second full week of the year 2024 college football season It’s all in the books, and the good teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack.
No. 1 Georgia Won 48-3 at home against Tennessee Tech. Ohio State beat Western Michigan 56-0, but dropped in the Associated Press rankings on Sunday. Texas beat Michigan 31-12 to move to No. 2 in the country.
There’s a lot to look forward to for college football fans, but the question is, who were this week’s winners and losers?
Let us analyze this.
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Winners
Tennessee quarterback Niko Iamalewa (8) cuts over North Carolina State safety Bishop Fitzgerald (7) during the second half of the game on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Charlotte, NC. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)
Tennessee Volunteers: After beating No. 24 NC State in Charlotte on Saturday, we’re now talking about the Vols’ defense. Despite all the love Josh Heupel and his offense have received with Niko Iamalewa at quarterback, the Tennessee defense has made significant strides over the last few years. Allowing just 141 total yards of offense to the Wolfpack, this defense could be a force in 2024. The Vols moved up to No. 7 in the new AP poll with a big game against Oklahoma in two weeks after warming up against Kent State.
Nebraska Cornhuskers: It’s clear that Nebraska fans are completely obsessed with Matt Rhule and quarterback Dylan Raiola. Beating Colorado is one thing, but the “black shirts” on defense destroyed any hopes Shedeur Sanders had of winning this game in the first half. Even though this wasn’t a “marquee” win in terms of rankings, it proved to be a big night for a football program that is moving in the right direction. The Cornhuskers have the quarterback of the future and they dealt the knockout blow to any momentum for Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes.
South Carolina Gamecocks: Despite all the talk about Shane Beamer after last week’s close win over Old Dominion, the Gamecocks went into Lexington and demolished Kentucky. The defense held both Wildcats quarterbacks to just 44 yards passing on the night and the Gamecocks moved to 2-0 in the SEC with a dominant win.
Kyle Monangai: The Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back showed why he is a dark horse candidate to win the Heisman Trophy this season. He scored 208 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns as Rutgers beat Akron 49-17. He scored 373 rushing yards and four touchdowns in three games for Rutgers.
Northern Illinois: Northern Illinois pulled off a huge upset over the weekend by beating Notre Dame 16-14. The Huskies had to come up big at the end of the game to ensure Notre Dame had no chance to sneak their final field goal attempt through the uprights. To make matters even better for the Huskies, Notre Dame reportedly paid Northern Illinois $1.4 million to travel to South Bend and beat them. Talk about a win-win.
Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule exits the field after defeating the Colorado Buffaloes at Memorial Stadium on September 7, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Dylan Visser-Imagen Images)
Jim Harbaugh: The Los Angeles Chargers head coach earned his first win of his tenure with his new NFL team. He won over the weekend because he didn’t have to stand around while the Longhorns beat the Wolverines badly. Harbaugh will not face any sanctions after the NCAA notified Michigan of the allegations last month.
2024 college football rankings: Georgia, Ohio State remain on top; Notre Dame drops
Losers
Auburn TigersLast week in the SEC, Florida and Billy Napier made a mockery of themselves after being embarrassed by Miami. This week, the Auburn Tigers lost at home to the California Golden Bears, with Hugh Freeze’s offensive game looking poor, in part due to QB Payton Thorne. Thorne threw four interceptions, and the offensive game also fumbled once, which was a poor performance from a team that was built around improving for the 2024 season. The Tigers still have to play Missouri, Georgia, and Alabama, so this would have been a nice win towards bowl eligibility. No, they wasted it.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: After beating Texas A&M in College Station, the hope was that this would be a springboard towards the College Football Playoff, but losing to a team that had never beaten a top-10 team last weekend was a huge failure for Riley Leonard and head coach Marcus Freeman. All the goodwill they gained from last week’s win against an SEC opponent is now gone, and the CFP committee will be playing this matchup against the Irish at the end of the season if they are to be in contention.
Iowa HawkeyesThe hatred between Iowa and Iowa State was on full display Saturday when they faced off in an early-season rivalry game. As the clock ticked down, Kyle Conrardy hit a 54-yard field goal to win the game for the Cyclones. For the Hawkeyes, quarterback Cade McNamara didn’t help his team in what was also head coach Kirk Ferentz’s first game of the season after being suspended in week one for recruiting violations involving McNamara. Understand. Cade threw two interceptions and passed for only 99 yards in the loss, which is par for the course for Iowa.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders (right) talks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) on the sideline between plays against Nebraska during the second half of the game on Saturday, September 7, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Colorado Buffaloes: For all the talk Colorado has gotten over the last year and a half, it hasn’t had much to win. The most recent loss came against Nebraska on Saturday night, 28-10. Buffalo quarterback Shedeur Sanders bowled a brutal pick six And didn’t stay long enough to see the rest of his teammates in garbage time. Colorado barely beat North Dakota State early in the season and it looks like there’s a long season ahead.
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FOX News Digital Sports college football winners and losers were compiled by FOX News Digital Sports staff and Outkick.com Staff.
