Gameday

The emotions swing early in college football

Throughout our college football-crazed nation, more than a few hands are hovering over panic buttons.

The fact that Week Two just ended is irrelevant.

Omens, signs, premonitions and general overreactions are surrounding this season's early September results.

That huge sigh of relief that hovered above the Big House in Ann Arbor after Michigan's upset of then-No. 11 Oklahoma was optimism replacing pessimism after the opposite had occurred following the Wolverines' literal last-second victory over Western Michigan on a desperation Hail Mary.

Across Lake Superior, the Luke Fickell castoff watch is still underway in Wisconsin. A 36-9 win over Western Illinois was no balm for a scorching 28-point loss to Notre Dame.

At Rutgers, Greg Schiano is skating on thin ice during a deep thaw.

An embarrassing defeat at home to UMass -- a team that began the campaign with the longest active losing streak in FBS at 16 games -- was compounded by the Scarlet Knights' loss at ever-struggling Boston College.

In Chestnut Hill, Bill O'Brien can be thankful for the visit paid by Schiano's squad. Counting the 34-15 loss to Cincinnati in the opener, the Eagles are now 10-17 overall under O'Brien.

At Oregon, Dan Lanning is in danger of becoming the new James Franklin of the Big Ten.

It is simply inexcusable for then-No. 2 Oregon to absorb a loss at Oklahoma State which had just endured back-to-back losses to Tulsa of the American Conference.

Prior to upsetting the Ducks, the Cowboys had lost 21 of 25 games since the start of the 2024 season.

Opposite the gloomy side of the coin appears the rainbow.

Boarding of the National Championship Express is underway for Penn State partisans after the 45-0 and 27-9 triumphs over Marshall and Temple, respectively.

The locales of numerous 2-0 teams are similarly abuzz with postseason promise.

Even at 3-0 USC, however, the brakes should be applied to the various bandwagons.

Week Two euphoria over the prospects of a college football team is like the pride in a cake that looks perfect halfway through baking.

It doesn't take much for the whole thing to fall flat.

Enough is enough

Missouri's final score in a 38-21 victory over Kansas in the Border War rivalry was no ordinary touchdown pass.

It was meant to send a message.

Fed up with the perceived negative approach that Kansas adopted for the game, including a pregame video that depicted the friction between the two states dating to the Civil War, Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz called for a fourth-down pass with 2:02 remaining in the game after Kansas had turned the ball over on downs at their own 14-yard line.

The pass produced a touchdown.

"And I get there's a past for it, but why are we stirring that bullcrap up," Drinkwitz said. "It's 9/11. This country needs unity now more than ever. And I was embarrassed for them, to be honest. That's why I tried to embarrass them at the end."

Max efficiency

No one can accuse Colorado State of wasting opportunities or time.

In a 58-24 win over Southern Utah of the FCS Big Sky Conference, the Rams scored two touchdowns in the first 99 seconds and piled up 24 points over the final 3:24 of the first half.

In the first 30 minutes of play, Colorado State converted two Southern Utah turnovers into 10 points while building a 48-21 halftime lead.

In the process, Jim Mora became the first head coach to win his first two games at Colorado State since Bob Davis in 1947.

New stomping grounds

North Dakota State, which dominated FCS with 10 national championships between 2011 and 2025, is off to a 3-0 start in its inaugural season in FBS.

The Bison picked up their first Mountain West Conference win by topping Air Force, 38-32.

Air Force staged a furious rally with three fourth-quarter touchdowns but was unable to recover an onside kick with less than a minute left.

Notable

■ With a 24-23 victory over Ohio State, Texas became the first team over the last 22 seasons to rally from 20 points down against an AP No. 1 team.

■ UCLA has scored 21 fourth-quarter points in each of the first two games to defeat Cal, 45-24, and San Diego State, 28-10.

■ While coasting to an 87-3 win over Wagner, James Madison tied an NCAA record with three punt-return touchdowns and eclipsed the school record for points.

■ The crowd of 111,240 at Michigan Stadium was a record turnout for an Oklahoma football game.

■ For the first time since 1915, Georgia has scored at least 60 points against back-to-back opponents.

■ Minnesota's 38-13 loss to Mississippi State was the program's first regular-season contest against an SEC opponent since 1959.

■ The opening of a 30-day negotiating window between leaders of the College Football Playoff and ESPN means that a 24-team College Football Playoff could be established as soon as 2027. If a field of that size materializes, expect more Penn State vs. SMU-type snoozers.

■ Arizona State's loss at Texas A&M snapped a six-game regular-season winning streak over a Top-25 opponent which had been the nation's longest.

■ In its first trip to the state of Ohio since 1962, Holy Cross lost, 45-7, at Miami (OH).

■ After a 45-17 win, Alabama has now defeated Kentucky in 40 of 43 meetings in a series that dates to 1917. There has been one tie. Kentucky's victories were in 1922 and 1997.

Quotable

"It was like throwing the chum in the water, and then jumping in and then saying, 'Hey, let me go in and start swimming with the sharks.'"

-- Rice head coach Scott Abell after fumbles on his team's first two possessions resulted in Notre Dame touchdowns in a 52-0 loss

"We've got to look at everything that's caused us issues. Before you can move forward, you have to understand why you fell back."

-- Illinois head coach Bret Bielema after the Illini defense gave up 376 total yards in a 31-27 loss to Duke which was only a 37-yard improvement from the week before

"Just think back, it was a week and however many hours--six hours ago--when he had one of the uglier (missed) extra points you'll ever see then follows it up with the missed field goal."

-- Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz on Hawkeye kicker Caden Buhr booting three field goals, including the 42-yard game-winner with 15 seconds remaining, in a 16-13 win over Iowa State

"I mean, (if) there's another team having more young guys contribute in the country right now, I'd love to see it."

-- USC head coach Lincoln Riley after three freshmen combined for five touchdowns in a 49-30 win over Louisiana

"We're winning by 31 points and we're really upset. We've got a good standard going."

-- LSU head coach Lane Kiffin following a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech in which the Tigers committed four turnovers

Jim Caltagirone, a former member of Penn State's sports information department, comments on the national scene for Gameday. He can be reached at jimclion4ever@gmail.com