Week two of college football is in the books and it was a wild one.
Things were chaotic across the board as we saw three teams in the top 12 lose on Saturday.
As things were last week, one of the biggest takeaways were the quarterbacks, especially the ones that kicked off after 9pm central time.
Here are five noteworthy performances from Saturday that Vikings fans need to know.
Fresno State QB Jake Haener (almost) leads a game-winning drive
The Fresno State Bulldogs were in a dogfight against a gritty Oregon State program and Haener was the catalyst of that.
The Bulldogs were firmly in control for most of the second half but couldn’t score touchdowns when they got into the red zone. After going up 26-14, they seemed to be in control until the Beavs scored 15-straight points to take a 29-26 lead with under two minutes to go.
Haener led a crisp and calculated two-minute drill that ended up with a touchdown to Erik Brooks with 1:05 remaining. Haener showed off his above-average arm talent, crisp accuracy and outside of structure playmaking ability.
After having a great 2021 season, Haener has had a great start to 2022. His game against USC in the late night slot this upcoming Saturday will be a must-watch matchup with him and Caleb Williams.
BYU quarterback Jaren Hall
The trend with quarterbacks in the National Football League is off platform throwers that can create outside of structure. Baseball players, like Hall, will have an advantage over others.
His skill set is incredibly appealing. Hall has the arm to make every throw, can throw off platform regularly and has the ability to drop it in a bucket.
Jaren Hall is an NFL quarterback pic.twitter.com/DTpqsC4o4X
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) September 11, 2022
Without his two star receiver Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney, Hall led the Cougars down the field to tie the game against a great Baylor defense but as per usual, college kickers make things difficult as he missed a field goal at the end of regulation. With a game against Oregon on Saturday, Hall has a chance to do it during the 2:30 slot instead of late night.
Florida QB Anthony Richardson is a work in progress
Richardson had a fantastic week one against Utah that spiked him into the Heisman Trophy conversation and saw his odds spike from +4000 to +1400.
Saturday against Kentucky saw a different story for the redshirt sophomore quarterback. He was erratic in his passing. Completing only 40% of them, Richardson tried to throw a fastball to every player when he should be throwing changeups in certain situations.
Richardson reminds me a lot of Josh Allen when he was at Wyoming. A ball of clay with huge potential, Richardson has similar arm strength and just tries to throw missiles when using touch makes sense. Allen figured it out over time and Richardson, who is only three starts into his college career, has plenty of time to get there.
Georgia QB Stetson Bennett IV is better than you think
While he isn’t going to be a top prospect, Bennett IV is not a joke like a lot of people made him out to be.
Should he have gotten the job over J.T. Daniels? That can be debated but he did lead the Bulldogs to a National Championship so it’s hard to say it was the wrong choice.
Against Samford, Bennett wasn’t great but made every throw well and controlled. That’s the best way to describe Bennett.
Bennett IV doesn’t have the best arm but it is capable of making throws down the field. He has great touch on his passes and sees the field well. Plus, he has the skills to create outside of structure. He is already heavily on the radar of the Senior Bowl and will likely be a late round pick that lasts in the NFL as the backup for years.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers is the next big thing
Unfortunately for Texas, Ewers hurt his shoulder and will be out for 4-6 weeks. When he was in the game, Ewers had the Longhorns cooking.
After reclassifying to enter college in 2021, he transferred from Ohio State to his home state of Texas. He was a perfect 1.0000 per the 24/7 Sports Composite and is one of the best recruits of all-time. He has incredible arm strength, can throw from multiple arm angles, works well outside of structure and can throw on the run really well.
He was cooking before edge rusher Dallas Turner put his entire body weight on his left shoulder. For the 2024 class, Ewers has the talent and profile to be the top quarterback selected.
