Shane Buechele

College football scores: What you need to know about a wild Week 2

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:40 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Dieter Kurtenbach

It was supposed to be a let-down week — after an opening weekend that barely gave us a minute to breathe, Week 2 presented an opportunity to catch our breath.

There were no match-ups between ranked teams this weekend, but while not every game turned out to be worthwhile, there were still records, entertainment and controversy.

And what a controversy it was.

Here’s everything you need to know about Week 2 of the college football season:

Central Michigan beat No. 22 Oklahoma State with an incredible Hail Mary and lateral… or did they?

The play was incredible, but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. But there’s good news for Oklahoma State, which was totally jobbed by the refs.

No. 2 Clemson and No. 9 Georgia squeezed out wins

Clemson only led Sun Belt foe Troy 13-10 early in the fourth quarter — they ended up winning 30-24.

Georgia, coming off a win over North Carolina last week, beat FCS opponent Nicholls State 26-24. The Dawgs were 55-point favorites in the game.

Expect plenty of grumbling in that part of the country this week.

It was a bad week for the Big 12
Remember how everyone thought the SEC played poorly in Week 1? Well, it went undefeated in non-conference play Saturday. The Big 12, on the other hand, went 0-3 against Power 5 opponents Saturday, most notably, No. 15 TCU lost to Arkansas in double-overtime in one of the most absurd games you’ll ever see. Don't worry, Big 12, everyone will forget all about it in a few days.

Alabama won, and Nick Saban was not happy about it.

Alabama didn’t play a perfect game — just a really good one — to beat Western Kentucky by four touchdowns, so Nick Saban was, of course, livid. Lane Kiffin felt the fury.

Defense was optional in a record-setting night in Tempe
Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage tied Howard Griffith’s FBS record for touchdowns in a game, scoring 8 in his first 13 touches in his team’s wide-open 68-55 win over Texas Tech.

Michigan and Ohio State kept pace
No. 4 Ohio State blew out Tulsa 54-10 — J.T. Barrett only needed to throw 22 passes in the game as the OSU defense dominated.

No. 5 Michigan, not to be outdone, beat UCF 51-14. Wilton Speight had four touchdowns and removed any doubt that he’s not the No. 1.

Florida State won... but lost
No. 3 Florida State had no problem beating Charleston Southern, who, because of suspensions due to possible NCAA violations, went to Tallahassee missing 10 starters, including its top two running backs, four offensive linemen and both starting safeties.

FSU had no problem beating them — but it lost standout safety Derwin James to a knee injury in the second half. The prognosis isn’t good.

Texas' offense is still clicking
This freshman can play: Shane Buechele threw as many incomplete passes as touchdowns (4) in a 41-7 win over UTEP. The 18-wheeler, Tyrone Swoopes, wasn’t a factor in the contest.

Penn State and Pitt renewed their rivalry, and it was worth the wait

Pitt came out of the gates early with a dominating ground game, only to see Penn State get back into the contest. It went down to the wire, but the Nittany Lions couldn't get the job done, denying James Franklin his first marquee victory at PSU. Could he be on the hot seat? 

Tennessee bounces back on the biggest stage
In front of the largest crowd in American football history — 156,990 — at Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee bounced back from a poor Week 1 performance and a sluggish start to the game by scoring 31 straight points on Virginia Tech. Josh Dobbs was finally allowed to throw deep — tossing three touchdown passes — and he ran for 106 yards on 14 carries.

The triple option stands and delivers for the service academies
Navy won, Air Force won, and Army won in Week 2. They all did that last week too. For the first time since 1996, all three service academies have started 2-0.

Top highlights from Saturday:
5.

4.

3.

2.

1. (I guess)

share

Get more from Shane Buechele Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Shane Buechele

Charleston Southern Buccaneers

UTEP Miners

TCU Horned Frogs

Central Michigan Chippewas

Navy Midshipmen

UCF Knights

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Oklahoma State Cowboys