Week 2 Reflections

      Hello Football Fans and I hope you're all still buzzing after a fantastic weekend of games like I still am. Obviously I'm very excited about the Huskers' big win over Akron, but Week 2 was so much fun I had to get a stand-alone reflection post out. This will have my full breakdown of the Nebraska game along with all my thoughts from the games around the nation and the first two weeks of the season. There's a lot to look at so let's roll in with my GOOD, EXPECTED and BAD analysis of the Husker game.

GOOD - Matt Rhule's halftime speech. Hopefully most everyone has seen the video of Matt Rhule's halftime speech by now, but if not be sure to look it up. The video shows Rhule talking to the team in the locker room with a 33-0 lead at half time and he is fired up because he wants this team to play better. He is appalled that Akron is trying to throw the ball before halftime and not taking a knee to go into the locker room. He's furious that there are Husker players smiling and looking in the mirrors at their fits instead of getting locked in to destroy the will of the Akron players in the second half. My favorite quotes from the video were "I want them never to say our name again" and "It's about time people say 'I don't want to schedule those guys anymore'". This is a mentality that has been missing from Husker Football for a long time, and I loved every single moment of that video.

Also, a good moment after the game when TE Luke Lindenmeyer proposed to his girlfriend after the game where he scored his first career touchdown. A very fun moment and of course she said yes!

EXPECTED - Nebraska beating Akron 68-0. This is what a Nebraska-Akron score should look like. Not just because of the success in the 90s, but because of how these two programs are built. If the Huskers want to be back in the blue blood conversations, this is what blue blood teams do. The offense looked crisp, the offensive line got a push in the run game and the defense was flying to the ball. Nebraska finished with 728 total yards on offense (234 rushing, 494 passing), 31 first downs and defensively they recorded 9 tackles for loss with 2 sacks. Riley Van Poppel saved the shutout with a field goal block in the third quarter and the Huskers were able to get a lot of players time on the field. The 2nd and 3rd string players were able to play multiple drives and if Nebraska wants to compete in the BIG 10 and for a playoff spot, this is the type of performance I expect against lower level opponents.

BAD - Penalties and RB2. Obviously I'm being nit-picky when looking for "bad" things to talk about in a 68-0 victory, but the Huskers racked up 6 penalties for 71 yards throughout this game. Always an area the coaches will want to clean up. The second thing is that the RB2 spot is still wide open and as Nebraska moves into BIG 10 play with Michigan in less than 2 weeks, there needs to be a clear cut back to spell Emmett Johnson. Johnson has been phenomenal through two games this season and I have very high hopes for his numbers this year, but the workload he's currently carrying is not ideal for his consistent production in the offense. Would love to see someone break out of that RB room sooner rather than later.

     Now for my analysis on the larger landscape of college football, I thought it would be best to hand out some superlatives to certain teams that have caught my eye in the first two weeks. So here are a variety of superlatives and mini awards for teams through two weeks of football.

Ireland Curse Team - Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State is the newest member of the Ireland Curse. Over the past few seasons, the team that loses in Ireland seems to have their season go off the rails. Starting with my Huskers who botched an 11 point lead with a second half onside kick to Northwestern, they wound up 4-8 and (thankfully) firing Scott Frost. Navy went 5-7 after losing, Florida State went 2-10 last year and now the Wildcats are spiraling after needing a miracle to beat North Dakota and falling to Army at home who just lost to FCS Tarleton State and was playing without their starting QB. Things are not looking good in Manhattan, Kansas right now.

F-Around & Find Out Team - Oregon Ducks

As highlighted in my predictions post, it was all but finalized on the scoreboard that Oregon was going to demolish Oklahoma State following Mike Gundy's comments early in the week. The Ducks not only handed Gundy his worse career loss with the Cowboysm (69-3), but may have turned up the burner on his hot seat in Stillwater. Don't talk about the Ducks if you're not ready to back things up on the field.

My Kind of Coach Team - Syracuse Orange

Other than Matt Rhule and his fiery speeches with a killer mentality, Syracuse's Fran Brown might be my next favorite coach in College Football. I really enjoyed watching his team last year, and if not for a couple of close game stumbles they would've been fighting for a playoff spot too. Regardless, watching video of Brown make his team run sprints after they completed a 4th quarter comeback to win against UConn in overtime was fantastic. He was upset with the overall effort of his team throughout the game and decided to make sure they don't carry that over to any other part of the season.

A Big Step Forward Team - Mississippi State Bulldogs

We'll need to revisit these superlatives later in the season to see how many hold true, but right now Mississippi State looks like one of the most improved teams from last season to now. The Bulldogs knocked off #12 Arizona State 24-20 with their game-winning touchdown coming on a 58 yard pass with 30 seconds left. This team could certainly cause some upsets in the SEC, especially with a healthy Blake Shapen at QB this year.

Panic Button Team - Virginia Tech Hokies

It's not often that things are in crisis mode for the Hokies, but after starting 0-2 against two quality opponents where both games were very winnable, I'm guessing there are some sirens going off in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech was up 20-10 at halftime and lost this game 44-20 despite winning the turnover battle and having significantly fewer penalties. Not good.

Best Resume Team - USF Bulls

With two ranked wins and an impressive defensive stand in The Swamp, South Florida has quickly turned heads as one of the nation's favorites to get the G5 bid to the playoffs. There's still a long road for this team which includes a road trip to Miami this weekend and plenty of teams in the American looking for an upset, but USF has the talent to make it all the way to the playoffs. This is a fun team to watch, especially on defense.

Sleeper Teams

Again, its early in the season, but if you see any of these teams on the schedule, you better bring your A game. These are sleepers for a wide range of Playoff Contenders to Playoff Destroyers.

Illinois, USC, Washington, Utah, Baylor, Oklahoma, Missouri, Boston College, Virginia BYU, & UNLV.

Fun G5 Teams

Not everyone enjoys watching G5 teams every Saturday, but when mid-week Maction comes along or you just want to see what other games are going, keep an eye out for these teams.

Ohio, Toledo, Fresno State, Texas State, Tulane, South Alabama & Hawaii.

Thanks for reading my Week 2 Reflections and be ready for Week 3 Predictions later this week with another great slate of College Football waiting for us this weekend. GO BIG RED!

#CFBKnowItAll

Alex Fernando