College Football Week 2 Review: PAC-12 Uprising, Big-10 Disappointment, Old Man Football Gets the Job Done, and Upsets

Oregon State toppled and smashed Wisconsin at home, avenging a loss from last season in a surprise upset. Photo: Bruce Ely of The Oregonian

Rise of the PAC-10

Other than Utah and Colorado who dropped their games this weekend the PAC-12 did amazing.  The original PAC-10 showed up to play games against big time non-conference opponents and proved that the conference had more depth than they were getting credit for.

Oregon and USC dominated as expected against inferior opponents.  USC had to battle the weather in a 13-point win over the Syracuse Orange.  Oregon jumped to a huge lead before coasting, to many fans’ frustrations, to an easy win.  Matt Barkley threw for 6 touchdowns while Kenjon Barner rushed over 30 times for over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Oregon State had the premier win of the weekend, beating Wisconsin at Reser Stadium 10-7.  The Badgers didn’t even score until 1:31 left in the whole game.  The Beavers outgained Wisconsin 354 to 207 while shutting down Montee Ball, holding him to 61 yards on 15 carries, effectively ending another Heisman run.  Oregon State has been awful the last two years, and it is sweet revenge for a team that was embarrassed last year in Madison, Wisconsin.

UCLA also had a statement win over #14 Nebraska at the Rose Bowl.  Quarterback Brett Hundley continues to impress throwing 21/33 for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Jonathan Franklin went beast mode for the second straight week, rushing for 217 yards on 26 carries.  The Bruins kept Taylor Martinez in check through the air holding him to only 179 yards passing and an interception after he exploded the previous week.  UCLA has been loaded for years with the recruiting hauls the previous coaches brought in, which sets up perfectly for Jim Mora in his dark horse campaign to win the PAC-12 South.

The Arizona schools were impressive also.  Arizona State throttled Illinois 45-14 in the desert.  Arizona beat Oklahoma State at their own game, outscoring the Cowboys 59-38.

Big 10 Struggles

Defending conference champion Wisconsin got manhandled by an Oregon State squad that looked lost at times last year.  Illinois beat Arizona State last year 17-14 but were embarrassed this year by the Sun Devils.

The woes for Penn State continue as they seem to crumble under any pressure.  Virginia beat Penn State 17-16 at home in a game that saw the Lions miss four field goals, with the last one being as time expired.  Penn State even benefited from being +4 in turnover margin but weren’t able to beat the Cavaliers.  It is a huge sign of trouble when you can’t beat a team that gift-wraps you the game.

Nebraska lost to UCLA in a game that many thought they would win and Purdue lost by 3 to Notre Dame.  Michigan, Ohio State, and Northwestern were the only teams who won their competitive games.  Iowa also lost to in-state rival Iowa State.

Other than the losses this was the weirdest thing I saw in the Big-10

Upsets Galore

I have already profiled many upsets featuring Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Oklahoma State.  The biggest upset by far is Louisiana-Monroe beat 8^th ranked Arkansas in overtime.  Kolton Browning accounted for 481 yards of offense, including the final touchdown scramble in overtime that won ULM the game.  Razorback quarterback Tyler Wilson had to leave the game at halftime with an injury.  The Warhawks converted 6 of 7 fourth down attempts and outgained the Razorbacks 550 yard to 377.

New School SEC Teams Struggle Against the Old Men

Georgia beat Missouri 41-20 by playing old man football.  Georgia was down most of the game and even trailed late in the third quarter.  The Bulldogs erupted for 32 second half points after getting taunted by a Missouri player on twitter for playing “old man football.”  Missouri was hosting Georgia for their first SEC conference game and everyone in Missouri was looking forward to showing what they had.  Turns out, SEC football requires you to be perfect, and Mizzou committed one too many turnovers to win.

Florida went to College Station where things never change and Texas A&M blew another lead.  The Aggies were up 17-7 with 7 minutes left in the second quarter.  Florida would go on to score 13 unanswered points.  The Aggies had only one drive that would go longer than 4 plays after halftime.

Quick shout out to LSU who beat Washington 41-3 in Baton Rouge.  Washington took a 3-0 lead 1 minute in to the game and never scored again.  The Huskies were outgained 437-183 and only had 26 yards rushing.  Keith Price went 17/36, 157 yards, and one interception.

Players of the Week: Denard Robinson and Kolton Browning

Denard Robinson led Michigan over Air Force 31-25, but Robinson’s stat line is more impressive.  Combining his 208 passing yards and his 218 rushing yards he totaled 426 yards of offense.  Michigan only had 422 yards of offense as a team, meaning that Denard Robinson outgained his own team while also scoring every touchdown.

Kolton Browning led the ULM Warhawks over #8 Arkansas on Saturday night.  He completed 42 of his 67 pass attempts for 412 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Browning also carried the ball 16 times for 69 yards, including the final touchdown that won ULM the game.

“What the hell were they thinking” Play of the Week

Kansas State, normally vanilla, just the way old man Bill Snyder likes it, tried to throw behind the back pass to a receiver running an end around.

Play of The Week

Just because I fan-hate the Huskies

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