Oji De Gennaro 9/7
The second week of the college football season brought a mix of routine dominance and chaos that will reverberate deep into the fall. Several national contenders flexed their muscle against overmatched opponents, but the real drama unfolded in games where unranked challengers toppled established names.
Florida State set the tone with a demolition of East Texas A&M, posting a 77–3 victory that looked more like a scrimmage than a competitive contest. The Seminoles racked up 729 yards of offense and tied a program record with 11 touchdowns. Three different quarterbacks contributed through the air, with Tommy Castellanos delivering three scores and nearly 240 yards in limited action. The Seminoles now enter their bye week looking every bit like a team prepared to contend for a playoff spot.
Elsewhere, blowouts were plentiful. Ohio State blanked Grambling State 70–0, Oregon dismantled Oklahoma State 69–3, and Tennessee and Texas Tech both cruised past the 60-point mark. These results underscored the growing divide between the sport’s heavyweights and the rest of the field, but they also made the weekend’s surprises stand out all the more.
Mississippi State provided the shock of the day, upsetting tenth-ranked Arizona State 24–20 with a 58-yard touchdown strike in the final half-minute. Fans poured onto the field and tore down the goalposts in a scene that symbolized how much the victory meant to a program searching for new life after years of struggles. The Bulldogs showed resilience on defense and enough explosiveness on offense to suggest that the win may be more than a fluke.
South Florida continued its dream start by edging thirteenth-ranked Florida 18–16 on a last-second field goal. The Bulls have now beaten ranked opponents in consecutive weeks, a remarkable feat for a program that has spent the past decade outside the national spotlight. Their defense held Florida to under twenty points, and the confidence in Tampa is growing by the day.
Another classic came in Waco, where Baylor stormed back from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to stun seventeenth-ranked SMU 48–45 in double overtime. Quarterback Sawyer Robertson threw for 440 yards and three touchdowns, including two late strikes to force the extra periods, before kicker Connor Hawkins sealed the win with a pressure-packed field goal. For Baylor, the comeback could serve as the spark for a season that once looked destined to disappoint.
The lone ranked clash of the week featured Oklahoma and Michigan. The Sooners outmuscled the Wolverines 24–13, a result that bolsters Oklahoma’s case as a Big 12 contender and raises uncomfortable questions for Michigan after an uneven start to the year.
The implications of these upsets stretch beyond a single weekend. Mississippi State’s victory suggests their rebuild is further along than expected, while South Florida suddenly looks like one of the most dangerous non-Power programs in the country. Baylor’s offensive explosion could elevate them into the Big 12 title race. On the other side, Arizona State and Florida face early-season reckonings, and Michigan must quickly regroup or risk sliding out of the playoff conversation.
Week 2 did not deliver a marquee clash of top-five powers, but it did remind fans why September is so compelling. Heavyweights looked unbeatable, underdogs delivered seismic jolts, and the playoff picture already feels more complicated than it did seven days ago.
The Dutch Report 