After one of the best opening weekend slates in the history of the sport, week two of the college football season left a lot to be desired on paper.
But that's why they play the games. College football always delivers.
The first weekend in four years with no ranked matchups on the schedule still provided plenty of excitement. Here are my five winners and losers from a surprisingly fulfilling week two.
WINNERS
1. The Battle At Bristol
The first football game at Bristol Motor Speedway since 1961 was a roaring success. An American football record 156,990 showed up to watch neighboring Tennessee and Virginia Tech square off. Whatever the last great coliseum lacked for great sightlines it made up for with a one of a kind atmosphere. Some tailgates started mid-week and lasted into the wee hours Sunday morning. It was the type of weekend-long party that sets college football apart, and an atmosphere that should be recreated again. Maybe not with the Vols and Hokies, but it was too cool of an experience to only be a onetime thing.
Here are my three proposed options for a future game at BMS:
Penn State Vs. Georgia
Georgia has the proximity and a rabid fan base to bring the masses to Bristol, especially against a blue blood program like Penn State from the Big Ten.
Michigan Vs. Alabama
Whenever you're trying to put together a big game these days you should look first at the school that's won four of the last seven national championships. And who better to pair with the Crimson Tide when looking to set an attendance record than the school that routinely sells out college football's biggest on-campus stadium.
West Virginia Vs. Tennessee
Tennessee was instrumental in making this game finally happen and its fans responded gobbling up between 60-70 percent of the seats for the Battle At Bristol. With campus only 115 miles away, I think Big Orange Nation would turn out again. West Virginia would be a good cultural fit for the game, and it would also provide fans a more accessible road trip than any of the Mountaineers' Big 12 road games.
As for this year's game, it took a while for the Vols to get going once again, falling behind Virginia Tech 14-0. But once they did, they finally looked like the team that almost everyone had in the top 10 before the year began. Micah Abernathy fell on the first of his three recovered fumbles on the first play of the second quarter and Joshua Dobbs hit Juaun Jennings for a touchdown pass on the very next play to seemingly wake Tennessee up. The Vols ran off 31 unanswered points en route to a 45-24 romp. If they go on to live up to expectations this season, we may very well look back on that sequence to start the second quarter of a week two game on a race track in East Tennessee as the turning point.
2. Louisville
The Cardinals haven't exactly played anyone yet, but the numbers Lamar Jackson is putting up this season would be impressive in practice against air. The second year starting quarterback has accounted for 13 touchdowns and more than 1000 yards of offense in six quarters this season against Charlotte and Syracuse, helping the Cards surge into the top 10 of the AP Poll ahead of Saturday's early season conference showdown against no. 2 Florida State. If Jackson has another big game, he'll throw his name in the running for the Heisman and could put Louisville in position to make a run at the ACC title.
3. Central Michigan
Forget the fact that the Hail Mary that beat Oklahoma State should have never counted after officials erroneously gave the Chippewas an untimed down following a Cowboys' offensive penalty. This a good football team. Cooper Rush and company showed they will be a force to be reckoned with in the MAC trading blows with the 'pokes all afternoon, and given the opportunity for one final play, CMU provided us with the play of the season so far. Rush's heave from just beyond midfield came down in the hands of Jesse Kroll well short of the endzone but, as he was being wrapped up, Kroll had the presence of mind to lateral to Corey Willis, who sprinted across the field to beat the Oklahoma State defenders to the pylon for the game-winning touchdown in front of a stunned crowd in Stillwater.
4. The SEC
After taking some heat for six non-conference losses in week one, the league rebounded with a perfect non-conference record in week two. The biggest victory came on Austin Allen's QB keeper in the second overtime of Arkansas' 41-38 victory at TCU. The Razorbacks went to Fort Worth as a touchdown underdog, but emerged 2-0 behind Allen, the younger brother of former Hogs' QB Brandon Allen. The win over an expected Big 12 title contender on the road gives the SEC a nation's best four top 25 wins so far, three on the road. That's more than the other power five conferences combined.
5. Kirk Ferentz
The Iowa coach cashed in on last season's division title and trip to the Rose Bowl with a new contract. Ferentz will now get about $4.5 million per year through 2026 from the Hawkeyes. For the longest tenured coach in the Big Ten, it's basically a lifetime deal. Saturday's 42-3 beatdown of CyHawk rival Iowa State was just the cherry on top for Ferentz, who may have his best team yet this season. With quarterback C.J. Beathard (a BGA product) and Thorpe Award winning cornerback Desmond King back, the Hawkeyes are the heavy favorites to repeat in the Big Ten West and play for the conference title again.
LOSERS
1. The Big 12
Two weeks into the season and the Big 12 already faces an uphill climb to getting a team into the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma started the season ranked no. 3, but was whipped by Houston in week one, and last week both TCU and Oklahoma State were upset at home. Throw in the turmoil at Baylor and it seems likely the league could get shutout of the final four again. The Big 12 could use a marquee win to save face. Fortunately, it will get a shot Saturday as the Sooners welcome no. 3 Ohio State to Norman.
2. James Franklin
Saturday's rivalry game against Pittsburgh was a quality of life game for the Penn State coach and the 42-39 did nothing to help Franklin's standing with Nittany Lion faithful. After having instant success in leading Vanderbilt to three consecutive bowl games, Franklin promised to return the Nittany Lions to prominence. And while his first two seasons have been far from failures, they haven't done anything to endear the talkative head coach to the fan base. A loss to Pitt in the schools' first meeting in 16 years shouldn't put Franklin on the hot seat, but it should make life uncomfortable.
3. Georgia
Sure Georgia held on to win 26-24 against the team formerly known as Nicholls State, but this was an uninspiring showing for Kirby Smart's Bulldogs, who were outplayed much of the game by a team that was a 50-point underdog going between the hedges. UGA narrowly avoided the biggest upset in college football history, but won't be able to afford any more performances like that.
4. Mark Stoops
This was supposed to be the year Mark Stoops and Kentucky took a step forward. It looked like that would be the case for a half in week one against Southern Miss, but the Wildcats collapsed after halftime allowing 34 unanswered points to a Golden Eagles' offense led by Shannon Dawson, whom Stoops fired as UK offensive coordinator last winter after just one season. Kentucky followed that performance up with a 45-7 embarrassment at Florida Saturday that extended the school's winless streak against the Gators to 30 games and warmed up Stoops' seat significantly.
5. MAC Officiating Crew
Kudos again to Central Michigan for making a play to win the game, but the appearance of a MAC team winning a game after a blown call by MAC officials is one that should raise questions. This wasn't a judgment call that they missed. This was a case of this crew administering the rules incorrectly, and they were rightfully suspended for it.
Should the instant replay official be able to buzz down and correct mistakes like these? Or, as Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy suggests, should only power five conference referees be allowed to work games involving power five schools? Those questions need to be looked at following this debacle. Whatever changes, if any, do happen, it will be too little and too late for Gundy and the Cowboys.
