September 11, 2023

Dominick dives into the top five games from Week 2 of the college football season. What were the five best games from the second week of the 2023 CFB season?

Every year there are weeks that have the firepower to be magical. Most of the time, there is a bit of a letdown. Luckily for us, this week, many of the games we thought would be good were.

Is Alabama on the slide? Is Texas back? It is too early to know these answers for sure. Week 2 went a long way in deciding.

While much of the day was spent in the afterglow of another Colorado victory, there were plenty of other games that held their own. Let’s look at some of them. Starting with the upset in Tuscaloosa.

(10) Texas 34, (3) Alabama 24|

Even a school that acquires as much talent as Alabama can not go against a top-10 team and have its QB be the leading passer and leading rusher and expect to win. Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, this proved out in a massive way Saturday as Jalen Milroe threw the ball for 255 yards and ran 15 times for 44 yards.

While the 44 yards on the ground is not overly concerning, what is concerning is no other back on the Alabama roster eclipsed this number. While Alabama trailed most of the game, it was never down big. The physical advantage its lines had over Texas should have allowed it to dominate in the run game. Milroe though, had other plans.

When his first look was not there, he ran. He also made some bad decisions when he threw the ball. One which directly led to his second interception. A throw that gave Texas the ball inside its own red zone.

On the other side of the ball, Quinn Ewers finally showed what made him the top-rated recruit coming into college. He had two TD passes which traveled more than 30 yards in the air Saturday. According to CBS Sports, these were the first two such passes he has thrown in his career.

Ewers was injured in the first quarter of the Texas 20-19 loss to Alabama in 2022. It cost the Longhorns the game and caused him to struggle the rest of the season. This season was different, and Ewers showed why everyone was clamoring for him. If he can continue to build his connection with Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy can catch more balls than he drops, Texas might be back. At least back to playoff contention.

(16) North Carolina 40, App State 34 (2OT)|

Another UNC vs. App State game, another close one.

Last season, UNC was able to pull out the game 63-61 in regulation. This year, it took the Tar Heels two overtime periods before they could finish off the Mountaineers. While the name to watch heading in was certainly Drake Maye, He finished with just 208 pass yards and zero pass TD for the victors. Instead, it was the run game that led the way.

Omarion Hampton galloped all over the App State defense for 234 yards and three TDs on 26 carries. The Mountaineers were unable to stop the push of the UNC offensive line and coach Mack Brown used this knowledge to his advantage. Although the game still came down to overtime, UNC was once again able to find a way to win. Hopefully, this season will not falter down the stretch the way 2022 did for the Tar Heels.

(13) Oregon 38, Texas Tech 30|

This was a roller coaster game from start to finish. Texas Tech QB Tyler Shough wanted revenge on his former team, and he almost got it.

With 284 yards passing and 101 on the ground, Shough did all he could to get the Red Raiders the Victory. But with three INTs, including a pick-six which sealed the team’s fate at the end, he also did everything he could to get Oregon the win.

After jumping out early on a 72-yard TD pass from Bo Nix, the Ducks struggled for much of the middle of the game allowing Texas Tech to take the lead. Oregon eventually regained the lead 31-30 and then with Texas Tech moving, came the pick-six from Shough which sealed the game.

Lucky for the Red Raiders neither of its first two losses come in conference. Unfortunately, it still knocks any momentum out of the balloon as they move forward. There is no more ability to falter in conference if they want to get to their goals which Joey McGuire has stated to be a Big-12 championship. Texas Tech can certainly turn it around, but it will take a lot.

Oregon looks to remain as one of the big dogs in a surprisingly good Pac-12 conference. In the final season of the conference, USC, Oregon, and Washington came out like gangbusters and made the rest of the conference take notice. On top of this, Oregon State, Washington State, UCLA, and even Colorado have yet to lose. Not to mention Utah, the two-time defending conference champions who everyone forgets about.

If Oregon hopes to remain a competitor in the conference, it will need to hope Saturday was its game of struggles for the season. If it struggles again, against a team with a better QB, it may not be able to pull out a victory like it did Saturday.

Miami 48, (23) Texas A&M 33|

Although Texas A&M came out and took the lead early, this was all you could say for the day the Aggies had in South Florida. Mario Cristobal had the Hurricanes on a mission. Although the Aggies had more talent, they were unable to produce the results. Much the way it has been under the tenure of Jimbo Fisher for much of his career.

Connor Weigman managed to have a solid game throwing for 336 yards and two TDs. With 142 yards of one of those TDs going to stud sophomore receiver Evan Stewart. But Miami, who has a veteran secondary, was able to do enough to hold down the Texas A&M attack.

For Miami, Tyler Van Dyke finished with 374 yards and five passing TD. He was able to spread the ball around to various receivers as the leading receiver for Miami Jacolby Young finished with just 75 yards. The Aggies will now limp back to a brutal SEC schedule while Miami will remain in the cozy confines of ACC country.

Coming into the week, the major storyline around this game was whichever team lost would cause the season to collapse for said team. After this lop-sided win by Miami, we will now have to wait and see how Texas A&M rebounds, or if it goes to SMU boosters for a loan to buy out the remainder of Fisher’s contract.

(25) Colorado 36, Nebraska 14|

After getting out to a slow start for much of the first half, both Colorado and Nebraska looked as though they were the mediocre teams we thought they would be. As Colorado came to life, Jeff Sims and Nebraska came apart.

Sims, who fumbled every other snap attempted in the game, was a big reason the Cornhuskers lost this game by so much. With 106 passing yards from Simms compared to 393 from Shedeur Sanders, The Cornhuskers had no chance on Boulder Saturday.

Colorado, who entered the game in the top 25 ranks, will move up further after this blowout victory. While Travis Hunter did not make any miraculous plays as he did in Week 1, he still played both sides of the ball and did so to an elite level. Instead of Hunter, Xavier Weaver took hold of the offense in Week 2. Finishing with 170 receiving yards from Sanders in the Buffaloes home opener.

This result has led to Colorado being given ESPN Gameday for its Week 3 game against rival Colorado State. If Colorado can continue to make plays on offense and its defense can continue to build, this could be the start of a special season in Boulder. Something not seen in this sport since, well, 2022 TCU.

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