Week 2 College Football Risers and Fallers: Marcus Freeman Feeling the Heat in Notre Dame

By Anthony Wootton

There was more drama and plenty of excitement in Week 2 of the college football season. While some schools will be riding high this week, others will be forced to look inward after making disappointing starts to the campaign.

Here are my biggest risers and fallers in the NCAAF.

Risers

Washington State Cougars

No one will have been feeling higher than Cougars head coach Jake Dickert on Saturday. Dickert returned to Wisconsin, the state where he was born, and led the Cougars to a memorable win. It wasn’t a classic, but WSU is 2-0. They’re not in the AP Top 25, but this was one of the biggest upsets of Week 2.

The Wisconsin Badgers were backed by 80,000 fans, and outperformed the Cougars through most parts; they had 401 total yards on offense to Washington’s 253 (time of possession was 38:02 to 21:58 in Wisconsin’s favor). The Cougars’ grit earned them this huge 17-14 road win. Washington hadn’t beaten a ranked opponent on the road in 19 years.

Trailing 14-7 at halftime, they came flying out of the traps after the interval. Renard Bell returned the kick-off 73 yards to open the half, setting the Cougs up for an eventual 26-yard field goal.

Washington’s running, Nakia Watson, a transfer from the Wisconsin Badgers, made the headlines in this game for his two touchdowns. However, the collective effort on offense, defense and special teams will have been pleasing for Coach Dickert. Not many will have predicted them to be among the top of the Pac-12, even at this point.

Kentucky Wildcats – 9 (last week 20)

All the hype was around the Florida Gators and their new star quarterback, and hometown favorite, Anthony Richardson last week. What a difference a week makes. Richardson had no answer for UK’s defense, who dominated the Gators in their 26-16 road win.

Cats linebacker, Jordan Wright, picked off Richardson in the second quarter and returned it 18 yards to set up a touchdown on the offense’s resulting drive. That brought Kentucky within reach of Florida at halftime, trailing 13-16. Wright would finish the game six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack, alongside his interception.

Florida didn’t score another point in the second half, and was held to 91 total yards. Cornerback Keidron Smith’s pick-six in the third quarter gave the Wildcats the go-ahead and gave head coach, Mark Stoops, the most wins (61) in University of Kentucky Wildcats football history.

BYU Cougars – 12 (last week 21)

BYU’s quarterback, Jaren Hall, is looking very good. He had a great game against Baylor on Saturday, completing 23 of 39 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown. The reigning Big 12 champions struggled with Cougars’ wide receiver, Chase Roberts, who had eight receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown.

The game needed double overtime, both teams missed a field in the first overtime. BYU’s kicker, Jake Oldroyd, was emotional at the end of the game after he’d missed the game-winner in regulation, as well as the kick in OT.

The Cougars’ defense registered four sacks, and kept Baylor to 289 yards of total offense, to BYU’s 366. As great as Roberts was in the receiving game, they’ve still got their top two wide receivers to come back.

The Bears had their chance to win this, but among their missed opportunities were 14 penalties and a loss of 117 yards. The fans stormed the field at the end, and if their defense can remain as strong as they were on Saturday, and receiving duo Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney come back healthy, it could be an interesting season in Provo.

Fallers

Notre Dame Fighting Irish – not ranked (last week 8)

The season has started terribly for Notre Dame. Marshall came to town and stunned the home crowd with a 26-21 win. To make matters worse for the Fighting Irish and first-year head coach, Marcus Freeman, is that starting quarterback, Tyler Buchner, is going to miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. Freeman confirmed on Monday that Buchner requires surgery on a high-grade AC sprain.

Junior, Drew Pyne, replaces Buchner under center. This week’s game at home to the 2-0 California Golden Bears will be Pyne’s first as the starter. Pyne completed three of six passes against Marshall for 20 yards, a touchdown and one interception.

Notre Dame’s offense looks inept right now, except for tight end Michael Mayer, who had 8 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown against Marshall. Buchner leads the team in carries, so now offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is forced to find a run game that has seemingly gone hiding.

It’s going to be a long season for Marshall and the Irish.

Texas A&M Aggies – 24 (last week 6)

The Aggies’ offense had a game to forget on Saturday. Appalachian State held them to 186 total yards, compared to the Mountaineers’ 315, in this 17-14 loss. App State running back, Camerun Peoples, rushed for 112 yards.

The Aggies shot themselves in the foot as early as Friday night, with their infamous midnight yell practice firing insults about the opposition. The yell leader made inappropriate comments about App State being a “hillbilly” college in the “backwoods”. The hosts were humbled the next day.

The gulf in resources between these two schools is astronomical, which makes this defeat so shocking. The Aggies were 18.5-point favorites ahead of the game. Their quarterback, Haynes King, threw for 97 yards and no touchdown.

The pressure is now on Jimbo Fisher, and his $75 million contract, to fulfil their grand ambitions for the season.

Wisconsin Badgers – not ranked (last week 19)

The Badgers were stunned by Washington State, but they had their chance to win this. Going into halftime with a 14-7 lead, Wisconsin handed the momentum to the Cougars right from the second-half kick-off. Their special teams let them down on Saturday, missing two field goals as well as the blown kick-off coverage in the 17-14 home loss.

The Badgers also lacked discipline, committing 11 penalties that gifted 106 yards to the Cougars. Wisconsin had a chunk of possession (38:02 to 21:58), but basic errors cost them. Head coach Paul Chryst will be feeling the heat to turn things around, starting with the 0-3 New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday.