Week 2 is in the books, and while some fanbases are on cloud nine, others are in the dumpster. We had a few upsets that shook the potential College Football Playoff landscape. We had blowouts with multiple teams scoring north of 60 points. We are not even halfway through September, and I think we will see our first Power Four coach fired before the end of the month. Let’s talk about the weekend of college football.
Thanks Mike Gundy, Time to Move On – Mike Gundy has spent nearly his entire career at Oklahoma State. He played for the Cowboys, was a position coach for them in the 90s, and became the head coach in 2004. He has been in Stillwater every year since 1986, with the exception of 1996 to 2000. He has eight 10-win seasons at Oklahoma State, but it is time for the Cowboys to move on from Gundy. Oklahoma State was downright embarrassed by Oregon on Saturday, losing 69-3. Oregon didn’t even score in the 4th quarter. Oklahoma State was expected to contend in the Big 12 last year before finishing the season 3-9. This season looks to be heading toward a similar result. The expectation should not be College Football Playoff appearances, but is it really too much to ask to not lose by 66 points? Gundy’s buyout is $15 million, and while that may sound like a hefty amount of money, how much is it worth to keep him around and continue the current trend of the program?
USF May Not Get the 12 Seed, They Might Be Top 10 – Before the season, most people thought USF would start 0 and 3. After a beatdown of Boise State and a road victory over Florida, USF looks like one of the most competitive teams in the country. The Bulls are not out of the woods yet, as they travel to face Miami this weekend in probably the toughest task of all three games. Even if they lose to Miami, a close game would still move the needle for fans and voters. If USF goes 12 and 1 with a road loss to Miami, wins over Boise State and Florida would likely carry enough weight to help them jump into the top 10 and avoid the 12 seed. We have a long way to go, and USF would need to dominate the rest of their schedule. Look out because USF is not backing down anytime soon.
Less FCS Teams, More Group of Five – This might be a controversial take with some fanbases. I would rather see Tennessee play Middle Tennessee State than East Tennessee State. I would rather see Florida State play Florida Atlantic than East Texas A and M. I would rather see Ohio State play Bowling Green than Grambling State. I know the FCS programs need their money, and the Power Four schools will pay them. That does not mean I enjoy it. San Jose State gave Texas issues early. Florida International gave Penn State issues in the first half. Troy was up double digits on Clemson. We had 32 games between FBS and FCS teams with an average score of 45 to 10. Only two FCS teams won. Bryant beat UMass and Long Island beat Eastern Michigan. Let’s have fewer Power Four teams play FCS teams.
Clemson, You Good? – I fully expected Clemson to come out and play with their hair on fire after losing at home to LSU. Instead, we got the opposite. Clemson had just 127 yards of total offense in the first half while scoring three points. Cade Klubnik threw a pick six in the second quarter to give Troy a 16 to 0 lead. Clemson would score 27 unanswered points, and the next five drives ended in points. This is not the Clemson team everyone expected with all the returning talent on the roster. Adam Randall was given his opportunity at running back, rushing for 119 yards and over five yards per carry. The team will go as far as Cade Klubnik takes them, and right now I am not sure he can even take them to the ACC Championship game, let alone the playoffs. The Tigers travel to Georgia Tech this weekend in what should be a physical matchup and a must win game.
Michigan vs Oklahoma, Kind of What We Expected – The Wolverines and Sooners matchup featured an experienced quarterback against an 18 year old making his second start. The difference between experience and inexperience was obvious. Bryce Underwood made questionable decisions, missed on targets, and did not have the touch needed on throws. John Mateer hit on big throws down the field, made key plays with his legs to keep drives alive, and got the ball to his playmakers. Asking Underwood to go on the road into a hostile environment in his second game and put the game on his shoulders was never going to work. Outside of Justice Haynes’ 75 yard touchdown run, the Wolverines averaged just 2.3 yards per carry. Oklahoma finished with over 400 yards of offense and looked like a team with a veteran quarterback under center. Oklahoma has themselves in a good position getting ready for SEC play, while Michigan needs to figure out a game plan to avoid putting all the weight on Underwood’s shoulders.
