Who has the better conference: SEC or Big Ten?
Blake Toppmeyer explains why the SEC is better than the Big Ten “from top to bottom”
Some of college football’s top teams seemed to have run out of luck in Week 2.
Saturday saw several top-ranked teams battle against perceived weaker opponents, including three upset wins over unranked opponents. That doesn’t include No. 12 Tennessee and No. 3 Texas, who both flexed their muscles to crush No. 23 NC State 51-10 and beat No. 9 Michigan 31-12 in the Big House, respectively.
REQUIRED READING: Michigan chaos and Texas triumph top the winners and losers of the second week in college football
There were even some close calls: No. 4 Alabama led USF 14-13 at one point in the fourth quarter, No. 8 Penn State narrowly defeated Bowling Green, and No. 13 Oklahoma struggled at home against Houston.
Here’s a recap of all the crazy college football games and surprises of Week 2:
Surprises in college football yesterday
Northern Illinois 16, No. 7 Notre Dame 14
A week after traveling to College Station and beating then-No. 20 Texas A&M 23-13 at home, Notre Dame struggled in its home opener in a brutal buyout game, losing a game of that kind for the second time in three seasons under Marcus Freeman after the Fighting Irish lost 26-22 to Marshall in 2022.
The Fighting Irish, who entered as 28.5-point favorites, lost 14-16 to Northern Illinois, who received $1.4 million for their efforts. What should have been an easy early-season win for Notre Dame was instead the Mid-American Conference (MAC) team’s first win over a top-10 opponent in conference history.
Quarterback Riley Leonard, a freshman transfer from Duke, struggled in the game, completing 20 of 32 passes for 163 yards but throwing two interceptions, including a late interception that ultimately gave the Huskies the ball back before they kicked a game-winning field goal.
REQUIRED READING: Notre Dame’s inconsistency with Marcus Freeman puts them at the top of the second week’s Misery Index
Illinois 23, No. 20 Kansas 17
No. 20 Kansas didn’t look like a potential Big 12 championship contender on Saturday night against Illinois. Star quarterback Jalon Daniels lost the ball four times against the Fighting Illini.
Daniels, who is expected to be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12 this season, completed 18 of 32 passes for 141 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also lost a fumble. The win was Illinois’ first against a top-ranked non-conference opponent since beating Arizona State in 2011.
Daniels found receiver Lawrence Arnold for a 13-yard touchdown pass to take a 17-13 lead late in the third quarter, but Illinois scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter thanks to a touchdown run by Kaden Feagin and a 43-yard field goal by David Olano to take the win.
Iowa State 20, No. 21 Iowa 19
A last-second field goal by Iowa State stunned No. 21 Iowa in the in-state rivalry, giving the Cyclones just their third series win in the last 10 years (but second in the last three). Cyclones kicker Kyle Konrardy sank a 54-yard field goal with six seconds left to give Iowa State a win over its archrival, giving coach Matt Campbell just his second straight road win against the Hawkeyes.
Iowa State trailed 13-0 at halftime but rallied and held the Hawkeyes to just six points in the second half. Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara also struggled in the game, completing 13 of 29 passes for 99 yards with two interceptions. Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht was also solid, completing 23 of 35 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the second half.
FOUR DOWNS AND BRACKET: Northern Illinois is beautiful, Texas is the beast and Shedeur Sanders should get out
Yesterday’s college football results
Numerous teams suffered narrow defeats against unranked opponents on Saturday.
No. 4 Alabama only led USF 14-13 in the fourth quarter but scored 28 points in the final quarter to secure a deceptive 42-16 victory. No. 8 Penn State trailed Bowling Green 24-20 at halftime but narrowly won 34-27, and No. 6 Oregon needed a game-winning field goal to hold Boise State at bay 37-34.
Then there was No. 13 Oklahoma, which scored just two points in the second half and beat Houston 16-12 at home, a week after the Cougars were dominated 27-7 by UNLV. In the same state was No. 17 Oklahoma State, which earned a 39-31 win in double overtime over unranked Arkansas (despite trailing 21-7 at halftime).
Finally, there was Kansas State (No. 16), which trailed 27-20 in the fourth quarter before scoring a touchdown to tie the game midway through the quarter. They scored the game-winning touchdown with 8:13 left in the quarter on a 60-yard fumble return touchdown.
That’s college football sometimes. Here’s the full scoreboard for each ranked team in Week 2:
- No. 1 Georgia 48, Tennessee Tech 3
- No. 2 Ohio State 56, Western Michigan 0
- No. 3 Texas 31, No. 9 Michigan 12
- No. 4 Alabama 42, USF16
- No. 5 Ole Miss 52, Middle Tennessee 3
- No. 6 Oregon 37, Boise State 34
- Northern Illinois 16, No. 7 Notre Dame 14
- No. 8 Penn State 34, Bowling Green 27
- No. 3 Texas 31, No. 9 Michigan 12
- No. 10 Missouri 38, Buffalo 0
- No. 11 Utah 23, Baylor12
- No. 12 Tennessee 51, No. 23 NC State 10
- No. 13 Oklahoma 16, Houston-14
- No. 14 USC 48, State of Utah 0
- No. 15 Miami 56, Florida A&M 9
- No. 16 Kansas State 34, Tulane 27
- No. 17 Oklahoma State 39, Arkansas 31
- No. 18 Arizona 22, Northern Arizona 10
- No. 19 LSU 44, Nicholls 21
- Illinois 23, No. 20 Kansas 17
- Iowa State 20, No. 21 Iowa 19
- No. 22 Clemson 66, Appalachian State 20
- No. 12 Tennessee 51, No. 23 NC State 10
- No. 24 Louisville 49, Jacksonville State 14
- No. 25 Washington 30, Eastern Michigan 9
