The second week of college football has come and gone and there were plenty of headlines around the country, but especially in the eight states that border Missouri.
Starting off in BIG 10 country as always is the Nebraska Cornhuskers where it was a tale of two sides for them. On the defensive side of the ball, they looked great, sacking Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders eight times and holding them to a measly 13 points before the break, but the offense was a different story as they only scored two touchdowns, and turned the ball over four times resulting in a 36-14 loss. The Huskers fall to 0-2 and are the only Big 10 team without a win.
Just a bit east, Iowa and Iowa State faced off for the Cyhawk trophy, with Iowa winning, 20-13. This was an incredibly defensive matchup as neither team was able to break 300 total yards and both teams had an interception. Despite only going 12/22 in the air, Iowa was able to get revenge for last year’s 10-7 loss to the Cyclones to remain undefeated.
In another BIG 10 vs. BIG 12 matchup, Illinois went on the road to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in what was expected to be an even matchup of the high powered Kansas offense against the strong Illinois defense, however, this game was all Jayhawks. While the final score was only 34-23, Kansas was up 34-7 at one point and had picked off Illinois two times. Kansas is 2-0 for the second straight year as they prepare to go on the road to play Nevada.
Northwestern won their first game on American soil in nearly two years as they blew out UTEP, 38-7. They put up nearly 400 yards of total offense, and had three interceptions. Ryan Hilinski was on the field for one single play and he threw an 85-yard touchdown which I think is a pretty good summary of how the game went.
In the ACC, Louisville was the only team in the FBS to play on Thursday night, and let’s just say they had a bit more of an impressive performance than the Kansas City Chiefs. The Cardinals routed Murray State, 56-0. Louisville had nearly 700 yards of total offense and had as many touchdowns as Murray State had first downs.
Down in SEC country, the Kentucky Wildcats had a bit of a scare against their FCS opponent. Despite being a 35 point favorite against Eastern Kentucky, the Wildcats only beat EKU, 28-17. They were tied 7-7 going into half time and allowed over 300 yards of total offense, but four passing touchdowns from Devin Leary helped Kentucky sneak out with the win.
Tennessee played a very similar game as they also struggled against an FCS team. The Volunteers were a 48 point favorite to Austin Peay, they only managed to win, 30-13. Joe Milton was held to only 228 yards while Austin Peay’s quarterback Mike DiLiello managed to drop 260 on the Vols defense. The Volunteers go on the road next week to play Florida hoping to win in the Swamp for the first time in 20 years.
Vanderbilt struggled against Wake Forest and took their first loss of the year. Even though AJ Swann put up 314 yards and scored three touchdowns, his two interceptions helped Wake Forest seal the win. The Demon Deacons had an incredible day on the ground putting up 288 yards and having two players put up over 100 yards.
Arkansas also had a relatively ugly game but managed to squeak out a win. The Razorbacks took down Kent State, 28-6. Before the season started, Arkansas seemed like a team with a strong offense but a questionable defense, but the opposite felt more accurate in this game. Kent State only put up 200 yards, did not score a touchdown, threw a pick and was sacked seven times. The Arkansas offense on the other hand barely put up over 300, a metric that should have been shattered against a team like Kent State.
Moving over to the Big 12, Oklahoma struggled to put away SMU. Despite winning 73-0 last week, they only won, 28-11 and only put up 176 yards in the air. However, they did score four touchdowns and put up almost 200 yards on the ground. They remain undefeated as they prepare to face in-state rival Tulsa next week.
Oklahoma State had another struggle win over the weekend as they only beat Arizona State by 12 points. While Arizona State is a power five opponent and had home field advantage, they were horrible last year only going 3-9. On top of that they have a first year head coach and a new quarterback. This is the second straight week where the Cowboys have seemed to underperform.
Kansas State snapped one of the longest winning streaks in the country defeating reigning Sun Belt champion Troy, 42-13. Coming into this game, Troy had won 12 straight, the second longest in the country only behind Georgia, but it was all Wildcat in this one. Kansas State put up 397 yards of total offense and six touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the country.
Down at the group of five level, Northern Illinois had a massive fall off after last week’s win against Boston College. FCS Southern Illinois was just too much for the Huskies. The Salukis picked off NIU’s Rocky Lombardi three times en route to a 14-11 win. This is SIU’s second straight year with a win over an FBS team.
Western Kentucky continued to show their powerful offense beating Houston Christian, 52-22. Austin Reed went an astounding 27-33 with 253 yards and four touchdowns while backup Turner Helton went 5-5 and threw a touchdown as well. The Hilltoppers will take on Ohio State next week in hopes of pulling off an upset.
Middle Tennessee State played their second straight SEC opponent and put up a good fight, but ultimately came up short to Mizzou, 23-19. The MTSU passing offense did put up 10 more yards than Mizzou and their defense scored a safety in a very strange game, but they still are looking for their first win of the year.
In the AAC, Memphis became the third straight team to beat Arkansas State by more than four touchdowns winning, 37-3. The Tigers hung nearly 400 yards while allowing only 233 yards, but picked the Red Wolves off twice. Memphis is the final remaining undefeated team in the conference.
Finally, Tulsa became the next victim of the high powered Washington passing game. Michael Penix dropped 408 yards and three touchdowns on Tulsa while the ground game put up another 109 yards and three touchdowns. Tulsa on the other hand put up 318 total yards, but continued to be stuffed, throwing an interception and only getting in the endzone once.