3 Winners
1. Texas
The biggest winner of Week 2 has to be the Texas Longhorns. Arch Manning led his team to a 20-point comeback victory over the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes. While playing pretty poorly for about two and a half quarters, they managed to stay poised and grind out a huge victory. There's no telling what this would have done to the mindset of Sark and his players if they would have lost to the Buckeyes for a third straight time. Instead, their confidence is at an all-time high with Arch securing the biggest win of his collegiate career. Texas is hoping this catapults them the rest of the way as they maneuver an SEC schedule.
2. Michigan
Although they won in Week 1, I had the Wolverines as losers in how it happened. This week, that was not the case as their defense seemingly dominated the Oklahoma offense the entire game. Their defense helped immensely as Bryce Underwood only had 111 passing yards but clearly didn't need much to secure the victory. Is this a win that brings them back into the "Contenders" category? Jury is still out in my opinion, but that doesn't take away from the fact they this was an impressive win over a hungry Oklahoma team.
3. Mississippi State (Kamario Taylor)
Kamario Taylor has introduced himself to country and it's safe to say that we're all better for it. The kid has elite arm talent and can run like a gazelle. With him, it feels as if the Bulldogs will have a chance in every game. This past weekend, he took his team up to Minnesota and beat them like a drum in their own backyard. He's electric and it feels like he could take it to the house with his legs or lead his receivers to the endzone with his arm every single play. How far can he take the Bulldogs? I guess we'll find out. If there's one thing for sure, it's that Kamario Taylor has arrived.
3 Losers
1. Oregon
This is an obvious one. Oregon traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma and got beat in every phase of the game by Oklahoma State. The Ducks were outgained 554 to 281 total yards and while they only lost by 8 points, the game didn't feel that way. Something seems off with Dan Lanning's team as a lot of people assumed they would bounce back strong after struggling with Boise State in Week 1, but that wasn't the case. Dante Moore doesn't seem to be himself and the defense is giving up yards left and right. The season isn't over for them as it wasn't a conference loss and it's early in the season, but the schedule isn't easy. As a popular preseason National Champion pick, plenty of eyes will be on Oregon to see how they respond in the weeks to come.
2. Oklahoma Offense
Brent Venables is known for defense and his Sooners clearly don't have an issue on that side of the ball. The same can't be said for the Oklahoma offense. John Mateer continues to struggle through the air as a mixture of bad throws and poor decisions continue to be a pain point for him. He's dynamic with his legs but his arm continues to be a question mark whenever he has to rely on it. OU's defense will continue to keep them in every game but if the offensive side of the ball can't get going, the next couple of weeks could be difficult. A trip to Athens in two weeks, followed by the Red River Shootout in Week 6 only emphasize the need to get the offense rolling in order to match their elite defense.
3. Arkansas
Not much to say about the Razorbacks. They struggled in Week 1 against North Alabama under new Head Coach Ryan Silverfield and followed it up with a 33-point loss at Utah. While this wasn't necessarily unexpected, it's still disappointing as fans seemingly have already lost hope with ten games left. They currently have six games left against top 20 teams, including next weekend when the Georgia Bulldogs come to town. One could argue Georgia currently looks like the best team in the country, so the expectation is that things are about to get worse before they get better. Of course, anything can happen on any given week. Can the Hogs pull off the monumental upset next weekend? Doubtful...but then again, Oregon just lost as 24-point favorites to an OSU team who lost by two scores to Tulsa the week before. I think fans are just hoping they keep it closer than they did this weekend in Utah.