The 2022 College Football season is only two weeks in, and if the weekend’s results are anything to go by it is going to be intriguing, to say the least! Seven of the ranked teams lost, including three out of the top 10 and No 1 Alabama got quite a scare too!
The new look Sun Belt gave notice of its intention with two outstanding results. With the AAC set to lose several of its bigger schools, we could see a new no-one conference in the G5 going forward.
The PAC-12 had a better night, with last week’s big losers Oregon & Utah both bouncing back with big wins. Admittedly against FCS opponents, but all you can do is beat what is in front of you. USC opened conference play with an impressive win at Stanford, while Washington State showed they are not to be overlooked with a surprise win at then No. 19 Wisconsin.
There are going to be a few changes in the top 25 this week, and we should see a new No. 1
Shock results
Where to start? Well, the Sun Belt look as good as anywhere and it was a night to remember for newly joined Marshall. The Herd capitalised on some poor offensive play to secure a win at No. 8 Notre Dame. Irish QB Tyler Buchner had another poor game, and his late replacement Drew Pyne looked no better. The post Brian Kelly era is off to a poor start, and on this showing, Notre Dame might struggle to reach bowl eligibility.
Normally this would be the talk of the night, however, Appalachian State managed to upstage them with a historic 17-14 upset win at No 6 Texas A&M. This was their best ever win as an FBS team and only their shock win over Michigan in 2007 tops it. They had a heartbreaking loss against North Carolina last week but will go into Sun Belt play full of confidence on these showings against Power Five teams.
Before we leave the Sun Belt let’s doff our caps to James Maddison who is 2-0 in their first season in the FBS. They have scored 107 points in these two games and look like they will do ok at this level.
Other Upsets
Washington State’s defence stepped up big time in their road win against Wisconsin. The Badgers dominated possession and yardage, however, Washington stopped them when it mattered. On another night the score probably would have been different but the Cougars took their chances and move to 2-0.
The only other team to lose to non-ranked opposition was Houston. They were a little unlucky though losing in double OT against a Big 12 side Texas Tech. It will knock them out of the rankings, however, they have plenty of opportunities to recover going forward.
Not Too Impressive
Pre-season No1 Alabama got a bit of a scare at unranked Texas needing a last-minute TD to sneak the win. Are Texas back or did Bama just have an off night? Too early to tell, however, we expect Texas to move into the rankings despite losing. Not often that happens!
AP Top 25 Results For Week Two
No. 1 Alabama 20, Texas 19
No. 2 Georgia 33, Samford 0
No. 3 Ohio State 45, Arkansas State 12
No. 4 Michigan 56, Hawai’i 10
No. 5 Clemson 35, Furman 12
Appalachian State 17, No. 6 Texas A&M 14
No. 7 Oklahoma 33, Kent State 3
Marshall 26, No. 8 Notre Dame 21
No. 21 BYU 26, No. 9 Baylor 20 (2OT)
No. 10 USC 41, Stanford 28
No. 11 Oklahoma State 34, Arizona State 17
No. 20 Kentucky 26, No. 12 Florida 20
No. 13 Utah 73, Southern Utah 7
No. 14 Michigan State 52, Akron 0
No. 15 Miami (Fla.) 30, Southern Miss 7
No. 16 Arkansas 44, South Carolina 30
No. 24 Tennessee 34, No. 17 Pitt 27 (OT)
No. 18 NC State 55, Charleston Southern 3
Washington State 17, No. 19 Wisconsin 14
No. 22 Ole Miss 59, Central Arkansas 3
No. 23 Wake Forest 45, Vanderbilt 25
Texas Tech 33, No. 25 Houston 30 (2OT)
The all-ranked games were headed by BYU’s excellent win at Baylor. It went to double OT and the two should swap places in the rankings. The other two both strengthened the SEC’s position in the top 25 with Tennessee getting an excellent road and Kentucky winning the all-SEC clash to show they are not to be taken lightly.
Racking them up
Utah & Oregon as mentioned above needed to bounce back from bad opening defeats and they did with some style.
Southern Utah 7 @ Utah 73
The Utes had a bit of a shock early when Southern Utah levelled it at 7-7 however it was 45-7 at the half and the Thunderbirds were held to 85 total yards of offense!
Eastern Washington 14 @ Oregon 70
Another that was well and truly over by the half with the Ducks leading 42-7. Oregon QB Bo Nix got a confidence-boosting 5 TDs and given that EWU is not a bad FCS team this might just get the Ducks back into the top 25.
Plenty of other teams breached the 60-point mark, however for us the most noticeable was…
Norfolk State 7 @ James Madison 63.
Why? Well, this is JMU’s first FBS season. Plus Norfolk State played Marshall last week and although they took a beating in that one too the form looks better given the Herd knocked off Notre Dame this week.
Getting Your Money’s Worth
Nothing came close to Eastern Kentucky 59 @ Bowling Green 57 being settled in seven (yes seven) OT sessions! 40 of the 116 points came in OT
Entertaining Game of the Week
If you are at a loose end get your snack helmet ready and watch…
Oregon State 35 @ Fresno 32.
A bit of everything here with plenty of offense and a few lead changes. However, it was the fourth quarter that swung it for us. Three lead changes inside the last two minutes a missed extra point and a gutsy coaching call to wrap it up. If you are in a hurry watch the video below…
Honourable mention goes to Georgia Southern for their 45 – 42 win at Nebraska. A full house of 86,862 saw the 23.5-point underdogs snatch the win thanks to Nebraska missing a last gasp Field Goal. This should also seal Scott Frost’s fate.
Wake Me Up When It’s All Over
Iowa State 10 @ Iowa 7
Iowa followed up last week’s stinker with an equally inept offensive performance. The game was littered with mistakes including six turnovers and to cap it all off the Hawkeyes even missed a field goal that would have sent the game to OT. Much to the relief of any casual viewer.
Performance of the Week
It’s not often that we pick an FCS team for this award however on this occasion we cant bypass Incarnate Word who beat Mountain west Nevada 55-41 on the road. The Cardinals took over in the second half and Wide Received Darion Chafin set a school record with 262 yards receiving. He only had 7 catches, giving him an average of 37.4 YPC!
One You Might Have Missed
Kansas 55 @ West Virginia 42 (OT)
Kansas hasn’t started a season 2-0 since 2011 and with Big 12 play only starting they are currently top of the table. That won’t last long so enjoy it while you can Jayhawks fans. Apart from that, it is interesting as Kansas scored 13 points in OT, thanks to Cobee Bryant’s 86 Yd Interception Return.
So thats week two is over and now all we are waiting for is the new top 25 rankings. There should be quite a bit of reshuffling.
Check out our other 2022 Weekly Round Ups here
