Texas A&M Entered the 2021 season ranked No. 6 in the nation, but finished 8-4 and fell out of the AP Top 25 at the end of the year. A year later, the Aggies again inexplicably finished the year at No. Started at 6. Unfortunately, giant coaching contracts and flashy recruiting classes don’t guarantee instant success on the field.
The Aggies put together one of the worst offensive performances of the SEC era in a 17-14 loss to a Sun Belt foe. Appalachian state on Saturday. Texas A&M ran only two offensive plays in state territory. Suddenly, the Aggies go from a dark horse playoff contender to an afterthought with a nine-game losing streak. How quickly fortunes can change in college football. And in a jam-packed Week 2, the Aggies weren’t the only ones.
Number 8 Our lady Also lost a Sun Belt game Marshall A shocking pick-six by quarterback Tyler Buechner. Number 25 Houston Fell in double overtime against rival Texas Tech Thanks to a monster game from Red Raiders quarterback Donovan Smith. No. 24 Tennessee and no. 20 Kentucky No. Also pulled over 17 upsets Pittsburgh and no. 12 Floridarespectively.
Down the slate, the Mountain West champion State of Utah An embarrassing 35-7 loss against FCS Weber State. UIW is also at the top Nevada 55-41, and Holy Cross Shocked Buffalo 37-31 is a last-second Hail Mary for three FCS upsets in a week.
Here are more winners, losers and overreactions from a chaotic Week 2 of the college football season.
Winners
Kansas: Don’t look now, but the Jayhawks are on a winning streak West Virginia 55-42 on the road. Kansas is 2-0 for the first time since 2011 and won a Big 12 opener for the first time since 2009. The 55-point output was Kansas’ last Big 12 win. Texas. Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels was incredible with 215 yards passing and 82 yards rushing in the win. After all, this is a serious Power Five team, and coach Lance Leibold is a star.
USCCrime of: 66 points against Rice A good appetizer, but all the fireworks came out against the Pac-12 opener Stanford. The Trojans scored 35 first-half points with shocking ease, scoring on their first five drives of the first half before edging Stanford 41-28 thanks to 14 unanswered garbage-time scores. If you thought Jordan Addison was good, playing in one of the most stacked receiver rooms in college football certainly helped. He had 172 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Crime is already national. Next week vs Fresno State It’s a marquee matchup and an even better test for the defense.
losers
Our Lady: Difficulty moving against the ball Ohio State There is a thing in the horseshoe. Facing massive offensive problems internally against Marshall? It is something completely different. The Fighting Irish threw three interceptions and averaged just 3.5 yards per carry against the Sun Belt team. Marcus Freeman became the first Notre Dame coach since Lou Holtz to start 0-2 and the first Fighting Irish coach to start a career 0-3.
Nebraska: We have had enough. Put this project out of its misery. The same day Adrian Martinez dropped 40 points Kansas State vs MissouriLost against Nebraska 45-42 Georgia Southern, a team that finished 5th in its own Sun Belt division. 214-game hitting streak at home while scoring more than 35 points. Nebraska has replaced quarterbacks, assistants, coordinators and players. It didn’t work for Scott Frost. At some point, the guy in the biggest office has to take responsibility for these embarrassing shows.
Week 2 Excessive reactions
AlabamaRecipients of are not header-caliber: When Jameson Williams and John Metchi III were injured last season, the Alabama offense suddenly fell to earth. Nick Saban had a full offseason to fix the unit, adding a pair of highly-touted transfers in Jermaine Burton and Tyler Harrell while drafting rookies. Initial returns are troubling, to say the least.
In the fourth quarter, Alabama wide receivers had just three total catches for 14 yards in a 20–19 win over Texas. Despite accurate passes from Heisman Trophy-winning QB Bryce Young, no receiver gained more than 40 yards. After the Aggies’ big loss to Weber State, a strong performance against Utah State became much less impressive.
Fortunately, Treshaun Holden and Jacory Brooks made a few catches in the fourth quarter to set up a catch-clinching field goal. But with so much blue-chip talent at receiver, these kinds of performances by pass-catchers are embarrassing — and not headline-caliber.
The Sun Belt is the best Group Five conference: It wasn’t a perfect weekend, but the Sun Belt made a case for the best five-team league in college football. The Sun Belt became the first Group of Five conference to beat multiple top-10 opponents since 2003, when Appalachian State and Marshall defeated Texas A&M and Notre Dame, respectively.
Not only that.
As mentioned earlier, Georgia Southern shocked Nebraska. South Alabama flew past Central Michigan During an important conference tournament, State of Georgia Pushed North Carolina up to the border. Just kidding, the only bad place Coastal Carolina A late score is required to score Gartner-WebBut the Chanticleers can handle a rough game.
Presumed AAC contenders — Houston, all three uninjured. Cincinnati And UCF — Everyone has losses now. The Sun Belt could steal the New Year’s Six spot.
“Friend of animals everywhere. Devoted analyst. Total alcohol scholar. Infuriatingly humble food trailblazer.”