College football Week 2 winners, losers: Sun Belt dazzles, Gators fizzle

College Football Week 2 Winners

Let’s take a look at my winners from a crazy week of college football, headlined by teams from the Sun Belt pulling off some incredible upsets.

Winner: Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt, a conference that has quietly been winning the conference realignment battle among the Group of Five, enjoyed not one but two wins against teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25.

And those wins also came with a nice monetary payout (or guarantee) from the big school these teams defeated in Week 2.

Marshall earned a 26-21 victory over No. 8 Notre Dame in South Bend and a huge $1.25 million payout for their troubles.

Appalachian State silenced 102,995 fans at Kyle Field and netted a $1.5 million payout after edging out the No. 6 ranked Texas A&M Aggies 17-14.

Georgia Southern was able to upset Nebraska on the road and perhaps represented the final straw in Scott Foster’s abysmal streak as head coach of the Cornhuskers.

The Eagles outlasted Nebraska by scoring a late go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute left to go up by three points. Nebraska missed the game-tying field goal as time expired. The Cornhuskers reportedly paid Georgia Southern a $1.423 million guarantee, according to USA Today.

This was a huge day for the Sun Belt. Their teams took home a few unexpected victories, a ton of cash, and even more national exposure. Kudos to them!

Winner: Tennessee Vols

Some people were scratching their heads when they saw the Tennessee Volunteers sneak into the AP Top 25 earlier in the week at No. 24 after previously being unranked and defeating a team from the MAC.

The Vols showed why they belong in the top tier of teams after upsetting No. 17 Pittsburgh on the road in overtime 34-27.

QB Hendon Hooker and WR Cedric Tillman look to be one of the best QB-WR combos in all of the college football after this Week 2 performance in which Tillman caught nine passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.

Tennessee is for real and Head Coach Josh Heupel says his team has his up-temp offense “down to a science.”

Winner: Oregon Ducks

How do you respond after getting absolutely thumped 49-3 in your season opener? By going out and absolutely destroying your next opponent, Cobra Kai style.

That’s exactly what Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning, QB Bo Nix, and the Ducks did in Week 2 vs Eastern Washington.

Oregon put the beat down on Eastern Washington, winning 70-14. Nix had a near-perfect game, completing 28 of his 33 passing attempts for 5 touchdowns. Four different running backs recorded a touchdown, too.

The AP voters had absolutely no confidence that this Oregon team was capable of doing big things after Georgia beat them by 46 in Week 1.

How many teams have gone from losing by 46 to winning by 56 the very next week? The college football bell tolls on.

Winner: Ohio State QB CJ Stroud

Ohio State QB CJ Stroud looked fantastic in the easy win against Arkansas State. The Inland Empire, Calif. native was 16/24 for 351 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT.

He helped the Buckeyes notch a huge Week 1 win over a ranked Notre Dame team last week, completing better than 70% of his passes in that game.

He’s already making a serious case to be a finalist for the Heisman trophy with early season totals of 574 passing yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs. He’s been sacked just twice so far this season, which is a huge credit to his outstanding offensive line.

Statistically, he’s already outpacing Alabama QB Bryce Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner whom many have picked as a favorite to repeat in 2022.