ESPN College Football

Pretty much every team plays true freshmen. But how much of an impact are those freshmen having on the game? Through four weeks, some have made immediate impacts. Others have seen some mop-up time. Across the ESPN blogosphere this morning, we’re looking at the five teams in each conference who have had freshmen make the greatest impacts on their team.

1. California: The quarterback is the most important position, and anytime you have a true freshman playing quarterback, it’s going to have a significant impact on the outcome of the game. So far, quarterback Jared Goff has risen to the occasion, even if it hasn’t translated into wins for the Bears. He leads the country in total offense. He’s completing 61 percent of his passes (103-of-168) and has seven touchdowns to four interceptions. Goff is one of seven true freshmen who have seen time for the Bears. Running back Khalfani Muhammad is tied for second on the team with 21 carries (97 yards, one touchdown).

2. UCLA: The Bruins have played 16 true freshmen so far, which, as of last week, was second in the country only to Texas A&M. Linebacker Myles Jack has had the biggest impact with 14 tackles, including two for a loss and a team-high four pass breakups. They are also getting good production from Eddie Vanderdoes, who had two tackles for a loss against New Mexico State, and offensive lineman Alex Redmond has started all three games at guard.

3. USC: The Trojans have gotten impact performances on both sides of the ball from their freshmen. Seven have seen the field for the Trojans. Safety Su’a Cravens has been as advertised so far with 18 tackles, half a tackle for a loss, and an interception. With Silas Redd out, running back Justin Davis has supplemented Tre Madden nicely. In four games, Davis has rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 47.2 yards per game and a team-high 5.9 yards per carry.

4. Washington State: The Cougars have gotten quality -- not necessary quantity -- out of their true freshmen. They have only played four. But two of them are getting quality playing time and making significant contributions. Cornerback Daquawn Brown made his first career start against USC and posted a team high 11 tackles while breaking up two passes. He also had an interception against Southern Utah. Wide receiver River Cracraft is fourth on the team with 10 catches for 111 yards.

5. Colorado: The Buffs aren’t going as young as they did last year, but they are still getting production from their rookies. And they have found something special in linebacker Addison Gillam. Through two games he’s the Buffs leading tackler with 20 stops -- including a sack, two tackles for a loss and five stops on third down. He also blocked a punt. Defensive end Jimmie Gilbert should also continue to see time. In 64 snaps he has three tackles and a sack.

Honorable mentions

These guys have been impactful, but chances are their teams would still have had success if they weren’t on the field based on quality of competition and/or depth at a position. But their contributions shouldn’t be overlooked.

• Oregon TE John Mundt: Five catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
• Oregon RB Thomas Tyner: 12 carries for 80 yards and three touchdowns.
• Arizona LB Scooby Wright: 13 tackles, three for a loss.
• Oregon State KR Victor Bolden: 19 returns, 365 yards, 19.2 average.
• Utah LS Chase Dominguez: Haven’t heard his name before? Good. You shouldn’t. He’s a long snapper.
• Arizona State K Zane Gonzalez: Has converted 4 of 7 field goals with a long of 40 and is 3-4 inside 40 yards. 13 of 13 on PATs.
• Washington KR John Ross: Six kick returns for 112 yards (18.7 average). Three punt returns for 16 yards (5.3 average).

Really? No one wants to talk about Oregon State's bounce back over Hawaii?

Mark in San Diego writes: A week ago the Pac-12 blog had a “defense of Kiffin” in the mailbag. The person writing basically equivocated hating lane with not supporting USC. And you both seemed to agree and pat him on the head. I am writing today to assure you there is nothing further from the truth. In fact, I hate Lane Kiffin BECAUSE I am a USC fan. Lane is an embarrassment to the university and the way he conducts himself does not represent the standards held by the community. He has: A) walked out on the media in the middle of questions B) tried to be cheat by making players switch jerseys and C) tried to cheat by deflating footballs. On top of all of that, he doesn’t even win! Last year he took the number one team in the country and tanked us out of the Top 25; we even lost our bowl game! This year, he started out conference play by losing to the conference doormat. “Loser-Lane” Kiffin has taken our players’ talent and flushed it down the toilet.

Kevin Gemmell: First off, it would have been impossible for both of us to “pat him on the head” because that was Ted’s mailbag. He can only speak for one half of the Pac-12 blog. I wrote a column last week that was a quasi-defense of USC, not necessarily Kiffin. But in the wake of Saturday’s loss, that all goes out the window.

The quarterback situation has spilled over onto the defensive side of the ball and weakened what has been an impressive defensive showing so far. And that's very unfortunate. If you hold a Mike Leach offense without an offensive touchdown, you’ve done something right.

As noted, the quarterback play has been terrible for USC. The offensive line play hasn't been great, either. Washington State out-muscled the Trojans. Plain and simple. Let it be noted that that's a clear testament to what Mike Breske has done with the Cougs.

The examples you offer from last year are valid, and very unbecoming of a storied program like USC. Whether he was directly involved in the ball deflating can’t be proved, but it happened under his watch, so he’s at fault by default. (You forgot the part where he lied about his vote in the coaches poll).

Personally, I like Kiffin. He’s invited me into his office, and we’ve had a lot of frank and productive conversations. As Ted noted in his Kiffin column yesterday -- a must-read for USC and non-USC fans alike -- the Pac-12 blog takes no joy in hot-seat talk. That being said, his handling of the quarterback situation has been a disaster. His handling of the offense has been a disaster. The first couple of bubble-screens I expected to be set-ups for down-the-field shots later in the game. But those shots never came. You have every right to be frustrated with the team and Kiffin. It’s all on him.

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SJ in Eugene, Ore. writes: Still drinking the USC Kool-Aid? Seems like you would have had enough by now, or maybe just too much to see reality?

Kevin Gemmell: Let’s specify which Kool-Aid. Did I think Washington State was going to win on the road in L.A. for the first time since 2000? No. So hats off to the Cougs. (9-1 again this week, grrrrr). In the preseason predictions I had USC third behind ASU and UCLA. If it’s drinking the Kool-Aid to pick them third, then yes, I drank. From what I’ve seen from so far, USC is vulnerable to every team in the Pac-12.

Now that Kiffin has picked his guy, we'll see if there is any improvement. No more 50-50 splitting reps in practice. I still think they can finish third in the division. Anything above that would be unexpected.

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Joe Bruin in Westwood writes: I never get any of my comments/questions answered by you guys, so I'm hoping that this one will make the headlines. I believe USC's loss to Wazzu was a glimpse of how USC's season is going to turn out. Without a proven QB, it's tough to win football games (see Kevin Craft and the Neuheisel era). With all that said, are you thoroughly convinced that the monopoly in L.A. is officially over?

Kevin Gemmell: It’s refreshing to get a take on USC from a non-partisan observer. Bruin ... is that French? You aren't the headliner, but you're the third question. Will that do?

As for the monopoly question, it’s all a matter of perception. And the perception of USC is downright awful right now. Look at what a potential USC-recruit who attended Saturday’s game told our Erik McKinney:

“It was kind of a letdown,” said an in-state ESPN 300 recruit who wished to remain anonymous. “It's really thrown me off of them. I think everybody thought the play calling could have been better. That game shouldn't have ended like that. You could hear it in the crowd -- the "Fire Kiffin" chants -- it's that noticeable when the crowd is saying it. Probably people who don't even really understand football are noticing that they're running that bubble screen that many times."

Short answer, yes. UCLA is the dominant team in Los Angeles right now. It is ranked and has national credibility -- which it can add to this weekend against Nebraska. USC will always be a brand name. But right now, that brand is stained.

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Ryan in New York writes: Kevin, For the record, before you get too worked up by UCLA, hear all the facts. Granted, [Brett] Hundley's special, but Nevada ranked 95th last year in total defense, returned only five starters, and implemented a new defense. And that defense? The Tampa 2, led by their new DC, Scottie Hazelton, the same guy who coached USC's linebackers last year. We all know how well the Tampa 2 worked out last year for USC, so now add less talented personnel and newness and what do you have left? Just keeping it real. Really, you guys generally do a good job, but the blind spots can be a killer. Full picture my man, full picture.

Kevin Gemmell: I hear you. And in my UCLA running backs story last week, I stipulated that Nevada wasn’t exactly a defensive powerhouse. But consider the alternative?

What if Hundley had struggled? What if he didn’t look poised in the pocket and threw a couple of picks and looked indecisive?

It’s the ultimate chicken-or-egg question. Is Hundley that good? Or is Nevada’s defense that bad? I think we can lean toward "Hundley is that good," because UCLA blew out a team it was supposed to blow out. All he can do in a game like that is play spectacular or lose credibility. I'm pretty sure he didn't lose any credibility. Good players/teams beat who they are supposed to beat.

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Derrick in Omaha writes: Same question as last week: As an Oregon fan, should I be worried? The blowout scores look good, but dropped passes, penalties, getting stopped on third and fourth downs, not getting the other team off the field etc. Too picky, or legit concerns?

Kevin Gemmell: Yes to both. Yes, too picky, because Oregon has set such an incredibly high standard for offensive efficiency over the last few years that any deviation from that feels like either an anomaly or a step backwards.

However, keep this in mind: Through two games this year, Oregon has six three-and-out drives. Through two games last year, it had seven. Through two games this year, it has 23 plays of 20 yards or more. Last year it had 12 through two games. So the offense is actually more explosive and efficient through the first two games than it was last season. Does that take a little of the stress off?

Now, yes to the legit concerns, as well, because the drops and the missed tackles were uncharacteristic. Ted and I get a lot of guff for calling Austin Seferian-Jenkins the best tight end in the country. “Best,” of course, is a very subjective word. Colt Lyerla, for example, is asked to do different things for his team than ASJ. But you don’t expect those kind of drops out of him. I still think those are the top two tight ends in the country. But those are plays he needs to make. Because tougher defenses loom.

I also thought the Ducks could do a better job in the power run game. Obviously, their perimeter speed is unmatched. And when they hit the corners, good night. But they are going to see some tough fronts in the Pac-12, and if the edges aren’t there, they are going to have to find a way to be more efficient running through the interior gaps.

So take this win for what it was -- their first road game of the season that involved traveling across the country. I hope the rest of the country -- which is usually sleeping when Oregon is playing -- got a good look at all the Ducks have to offer. Because it’s impressive. And when BCS decision-making time comes around (the outcome of future games pending), hopefully what the Ducks put on display will still be fresh in the minds of voters.

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Carlos in Skoura, Morocco writes: Hi Kevin, I'm hearing and reading a fair amount about Oregon's performance against Virginia showing there is lots of room for improvement. While there are certainly areas to improve, it seems people are discounting the quality of the opponent. Virginia is a pretty good team that could easily make a bowl game. Getting a few three and outs or getting stopped on a couple fourth downs is to be expected when your opponent has the athletes, ability, and coaching of a team like Virginia, is it not? On an unrelated note, why is everyone so weirded out by Eminem's interview during the Michigan game? He was just being funny. Where's everyone's sense of humor?

Kevin Gemmell: I think that stems from the fact that Oregon shouldn’t be perceived as a team that struggles against “a pretty good team that could make a bowl game.” It was only the second game of the year -- and their first game against a team with a pulse. I definitely think there is room to improve, but as noted above, I’m not all that worried about it. I think Lyerla's drops were pretty uncharacteristic. I think some of the missed open-field tackles can be fixed with film study and practice. It’s little details that can be easily corrected, not major issues. If we're still talking about the little details in six weeks, then it's a cause for concern, because it's the little details that determine close games.

I had no problem with the interview -- aside from the spacey look on his face for the first half. Though it was Brent Musburger doing the talking, in my mind I kept hearing Casey Kasem talk about how this song was going to be shooting to the top of the charts.

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George in Phoenix writes: Love the comment about Tenn being ranked in top 10. They're 2-0 in the SEC, so of course. Keep up the good work Kevin. By the way, did you catch Fla/Mia? 2 most inept offenses I've seen in a while (and no it wasn't because of great D)...until WSU/USC game of course.

Kevin Gemmell: Thanks, George. We’ve been known on the Pac-12 blog to crack the occasional joke at the expense of our friends in the South. Then again, all they have to do is show off their seven-straight national championships. That usually shuts us up.

Oregon running back De'Anthony Thomas, Washington State cornerback Damante Horton and Arizona kicker Jake Smith have been named the Pac-12’s players of the week.

Here are some more details on the trio, per the Pac-12’s release:

Thomas, a junior from Los Angeles, Calif., had 11 carries for a game-high 124 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the Ducks’ 59-10 road win over Virginia on Saturday. He had touchdown runs of 1, 40 and 8 yards and reeled in one catch for another 28 yards. Thomas is averaging 8.7 yards per carry and is tied for 20th in the nation in rushing yards per game (126.0 ypg).

Horton, a senior from Oakland, Calif., led a spirited defensive effort by Washington State in the Cougars 10-7 win over No.22/25 USC Trojans in the first conference game of season. The cornerback stepped in front of a USC pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown to even the score at 7-7 just before halftime. Horton collected his second interception with less than a minute remaining to seal the victory for Washington State, ending the game with two interceptions for 75 return yards and a career-best two tackles for a loss for 12 yards. He was also tasked with covering USC All-American receiver Marqise Lee, who was limited to 27 yards on seven catches.

Smith, a senior place-kicker Philadelphia, Pa., set a school record with 16 points by kicking to help lead Arizona past UNLV 58-13 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The first-year kicker collected his first made field goal from 41 yards to put Arizona up 3-0 and went on to convert three of four on the night in addition to making all seven extra points he attempted. Smith also kicked off 11 times in the game with five touchbacks and a 63.3-yard average.

Also nominated for offensive player of the week honors were quarterbacks Travis Wilson of Utah, Taylor Kelly of Arizona State, Sean Mannion of Oregon State, and Jared Goff of Californa; running backs Ka'Deem Carey of Arizona, Tre Madden of USC and Tyler Gaffney of Stanford; and wide receiver Paul Richardson of Colorado. Also nominated for defensive player of the week honors were linebackers Jake Fischer of Arizona, Grandville Taylor of Arizona State, and Hardy Nickerson of California, safeties Jered Bell of Colorado, Ed Reynolds of Stanford and Dion Bailey of USC; defensive end Tony Washington of Oregon and defensive tackle Tenny Palepoi of Utah. Also nominated for special teams player of the week honors were kickers Vincenzo D'Amato of California and Andrew Furney of Washington State and Oregon State punter Keith Kostol.

The Pac-12 went 8-0 against nonconference competition in Week 2, setting the stage for some good showdowns in Week 3.

The Pac-12 blog might be going off the rails here, but the weekend results suggested that the pool of potential bowl teams perhaps should widen. So we have projected 10 bowl-eligible Pac-12 teams, which means we've included two teams getting selected for at-large berths in bowls that are not contracted to the conference.

Of course, many teams with early optimism should keep in mind the schedule ahead. I know Utah fans are happy with a 2-0 start, but they should look at the schedule and see if they are confident four more wins lie ahead. It certainly won't be easy, as the toughest part is yet to come.

Further, as bad as USC looked against Washington State, the Trojans can't possibly be headed for a losing season ... can they? And what about Oregon State: Was the Eastern Washington game merely just one of those college football oddities? And can Washington State keep winning?

Lots of questions.

Does the math here pencil out? Probably not. But it makes as much as sense as doing bowl projections in week two.

We still like Stanford atop the conference. But the Ducks sure did look good at Virginia.

VIZIO BCS National Championship: Stanford vs. BCS
Rose Bowl Game Presented by VIZIO: Oregon vs. Big Ten
Valero Alamo: Washington vs. Big 12
Holiday: Arizona State vs. Big 12
Hyundai Sun: UCLA vs. ACC
Las Vegas: Arizona vs. MWC
Fight Hunger: Oregon State vs. BYU
Gildan New Mexico: Washington State vs. MWC
Pinstripe: USC vs. American
Heart of Dallas: Utah vs. Conference USA

 

Five things we learned about the Pac-12 in Week 2.

1. The Pac-12 can rally: After going 7-3 in Week 1, the most disappointing of those losses being Oregon State’s loss to Eastern Washington, the Pac-12 bounced back in Week 2, going 8-0 in its nonconference games. Most were blowouts. Some were dicier (cough, Cal, cough, Colorado, cough, Oregon State, sort of), but they were wins nevertheless. It was the kind of week the Pac-12 needed heading into a Week 3 that will see a significant uptick in the competition. The Pac-12 faces four Big Ten teams, three of which are ranked. And through the first two weeks of the season, the combined record of the nonconference foes in Week 3 is 18-2. The bar is raised. Despite the close calls, some very strong performances from ASU, Arizona, Utah and Stanford should not go unmarked. And does anyone else get the feeling that when Central Arkansas took a 24-17 lead in the fourth, the old Buffs would have wilted? Kudos to Mike MacIntyre for rallying his team (getting turnovers helps).
2. [+] Enlarge

   AP Photo/Andrew ShurtleffDe'Anthony Thomas had little trouble against Virginia, but the Oregon offense wasn't perfect.
   Good can be better: We know Oregon is good. We also know the Ducks can be better. For the second straight week, De'Anthony Thomas and Marcus Mariota rushed for at least 100 yards (124 for DAT, 122 for Mariota) and the scoreboard shows a dominating performance over Virginia. But there were uncharacteristic drops. Four drives stalled and turned into punts. And while we concede that Oregon will in fact have to punt from time to time, we certainly don’t expect drives of three plays, 2 yards; three plays, minus-1 yard; three plays, minus-9 yards. Take it as a compliment that you can beat a BCS conference opponent, on the road, 59-10 and still have things to work on.
3. Lane Kiffin is on fire (not in a good way): The hottest seat in America just got a healthy dusting of thermite. The quarterback soap opera, which is now turning into horrific reality TV, is overshadowing what should be a couple of great performances from USC’s defense. And it’s actually gotten to the point where the quarterback play is hurting the defense. In USC's loss to Washington State, Cody Kessler was 8-of-13 for 41 yards with a pick-six. Max Wittek was 3-of-8 for 13 yards with an interception. Through two games, the quarterbacks are a combined 26-of-50 for 226 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Want some perspective? Arizona safety Tra'Mayne Bondurant has more interceptions returned for touchdowns (two) than both USC quarterbacks have touchdown passes. This make-or-break season for Kiffin is breaking, rapidly. Hats off to the Cougs, who have beaten two Top 25 teams in their last three games.
4. Goff and Wilson, young guns: The Utes have been star-crossed at quarterback the last couple of seasons, but they appear to have something special in Travis Wilson. Per ESPN Stats and Information, Wilson’s showing against Weber State was one of the finest quarterback performances in the last decade. His raw QBR rating was 99.7. Raw meaning it will be adjusted to reflect quality of competition -- so it will drop. Still, he averaged 16.2 yards per play, accounted for five touchdowns and his rating of 99.7 is the eighth-ranked single-game score by any quarterback with at least 25 action plays since 2004 (fifth in the last five seasons). It’s the highest total QBR with that many action plays since Andrew Luck posted a 99.9 versus Cal back in November 2010. If you still aren’t up on the QBR, click here. You’ll be seeing it a lot on the blog this season -- especially with quarterbacks like Mariota, Brett Hundley, Taylor Kelly, Kevin Hogan, Keith Price and apparently, Wilson. Speaking of bright young quarterbacks, also per our friends at Stats and Info, Cal's Jared Goff has 930 passing yards in two games. That’s the second most by a quarterback in his team's first two games since 2000 (Colt Brennan had the most in 2007).
5. Stanford owns Cali: Stanford coach David Shaw improved to a perfect 10-0 against schools from California. The Cardinal’s 34-13 win over San Jose State moved him to 3-0 against the Spartans since taking over in 2011. He’s also 2-0 against USC, 3-0 against UCLA and 2-0 against California. If anyone is curious, the margin of victory in those 10 games is 16.1 points. But that’s a bit skewed by a pair of 2011 victories over San Jose State (57-3) and UCLA (45-19). There have been some tight ones, like the three-overtime USC game in 2011, 31-28 over Cal in 2011, 20-17 over San Jose State in 2012, 27-24 over UCLA in 2012 and 21-14 over USC in 2012. Still, perfect is perfect.

So who deserves a helmet sticker for a job well done?

Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State: Sure, it was against Sacramento State, but Kelly was darn near perfect in a 55-0 win. He completed 23 of 31 passes for 300 yards with five TDs and no interceptions. That earned a 96.3 Total QBR rating (out of 100) from ESPN.com Stats & Info.

Travis Wilson, QB, Utah: Again, we don't get too excited about games against FCS teams, but Wilson has been sharp in two consecutive starts. In the 70-7 win over Weber State, he completed 14 of 19 passes for 264 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. He also rushed three times for 93 yards and two scores, one a 51-yarder.

De'Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon: Thomas, looking like a much more polished, complete running back than in the past, rushed for 124 yards on just 11 carries -- 11.3 yards per pop -- and scored three TDs in the Ducks' blowout win. He also caught one pass for 28 yards, but his catching just one ball shows that he's really a RB and not as much a "slash."

Jared Goff, QB, California: Goff completed 30 of 47 passes for 457 yards with two touchdowns in the Bears' comeback 37-30 win over Portland State, an FCS team. ... While he wasn't always on target -- he missed a number of potential big plays -- he didn't throw any interceptions. He had three while also putting up big numbers last week in the loss to Northwestern, including a pair of pick-6s. The true freshman has already thrown for 900 yards this year.

Paul Richardson, WR, Colorado: Two games, two 200-yard receiving games. Richardson caught 11 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns in the Buffaloes' 38-24 win over Central Arkansas. The Buffs went 1-11 last year without Richardson. They are 2-0, in large part because he's back.

Oregon State's defense: A week after becoming a national laughingstock for their horrid performance against Eastern Washington, the Beavers' D bounced back against Hawaii, holding the Rainbow Warriors to 239 total yards and no second-half points in a 33-14 victory.

Ka'Deem Carey, RB, Arizona: His suspension ended in the second quarter with a bang when he took his first carry 58 yards for a TD. He finished with 171 yards on 16 carries -- 10.7 yards per carry average -- with two touchdowns in the Wildcats' blowout victory.

Damante Horton, CB, Washington State: His 70-yard interception return provided the Cougars their only TD in a 10-7 win over USC. It was the most memorable of his two picks -- one for each Trojans QB. He also had two tackles for a loss among his four total tackles.

Tyler Gaffney, RB, Stanford: Gaffney returned to college football after a year off playing pro baseball by rushing for 104 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns in the Cardinal's 34-13 win over San Jose State.

All day Saturday, the question seemed to hang in the air. Who was it going to be this week? Who would be the Week 2 goat?

The Pac-12 was a double-digit favorite in all of its nonconference games. Yet it always seems there is one team that fails to meet expectation, underwhelms and ultimately coughs up one that it shouldn’t. California? Oregon State, again? How about Colorado, which hasn’t been 2-0 since 2008?

Turns out we should have been looking in-conference. Because while Cal, Oregon State and Colorado all got scares, they eventually held serve, and the Pac-12 went 8-0 against nonconference competition. The rest of the league looked dominant against overmatched opponents.

However for the second consecutive week, the league also saw one of its ranked teams fall after Washington State shocked the No. 25 Trojans at home 10-7. It was USC’s first home-opening loss since 2000 -- which coincidentally also came at the hands of Washington State.

Call it a choke job by the Trojans. Call it a gritty effort from Washington State. Call it a testament to the depth of the league and its nine-game conference schedule. Call it kooky that the Cougs won without an offensive touchdown.

Outside of the lone conference game, the Pac-12 was hardly perfect. But it still managed perfection, which is exactly what it needed to do. No slipups. No embarrassing upsets. No stubbed toes. Because Week 3 presents a fresh set of challenges that will greatly influence the national perception of the league next week and in weeks to come. By winning the games it's supposed to win, the league has upped the ante for Week 3, making some already-intriguing games that much better.

The lineup looks a lot tougher than the soft serve it scooped in Week 2, including three ranked teams, four Big Ten teams, a 2-0 SEC team and a couple of more undefeateds.

The Pac-12’s Week 3 opponents went 8-2 this week, and the combined record of next week’s competition is 18-2 through the first two weeks. The ranked teams -- Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin -- were all easy winners this week. Illinois is a surprising 2-0. Fresno State embarrassed Colorado last year -- now they meet as undefeated foes.

And that’s the early conference storyline for Week 3: Pac-12 versus Big Ten, quality competition versus quality competition. Had Cal or Colorado fallen to FCS opponents, they would have likely slipped into obscurity. But now Fresno State at Colorado looks pretty fascinating. Jared Goff's performance for Cal makes the Ohio State game, which may or may not include Braxton Miller, look a lot more interesting.

The fact that Taylor Kelly and the Sun Devils looked freakishly efficient in their opener makes their game against Wisconsin a must-see. UCLA and Washington were on byes this week, but both had credible wins in Week 1 that make their road showdowns against Nebraska and Illinois, respectively, potentially thrilling.

The East Coast got a good look at Oregon -- all 557 total yards of them -- and that was with jetlag! Now the Ducks host a Tennessee team that has yet to be tested. (But it’s 2-0 and in the SEC, so it should be in the top 10 when the new rankings come out).

We still don’t have a clue who will start at quarterback for USC against a 2-0 Boston College squad. Maybe it's time to give Morgan Breslin a look under center? It’s worth tuning in to see how/if the Trojans can pick up the pieces.

Even Washington State’s follow-up against FCS Southern Utah is a lot more intriguing after the Cougs ... wait for it ... won with DEFENSE!

Stanford did what it does -- grabbed a lead and then pounded away on a weaker opponent until it broke. And while it shouldn’t have that much of an issue with Army, it should be fun watching that Cardinal front seven go against Army’s run-heavy offense.

And the one conference game next week -- Oregon State at Utah -- is a lot more interesting after the Utes offense pasted 70 on Weber State, and the Beavers eventually pulled away from Hawaii.

Week 2 wasn’t as bromidic as it should have been, but ultimately the league took care of its out-of-conference-business. And that sets the stage for a fascinating Week 3.