CFB Week 2 Review: Irish Hopes Dashed in Shock Loss
At times, it was difficult to know where to look. Saturday was fast-paced and action-packed as a host of big names made heavy weather of their underdog opposition. It was always likely one would trip up, but it was a powerhouse we hadn’t expected. Here’s our weekly recap on the big talking points.
Notre Dame title hopes a wreck after NIU upset
We needn’t go into forensic detail here, as I’m sure our Notre Dame specialist Stiofán Mac Fhilib, will have his thoughts in his midweek column. However, we couldn’t ignore the most significant talking point of the day. After putting away Texas A&M on the road, much of the chatter was about how the road to the playoffs was seemingly straightforward for the Fighting Irish.
Who expected the wheels to come off only a week later? That said, Marcus Freeman now has a history of coming unstuck against supposed gimmes. Marshall and Stanford come to mind. However, inviting Northern Illinois to South Bend at a cost of $1.4 million only to get bit hard by the underdog is pretty much the worst-case scenario.
It’s a hefty price to pay for a team to essentially end your playoff hopes. In a year where one loss should no longer be a death knell, losing to Northern Illinois at home as a 28-point favourite remains a surefire way of bowing out.
This game should have been out of hand when Jeremiah Love scored a hurdling TD to put Notre Dame up in the third quarter. But Riley Leonard and co. failed to capitalise and shake off the Huskies, who kicked a last-minute field goal to take the honours.
Flattering to Deceive
At times on Saturday, it felt like it would be more than just Notre Dame, which would lose as a heavy favourite. Take Alabama. Once again, South Florida did enough to cause panic in the ranks, exposing the offensive line and getting to Jalen Milroe with ease. It’s a concern to keep in mind moving forward. The run game partnership of Jam Miller and Justice Haynes spared their blushes.
Penn State were also toe-to-toe with Bowling Green for most of the afternoon. Former Missouri QB Connor Bazelak was on a heater early doors, regularly beating the Nittany Lions secondary deep downfield. Drew Allar continues to show inconsistencies at QB, and like ‘Bama, it was the run game through Nick Singleton that proved too much for the Falcons.
You are what we thought you were
The night’s big victory went to Texas, who waltzed into the Big House and put on a clinic. Both sides backed up my perception of them pre-season. Michigan struggled to find an offensive identity, while Texas looked like a good, old-fashioned SEC bully. In particular, the offensive line and receivers appear to be of championship quality.
Colorado’s victory over Nebraska in Week 2 last year was Deion Sanders’ declaration of arrival. This year’s tilt showed how different the two sides had developed. Matt Rhule has Nebraska playing a physical style of football with a gifted freshman QB in Dylan Raiola. Sanders has some star pieces, but the foundations are shaky at best. As with last year, the offensive line failed spectacularly, and the defense was gashed big in several spots. Until the Buffs sort out the trenches, Shedeur and co.’s ceiling is limited. The 28-10 scoreline proved that.
Oregon followed up their sleepy opener against Idaho with a nail-biting win over Boise State. Ashton Jeanty was again excellent for the Broncos, going for 192 rushing yards and 3 TDs. Also worth noting is his blocking, which was strong all night.
For the Ducks, we got to see Dillon Gabriel hook up with star receivers Traeshon Holden and Evan Stewart, but Oregon was unable to come up with anything on defense most of the night. A 100-yard kickoff return by Noah Whittington got them out of jail, but that was controversial, considering he appeared to drop the ball before crossing the goal line. The jury remains out on how good this Oregon side is.
Odds and Sods
In this final section we will go rapid fire around the CFB landscape to round up the other key performances.
– I’m out on Preston Stone and Peyton Thorne. Stone was highly regarded, but in back-to-back weeks, his backup, Kevin Jennings has been more impressive for SMU. That said, the Mustangs were beaten 18-15 by BYU on Friday. Thorne, Auburn’s signal caller, was way off against Cal, and it beggars belief Hugh Freeze didn’t hit the portal to find a decent passer for freshman phenom Cam Coleman.
– Thorne had particular trouble with Cal defensive back Nohl Williams, whose two interceptions were vital in the 21-14 upset.
– Tennessee showed little mercy, defeating NC State 51-10. QB Nico Iamaleava looked good in patches but threw two picks. It was the running game, particularly Dylan Sampson (132 rushing yards, 2 TDs) who stole the show.
– Shout out to Kyle McCord and Fran Brown over at Syracuse. They won a tight one against Georgia Tech (that won’t help FSU), with McCord looking the real deal. Brown has his side fired up, and it’s easy to think he will land a big fish job soon.
– Running Back Ollie Gordon was stymied by Arkansas most of the night but came up big when it mattered. After both kickers flunked their lines in overtime, Gordon landed a 12-yard TD to seal a hard-fought 39-31 victory over the Razorbacks.
Rory-Joe Daniels
NFL & Cfb contributor
AS A LONG-SUFFERING CINCINNATI BENGALS FAN, RORY HAS FOLLOWED THE NFL FOR OVER 20 YEARS. HIS PASSION FOR THE DRAFT LED HIM TO GET ENTANGLED WITH COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND HE HAS BEEN WRITING ABOUT PROSPECTS AND THE CFB LANDSCAPE EVER SINCE.