College Football Week 2 Awards September 15, 2015

The color coordination in the stands at Neyland Stadium, with 102,000+ fans on hand, was amazing to behold. Photo by Jackson Lalzure of Getty Images.

(Note:  All rankings are current AP [week 2] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES

Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State

Glad I’m not him: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

Lucky guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

Poor guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Bronco Mendenhall, BYU

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bret Bielema, Arkansas

Desperately seeking … anything:  Clint Bowen, Kansas

TEAMS

Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 2 TCU (defeated Stephen F. Austin 70-7)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 6 Auburn (defeated Jacksonville State 27-20 in OT)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Idaho (lost to No. 8 USC 59-9)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Akron  (see:  Oh – my – God)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Memphis (defeated Kansas 55-23)

Dang, they’re good: Michigan State

Dang, they’re bad:  Kansas

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  South Carolina

Did the season start?  Louisville

Can the season end?  Army

Can the season never end?  Michigan State

GAMES

Play this again:  No. 19 Oklahoma 31, No. 24 Tennessee 24, 2 OT

Play this again, too:  No. 5 Michigan State 31, No. 7 Oregon 28

Never play this again: No. 2 TCU 70, SFA 7

What? Georgia Southern 43, Western Michigan 17

Huh?  BYU 35, No. 20 Boise State 24

Are you kidding me?  Houston 34, Louisville 31

Oh – my – God:  Toledo 16, #18 Arkansas 12

Told you so:  Minnesota 23, Colorado State 20 (OT)

NEXT WEEK

(rankings are current AP (post-week 2, pre-week 3)

Ticket to die for:  No. 14 Georgia Tech @ No. 8 Notre Dame (no, really!)

Also:  No. 18 Auburn @ No. 13 LSU

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Colorado @ Colorado State

Best non-Power Five matchup: Memphis @ Bowling Green

Upset alert: No. 19 BYU @ No. 10 UCLA

Must win: No. 15 Ole Miss @ No. 2 Alabama

Offensive explosion: Nevada @ No. 17 Texas A&M

Defensive struggle: Florida @ Kentucky

Great game no one is talking about:  Pittsburgh @ Iowa

Also:  No. 23 Northwestern @ Duke

Who’s bringing the body bags? Air Force @ No. 4 Michigan State

Why are they playing? UConn @ No. 22 Missouri

Plenty of good seats remaining: Buffalo @ Florida Atlantic

They shoot horses, don’t they?  NC Central @ FIU

Week 2 Take-aways:

The best example of a Pyrrhic victory took place when Notre Dame barely pulled it out over Virginia.  In the process of the game, Coach Brian Kelly likely lost his QB Malik Zaire to a broken ankle and shall likely be out for the rest of the year (he went down late in the 3^rd quarter).  ESPN is currently replaying the incident online.  It is not for the faint of heart.

Honestly, even though Ohio State shut out Hawaii 38-0, I thought that they Rainbow Warriors would have lost by at least two more touchdowns.  Perhaps Urban Meyer called off the dogs early in the 3^rd quarter in order to save his players from unnecessary wear, tear, and risk.  If so, smart move.  Perhaps Hawaii beat the spread?

Steve Spurrier lost to Kentucky for two consecutive seasons for the first time ever, this time at home.  Last year, we established by November that the Gamecocks were a team that blew 4^th Quarter leads.  The Wildcats were one of the teams to whom South Carolina blew one of those leads.  But what about this year?  Perhaps Spurrier is not getting the players anymore.  If so, perhaps at age 70, the Ol’ Ball Coach might want to start planning is exit strategy.  After all, Hatin’-Ass Spurrier only works if he is winning games.  If he loses games, then the trash talking becomes a worthless, annoying schtick.

On the other hand, can Kentucky be THAT good?  They shall have a solid test to show how good they are against a rebuilding Florida under new HC Jim McElwain, a former assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama who got things rolling at Colorado State.

The Volunteers gave a valiant effort at home but in the end could not overcome the defensive halftime adjustments the Sooners made.  But it was a good, exciting, competitive game.  The new uniform designs thanks to Nike was a nice, fitting touch.  But was even more visually stunning was the color-coordinated alternating orange and white checker pattern among the fans throughout the stands – very impressive, despite the loss.

The Oregon @ Michigan State game is certainly a game that lived up to its hype.  The Spartans are stronger than at any year I have watched them in my lifetime (for reference, I am 35).  Not even Nick Saban’s strong MSU squad from the 1999 season seems to be as rough and tough as this bunch.  What Mark Dantonio has built in East Lansing in an era that has favored the warm-weather programs is nothing short of amazing.  Better yet, it is not a fluke, but rather the product of steady building and improvement.  Last season, the Spartans upset Baylor in the Cotton Bowl, and the season before that, they upset a heavily-favored Stanford Cardinal in the Rose Bowl.  Again, given the incredibly competitive nature of the game, where most marquee recruits hail from the Sun Belt and prefer to stay in warm-weather environs, the success that Mark Dantonio has reaped at Michigan State is astounding.