Oregon Takes a Tumble
Going into the season, the Oregon Ducks had the fourth-best odds to win the college football championship. Now, they’re only the 21st-ranked team in the country. Following a shaky win against Boise State, the Ducks went into Stillwater as 23.5-point favorites and got pummeled. The score, 39-31, doesn’t necessarily do justice to how well the Cowboys played. Drew Mestemaker threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns, along with 109 yards on the ground and a touchdown. To say he put the country back on notice is an understatement.
Photo Cred:Â The register
Mestemaker and the Cowboys had a lot of hype going into the season. They brought in key transfers from North Texas, including head coach Eric Morris. Morris has brought back a lot of excitement for Oklahoma State with their showing this past Saturday. Without two Ducks defensive scores, this score would have looked a lot worse. The Ducks’ offense was horrendous for much of the game. They showed great moments in the third quarter, but the expectations for Oregon this year was a national championship.
Michigan Proves Doubters Wrong
In Week One, the Michigan Wolverines were outplayed by in-state foe Western Michigan, causing doubt for their season. Michigan fell out of the Top 25. It put pressure on their out-of-conference game against #11-ranked Oklahoma. This game was an absolute slugfest as both defenses showed out. A key turnover late in the fourth propelled Michigan past Oklahoma. Sooner QB John Mateer had high hopes but Saturday put him under the microscope.
Photo Cred: The Oklahoman
Mateer threw for 189 yards, a touchdown, and a costly interception in the fourth. The turnover caused Michigan’s scoring the game-winning touchdown late. The biggest takeaway for Michigan is the run game. Underwood showed off his athleticism with 87 yards rushing and a 38-yard touchdown in the first quarter. These are the flashes that make Michigan believe Underwood can bring Michigan to the playoffs. Michigan’s hopes of a possible CFP spot rise, and Oklahoma sees their season slowly deteriorate.
Did We Just See the Game of the Year?
The #1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes went into Austin, Texas, to face Arch Manning and the #4-ranked Longhorns. This game was absolutely electric. Ohio State came out strong and opened up with a 20-3 lead going into halftime. It had a similar feel to last year’s meeting in Columbus. Manning and Texas showed they are able to handle adversity as they stormed all the way back down 23-3, all in the fourth quarter. The missed field goal late in the fourth has Ohio State fans worried about what is to come. They have had a lot of their season-ending losses in the past years due to the kicking game.
Photo Cred: ESPN
Texas proved to everyone that they have matured from a year ago and are true contenders in the college football season. They were able to score a game-tying touchdown and a game-winning XP in the final seconds. The Texas defense standing up in the second half is what caught everyone’s eye and has everyone wondering how good they can become if they are able to get their offense to a place we know they can get to. Texas is now the new #1 in the college football world.
Familiar Ending to the Cy-Hawk Game
The Iowa Hawkeyes overcame a valiant effort by the Iowa State Cyclones for a comeback down 10-0 to win 16-3. The last two meetings have ended with game-winning field goals for Iowa State. This year gave us flashbacks but in the Hawkeyes’ favor. Iowa’s offense came out with nothing as the Cyclones shut down the run game and star running back Kamari Moulton. This meant starting QB Hank Brown would have much more opportunity to throw the ball.
Photo Cred: Hawk Central
He showed to be someone that Kirk Ferentz and Tim Lester can trust. Brown went 21-30 passing for 191 yards while also rushing for a touchdown. Iowa has a superstar in the making with Tony Diaz putting everyone on notice with eight receptions for 95 yards and a huge 56-yard reception in the second quarter leading to Iowa’s only touchdown of the game. Iowa State showed a lot of promise on the defensive side of the ball, holding Iowa to just 10 points through three quarters.
Jaylen Raynor flexed a little bit of his athleticism throughout the game, along with the strong run game of Aiden Flora. Iowa State was able to show everyone that even though they were picked to finish last in the Big 12, they are able to compete and stay in games. Iowa had question marks on the special teams side of the ball and even in new kicker Caden Buhr. Buhr went 3/3 on field goals, including a game-winning 42-yard field goal. This kid has a great future in Iowa City. Both of these teams are in for promising seasons.
