian has done for this program, and I can’t give him enough credit for that. He really showed off his offensive acumen on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa with a brilliant game plan that threw the Tide defense for a loop all night.
It allowed Quinn Ewers to cook, and he showed why the Longhorns probably sweep this home-and-home if he could’ve stayed healthy in last year’s contest. He cemented himself as a Heisman contender with a 348-yard, three-touchdown game.
The Texas defense gave up some big plays, which was to be expected, but it also fared well against a normally sturdy Alabama team in the trenches and hassled quarterback Jalen Milroe, who threw a pair of interceptions.
It was a truly impressive overall team performance, and it showed what this squad could be capable of. Texas is far and away the favorite out of the Big 12 at the moment, and this win could carry a lot of water if it’s ultimately in a position to earn a playoff spot.
Loser: The end of Alabama's era of dominance
I realize the humiliation I could be setting myself up for here. In the past, I’ve always refrained from declaring the Saban dynasty at Alabama dead for that exact reason. But I’m just not afraid of being proven wrong, anymore.
Alabama has lost games against good teams under Saban before. Several of those have even come on its home field. But Saturday night just felt different.
This team has flaws that just feel alien after watching this program for the past decade and a half. It has issues with discipline, it isn’t particularly menacing up front, it lacks playmakers out wide on par with those of other top programs and it has a quarterback in Milroe who can make a spectacular play one minute and make an entirely head-scratching one the next.
Excluding the first season under Saban, Saturday night’s loss was easily the worst of his tenure. In addition to serving as Saban’s first non-conference home loss since 2007, it was also the worst home loss the team has taken overall in his tenure.
Alabama just doesn’t lose like this. Or at least, it didn’t before.
This doesn’t mean the team is heading back out to wander the desert as it did in the years before Saban’s arrival, but it’s clear that the facade of the dynasty is starting to crumble. Saban is getting older, and his time in Tuscaloosa may be running out.
And when this team ultimately does fall back to Earth — as all dynasties eventually do — we may look at Saturday night’s loss as the beginning of the end.
Quick Hitters - Winners
- Kansas: The Jayhawks took down a Power Five team in Illinois in impressive fashion Friday night, a good start to what could be an exciting year in Lawrence. The Big 12 may have a bulky middle class this year, and it will be interesting to see where this program falls in that mix.
- Wake Forest: Expectations were pretty low this fall after losing Sam Hartman, but Dave Clawson is proving why he’s one of the best coaches in the business. Wake took care of business at home against Vanderbilt easily, not a stunning win but one that bodes well entering ACC play.
- Colorado: The Buffs continued to roll on Saturday, overcoming a slow start to pull away from Nebraska in the home opener under Deion Sanders. Assuming Colorado beats Colorado State next week, a likely matchup between undefeated ranked opponents in Eugene should be appointment television.
- James Madison: The Dukes may not be bowl eligible once again this fall, but they’re not letting that slow them down as they won a thriller on the road against an in-state Power Five program in Virginia. Let James Madison play in the postseason, you cowards.
- Ole Miss: Tulane didn’t have quarterback Michael Pratt, which took a bit of the wind out of this game’s sails. Still, the Rebels looked solid on both sides of the ball as they overcame an early deficit to beat a ranked team on the road. The SEC West may be wide open, so why couldn’t Lane Kiffin’s team contend?
- The FCS: We saw no FCS upsets in Week 1, but Week 2 more than made up for it. We saw three upsets in total as Southern Illinois beat a Northern Illinois team coming off a win over Boston College, Buffalo squandered a lead against Fordham and Nevada was absolutely boatraced by Idaho in a game that wasn’t even really an upset, if we’re being honest.
- Auburn: Before Saturday night, teams over the last five seasons were just 1-65 when turning the ball over four times and failing to record 15 first downs. Now, that record is 2-65 after some classic Auburn magic on the West Coast against Cal.
- Washington State: Despite an offseason that left the Cougars with existential questions beyond the football field, this team showed it’s still very much a contender in the Pac-12 with a win over ranked Wisconsin in Pullman. After the game, coach Jake Dickert was emotional while declaring that his team belongs in the Power Five, and the man isn’t wrong.
Jake Dickert gold.
Asked what this upset over No. 19 Wisconsin means for Pullman: "Everything…we belong in the Power Five." pic.twitter.com/4AWIY4Rlka— Alyssa Charlston (@Alyssacharlston) September 10, 2023
Quick Hitters - Losers
- Baylor: After a bad loss against Texas State to begin the season, Baylor had a top-15 Utah team on the ropes before allowing a late comeback and losing on a controversial pass-interference no-call in the end zone.
- Tulane: It’s brutal that the Green Wave didn’t have Pratt for what could have been a statement win. Still, Tulane acquitted itself well without him and should still be viewed as the top Group of Five program at the moment.
- Pittsburgh: That Kenny Pickett offense feels like a distant memory after the Panthers lost to Cincinnati on Saturday. All I’m going to say is that Pitt better not lose in Morgantown during next weekend’s Backyard Brawl.
- Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are 0-2 in a season that began with high expectations following a loss to Oregon. Texas Tech had a chance to win the game but was ultimately doomed by turnovers. This team should still finish in a decent spot, but this has been a tough start for morale.
- UConn: We thought UConn could be back to respectability after reaching a bowl and playing NC State tight in Storrs in Week 1. After a blowout loss against a Georgia State team that’s middling compared to the rest of the Group of Five, it’s fair to question if we jumped the gun with the Huskies.
- Vanderbilt: Another team that looked poised for a leap entering the season, the Commodores are 2-1 but have looked a bit dicey to begin the year. A win on Saturday would have gone a long way for Clark Lea, who will now likely need several SEC upsets to get to a bowl game.
- Virginia Tech: The Hokies needed a bounce-back in a major way heading into Brent Pry’s second season. Beating an Old Dominion team that has given them fits was a good start, but losing on your home field to a Purdue team coming off a loss to Fresno State was less encouraging, even coming off a nasty weather delay.
- Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz: The Hawkeyes recaptured the Cy-Hawk Trophy on Saturday as they now sit at 7-1 in the last eight games against Iowa State under head coach Kirk Ferentz. However, the result wasn’t ideal for offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz (some relation). Per a bizarre clause in the embattled play-caller’s contract, his deal will be terminated following the season if the team doesn’t average 25 points per game. Through two games, the team has scored 24 points and 20 points.
The Brian Ferentz Climb to 325 continues! Iowa comes up short of the 25 point mark this week with a 20-13 win over Iowa State.
Volume up. pic.twitter.com/F8QndHuj0Y
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) September 9, 2023
