The second week of college football has come to a close and we’ve got another list of studs and duds to discuss. Every week brings a new list of winners and losers to discuss, here is the best and the worst from Week 2.
Stud: The Maryland Terrapins
Most people wrote off Maryland’s 79-0 win over Howard Week 1, but no one will be ignoring the Terps after their dominate Week 2 win over No.22 Syracuse. Things will get much tougher for Maryland once they start facing Big Ten defenses, but it is now very clear that the Terrapins offense is for real. Syracuse was the ranked team, but they were unable to slow down Maryland who racked up 650 yards of offense while scoring 63 points. With several ranked teams losing this week is it possible the Terps crack the AP Top-25?
Dud: Shae Patterson
Michigan somehow managed to squeak out a win over Army in double overtime, but their offense still doesn’t look right. Offensive Coordinator Josh Gattis’ new spread offense was expected to take the Wolverines’ offense to new heights, but so far starting quarterback Shae Patterson has struggled to make the adjustment. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 207 yards altogether, but the team only managed 14 points by the end of regulation. Patterson was missing easy throws that should’ve set the Wolverines up for an easy victory at the Big House.
Stud: Joe Burrow
Out of the thousands of players playing college football this weekend, nobody impressed more than LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. The Tigers faced a huge challenge traveling to No. 9 Texas in primetime, but their quarterback was more than ready for the matchup. Burrow completed 31 of 39 passes for a whopping 471 passing yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers will impress anywhere in the country, but given LSU’s defensive minded and run-first reputation, we could be looking at a dangerous new era of LSU football.
Dud: Nebraska
Head Coach Scott Frost and Company were expected to take a major step forward in 2019. But at the end of Week 2, they’ve already suffered a very ugly upset loss. The Cornhuskers lost on the road to a very bad Colorado team that is expected to finish in the basement of the Pac 12. Nebraska got some pretty solid performances from their offense, most notably from wide receivers J.D. Speilman and Maurice Washington, but their defense wasn’t able to make the big plays when it mattered. The Cornhuskers 17-0 lead evaporated after halftime, leading to a total collapse by their defense and a 34-31 overtime loss.
Stud: Clemson’s Defense
Trevor Lawrence and the offense still have some kinks to work out, but Clemson’s defense has been dominant through two weeks of play. The Texas A&M Aggies had many chances to give Clemson a scare Saturday afternoon, but the Tigers defense forced three turnovers, sacked quarterback Kellen Mond twice, and held held the Aggies to 289 total yards of offense.
Dud: The Cincinnati Bearcats
Not much to say here other than Cincinnati simply didn’t show up. Many across the country tabbed the team’s matchup with Ohio State has a potential top five upset in Week 2, but they never stood a chance. The Bearcats left week one feeling very confidant after a somewhat convincing win against UCLA, but they were helpless against the Ohio State Buckeyes in week two. Cincinnati was no match for Justin Fields and company who easily defeated the Bear Cats by a final score of 42-0.
Stud: Kedon Slovis
Is USC … good? Most people around the country (including myself) were quite low on USC heading into the season, but the Trojans have quietly opened 2-0. The team lost starting quarterback J.T. Daniels for the season thanks to a torn ACL during Week 1, but his replacement balled out in his first career start. True Freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis threw 377 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in the team’s dominant upset win over No. 23 Stanford.
Dud: The Tennessee Volunteers
It is a very dark time to be a Tennessee fan. The Volunteers followed their shocking Week 1 upset at the hands of Georgia State with an upset loss against BYU. The offense struggled all day, but the defense played well enough to get the Volunteers the win… until the fourth quarter. Tennessee, with the lead, had BYU backed up with under a minute left and no timeouts, but a blown coverage lead to a 62 pass that set up the game tying field goal. BYU would go on to win in the second overtime.
Stud: The Cal Golden Bears
The biggest upset award for Week 2 definitely goes to the Cal Golden Bears, who went on the road to beat No.14 Washington with a walk off field goal. Cal’s offense was as sluggish as you’d expect, but they made enough plays in the fourth quarter to win the game. Their defense on the other hand was lights out, forcing two turnovers to go along with their four sacks. It wasn’t a pretty win and there aren’t any stars to highlights for it, but this was an all-around clutch performance by a Cal team that desperately needed a big win like this.
Dud: UCLA
Last week I highlighted quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson’s failure as the reason for UCLA’s Week 1 loss, but this time around it was a full team collapse. Thompson Robinson struggled once again, but the team also couldn’t run the ball or get key defensive stops when it mattered. The result? A Week 2 upset loss at the hands of San Diego State.
