Nine things we learned in college football week two
- Lamar Jackson is your Heisman frontrunner
If we’re solely basing this off of this year, then there’s no question. Jackson had no hype prior to the season, but check out his stat line so far — 697 yards passing with 7 touchdowns to go along with 318 yards rushing and 6 more touchdowns. To put that in perspective, fellow Heisman candidate and preseason favorite Deshaun Watson sits at 540 yards passing and only 76 yard rushing, while finding the end zone only four times. Detractors will note Louisville’s soft schedule of Charlotte and Syracuse, but Jackson’s numbers cannot be denied. Next week, Jackson will have the opportunity to silence those naysayers, or prove them right as he leads Louisville against Florida State.
- Clemson is back to Clemsoning
I like Clemson. They’re a fun team to watch. Dabo Swinney is a good coach. Deshaun Watson has a good chance to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL. BUT. They just can’t seem to play to their potential. Their first two games have been incredibly lackluster. Last week, they played an Auburn team that switched its quarterback faster than Taylor Swift goes through relationships. This week, they squeezed by Troy 30-24. Troy. Troy of the Sun Belt Conference. With all due respect to John Hartnell, that game shouldn’t be anywhere near competitive. It seemed like Clemson had moved on from their Clemsoning ways after last season, but it seems like the old habits have returned. If it continues, it’ll be hard to see Clemson returning to the Playoff.
- Utah and BYU are also pretty good at Clemsoning
This year’s version of the Holy War was an unholy abomination. Neither team seemed interested in winning the game. Utah was apparently allergic to the football, committing six turnovers and narrowly avoiding several more. BYU gave up over 100 yards in penalties alone and turned the ball over three times themselves. The game mercifully ended after a failed 2-point conversion by BYU on a terrible play call by first time college coordinator Ty Detmer. If either team wants any chance to go to a bowl game at season’s end, they’ll need to make sure these performances are aberrations, not a normal effort.
- The Big 12 might be left out of the Playoff again
In its inaugural season, the Playoff left out the Big 12 largely due to the conference’s lack of a championship game. The Big 12 implemented a championship starting this year, but will it even matter? Oklahoma was their best shot, and they’ve already lost once, with Ohio State looming next week. Arkansas’ upset of TCU and Central Michigan’s controversial win over Oklahoma State now leave the conference’s hopes with Texas and Baylor — I wouldn’t hold your breath for that.
- Hosting a football game in a NASCAR track is a bad idea
Yes, there may have been a record 156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway for this week’s Tennessee-Virginia Tech game. Yes, there may have been a good atmosphere in there. Yes, it’s a novel idea. And yes, it made a ton of money, as both teams earned a reported $4 million for the game. But think about this — you can fit both Fenway Park and Wrigley Field INSIDE the stadium. All of Leyland Stadium, Tennessee’s home, can fit. That means that a lot of fans were full stadiums away from the field. It’d be like trying to watch a game at Maverik Stadium from the Spectrum and paying for it. Count me out.
- The FCS is getting better
Here’s the list of FCS teams that have beaten FBS teams this year: Albany, Richmond, Eastern Washington, Northern Iowa, Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, and North Carolina A&T. A plethora of others have played FBS teams to the final minutes. A game against an FCS opponent used to be considered a lock for an easy win. Not so much anymore.
- The Big Ten is gonna be good
What Big Ten teams have legitimate Playoff aspirations after Week 2? An easy case can be made for five teams — Ohio St, Michigan, Michigan St, Wisconsin, and Iowa. There’s a chance the Big Ten could be the first conference to get multiple teams into one Playoff, but realistically, only one of those teams will actually make it in. In other words, the Big Ten is going to be an absolute bloodbath come November.
- Next week’s easy money pick
Last week, Ohio State kept it closer than was comfortable for much of the game, but still beat the spread in a 45-3 win over Tulsa. This week, I’m going to go with San Diego State vs. Northern Illinois. The Aztecs are 10.5 point favorites in this one, but I fully expect them to eclipse that mark. San Diego State just came of a huge program win over Cal, while Northern Illinois is 0-2 following losses to Wyoming and South Florida. This is not the same program that dominated the MAC for years, and I highly doubt they’ll be able to stop SDSU’s career rushing yards leader Donnel Pumphrey.
- Never expect a ‘bad’ week of college football
Following the glory that was Week 1, Week 2 just couldn’t compare. Week 1 brought us a plethora of Top 25 match-ups. Week 2 brought us a bunch of cupcake teams… or so we thought. From Central Michigan’s upset over Oklahoma State to North Carolina A&T’s 4OT thriller over Kent State to the exciting late-night Mountain West games, good endings and great plays were to be found throughout the nation. The lesson? Never expect a boring week for college football. Ever.