Let's Recap: Week Two National Wrap Up

This was not the most fun weekend of college football that I can remember. Penn State took a frustrating loss at home, and most of Penn State's rivals won close games. However, once you take the emotions out of the equation, there were a lot of really fun and interesting games this past weekend. Let's take a look at some of the highlights.

Games of Note

Game of the Week: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-2) @ Michigan Wolverines (2-0)

Final Score: Michigan 35 - Notre Dame 31

Kyle's going to give this game a more thorough recap in his Big Ten review, but I'd just like to say that the end of this game was made of heaping portions of the thickest country HAM. Brian Kelly may have spontaneously combusted on the sideline, but no one has provided confirmation of such happenings.

Arizona Wildcats 1-1 (0-0) @ (9) Oklahoma St. Cowboys 2-0 (0-0)

Final Score: OSU 37 - Arizona 14

Oklahoma State is a legitimate contender for the Big 12 title. The Pokes haven't missed a beat without Dana Holgorsen calling the plays, and stand a good chance of putting 40+ points on pretty much anyone. Arizona stuck around in this game far longer than they should've, which was the product of a still questionable OSU defense that took their foot off the gas for a large portion of the game. Arizona still has a good passing attack, but the Cats have lost far too many starters on both lines to be a real threat in their division this year.

(11) Virginia Tech Hokies 2-0 (0-0) @ East Carolina Pirates 0-2 (0-0)

Final Score: Va Tech 17 - ECU 10

Glass half full: The Hokies held a potent ECU passing attack to 10 points. Glass half empty: They were only able to score 17 points against a defense that is highly regarded by no one. Tech got out of Greenville with a win, but there are issues that need to be ironed out.

(12) South Carolina Gamecocks 2-0 (1-0) @ Georgia Bulldogs 0-2 (0-1)

Final Score: Sakerlina 45 - UGA 42

Oh, Mark Richt. The Bulldogs showed some gumption in this game, but the result remained the same. South Carolina was far from perfect as well, but the Gamecock defense/special teams directly accounted for 21 points, showing that this team can win in a variety of ways. Carolina is now firmly in the driver's seat in the SEC East, and Georgia will be scrambling from behind in the standings for the rest of the year.

(16) Mississippi St. Bulldogs 1-1 (0-1) @ Auburn Tigers 2-0 (1-0)

Final Score: Auburn 41 - MSU 34

You have to feel bad for Bullie fans here. They've been through a lot of losing, and are only just now emerging from the hangover from the Sylvester Croom era. Their team was down by a couple scores late, yet mount a comeback that ends... Well it ended like this.

(21) Missouri Tigers 1-1 (0-0) @ Arizona St. Sun Devils 2-0 (0-0)

Final Score: ASU 37 - Missouri 30 (OT)

In order to fully understand this bizarre game, the only thing you need to know is this: Gary Pinkel iced his own kicker twice in a row before he missed a potential game winning field goal at the end of regulation. I'm not kidding.

BYU Cougars 1-1 @ (24) Texas Longhorns 2-0 (0-0)

Final Score: Texas 17 - BYU 16

We may have seen the last of Garrett Gilbert as the starting QB in Austin, as he was benched in the first half in favor of a rotation of (mostly) Case McCoy and David Ash. And yes, Case is Colt's brother. Both defenses showed up to play and were in control of the game for the most part, but Texas was able to get it done when it counted. The worries should be starting in earnest for BYU, as the offense has yet to even remotely live up to the hype.

Utah Utes 1-1 (0-1) @ USC Trojans 2-0 (1-0)

Final Score: USC 23 17 23 - Utah 14

USC blocked a would-be tying field goal and returned it for a touchdown as time expired to save the win. However, the Trojans started running onto the field while DB Torin Harris was still running, which drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that wiped the touchdown off the board. The touchdown would have made USC beat the spread, but the penalty preserved the Utah cover. That is, until the Pac-12 office decided that the touchdown should stand a few hours later. The Pac-12 can be so silly sometimes.

Upset City

Outside of a couple bad losses for Big Ten teams, this week was relatively upset free. Ohio State and Pitt very nearly suffered embarrassing losses (that would've gone a long way towards making me feel better), but alas, they won. The only possible choice is...

Florida International Golden Panthers 2-0 (1-0) @ Louisville Cardinals 1-1 (0-0)

Final Score: FIU 24 - Louisville 17

This game was an upset only in the strictest of senses. FIU is a damn good football team, and Louisville's road to respectability may still have a few miles left on it.