Another weekend in the books, another week closer to Alabama vs. Clemson round 100. Still, although we have a good idea of who will be facing each other in the title game, part of the fun is seeing how we get there. Week 2 lived up to the hype, as it had plenty of high-profile matchups, stunning upsets and late-game heroics. Didn’t catch all of the action? Don’t fret; FishDuck.com has you covered! Here’s a recap of the wild weekend that was.
Week 2 Recap
The Ducks can still fly. Eleven TDs! Eleven different Ducks score! This has to be an Oregon record. A conference record perhaps? At least one team from Oregon can defeat a Mountain West team, which is nice.
Look good, lose good? With the white head gear capping it off, and rocking that groovy white tee shirt, did the Chipper look more like the Michelin Man, or a Good Humor Man who has sampled too much of his own wares? UCLA really lost to the Aztecs? With the Sooners coming to town to put the “Hurts” on UCLA in Week 3, I see trouble Bruin.
Old soldiers never die. They just fade away in OT. If Michigan plays like they did in Week 2 every week, they’ll be fading away from the Playoff conversation.
Michigan narrowly avoided a crippling upset.
Strength (or weakness) of schedule. The Duck:
“Dear Rob Mullens, my Duck Doctor advises that if I want to avoid the taxidermist, I need to do more push-ups. Dallas did not do the job, Rob. But Saturday, in my own pond? Push-up perfection. May I respectfully request the following: Annual home game openers versus Portland State, a home MAC snack in Week 2, with Week 3 being a home-and-home series with a Power 5 team?
Don’t worry, I’ll keep the light on when you’re deliberating with the Gurus of the Grapevine. Please forgive me for not wanting to accompany you back to the Dallas area. Hopefully you can understand.
Your Fine, Feathered, and Buffed-Up Buddy, Puddles.”
In 2022, Oregon travels to Atlanta to play a “neutral site” game against Georgia. Really? How’s that for hometown cookin’ from our friends down South?
Flea-flicker! Speaking of “Buffs,” Colorado dialed up a flea-flicker from its own end zone against Nebraska in a blast-from-the-past rivalry. What could go wrong? Ninety-six yards later, Ralphie was on the way to making Scotty’s day — well — frosty. SEC guy Mel Tucker is 2-0. But remember, Colorado started out 5-0 last season before losing its final seven games. Let’s not crown them just yet.
Colorado won a thriller against Nebraska.
The Little Saint Nick. Rumor has it, a Bama beat writer asked Coach Nick Saban post-game: “With the country of Mexico being closer, why bother going all the way to New Mexico, to buy a Piñata?”
Saban replied: “Because, dummy, we need all of those New Mexico 5-star kids, and they won’t let us play Western Carolina twice in the same season.” Or, something along those lines …
Olé, Olé, Olé. Speaking of Mexico, is this where the Herminator goes to recruit for ASU — offensive linemen who are so well versed in the “Matador” technique? When Sac-of-Suds State blows up your QB … Well, good luck with that visit to Sparty.
“DB Who”? LSU put up 500 passing yards on Texas. The Horns responded with 481 passing yards. Pre-game, both teams went back and forth on which is the true DBU. How ironic. Also, has anyone else noticed that the vaunted SEC defenses seem to have a bit of trouble stopping Big 12 offenses? Here’s a crazy thought: maybe the SEC defenses are a bit overrated, and they just play against mediocre in-conference offensive competition. Stew on that.
But sir, aren’t you a Rhodes Scholar? Coach Ed Orgeron is now 6-0 versus top-10 teams not named “Alabama.” Meanwhile, former USC AD Pat Haden’s head coaching choices over Oregeron, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, aren’t faring so well. The Kiffer is the head coach at Fairly Anonymous University, taking back-to-back butt-kickings from Ohio State and UCF, respectively. Sark is Saint Nick’s current OC punching bag.
Kiffin’s Owls got smoked by UCF in Week 2.
ACC, ACC, ACC. The Orange, the only ACC team not named Clemson that was ranked in the top 25, was stepped on and crushed by a B1G turtle, surrendering 62 points in the process. But Clemson at Syracuse this Saturday should be a big test for the Tigers, right?
Apparently, the Fighting Willie Taggarts found their water boy, and the DC overcame his acrophobia, both of which led to FSU’s thrilling 45-44 double OT home victory versus Louisiana State. Ah, my mistake, that would be Louisiana Monroe. I guess that doesn’t quite qualify as a “signature win” for our dear friend Willie.
Clemson’s next big game? So long as the opponent isn’t Notre Dame, the Peach Bowl Playoff semifinal. Where is the scorn for the ACC — aka Clemson and the Dwarfs, plus the half-ACC-pregnant Domers? Oh yeah, I forgot. ESPN owns the ACC Network.
Mack Brown went to Chapel (Hill) and has been resurrected. Fortunately, for his and our sake, Mario Cristobal didn’t follow Taggart back to Florida.
Brown is proving his doubters wrong, as UNC is off to a 2-0 start.
About that team up North … In a game that ended at 4 AM on the Right Coast, UW (with the most overrated coach in the Power 5) lost its second straight game to Oregon man Justin Wilcox and his Cal Bears. Perhaps many of the AP voters couldn’t stay awake. A 1-1 Washington stayed in the top 25 while a 2-0 Cal remained in top-25 hibernation. With Stanford losing the Battle of the Back-Up QBs in LA, the Ducks are two up in the “loss” column in the Pac-12 North. Stanford is out, but the Trojans move into the top 25. The Pirate ate another cupcake. Oregon State, oh my. Will the Beavers put up a perfect 2019 0-fer?
As for that team down South: “The Ohio State University” hasn’t lost a game to a team from Ohio since it tied the College of Wooster 7-7 in 1924. This take is on behalf on my dad, who did not play in the 1924 game, but was a little All-American RB for the Scots.
Coach in the Skillet: Tennessee’s Jeremy Pruitt was only well done on one side, so BYU flipped him over.
Tennessee found itself on the wrong side of the “win” column once again in Week 2.
Big Sigh of Relief: The Big House, when 100,000 Wolverines fans exhaled.
Coach of the Week: LSU’s Coach Orgeron. And hats off to Cristobal and crew for a great bounce back.
Game of the Week: LSU, 45. Texas, 38. Does Coach “O” have the “O” to take down Bama this year?
Coming Up: With College Game Day headed to Ames, Iowa, you know it’s a slow CFB week. What does Cyclone head gear look like, anyway?
No. 1 Clemson at Syracuse (Weren’t you a big game in August?)
No. 2 Alabama at USC (Not that USC. The knockoffs from Columbia, South Carolina.)
The TIde should roll once again this week.
No. 5 Oklahoma at UCLA (Chipper, Puddles says: “DUCK!”‘)
No. 17 UCF vs Stanford (Come on Smarties, we need this one!)
No. 19 Iowa at Iowa State
No. 20 Wazzu at Houston
Hypothetical Eight-Team Playoff
No. 17 UCF (Group of 5 automatic qualifier) at No. 1 Clemson (ACC Champ)
No. 5 Oklahoma (Big 12 Champ) at No. 4 LSU (At large qualifier)
No. 11 Utah (Pac-12 Champ) at No. 2 Alabama (SEC Champ — never forget, Kyle Whittingham has a perfect record against Saint Nick.)
No. 6 Ohio State B1G champ) at No. 3 Georgia (At large qualifier — the Justin Fields Bowl.)
Keep on a-keepin’ on Ducks. The Playoff is not a lost cause, and the Rose Bowl would be one heck of a consolation prize.
Jon Joseph
Georgetown, Texas Top Photo From Video
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Jon Joseph grew up in Boston, Massachusetts but has been blessed to have lived long enough in the west to have exorcised all east coast bias. He played football in college and has passionately followed the game for seven decades. A retired corporate attorney Jon has lectured across the country and published numerous articles on banking and gaming law. Now a resident of Aiken South Carolina, Jon follows college football across the nation with a focus on the Conference of Champions and the Ducks.