Upset City: How Week Two Rewrote the College Football Hierarchy.

Written By: Daunte Lee Jones

College Football, Film, & MMA Contributor

Arch Manning flexing after a big win against #1 Ohio State

Jeremiah Smith hits the Horns Down celebration after a touchdown.

Drew Mestemaker and Oklahoma State shock the Oregon Ducks.

Michigan coaches and players celebrate a tough win agains the Oklahoma Sooners.

Arizona State Reed Harris in action.

Noah Benee excited after Utah’s win.

The best way to describe week 2 of the college football season would be shocking. Many shocking upsets, many shocking performances, and many shocking underperformances. If this week is an example of what to expect out of the rest of the season, then we’re about to be blessed with an unpredictable and competitive year. So with that, let’s take a moment to examine the three greatest games from last week. 

What began as a dominating performance for Ohio State against Texas soon turned into a hodge pot of costly mistakes that would seal the game. From the first series of the matchup, the Buckeyes would dominate as seen with the Longhorn’s first play that would result in a fumble from running back Hollywood Smothers, gifting Ohio State a free field goal. The defense and special teams should specifically be highlighted for the smothering pressure they were able to punish the Longhorns, limiting any opportunity for explosive plays. Though Julian Sayin wouldn’t impress, with the help of two-time Big Ten Receiver of the Year, Jeremiah Smith’s 164 yard and 1 touchdown performance, the Buckeyes would earn a 23-3 lead entering the fourth quarter.

This is when all momentum of the game would drastically shift. Arch Manning, who up until this point could not find a way to create against the Buckeye’s dangerous defense would begin to see opportunities for short yardage passes that would move the chains. On the other side of the field, while the Buckeyes were able to force fumbles, not recovering multiple at the end of the game would be a significant mistake that would put the ball back into Manning’s possession.

The quarterback would stay away from chasing chunk passing plays and rely on Hollywood Smothers as well as wide receiver Emmett Mosley V to create plays once the ball touched their hands. This would result in key touchdowns for the Longhorns to upset the Buckeyes and claim the number one seed. 

Over in Oklahoma the Sooners would face off against the Wolverines in a battle decided in the trenches. Quarterbacks John Mateer and Bryce Underwood would both struggle against stout opposing defenses in the passing game, forcing them to rely on their legs to create plays and finish as their respective team’s leading rusher. Running backs on each side were prevented from unleashing explosive plays, with Michigan's room running for a combined 65 rushing yards while Oklahoma’s totaled only 55 rushing yards. It truly would be that 10-yard difference along with Bryce Underwood’s insane 18 rushing attempts for 87 yards and a touchdown that would decide this game with the nail in the coffin coming from a sack from Nick Marshall to seal a 17-10 victory for the Wolverines. 

In the biggest upset of the week, Oklahoma State would defeat Oregon 39-31 in a highly contested game. The Cowboys would force the Ducks to take them seriously with one of the first explosive plays in the game coming from quarterback Drew Mestemaker’s 75 yard option run to set up his team for a good chip shot field goal. Looking into key team statistics we can see that Oklahoma State severely outperformed Oregon in the following: 36.9 minutes to 23.1 minutes in time of possession, 25 to 12 in first downs, 554 to 281 in total yards, 2 to 7 in penalties.

This reflects onto the coaching staff in Oregon bringing an undisciplined group of athletes as well as a disappointing gameplan to a battle against an underdog new head coach in Eric Morris who has a proven track record of getting the most out of the players he’s coached in the past with big names like Patrick Mahomes and Cam Ward once being under his tutelage. Drew Mestemaker has put himself on the list of quarterbacks to watch this year. Though his gunslinger play led to costly mistakes and turnovers when the moment mattered the most in the clutch, he was there and willing to put his body on the line to secure the win. As time goes by and Eric Morris gains experience in his new role, we will see the refinement of Mestemaker’s game which will become lethal to any contender in the current college football scene that steps up to them. 

Besides these top-rated games, there were an abundance of teams who performed spectacularly and countless other players who had performances that put themselves on the map. One player who’s performance shot them up the NFL draft boards is Arizona State wide receiver, Reed Harris, who was the bright spot in a loss catching 9 receptions for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns. In Utah’s 43-10 win against Arkansas, tight end Noah Benee showed his receiving ability with 4 receptions for 113 yards and 1 touchdown, showcasing the Utes dynamic offense. The last player to keep your eye on would be USC’s star walk-on running back King Miller who benefited from a strong offensive line performance rushing for 128 yards and 1 touchdown on 18 attempts.

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