Though the Week 2 college football slate didn’t have many marquee matchups, there were still several shocking upsets that surprised lots of fans! Here are the top three upsets from Week 2 (ESPN).
- Oregon Rolls Into Columbus and Bullies Ohio State
Though Oregon was ranked #12 in the country, almost no one gave them much of a chance against #3 Ohio State. Mario Cristobal’s team proved that they are a force to be reckoned with this season by dominating the Buckeyes for four straight quarters. Ohio State was favored to win by 14 to 15 points, depending on which online sportsbook you checked before the kickoff.
What was most surprising about this Ducks’ victory was the way they manhandled the Buckeyes at the line of scrimmage. Oregon’s big boys up front kept opening plenty of gaping holes for CJ Verdell and Travis Dye. The Ducks ran the ball 38 times for an incredible 269 yards (7.1 yards per rush).
The Buckeyes cannot blame the loss on CJ Stroud as he threw for 484 yards and three touchdowns. The young freshman did miss high with several throws but as a whole, he played very well. Ohio State’s defense was an absolute train wreck as they allowed 505 total yards.
- Stanford Stuns #14 USC on Saturday Night
It may be a new year, but it’s the same old disappointing USC Trojans! Stanford was a 17 point underdog but they went into the Rose Bowl and embarrassed USC. The Cardinal had a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 21-10 lead at the half.
Stanford looked much different than the team that got blown out by Kansas State in Week 1. Coach David Shaw got the Cardinal back to its roots by establishing the run and calling some timely play-action passes. Sophomore QB Tanner McKee was decisive and efficient as he finished 16 of 23 for 234 yards and two touchdowns.
USC QB Kedon Slovis may be a Heisman contender but he looked very vanilla against Stanford. The 6-3 205 pound junior threw for 223 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. However, the main thing that killed the Trojans were penalties, as they had nine of them for 111 yards.
- BYU Take Down #21 Utah in The Holy War
The Cougars put a royal beatdown on the Utes late on Saturday night in this intense rivalry. BYU QB Jaren Hall didn’t throw for many yards but he took great care of the football and ended up with three touchdown passes. The Cougars took a 16-7 lead into the halftime break and never looked back.
The Utes ran the ball pretty well the entire evening as they ended up with 193 rushing yards and averaged 7.7 yards per rush. However, the Utes had a difficult time with the Cougars’ pass rush, as they allowed two sacks and five tackles for loss. Two untimely turnovers stifled any chance of a Utah comeback and BYU ended up with a nine-point victory.
