Category: College Football

Week 2 of the 2024 college football season wasn’t short on fireworks with plenty of upsets and near pitfalls changing both major polls significantly and altering the perception around some of the nation’s top teams. Though Week 3 doesn’t look as exciting on paper, there are some intriguing matchups — especially in the nonconference — that should have an impact on the national scale. 

No. 20 Arizona and No. 14 Kansas State are set to face off Friday night in a game pitting two Big 12 competitors that won’t count towards the conference standings. Even so, Kansas State, which narrowly avoided a setback of their own in Week 2, is favored to make it back to the conference’s title game for the first time since 2022, while Arizona is hoping to make a big splash in its first year in the league. 

Meanwhile, a pair of top-25 teams in No. 4 Alabama and No. 24 Boston College face intriguing out-of-conference road games. The Crimson Tide travel to Wisconsin in an SEC-Big Ten clash, while the Eagles are looking to stay hot against a No. 6 Missouri team that wants to maintain a sterling record before conference play begins. 

Week 3 lines are out, so let’s take a look at what oddsmakers are thinking as we look ahead. 

Odds via SportsLine consensus

The big games

No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State (-8) (Friday): Arizona and Kansas State get the weekend started with a bang as they take the field for one of two games featuring ranked opponents in Week 3. Both teams got taken to the brink in Week 2, though Kansas State’s struggles were more understandable. Kansas State was able to scrape out a 34-27 win on the road against a good Tulane team, while Arizona eked out a 22-10 win against Northern Arizona one week after putting 61 points on the board…

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Notre Dame’s last second field goal attempt is blocked to give Northern Illinois the 16-14 win in a NCAA college football game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend.

We’re still trying to process how the heck Notre Dame let Northern Illinois win in South Bend. Then again, such things tend to linger when they remain very fresh in our minds. It’s a horrible feeling, but it’s one we all must deal with right now.

The fact that a supposedly dominant Irish team suffered the program’s first-ever loss to a Mid-American Conference team at Notre Dame Stadium can’t sit well with the university’s top brass. What was supposed to be a celebratory home opener instead left everyone with doubts about the football program. Nobody has any idea what comes next now.

As Notre Dame tries to figure all of this out, we figured this would be a good time to help them. That doesn’t mean they’ll listen to us, but that won’t stop us from trying to say something.

Here are five questions we believe the higher-ups at Notre Dame must ask themselves regarding football:

How are they approaching lesser opponents?

Northern Illinois celebrates after wining a NCAA college football game 16-14 against Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend.

We never expected to be adding Northern Illinois and Marshall to the list of Football Bowl Subdivision teams the Irish have a losing record against, but here we are. The Irish clearly need to evaluate their approach for games against Group of Five opponents because whatever they’re doing isn’t enough to prevent these humiliating losses. It’s obvious now that this a trend for the Irish, and that can’t be the case anymore.

What’s going on with the play calling?

Northern Illinois linebacker Christian Fuhrman (44) intercepts a Notre Dame pass during a NCAA college…

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Deion Sanders is used to doing what’s considered conventionally impossible.

Play in the NFL and MLB on the same day? Sure, he can do that. Become the greatest cornerback of all time? Done. Win as a head coach with zero college ore even high school head coaching experience? Yep. Did that at Jackson State.

But he can’t challenge every convention. He’s finding that out at Colorado, where, despite an incredible quarterback and bevy of skill talent, the Buffaloes continue to come up short. The latest example being a 28-10 loss to Nebraska.

The biggest reason why? The Buffaloes are just not good enough up front.

Colorado’s offensive line has been under the microscope since the moment Sanders showed up on Colorado’s campus. It’s often a verbal punching bag, even for the head coach, who frequently watches his son, the star quarterback, take hit after hit.

It happened again against the Huskers.

Nebraska had four sacks by halftime and finished their win over the Buffs with six (plus 10 tackles for loss) in a dominating effort in the trenches. The Buffaloes finished the game having averaged 0.7 yards per rush. It wasn’t any better on defense for Colorado, where the Huskers averaged 4.3 yards per carry and kept true freshman QB Dylan Raiola clean without allowing a sack. 

It wouldn’t matter if Shedeur Sanders turned into an airbender (they literally can float in the air), you can’t be consistently successful at that position without quality blocking in front of you. Nebraska, a defense that gets very creative while sending pressure, made Shedeur’s life miserable.

There were clues this might happen in Week 1 against North Dakota State. The Buffaloes put up 445 passing yards, yes. But they only managed 2.6 yards per carry against an FCS team….

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Sep. 7—The power chords of “Enter Sandman” will once again rock Lane Stadium as Virginia Tech (0-1) expects a rebound against visiting Marshall (1-0) Saturday afternoon.

In a battle between two teams headed in opposite directions after the season’s opening week, Tech is primed to regain its’ footing after a shocking 34-27 overtime loss at Vanderbilt. Marshall is not only looking to extend a winning streak over Virginia Tech but also hoping to triumph again after a 54-3 season-opening romp over Stoney Brook.

Virginia Tech, which narrowly missed being included in the pre-season Top 25, fell behind 17-0 in Nashville before hammering home 27 of the next 30 points scored to take a 27-20 fourth quarter lead before falling to the Commodores.

The Hokies were hampered by key penalties, including having two players on the field with the same number late in the contest, and a defensive lapse when Vanderbilt tied the game in the fourth period on a 70-yard drive orchestrated by quarterback Diego Pavia.

Vanderbilt nearly won in regulation before missing a field goal as time expired.

Marshall had little trouble working over Stoney Brook, rolling up 549 yards in total offense and the Thundering Herd tacked up 21 fourth-quarter points to win going away. Three quarterbacks including transfers Stone Earle (2), Braylon Braxton (2) and Cole Pennington (1) combined for five touchdowns and 290 yards on 21-of-32 passing over over-matched Stoney Brook.

A.J. Turner had a stellar rushing effort, with 119 yards to lead the Herd ground game.

Marshall Coach Charles Huff told the media, “I am not sure who will start at quarterback against Virginia Tech. Those three guys have numbers that are so close together.”

Meanwhile, in one of the opening week’s biggest upset, the Hokies stumbled through a listless first half before recovering after the break and…

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STARKVILLE, Miss. — Jeff Lebby ducks into a nearby open room as construction workers loudly clang away in his office as part of a summer remodel. 

This is where we’d typically make the obvious comparison to what Lebby inherited as Mississippi State’s new coach, but it wouldn’t be the appropriate analogy. Mississippi State football didn’t need a remodel when Lebby arrived, it needed an emotional rebuild. 

Lebby is the Bulldogs’ third coach in as many seasons. The players who stuck with Mississippi State first had to deal with the trauma of losing an adored coach, Mike Leach, who passed away on Dec. 12, 2022, due to complications of a heart condition. As the team tried to heal, defensive coordinator Zach Arnett got promoted to the big job, completely changed the Bulldogs’ signature offensive approach under Leach and was fired after a single 5-7 season. 

Coaching changes are part of the sport, but no one prepares you for the sudden loss of a beloved figure like Leach, perhaps the most unique character in all the best ways that college football has ever seen. No one did things like Leach, which made him great and refreshing, but that style would always make the transition to the next person challenging. It’d be a lot for anyone to go through, especially a group of 20-something college students with the media spotlight on the entire experience.

It’s a tricky experience for a first-time coach to navigate, too. How do you get buy-in from a group that’s still working through the trauma? To get the whole operation moving in the same direction when you’re their third voice in as many years preaching a grand new vision? 

For Lebby, it was about meeting them where they were. He scheduled meetings with every player on the team to understand what…

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Dec 4, 2004; Pasadena, CA, USA; USC running back #5 Reggie Bush outraces the UCLA defense on his way to an 81 yard touchdown run during the Trojans’ 29-24 win over the Bruins on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Photo by Joe Robbins-USA TODAY Sports (c) 2004 by Joe Robbins

The University of Southern California football program has more Heisman Trophies than any other school in college football. The most prestigious award in college football and all of sports has been handed out by the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City each year since 1935 to the most outstanding football player in college football. Saturday’s USC contest agasint Utah State will be the first home game since Caleb Williams departed for the NFL and Reggie Bush had his award reinstated by the Heisman Trust. Both numbers will be honored alongside the other six retired numbers in the peristyle end of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The jersey numbers have already appeared in the peristyle. All that is left is for the ceremony to take place in the venerable Coliseum, which will host its third Summer Olympic Games four years from now in 2028 and take its place as a one-of-a-kind stadium in the history of America and the history of sports. USC is a place for legends, and its place — the Coliseum — is itself legendary. Caleb Williams and Reggie Bush can call this place home, forever. It is part of the USC heritage and the Heisman Trophy’s story.

In honor and celebration of USC’s majestic Heisman achievements — and the restoration of the Reggie Bush Heisman from 2005 — here’s a look at USC’s eight Heisman Trophy winners:

It’s About Time

Mike Garrett 1965

Sep 1963; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Southern California Trojans running back (20) MIKE GARRETT during the 1963 season. Mandatory Credit: Photo By David Boss-USA TODAY Sports © Copyright David Boss

Mike Garrett…

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Average is not something that most people strive to be. Being average is definitely not the goal for college football teams as they prepare for their season. Teams map out and strive to reach their goals each year, but you’ll never hear a coach or team captain in a locker room give a pregame speech to the team where they say “We gotta go out there and be average” and then put their hands together and say, “One, two, three, average!” 

However, there’s one team, on one side of the ball, where they might be and should be striving to be average this season. Since 2020, Iowa’s offense and in particular its performance at the quarterback position has not only been below average, it’s statistically near the bottom of all FBS teams. 

Since 2020, Iowa has an overall record of 34-15 with two 10-win seasons, two Big Ten Championship Game appearances and three top-20 CFP finishes. That’s a four-year stretch that a lot of programs would take in an instant if given the opportunity. Iowa accomplished all of that with an offense that averaged the fewest explosive plays per game in FBS (2.9 plays of 20-plus yards per game) and averaged 20.9 points per game (122nd in FBS). The program is left thinking about a lot of what-ifs in regards to its poor offensive output. 

What if the Iowa offense was in the middle of the pack statistically? 

Maybe the Hawkeyes could’ve had a top-10 team. Maybe they would’ve won a Big Ten Championship and made their first College Football Playoff appearance. But you can’t win a Big Ten Championship if your offense can’t score. Iowa has faced Michigan in two of the last three Big Ten Championship Games and have been outscored 68-3, including a 26-0 shutout in 2023. In fact, Iowa’s offense was shut out three times in 2023 (most in FBS)….

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Dennis King and Christian Hudson of Mainland celebrate a tackle for loss during the Kickoff Classic game against Eau Gallie Friday, August 16, 2024.Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

The Colorado Buffaloes are trying to force turnovers off the football field just as much as they are on it.

After offering three-star athlete and North Carolina commit Julien Horton on Tuesday, the Buffs offered UCF pledge and class of 2025 defensive lineman Christian Hudson on Wednesday. Hudson, also a three-star recruit, is from Florida, so Colorado is once again targeting a talented Sunshine State prospect.

Hudson is ranked as the No. 47 DL in his class, per the 247Sports composite. At Mainland High School, Hudson plays both sides of the ball, although he emerged as a defensive playmaker last season while recording nine sacks.

Much like with Horton, the Buffs are looking to sway Hudson with a successful 2024 campaign.

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: UCF commit Christian Hudson announces offer from Colorado

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