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Another week of college football is in the books and while here were plenty of teams and individuals who got it done on the college gridiron, there were just as many who didn’t. Here are a few teams and individuals who could’ve and probably should’ve done better, my Week 2 villains.
Boise State
The Broncos were up 31-10 in the fourth quarter and managed to blow the lead, eventually losing to Washington State in triple overtime.
Backup quarterback Montell Cozart, in after Brett Rypien was forced out with a suspected concussion, started the rot with an ill-advised shovel pass that was returned for a touchdown. From there, he Cougars snatched the momentum and never lost it.
It’ll be an interesting week in Treasure Valley, with the Cozart versus Rypien situation likely to dominate headlines. Boise have a short week, playing New Mexico State on Thursday night, so there’s no guarantee Rypien will be able to play. But if he’s healthy, he needs to start. Simple as that.
Louisiana Tech
Undoubtedly the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in football. The Bulldogs had a second-and-goal situation against Mississippi State and a fumble – actually, a series of extraordinary fumbles – saw them finally fall on the football at their own seven, setting up a third-and-93 play.
Is there even anything in the playbook for that situation?
Notre Dame
The Irish lost 20-19 at home to Georgia, which continues a worrying trend in the Brian Kelly era at South Bend. Saturday night was their eighth loss in a one-possession game since the start of the 2016 season. Their record in one-possession games is 1-8. The seat under Kelly is starting to get warm this week, after cooling off a bit after the opening weekend triumph over Temple.
Stanford’s defence
No matter where you look, it was bad. The Cardinal gave up 623 yards of total offence. So much for their front being one of the best in the Pac-12 conference. They were pushed around with ease on Saturday night against USC, with the Trojan offensive line paving the way for 300 rushing yards.
If it wasn’t Ronald Jones, it was true freshman Stephen Carr. Stanford’s pass rush was almost non-existent. Deontay Burnett and Steven Mitchell burned the secondary.
Yes, the Cardinal picked off Sam Darnold twice, but they were more poor throws from Darnold than they were expected defensive plays.
James Franklin
The Penn State coach said of Pitt’s 2016 win over his Nittany Lions squad: “I know last year beating us for them was like the Super Bowl. This was just like beating Akron for us.”
There’s no need for that sort of comment, especially not from a coach who should know better. It’s okay to fight hard on the field, but let’s keep it classy off the field.
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Michigan
The Wolverines had all they could handle and more from a spirited Cincinnati squad. The 36-16 win probably wallpapers over a few cracks in Ann Arbor. The offence didn’t look great with Wilton Speight at the controls. Lucky the Wolverines have a brilliant defence to bail them out.
Brigham Young
The Cougars were terrible for the second straight week, losing the Holy War to rivals Utah 19-13. The defence gave up 389 total yards to Utes quarterback Tyler Huntley, and BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum threw three interceptions to just one touchdown.
It was the seventh straight loss to Utah, and there’s now officially no doubt about it: the program has regressed since Bronco Mendenhall departed.
Nebraska’s defence
The Huskers went out in the offseason and, to much fanfare, hired Bob Diaco as defensive coordinator. So far, it’s been a horrible move. The Huskers gave up a tonne of yards and nearly lost to Arkansas State in week one, and a week later in Eugene gave up 409 yards in the first half alone. I wouldn’t want to be Diaco or head coach Mike Riley this week. A mammoth amount of work to be done in Lincoln.
Syracuse
Lost, at home, to Middle Tennessee. Not a good omen for a team who’ll meet Clemson, Florida State and Louisiana State this year.
Ohio State’s offence
Ohio State was kept well in-check by an Oklahoma defence that flew around like men possessed, and the Buckeyes didn’t have any answers. It hasn’t been a particularly smooth start to the year under new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.
The Buckeyes have all the talent in the world, but for whatever reason, they really haven’t got it harnessed properly. Quarterback JT Barrett wasn’t too bad Saturday night, but he wasn’t the difference maker the Buckeyes need him to be.
Auburn’s offensive line
Way to leave your quarterback hanging out there, boys. It was ugly for the big uglies on Saturday night. The Clemson pass rush was coming downhill in a real hurry, and the guys charged with keeping their quarterback upright folded like cheap tents. Stidham was sacked 11 times, and managed just 78 passing yards and 3.3 yards per attempt.
Rutgers
Just when you think the Scarlet Knights might be on the rise after a spirited, mostly-competitive showing last week against Washington, they go out and lose to Eastern Michigan in a mistake-riddled performance.
The days of Ray Rice, Mike Teel and Greg Schiano must seem like a lifetime ago for the Rutgers faithful.
Baylor
If you thought the Bears losing to Liberty last week was bad, the 17-10 loss to Texas-San Antonio was worse. The transition from Art Briles to Matt Rhule has been nothing short of disastrous. The Bears have Duke next and after the Blue Devils did a job on Northwestern, there’s a good chance Baylor is 0-3 before they even get to a Big 12 contest.
Quarterback Anu Solomon was a meagre 10-26 for 121 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He’s definitely on the hot seat now.
Arkansas and Texas Christian
A game so ugly that my eyes just about bled as I watched it. The 28-7 score line favoured the Horned Frogs, but it was definitely nothing to write home about. Don’t go near a replay, folks.
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