Looking back on top college football games from Week 2

Week 2 of the 2024 college football schedule looked like it would be an uneventful one at first-glance, with the ranked-on-ranked matchup between Texas and Michigan presenting itself as perhaps the only real high-stakes contest.

But that may have actually been one of the least exciting games on the schedule in retrospect as the major takeaway from the Longhorns’ 31-12 victory being that they are indeed one of the best teams in the nation with the potential to finish the year out as such.

Here’s a look into what we took away from that contest, as well as the rest of the top five games from Saturday.

1. NIU shocks No. 5-ranked Notre Dame with 16-14 road victory

Notre Dame was looked at as a serious College Football Playoff contender heading into the season, with several considering quarterback Riley Leonard to potentially be one of the nation’s biggest darkhorses at the position. Neither of those things looked to be the case on Saturday , though, as Notre Dame sputtered mightily on offense, generating 286 yards total on that side of the ball.

There are several glaring issues to fix. But quarterback play, offensive line performance and some questionable calls from offensive coordinator Mike Debrock are just a handful among them.

NIU running back Antario Brown also cemented himself as a player to watch this season, finishing out the game with 99 rushing yards on 20 carries, 126 receiving yards, and a touchdown on two receptions.

Related: Candidates to replace Marcus Freeman as Notre Dame head coach

2. Penn State avoids upset by Bowling Green, 34-27

Penn State had all the momentum and looked like a team that was legitimately one of college football’s best when the Nittany Lions took down the West Virginia Mountaineers on the road, 34-12, showing they were completely unphased by a nearly 2.5-hour weather delay.

Whether they were still riding the high of that victory or not, Penn State appeared to be caught completely flat-footed by the visiting Bowling Green Falcons. By the time both teams walked into the locker room at halftime, Bowling Green had the 24-20 lead, very much threatening to pull the unthinkable in Happy Valley.

Before this, Penn State had not allowed an opening touchdown drive in 28 games. While the Nittany Lions offense largely did what it was supposed to, the defense faltered on several levels, showing issues with tackling and allowing quarterback Connor Bazelak to hit 254 yards through the air. If Penn State is truly the CFP team we once thought it was, it will have to clean up all of this moving down the rest of the season.

Read more: College football top-25 rankings

3. South Carolina trounces Kentucky, 31-6 on the road

The Gamecocks didn’t garner a ton of respect heading into the season. But there’s no question they’ve earned it now after the way they throttled the Wildcats in what was expected to be a much closer game. It was anything but that as South Carolina got out to a 10-6 lead over Kentucky by halftime, only adding to that in a 21-0 shutout of a second half.

Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Kentucky in what marks one of the worst games in ever in head coach Mark Stoops’ career. In addition to not being able to consistently stifle the Gamecocks offense, the Wildcats also hurt themselves with 11 total penalties, while also totaling just 183 yards over total offense with 2 turnovers.

Getting back on track will be important for the Wildcats as they face the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs next weekend, but it’s safe to say the bar is set pretty low in terms putting on a better performance than last week’s. The only issue is that the opportunity to do that comes against the toughest team to play in America right now.

4. No. 15 Oklahoma nearly knocked off by Houston, 16-12

The Houston Cougars opened their season in horrendous fashion, falling 27-7 at home to a UNLV team they were anticipated to fully take care of business against.

And the closeness in the final score of this game does not seem to be a testament to any type of fight or tremendous talent that shone through for Houston, considering the Cougars may just be the worst team in the Big 12 as things stand right now.

Oklahoma shot itself in the foot multiple times in a way that absolutely cannot happen against higher-level competition, and the performance on offense was unimpressive as the Sooners managed just 249 yards on that side of the ball. The game was won on a safety that allowed Oklahoma to push things over the edge in what was shaping up to be one of the week’s most notable upsets.

Read more: Best college football stadiums of 2024

5. No. 2 Tex as shows it’s a team that has the ability to go all the way with victory over Michigan

Michigan doesn’t get taken down often in the Big House, but Texas did more than that to the Wolverines in Saturday’s victory that left zero doubt that Texas is a team that should be seriously considered to be able top make a run for an appearance in the CFP national title game.

Quinn Ewers seemed to, at least for a week, fall in the shadow of Carson Beck and Shedeur Sanders in the race for the title of nation’s best quarterback. But he showed exactly why he still fully belongs in the conversation on Saturday as he connected on 24 of his 36 passing attempts for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns. The defense played complementary football as well, forcing 3 turnovers off of the Wolverines.

More must-reads:

• 4 takeaways from Notre Dame’s 16-14 loss to NIU, including Riley Leonard’s play
• End of the line for Michigan? BIG 10 reflections from college football Week 2
• 4 takeaways from Kansas State’s 34-27 win over Tulane, including a big day from DJ Giddens