Well, that was fun wasn’t it? Week 2 provided a little bit of everything. Dominating performances, nail-biters, upsets, the whole shootin’ match. And we found some things out about some of these teams.
Last week I implored you not to make any grand, sweeping judgements after your team’s first game. And that hasn’t changed a ton after Week 2. But some Week 1 impressions may have been reinforced, or some trends may have emerged. Week 2 may be too early to draw conclusions, but it’s not too early to start asking some questions.
Is Notre Dame for real?
Embed from Getty ImagesYeah, probably. The Irish moved to 3-0 with a pretty convincing win over a tough NC State squad. Sam Hartman threw for 286 yards and four TD. The defense forced three takeaways. Audric Estime ran went for 134 yards and two scores, averaging almost 10 yards per carry. They’re excellent on both lines of scrimmage. That Ohio State game in two weeks looks like it will be appointment viewing. They also have USC, Duke, and Clemson remaining on the schedule. So, it’s not like they can cruise to an unbeaten regular season. But what we’ve seen so far tells me that they’re capable of winning every game they play.
How big was that win for Miami?
Very. Not just the fact that they won. But how they won is what jumped out at me: by playing fast, tough, opportunistic defense and getting a huge game from Tyler Van Dyke. These two things that were in woefully short supply in 2022. The Hurricanes forced three turnovers and held A&M to 8/18 on third down. Van Dyke threw for 374 and 5 TD. They do have some things to clean up (10 penalties, muffed punt, blocked punt), but even with those mistakes came away with a rather convincing win. Those things would concern me a lot more in Week 6 than they do in Week 2. They’re fixable, especially early in the season. The ‘Canes are drastically improved up front on both sides of the ball. As improved as anybody I’ve watched this year. Mario Cristobal appears to have things moving in the right direction. That’s more than I can say for Jimbo Fisher, who is part of a larger overall theme…
What’s up with the SEC?
I’m not sure yet. But it’s worth keeping an eye on. SEC teams are 3-6 in non-conference games against Power 5 opponents so far. At a minimum, it seems that the “middle class” of the SEC is closer to mediocre than we’re used to. For a long time, the real strength of the conference was the depth of it, and not solely the top-end teams. They also played a much more physical brand of football overall. This year feels like it may be one or two teams at the top and then a pretty average bunch. And the physicality piece has been a surprise. Among those six losses mentioned above, SEC teams were worked over on the line of scrimmage in many cases (LSU vs FSU, South Carolina vs North Carolina, Florida vs Utah). There’s been uninspiring performances all over the place. I suspect that once conference play starts, things will pick up. But that’s not a given. Georgia is obviously very good. I think LSU and Tennessee will end up having good seasons. Same with Alabama (hold that thought for just a minute). But teams like Florida, Texas A&M, Arkansas, and South Carolina? Time will tell. Conversely…
Did the PAC-12 get good just in time to dissolve?
Embed from Getty ImagesYeah, sure looks like it. Pretty bittersweet, huh? The PAC-12 is 20-3 in non-conference games so far, an absurd number. Lest you think those are all FCS cupcake games, their list of victims includes Florida, Texas Tech, Baylor, Wisconsin, TCU, and Nebraska. Are all (or any) of those teams juggernauts? Of course not. But they’re not Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow, either. USC, Washington, and Oregon have legit College Football Playoff (CFP) aspirations. Two-time defending PAC-12 champ Utah is 2-0, banking two Power Five wins with their backup quarterback. Oregon State won 10 games last year and is ranked in the top 15. The conference is going to be a lot of fun to watch, and if anyone manages to come out of it with one loss or fewer, it will have its first playoff participant since 2017. And then there’s the PAC-12 team getting a ton of national attention after a surprising start…
Are you ready to admit Colorado is for real yet, Eric?
Not yet. Colorado’s 36-14 win over Nebraska didn’t convince me of much, other than Matt Rhule has a SEVERE quarterback problem on his hands. But we’re not talking about Nebraska. We’re talking about Colorado, who again limited mistakes, stayed patient through a slow start, and took advantage of every opportunity afforded them by their opponent (of which there were plenty). They used the same blueprint in Week 2 as they did in their Week 1 victory at TCU, and came away with the same result. Shedeur Sanders took what was there early and protected the football. As the game went on, he did a superb job of being aggressive downfield without being reckless, finishing with 396 yards and two TD, and running for another. But I have serious doubts about their play up front. They failed to crack 60 yards rushing again, and gave up eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss. They gave up 220+ rushing yards for the second week in a row, and got their first two sacks of the season on Saturday. So while I’m still impressed with their first two weeks, forgive me if I’m not ready to think they can go beat Utah or Oregon.
OK, fine, but what about Texas? Are they BACK?
Embed from Getty ImagesI don’t know how to answer that. It depends entirely on what your personal definition of “back” is. Are they very, very good? Yes. They can absolutely win double-digit games. Are they the Big 12 frontrunner and a CFP contender? Also Yes. Can they win a National Championship? I wouldn’t rule it out, based on what I saw in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. Quinn Ewers was magnificent, throwing for 349 yards and three TD. Three receivers put up at least 75 yards. The defense generated five sacks, nine tackles for loss, and two takeaways. Texas has improved so much up front the last two years it’s hard to put into words. They still have ten games to play, but this looks like a team that could win it all.
You said to hold that thought three topics ago. What about Bama? Are they done for?
Come on, man. Of course not. Letting a Week 2 loss color your perception of a team’s outlook is almost as silly as doing it in Week 1. Do they have some things to fix? Absolutely. They have to clean up the penalties (10 for 90 yards) and get the run game going (35 carries for 107 yards). Nick Saban has to figure out what the solution at quarterback will be. The O-Line needs to play better (5 sacks, 9 TFL allowed). But, there’s a very good chance that Texas is the best team they’ll play this regular season. And with the loss being a non-conference game, they still control their own destiny. Their margin for error might be removed, sure. But, they are entirely capable of beating all ten of their remaining opponents as long as they fix a couple of the things mentioned above. Don’t write them off just yet.
There’s a lot of season left
It was only Week 2, after all. We’ll learn a lot more about these (and other) teams as we go. Some of these questions will be definitively answered one way or the other in the coming months. Some new questions will arise, too. Let’s just enjoy the ride.
Eric Mulhair is the Co-Host of The South Endzone Podcast and a contributing writer for Belly Up Sports covering College Football. You can follow him on Twitter for the most up-to-date info on Podcast/Article releases, or even just to argue about College Football.
