Not exactly a set of awe-inspiring games in Week Two, but some interesting story-lines and results regardless. The review is here, regardless of game quality. Here we go...
It was bad last week for Pitt, losing their opener to FCS school Youngstown State, and it got worse on Thursday night inside Nippert Stadium where Cincinnati were up 34-3 late in the fourth quarter before Pitt managed their first touchdown of the game. It's been a rough start for former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst in his first ever head coaching job, and after so much drama with coaching changes at Pittsburgh recently, the 2012 season seems headed downhill in a real hurry. The Bearcats played all over the Panthers, with their QB Munchie Legaux, aside from having one of the best names in football, looking set for a big season. Pitt need to regroup quickly as they head towards Big East play in their final season in that conference before joining the ACC in 2013.
1997 was the last time that Utah State beat Utah. Until Friday night. A dramatic 27-20 overtime win capped a content that the Aggies dominated for large stretches. A missed PAT on a late first quarter TD was what sent the game to overtime, but the Aggies, after the Utes came storming back to tie the game, stood tall and pulled off a brilliant win in front of a home crowd that's waited a long time to see their team beat the Utes. Another QB with an awesome name, Chuckie Keeton, led the Aggies to their biggest ever victory, Utah State fresh off of their first ever bowl win in Boise, Idaho last December.
Disaster for another PAC-12 team. A week after losing to fierce in-state rival Colorado State, Colorado have lost to FCS foe Sacramento State, the Buffaloes taking a crushing 30-28 loss on a last-second 30-yard game winning field goal for Sac State's walk-on kicker Edgar Castaneda. It's getting old hat for this team, beating PAC-12 opponents in early-season games. They did it last year, too, stunning Oregon State 29-28 in OT last year. The Buffs are 0-2 and facing a long season. Sacramento State are at 1-1 and leave Boulder with a handy $460,000 pay check for partaking in the game. That's a win all around.
Speaking of Oregon State...well, the Beavers pulled off a win vs. No. 13 Wisconsin, the reigning Big Ten champions, in Corvallis, besting the Badgers 10-7 in a low-scoring game that saw Oregon State's defense absolutely blanket Wisconsin RB Montee Ball. He rushed for a meagre 61 yards. I mean, they were all over this guy like a cheap suit. The Beavers D forced two turnovers. On offense, Oregon State QB Sean Mannion threw for 276 yards and a TD to help Oregon State spring the upset. Wisconsin finished with 207 yards, only 35 on the ground, which was the lowest rushing total for the Badgers in 5 years. The loss snapped a 33-game win streak for Wisconsin against non-conference opponents. Big loss for Wisconsin, HUGE win for the Beavers at home.
For the second straight year Iowa State have gotten past Iowa, winning 9-6, in a dour struggle featuring just one TD - to the Cyclones - in which ISU relied on their defense to record their first win in Iowa City in ten years. Iowa's offense came alive somewhat at the end of the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough in the end. Big win for the Cyclones and their head coach Paul Rhoads. despite being held scoreless in the second half.
All the world seemed to think Miami-FL was back, and were the real deal behind QB Stephen Morris and RB Duke Johnson, but it was Kansas State, at home in Manhattan, who stamped themselves as the genuine article, routing the Hurricanes 52-13. QB Collin Klein, more known for his running ability, threw for 210 and a TD, complementing his aerial work with 71 yards and 3 more TDs on the ground. K-State amassed 498 yards of total offense, and their defense got to Morris often, recording 5 sacks, and recovered 3 fumbles, while holding the 'Canes to a putrid 40 yards on the ground, 1.4 yards per attempt. The Wildcats improved to 6-0 at home against BCS non-conference opponents under Bill Snyder, who really has K-Sate relevant nationally again. Whatever progress the Hurricanes made last week vs. Boston College, they regressed this week.
A 6-touchdown day for USC QB Matt Barkley, but it was the quietest 6-TD effort I've seen from any quarterback in some time. Not that it matters, I suppose. Despite being heavy underdogs, the Syracuse Orange gave the No. 2 Trojans everything they could handle, and it took another big day for WRs Marqise Lee and Robert Woods - with RB Silas Redd rushing for 100+ yards, his first such milestone for USC after transferring from Penn State - to give the Men of Troy a somewhat uneven 42-29 win at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. It was a win, of course, but USC head coach Lane Kiffin has some work to do, particuarly defensively. C Khaled Holmes was carted off the field in the last quarter. USC cannot afford injuries, not with depth issues brought about by scholarship restrictions.
A pair of SEC debuts and a pair of losses for the new boys on the big-time block, Texas A&M (lost to Florida 20-17 in College Station) and Missouri (lost to Georgia 41-10 in Columbia, MO) and both games were similar in the way they played out. Both the Aggies and Tigers were in the contest with a shot, particularly in the first half, but faded out late. They are probably now learning and really understanding just what sort of athletes SEC defenses possesses in greater numbers than Big XII defenses ever did.
Upset of the season so far, the Louisiana-Monore Warhawks beating No. 8 Arkansas in War Memorial Stadium, a shocking loss for a team expected to contend for an SEC title in 2012. It happened in miracle fashion, the Warhawks, 9-15 total in the last two seasons, rallied from a 21-point deficit to snatch a remarkable 34-31 (OT) win against the Hogs. Granted, Arkansas were without their star QB Tyler Wilson for the entirety of the second half, but Wilson never played defense, and made no difference to the unit on that side of the football, who allowed the comeback to happen - the game-tying score a 23-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-10 with 55 seconds remaining in regulation. The game was won on a 4th-and-1 play in OT, a wild scramble into the end zone to cap a victory that no one on either sideline or in the stands, will soon forget.
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