Mayfield Marks His Territory: College Football 2017 Week 2 Recap

On September 17, 2016, Ohio State traveled to Norman to face Oklahoma in one of the most anticipated matchups of the college football season.  The schools entered the year as preseason favorites to win the Big Ten and Big 12, respectively, and contend for a National Championship.  For the Sooners, defending home turf was a necessity after being upset by Houston in their season opener two weeks earlier.  Instead, the Buckeyes exploded in the first half, scoring five touchdowns

Instead, the Buckeyes exploded in the first half, scoring five touchdowns and intercepting Baker Mayfield twice.  In a must-win game, Oklahoma was embarrassed, letting their opponents coast to a 45-24 victory.  In the following AP poll, the 1-2 Sooners dropped out of the top 25.  The team would go undefeated through Big 12 play, but it didn’t matter.  They never reached higher than #7 in the polls and had to settle for a Sugar Bowl meeting with Auburn, which they also won.

Entering Saturday’s rematch, Oklahoma had won 11 straight since their previous encounter with the Buckeyes.  This time, they would be the ones traveling, and they would be out for revenge.  This meeting was just as important as the last.  Ohio State entered ranked #2, and 7.5 point favorites over the #5 Sooners.  Not only would it be a duel with huge College Football Playoff implications, following longtime coach Bob Stoops’ retirement, it also represented the first challenge of Lincoln Riley’s tenure.  And of course, Mayfield was eager to prove his might against fellow Heisman candidate J.T. Barrett.

Through the first half, the Sooner defense had done their part, limiting Ohio State to fewer than 100 yards of offense and just three points.  However, while the Oklahoma offense reached field goal range on each of their five first half possessions, they only had three points to show for it as well.  Two fumbles, a turnover on downs, and a missed 37-yard kick turned what could have been a dominating lead into a tie game headed into the locker room.

These are the type of missed opportunities that lose football games, plain and simple.  It would only be a matter of time before the Buckeyes found their form and took over.  But not this time.  Baker Mayfield wouldn’t let it happen.  Instead, he led the Sooners on four touchdown drives in their first five possessions of the second half, taking over the game en route to a 31-16 statement road victory.  In celebration, Mayfield triumphantly planted the Sooners flag at midfield.  That night, that stadium belonged to him.

In this week’s AP Poll, Oklahoma took Ohio State’s position at #2, stealing two of Alabama’s first-place votes in the process.  The Buckeyes, on the other hand, dropped to #8.  While it may have had the most implications, OU-OSU was far from the only noteworthy game of the week.

#3 Clemson had its first test as reigning National Champions against #13 Auburn, and while Auburn struck first with two field goals, they only managed 117 total yards in the game.  Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant’s two rushing touchdowns sealed the deal in a 14-6 victory.

Similar to Oklahoma, #4 Penn State avenged a loss from a season ago to Pitt with a 33-14 win, while Sam Darnold had a much better performance for the Trojans as #6 USC dropped 623 yards of offense on #14 Stanford, defeating the Cardinal 42-24.

In a tightly contested affair, a field goal late in the 4th quarter gave #15 Georgia a 20-19 victory in Notre Dame versus the #24 Fighting Irish while Lamar Jackson had a monster game, combining for 524 yards and six touchdowns as his #17 Louisville Cardinals avoided an upset 47-35 against North Carolina.

Outside of these matchups, most other ranked teams in action over the weekend won comfortably.  The one exception was #20 Washington State, who hosted the always competitive Boise State in the game of the week Saturday night.  The visiting Broncos actually led 31-10 after a scoop and score touchdown with less than 11 minutes left in the game.

With starting quarterback Luke Falk struggling and out with an injury, backup Tyler Hilinski threw two touchdowns and Peyton Pelluer added a pick-six to send the game to overtime.  After pairs of field goals and touchdowns in the first two OTs, Boise State settled for a field goal in the third overtime and Washington State found the end zone, capping off a 47-44 Cougar comeback.

Four ranked teams: #10 Florida State, #16 Miami, #21 South Florida, and #22 Florida had their games canceled due to Hurricane Irma.

In the Heisman watch, Lamar Jackson’s huge day puts him at the top of the list with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold leading the chase.  With their impressive play over the first few weeks, UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen and Oklahoma State QB Mason Rudolph are playing their way into the conversation.

Last week, I focused on the embarrassing season openers for three Texas schools: Texas, Texas A&M, and Baylor.  UT got back on track in Week 2, dominating San Jose State 56-0.  Things weren’t as easy for the other two, though.  Texas A&M struggled to put away Nicholls State, even allowing the Colonels to tie things up at 14 in the fourth quarter before eventually going down 24-14.  Things were even worse for Baylor, as they provided UTSA with the Roadrunners’ first win over a Power 5 opponent, 17-10.  The Baylor Bears, a team who finished #5 in the College Football Playoff rankings just three years ago, has now opened the season with losses to Liberty and UTSA.

Things were even worse for Baylor, as they provided UTSA with the Roadrunners’ first win over a Power 5 opponent, 17-10.  The Baylor Bears, a team who finished #5 in the College Football Playoff rankings just three years ago, has now opened the season with losses to Liberty and UTSA.

Another week is in the books.  Check back next Monday for my continued coverage of the 2017 college football season.