Let’s take a stroll across the Irish schedule and see how their past and future opponents did in week two.
NAVY -- The Midshipmen had a week off before they head to Happy Valley this weekend to take on an 0-2 Penn State squad. Traditionally, this looked like one of those games that the Nittany Lions used to pencil in as an easy W against a scrappy opponent. But after watching PSU these first two weeks, who knows what’ll happen.
Trending: Constant. It’s hard to take a step forward or backwards on a bye week.
No. 10 MICHIGAN STATE -- After winning a tight one over a rebuild Boise State squad, Michigan State racked up almost 500 yards of offense beating Central Michigan. A week after Le’Veon Bell threw himself into the Heisman race, he only managed to run for 70 yards on 18 carries, though he did chip in two touchdown runs. Andrew Maxwell completed 20 of 31 passes against the Chippewas, throwing for 275 and two touchdowns. William Gholston led the defense with a sack and two TFLs.
Trending: Holding steady. On paper, the Spartans took care of business, holding another opponent without an offensive touchdown.
No. 17 MICHIGAN -- The Wolverines rode quarterback Denard Robinson to victory, with the senior throwing for 208 yards and running for 218 as Michigan escaped a very game Air Force team that ran for 290 yards. After returning from suspension, Fitzgerald Toussaint ran for only seven yards on eight carries as Robinson accounted for 426 yards, a telling statistical anomaly when you consider the Wolverines finished the game with 422 total yards of offense. Devin Funchess had 106 yards receiving on four catches.
Trending: Leveling out. It would’ve been panic in the Big House if the Wolverines’ defense didn’t stop Air Force’s 4th down attempt late in the fourth quarter.
MIAMI -- Any forward momentum the Hurricanes had came crashing to a halt, as they were dismantled by No. 21 Kansas State in Manhattan on Saturday. The Miami ground game stalled out, with the ‘Canes averaging 1.4 yards a carry. The defense was no better, giving up 288 yards on the ground. Throw in three turnovers and it was a huge step backwards for Al Golden’s team.
Trending: Way down. The Canes need to get their mojo back against Bethune-Cookman before going into a six game stretch that includes Georgia Tech, NC State, Notre Dame, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
No. 21 STANFORD -- Any worries that the Stanford Cardinal had fallen off a cliff were allayed on Saturday as David Shaw’s squad rolled over Duke, a team some pundits thought could spring an upset. Not with four turnovers though, as the Cardinal capitalized as Josh Nunes completed 16 of 30 throws for 275 and three touchdowns. Stephon Taylor managed 69 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown, but Stanford didn’t break the 100 yard mark as a team, and lost the time of possession battle to Duke.
Trending: A step forward, though we’ll know much more about the Cardinal after No. 2 USC comes to Palo Alto this weekend.
No. 25 BYU -- The Cougars feasted on a cupcake this weekend, cruising past Weber State 45-13. Riley Nelson threw for 244 yards in only one half of action before turning over the keys to the car with a 21-o halftime lead. Cody Hoffman had 7 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown and BYU racked up 532 yards of offense as they dominated.
Trending: Holding steady. Tough to give too much credit after a win like that. We’ll know more about BYU in the next few weeks.
No. 5 OKLAHOMA -- After struggling with UTEP last weekend, the Sooners ran it up against Florida A&M, getting their money’s worth against a mediocre opponent. Landry Jones threw for two touchdowns (with one INT) and 252 yards and the Sooners’ ground game got on track, running for 349 yards on 41 carries. Junior Damien Williams put up 156 yards on just ten carries and scored four touchdowns in his Owen Field debut. Kenny Stills had 10 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Trending: Resting on their laurels until a showdown with No. 15 Kansas State this weekend. Bill Snyder’s Wildcats will give the Sooners a test.
PITTSBURGH -- The Paul Chryst era has gotten off to a nightmarish start with the Panthers getting whipped again, this time at the hands of Cincinnati. Pitt’s defense gave up 464 yards to Munchie Legaux and company, and while Ray Graham ran for 103 yards and Tino Sunseri threw for 278, Pitt fell behind 17-0 at half and never recovered.
Trending: It’s looking more and more like it’s going to be a very long season for Pitt.
BOSTON COLLEGE -- It took a while for the Eagles to get started against Maine, trailing 3-0 until the middle of the second quarter. But Chase Rettig picked up the sputtering BC offense, throwing for three touchdowns as the Eagles topped their hockey rivals 34-3.
Trending: Tough to gather too much from a win over Maine, but we’ll see where Frank Spaziani’s squad is this Saturday when they take on Northwestern.
WAKE FOREST -- After squeaking by Liberty, Jim Grobe’s troops got a huge ACC victory, knocking off North Carolina 28-27 on a late QB sneak by Tanner Price. Price threw for 327 yards as the Wake running game was stuck in neutral, as Price teamed with Michael Campanaro for a career game, his 13 catches for 164 yards leading the Demon Deacons.
Trending: Arrow up. Huge victory for Grobe’s team, who looked mighty shaky in the opener but picked up a second win.
No. 2 USC -- Matt Barkley’s Heisman campaign is off to a good start, with the senior quarterback throwing six touchdowns against Syracuse in the Trojans’ 42-29 victory. Barkley may have only thrown for 187 yards, but he set a career-high in TD passes while Marquise Lee caught three and Robert Woods caught two. Woods also sprinted 76 yards on his only carry while Silas Redd ran for over 100 yards on 15 carries. Syracuse actually outgained USC 455-445 and outscored the Trojans in the third quarter, but USC’s firepower was just too much.
Trending: The Trojans’ look the part, putting up prolific numbers with the three-headed monster of Barkley, Lee, and Woods. But the Trojans committed 12 penalties and gave up 10.7 yards a completion, exposing a few potential weaknesses.