Even with Saturday's losses, the Pac-12 figures to have six teams ranked in the top 20, which gives the league a good case as the nation's best.
And sure, Stanford looked awful and Cal lost. But that's the ACC's problem.
We're two weeks in and, honestly, the hardest part is deciding how many Colorado players to include among the Heisman favorites.
Hunter had three catches for 73 yards on offense, four tackles and a PBU on defense, and singlehandedly swayed the international markets to send corn futures plummeting. It was a thorough beating of Nebraska.
Williams threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns against Stanford. Oh, that was just in the first half. If he keeps doing this to teams, he's going to ruin his Heisman chances by never playing in the second half.
Travis had just two touchdowns against Southern Miss, but only one of them was to Keon Coleman, so the degree of difficulty was higher. Regardless, Florida State rolled 66-13.
Sanders has 903 passing yards and six passing TDs through two games. Last year, Colorado as a team had 2,075 passing yards and 10 passing TDs. That puts Sanders on pace to top the Buffs' season totals from 2022 before the end of this month.
Hartman's Notre Dame career so far: Three wins, 10 touchdowns, no picks, one rib necklace. Your move, Caleb Williams.
It was another dull week atop the Big Ten, as Michigan and Ohio State were favored by a combined 83 points. The results were less about wins and more about vibes.
After all, just a week ago, Ohio State's offense scuffled against Indiana and, while the Buckeyes won easily, there were some reasonable concerns. What did we learn in Week 2? Maybe not much more than we did in Week 1. It was an easy 35-7 win over Youngstown State, and Kyle McCord threw for three touchdowns, but really, Ohio State spent the bulk of the second half on cruise control.
The Buckeyes have scored 58 points so far, which is their fewest through two games since 2014.
Oh, they also won the national title in 2014. Ryan Day really is playing chess when the rest of us are playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos.
As for Michigan, the Wolverines topped UNLV 35-7 in their second of three games without head coach Jim Harbaugh, who spent the afternoon running the chain gang of a high school football game and then, we assume, sifting through his collection of old Mad magazines so he could do all the fold-ins.
J.J. McCarthy tossed two touchdown passes and Michigan had 300 passing yards for the second time in its past three games -- something it had done just twice in its prior 16.
Meanwhile, the Michigan defense has allowed 10 total points so far this season, and with Bowling Green and Rutgers on deck, that number might not move much anytime soon.
Historic win for Iowa
It wasn't easy, but anything else wouldn't have felt fitting, as Iowa's Kirk Ferentz picked up career win No. 200 with a 20-13 victory over rival Iowa State.
During the course of Ferentz's 200 wins, Iowa has scored upward of 600 total points on offense, including 13 on Saturday. The defense added a pick-six, which for reasons we cannot fathom still counts toward Brian Ferentz's quest for 25 points per game -- the number Iowa has to hit for the younger Ferentz to keep his job.
Cade McNamara, the QB brought in from Michigan to invigorate the passing game, threw for 123 yards and a pick. Iowa averaged nearly 4 yards per rush. It was truly a fireworks display.
The Hawkeyes nearly blew a 20-3 lead, which actually might have been a brilliant turn for its offensive coordinator. Overtime would've given OC Brian Ferentz a chance to pad an extra three, maybe six points to his total. Alas, it was not to be.
Instead, his quest for 300 -- 25 points over 12 games -- stands at 44. Since Oct. 1 of last year, Iowa has hit that magical 25-point mark just once.
Still, the Ferentz family has lots to celebrate after such a historic win, and we assume Kirk & Co. will all have a blast at Applebee's, while Brian naps in the backseat of the car.
Under-the-radar play of the week
The race for the best big-guy touchdown of the season is already over. Colorado Mesa's Cooper Mumford recovered a fumble on a trick play, scrambled outside, then tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Under-the-radar game of the week
Once upon a time, Luke McCaffrey was a QB prospect for Nebraska. A lot has happened since then. McCaffrey ultimately transferred to the Rice Owls, lost a QB competition, and moved to wide receiver. Nebraska also gave up on playing a quarterback.
On Saturday, McCaffrey reminded the college football world that he may not have been an elite QB, but he's a heck of a player.
McCaffrey hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass with one hand, giving Rice a 21-0 lead.
Rice appeared to have the game in hand, up 28-0 at the half, but Houston had other ideas.
The Cougars roared back, scoring the final 28 points of regulation, including two touchdowns in the last four minutes, to send the game to overtime.
The two teams traded touchdowns in each of the first two frames of OT, but while Rice connected on its 2-point try, Houston failed to, giving the win to the Owls.
McCaffrey finished the game with 99 yards and two touchdown grabs, and Rice nabbed its first win in the intra-city rivalry with Houston since 2010.
Four downs
Maryland was nearly doomed by a slow start against Charlotte, falling behind 14-0 and trailing 14-9 at the half. Could Charlotte coach Biff Poggi have caused this by, say, pulling the fire alarm in the Terps' hotel, forcing an evacuation, then changing the AM/PM setting on all their alarm clocks? Did he possibly do this while wearing a Speedo and drinking Olde English out of a foam dome helmet? No, it's not likely, but with Poggi, we're ruling nothing out. Either way, Maryland came back and won 38-20.
A year ago, North Carolina and Appalachian State played in a shootout for the ages, with the Heels prevailing 63-61 after the two teams combined for 62 fourth-quarter points. Saturday's rematch wasn't quite as explosive, but the Heels and Mountaineers did rack up more than 1,000 total yards as UNC missed a late field goal that would've won the game, but held on to prevail in double OT.
Tulane was without star QB Michael Pratt for its matchup with Ole Miss. Typically when things go bad in New Orleans, we recommend having a few hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's and hoping it'll all work out, but the Green Wave foolishly shrugged off that option and instead sent Kai Horton out for the start instead. He held his own for a half, but things fell apart after the break, with Jaxson Dart (267 yards, 2 TDs) leading Ole Miss to a 37-20 win.
Clemson got off to a miserable start against Charleston Southern, with a pick-six by Cade Klubnik putting the Tigers in an early 14-7 hole. Klubnik & Co. figured things out in the second half, however, and outscored the Buccaneers 42-0 to close out the game. Klubnik finished with 315 yards and four touchdowns, and afterward Dabo Swinney passed around to each media member a beautifully designed note card with the words "I told you so" in handwritten calligraphy.
A minor victory
In life, great success begins with a small step forward. Perhaps that will be true, too, for the NAIA's Texas College Steers.
In Week 1, Texas College was walloped 90-0 against Texas-Permian Basin (which, in fairness, is among Texas' finest basins).
In Week 2, a similar result seemed in the offing. At the end of the third quarter, Central Arkansas (an inherently middling Arkansas direction) led 70-0, but our beloved Steers wouldn't go down without a fight.
After a Texas College interception, Central Arkansas started a drive pinned deep in its own territory. That's when Steers legend Dylan DuBois delivered a play for the ages. On a handoff to the tailback, Dubois delivered a hit in the end zone for a safety.
And thanks to Dubois' patented last-second magic, the final score was Central Arkansas 70, Texas College 2.
Did you say 'Utes'?
No Cam Rising? No problem. Well, OK, a few problems. But Utah's offensive woes against Baylor on Saturday weren't enough to keep the Utes from moving to 2-0 on the season.
Baylor led 13-3 midway through the third quarter, but coach Kyle Whittingham pulled his starting QB, Bryson Barnes, and went with freshman Nate Johnson, who engineered a late comeback. Johnson completed 6 of 7 throws for 82 yards and added another 32 yards on the ground, including a touchdown -- one of two Utah scores in the game's final two minutes.
Still, Baylor nearly stole the win.
After Jaylon Glover scored to give Utah a 20-13 lead with 17 seconds to play, Baylor connected on a 47-yard throw to Hal Presley, setting up one final heave to the end zone with one second left on the clock.
Technically, the pass fell incomplete. But that's not how Baylor fans will remember it.
After years of enduring Pac-12 officiating, this must have felt like an early welcome into the Big 12 for the Utes. What looked like a clear defensive pass interference didn't earn a flag, and the Utes escaped 20-13.
Irish keep ACC streak alive
Notre Dame is not going to join the ACC. Oh, sure, it's technically a full voting member and spent a portion of this summer nudging the league to add Cal and Stanford, ostensibly for the good of college football, but make no mistake, the Irish are only here to bring the ACC down from the inside.
On Saturday, the Irish toppled NC State 45-24, with Sam Hartman -- the ACC's all-time leading passer whom the Irish swiped from Wake Forest this offseason -- throwing for four touchdowns.
It was the first time in 17 games NC State has allowed more than 30 points. The last QB to do it? That'd be Sam Hartman.
Notre Dame has now won 29 straight regular-season games vs. the ACC. Syracuse, which joined the ACC full time in 2013, has just 26 total wins against the conference since then.
Indeed, since the Irish joined the ACC in all sports but football -- they typically play five games per year against the conference -- in 2014, they've racked up 42 ACC wins. Only Clemson, Pitt and Miami have more. The other 11 full-time ACC members have been left in Notre Dame's dust.
If the ACC were the cast of "Succession," Notre Dame is Tom Wambsgans. He was welcomed into the family, pushed for a big merger to go through, then stole all the power for himself. (Side note: Miami is definitely Cousin Greg, right?)
This is all incredibly problematic for the ACC, but it's worth remembering that, starting next year, SMU, Stanford and Cal can also lose games to Notre Dame.
You know, for the good of the league.
Bad day in the First State
Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on Dec. 7, 1787. It's been mostly downhill since then, save Elena Delle Donne and a few good shows at the Bottle & Cork. But Saturday might have been the state's nadir.
The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens visited Penn State, and it didn't go well. The Nittany Lions won 63-7.
The Delaware State Hornets visited Army, and it didn't go well either. The Black Knights won 57-0.
If you're keeping track, that means the two Division I teams from Delaware lost by a combined score of 120-7.
This shouldn't come as a surprise, however. All the big name, image and likeness money in Delaware is being funneled through its famous chicken farms right to Florida State, keying that program's return to greatness.
We knew once they started opening Wawa locations in Florida, it was only a matter of time before this happened.
Big bets and bad beats
Well, we think it's safe to say Georgia has lost its edge. The Bulldogs allowed Ball State to drive down the field and boot a meaningless 27-yard field goal with 9 minutes, 5 seconds to play, making the score 45-3. That's how it ended, which meant UGA (-42) hit the spread right on the nose.
Wake Forest opened its win over Vanderbilt with an interception that set the Deacons up with a first-and-goal at the 10. They settled for a field goal. Wake got the ball with seven seconds left in the first half and moved into field goal range, but it missed a 44-yarder. Vandy had four plays inside Wake's 3 but turned the ball over on downs. Wake had a first-and-goal at the Vandy 2 but fumbled. None of that made much difference in the Deacons' impressive enough 36-20 win, but all those miscues were worth noting if you bet the over, which came up a half-point shy (56.5).
Syracuse led Western Michigan 45-7 at the half, having scored on its first seven drives of the game. With 52 points already on the board, it was fair to say the game was trending pretty heavily toward hitting the over of 56. So, what happened in the second half? One stinking field goal. Syracuse punted four times (and kicked the aforementioned field goal), while Western Michigan turned the ball over on downs on both of its final two drives deep into Orange territory.
