Around the Nation with Two-Five — Week 2 Recap

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[00:00:57] Yes, you are now listening to the sounds of Sports Reports, as ordered, brought to you by 2-5 Daily. You know, we're going to talk about some college football, go around the nation a little bit. Brought to you by Nerissa's Disney Camp Rock video, representing the Jonas Brothers and all that. She wanted me to get that on camera for y'all. But do me a favor out there, like, review, subscribe, share, rate, do all the free things, do all the good things. Liquid death in hand.

[00:01:27] 2-5 Daily is going to be coming to you every morning at 8 o'clock Eastern. So, let's get right into it. So, yesterday was interesting. You know, like, you know, we started off the day in Ann Arbor with Oklahoma and Michigan, the mirror match, as I called it. And Michigan said, they not like us. They kind of are still, though, even though Michigan punked them, pushed them around.

[00:01:53] I think they fed off the energy of the crowd. I mentioned on Friday in my preview that I feel like Bryce Underwood could study a little John Mateer. They're not that, you know, dissimilar. And I think that you saw Michigan using him more in that kind of way. He didn't make the turnover that Mateer made, which ultimately decided the game because of where it happened and when.

[00:02:20] So, you know, Oklahoma didn't have any time left. But Michigan came out pedal to the metal, wounded animal syndrome. You can't sit up here and bang on a team like this all week and not expect them to come out. Even if they would have lost the game, Oklahoma would have felt them, as they say. But I still can't help but look at Michigan and see a souped up Iowa. You know, like this is what Iowa would look like if they could get athletes in that way.

[00:02:51] So, you know, Oklahoma came out early in the second half, reset, adjusted, and they gave it to Michigan coming out of halftime. There were a few plays where Michigan went zone. And I don't know if they were doing that to protect the lead and just kind of make Oklahoma work, keep everything in front of them, don't give anything over the top. But the few times that they played zone, Mateer smacked them, you know.

[00:03:19] So they came out of that real quick. Bryce Underwood went 9 for 17, 111 yards. Still pedestrian, but as I mentioned, he didn't turn the ball over. 18 carries, 87 yards. You know, but the problem here is that Heider, Savion Heider, and Jordan Marshall combined for 19 carries for 38 yards yesterday. That's not going to do it as the season goes on.

[00:03:47] That works against an Oklahoma that you can hold to 3.4 yards per carry. And remember, we talked about that. You know, Oklahoma ran the ball well in week one. But they were playing UTEP. You know, I'm not sure who can't run the ball on UTEP. So this was going to be the test that showed us, can Oklahoma, will they be a good team? Will they be a factor in the SEC race? And granted, look, this is still week two.

[00:04:16] There's still plenty of time to work out the kinks and all that good stuff. But Michigan showed they not like them. All right. So, of course, we had the big boys go down. The top two, by the way. So I'm going to start with Oregon. You know, they went down to Oklahoma State 39-31 down in Stillwater. What stood out about that game to me, before I get into any analysis or anything like that,

[00:04:45] is this is what we wanted. But this is also what some people hate. We wanted a world where college football wasn't so predictable. You know what I mean? There were times that you could go into a season, you knew Bama was going to be playing for the national title. You knew that Georgia was going to be running people out the stadium. But now with the transfer portal, we have an equalizer of sorts where you're getting unpredictable results week to week. Now, the cream is still rising to the top.

[00:05:14] That's not going to change. But what you're seeing is that you're not going to just be able to pencil in wins because Oregon came into this game a 23-and-a-half point favorite. They lost. You know, and why did they lose? Part of the reason is personnel because if you go back and look, Oklahoma State came in with the guy that led the nation in passing touchdowns last year, rushing touchdowns. Both of those guys did work. And, you know, that's the maker.

[00:05:43] Matter of fact, threw for 371 yards, two touchdowns, and then he ran for another 109. So I asked this question, not from hyperbole, right? But this is just a thought that I had. But did Indiana take Oregon's mojo? Because, you know, I was watching Austin Powers and the whole, you know, the spy that shagged me and the whole story was Dr. Evil got a hold of Austin's mojo so he couldn't function properly. He wasn't himself.

[00:06:13] So, you know, that first play of the game last year, that playoff game, coming off a shutout of Texas Tech, Dante Moore threw the pick six, and that just kind of set the tone for the game. You know, Oregon might have lost their confidence from that in there somewhere, right? That's what I was thinking when I was watching this game. Or there's a level of cockiness here. So for the next analogy, I'll go with Florida State. You know, went 13-0.

[00:06:44] Jordan Travis got hurt. College football playoff committee didn't let him in. You know, okay. So then they go to the Orange Bowl, opt out after opt out after opt out. They get 63-3 by Georgia. Same score Georgia beat Tennessee State by last week. You know, and then they came into the next season, and a lot of people thought, well, hey, Florida State is going to have that chip on their shoulder. They got knocked out the playoff. No.

[00:07:12] They had no confidence at all, obviously, and then a 2-10 season came to follow. So as I look at Oregon, for example, you know, to bring back this example, the reason that I asked that Indiana take their mojo is because Indiana not only whooped them, went on to win the national title. So people like myself, you know, said that Oregon was going to win the national title this upcoming season.

[00:07:38] So I think Oregon walked into stadiums so far with a sense of arrogance. They were at home against Boise, right? So they came out there and said, we're going to defend Alton. But Boise is not afraid of that environment. Boise is the type of team that will play anybody, anywhere, anytime. So that team is not going to be shaken up just because your crowd's making a lot of noise. There was a big portion of the Boise game that Boise actually pushed Oregon around.

[00:08:08] And if you took your glasses off, you know, had your blinders off, didn't know anything, you would have watched that game and thought that they were the reverse teams early in that game where you would have thought that that was Oregon's defensive line dominating Boise. It was the other way around. So coming into Stillwater yesterday, a couple of things could happen. You play that game against Boise and you go, you know what? Fire under our ass. You know, we got to come out every week. We can't take plays off.

[00:08:38] We got to dominate the way that we know we can. Or you go, whew, we played our C game and we still got the win. So you think that you could just show up and that other teams are going to see that O and they're going to freak out or you're going to just be able to win off of intimidation. Alabama used to be like that. They're not anymore. So I think that that's what happened to Oregon yesterday.

[00:09:04] If they're not on top of that, I'm guilty of it, right? Because when Evan Stewart caught that touchdown pass, made it 31-30, I go, okay, here we go. Oregon's here now. So I thought that was going to be the moment that they just took over and willed through that game. It wasn't to be. Oklahoma State gained 554 yards on that vaunted Oregon defense.

[00:09:33] Oregon's offense, on the other hand, only mustered 281. You know, they were favored by 23 and a half. You know, so now the next question that follows this game is not whether Oregon is overrated or if they're fraud. I'm not going to jump off the bandwagon and off that pick. You know, I expect Dan Lanning to get them reengaged. And now that they have that loss, they know the margin of error that they have, not very much.

[00:10:02] So I'm not bailing out on Oregon just yet. Matter of fact, this might be a good time to buy the stock, if you will. But the problem that I was going to break up is that what do you do with Tulsa now? Now, before you laugh, that was a serious question. And pardon my allergies, by the way. But you know what I mean? But what are we going to do with Tulsa? Because on one hand, Oregon was the number two team in the nation. They went to Stillwater and got beat.

[00:10:32] The week prior, Tulsa dominated that Oklahoma State team that beat Oregon. Now, is Tulsa going to be a national title contender? No! But that's my whole thing about the top 25. You can rank who you want. It will work out. So give the reward for the win. We reward losses like it's not a damn problem, right? Enough of that soapbox.

[00:10:58] Ohio State went down after having a 23-3 halftime lead down in DKR up in Austin, right? So, whoa! What happened there? So, I think Arch Manning learned a very valuable lesson yesterday that he put into practice. Is that you can use your legs as a quarterback. That doesn't mean you have to take off and go, right?

[00:11:26] When I say use your legs, that doesn't mean you do a Lamar Jackson impersonation. That doesn't mean you go back to the days of Woody Dantzler, for example. You know what I'm saying? But what that means is you keep plays alive, period. Where you can move around a little bit. Give that receiver an extra half a step, maybe, to get open. Where you can settle and check. Versus, you know, where you can move around a little bit.

[00:11:51] And you don't have to go over the top because you got Smothers or Relique Brown right there in the flat. That'll get you five yards and get you into third and five. You know what I mean? That's where a lot of teams mess up. They go for the big play. If it's not there, the quarterbacks get the deer in headlights. Arch actually took the pressure in the second half. Now, the receivers didn't help him in the first half, by the way, either.

[00:12:16] But when I look at Ohio State, it makes me think about Julian Sand. You know what I mean? Because he, you know, started last year. They didn't do very much, right? You know, we talked about it all year about how they had the training wheels on him. Don't mess it up. Our defense is so dominant that you don't need to come out here and play hero. You don't have to be Captain America. But then what happens is you get into these moments, like the playoff game against Miami,

[00:12:47] where the other team is not backing down. They're pressuring you. They're getting home onto your talented offensive line. You know, they're putting you in a position that you have to make quick reads, quick decisions. But that wasn't necessarily what he was accustomed to. And he doesn't have the strongest arm either. So it wasn't as if, you know, you could just throw your way out of something, like a Brett Favre, for example. But when you look at it, he locked in on Jeremiah Smith way too much last night. And I get it.

[00:13:15] He's the best player in the country and all that kind of stuff, you know. So Julian Sand had 278 yards. 164 of those went to Jeremiah Smith. On eight catches. So that's what I mean. You know, you had Ennis open a few times. Where was Legend Bay? He got one carry the whole game. As a team, you know, as far as the running backs go, Texas locked that down.

[00:13:45] So Ohio State didn't even have balance in the second half to set up anything. So I am the biggest Sark critic there is. I got to give him kudos. Because it would have been easy for the avalanche to come. It would have been easy to be down 23-3 at halftime. Stadium be a little uneasy. Players frustrated. Sark just tries to get too cute and get back.

[00:14:15] No, he just went back to basics. So props to him. I wish a lot more coaches would do that. Bama said enough. Enough. And I brought this up Friday when I was making my picks as well. Where people gave Kentucky that game before they took the field. I love Will Stein too. You know, he started out. I don't know if he started out here. But he was at UTSA when I moved down here to San Antonio. I was impressed with him then.

[00:14:44] He went to Oregon. You know, they had an undefeated season under his offensive coaching. You know, made the playoffs two years in a row. So when you go back and look at it, he had reason to believe in himself. There's a reason that he has the swagger that he has. But this is Alabama that we're talking about. And I know Nick Saban isn't there. But I think Bama is going to have a top 20 defense in the nation this year.

[00:15:14] Top three or four in the SEC when it's all said and done. So they come out early. Keelan Russell with the, you know, the early pick six. I mean, it was a play that happened right by the end zone. So, I mean, it wasn't as if, you know, this was a 60-yard bomb that got picked off and ran back. This wasn't a slant at midfield that the defender just read correctly. Right? So, without being disrespectful, I'm going to call it a fluke. Okay?

[00:15:43] So, they go up 7-0. They scored seven, or I'm sorry, ten points the rest of the way. Right? Bama said enough. Kentucky went 1-14 on third down. And then when you think about this, you think about their quarterback, Kenny Mitch. This was his first time being in a situation like this. So, you know, he hasn't played. You know, he came in from another powerful school.

[00:16:12] But he hadn't really been on the field that much, especially against the type of intensity that Bama is going to bring you. The type of intensity that the SEC is going to have waiting for you week to week. Kentucky is going to be a good team. Will Stein will get it right. This just wasn't his time. All right. So, shout out to Illinois State and Montana State getting FBS wins over Northern Illinois and Nevada respectfully.

[00:16:42] Pray for the Mountain West. Pray for the Mountain West because they also got UNLV out of the playoff picture already, and it's only week three coming up. So, when you go back and look at this, you know, you think about teams that have moved up recently. You know, Delaware had a lot of success at the FCS level. You know, obviously, the Bison. We'll get into them here in a little bit too. The Bison, you know, coming up.

[00:17:12] Now, you look at these teams like Illinois State and Montana State played for the national title last year, and I go back to the very fundamental question that I asked 15 years ago. Why are the Montana schools not FBS? Okay. Illinois State probably should have been in the MAAC a little while ago. Now, I would have to go back and look through their infrastructure. You know, I'm sure there's stadium issues, at least in Illinois State's situation. But these are the type of schools that should be playing at that level.

[00:17:43] And, you know, I feel like crap too because Nevada took my alma mater last week and whooped them, Western Kentucky. So, you know, for them to come back and lose to an FCS school the next week, and not just lose, they got dominated too. You know what I'm saying? Whereas, you know, in Nevada, you know, they came back late. You know, but they basically went the first five quarters of their season without a touchdown. You know, or, you know, any points for that matter.

[00:18:13] But, of course, with Montana State, they're the FCS champion. They came into Nevada, and I brought both of those up in my upset alert, you know, on Sports Reports' order on Friday. So, just saying, props to them. Even though I still maintain what I said the other day about the whole Miami-FAMU thing, you know, which will come up now because 77-7 they beat FAMU.

[00:18:40] Houston, 77-6 over Southern, coached by Marshall Falk, by the way. Baylor, 44-3 over Prairie View. So, that's three games, three HBCUs, a total of 16 points. These are body bag games. That's what they're called because you're going to leave hurting. You know, and I'm not even doing the whole, like, oh, it's a safety issue. I'm not even going to do that, go that route.

[00:19:10] But there's no reason for them to be on the field with some of these teams. You know what I'm saying? Illinois State and Montana State do, respectively. So, there's that. The Bison go into Colorado Springs and dominate the Air Force Academy. I know the final score was 38-32, but Air Force got a garbage time touchdown that made that look a little bit better than it was. You know, South Dakota dominated that game.

[00:19:40] So, now it goes back, right, to Boise back in the day. You know, oh, they only play one game a year. They got up for Oklahoma. They got up for this, you know, for Virginia Tech, you know, whoever else Boise beat. But when you look at the Bison, it's different, right, because this is their first year transitioning from FCS. And you know what I mean? So, you know, they beat Air Force, which is already tough because of the type of

[00:20:08] offense that they run, you know, especially if you don't play against that every week. Now, North Dakota played against teams that ran the option before. North Dakota State played against teams that ran the option before. But, you know what I mean? Not to this level where it's basically their identity and they have, you know, better teams and athletes and coaches up at this level, right? So, like, real quick, just taking a look here at North Dakota State's schedule.

[00:20:39] Where do you think that first loss happens? So, I picked Air Force the other day and being, you know, just all the way real with you, that was one of my upset picks I got wrong. But you know what I mean? But look at that. You know, look at this schedule. They, you know, said they get Sacramento State this week, by week before Wyoming. UNLV's not what we think they are. Nevada just lost to Montana State. New Mexico doesn't have their starting quarterback. Oklahoma was able to run on UTEP. Going to Hawaii could be their first loss. That could be tough.

[00:21:08] But outside of that, I don't know if there's another game that they lose on this schedule. Now, you could argue UNLV, you know, say just based off talent, based off of Dan Mullen being their head coach and everything. But at the same time, when you look at it, UNLV is, I won't call them trash, but you know where I'm trying to go with this. So we're at the point where we might be looking at, hey, why don't Boise and the Bison just get together for a play-in game

[00:21:36] to represent the G6 in the playoff? You know, now granted, UCF, when, you know, they beat Army yesterday, one of my upsets I got right. You know, another upset that I got right, you know, FAU over Navy. So those were two games that I thought those Florida teams would beat the service academies. Now that it's happened, Brian Hartline's 2-0. So they're getting, you know, their team together, new coach with new players. You know, half the offense went to Auburn.

[00:22:06] So he's getting it together. And by the end of the year, this could be a team that you don't want to play. And shout out to the Roadrunners, Birds Up, you know, saying went up to Texas State and won that game the other day. Now just some quick thoughts before I get out of here. We got LSU Ole Miss this week. Like, ooh, boy, this is the mother of all games, right? I don't know. Like, I got to look into it to see who I'm picking to win. I haven't got that far yet. Lean in Ole Miss just because it's at the Grove.

[00:22:35] You know, it's at Vaught-Hemmy way. But we'll see. But, you know, I thought about that because when I looked at LSU's schedule, I was like, damn. And they go to Tennessee because of Lane Kiffin, you know. So intense stuff, man, intense stuff. Syracuse and Pitt on Thursday. Syracuse lost a heartbreaker to Cal yesterday. Pitt won a game that the total score had 19 points against UCF.

[00:23:02] So Thursday night, that's a rivalry. Syracuse hasn't won in the Big East. You know, I'm sorry, back in Pittsburgh since the Big East. So that's going to be an interesting game to keep our eye on, especially, you know, for those of you that are Fran Brown fans out there. Houston and Texas Tech on Friday night. Now, I'm going to be full disclosure here. I picked Houston before the regular season. And Texas Tech ain't done anything to change my mind. The game is at home.

[00:23:31] You're going to have tortillas thrown all over the place. But I'm still rocking with Houston in this game. Who did this to Arkansas? They went to Salt Lake City last night. And, of course, they lost by 33 points, as they should have go Utes. But then, you know, they come back home for Georgia this weekend. For Georgia! So playing Georgia after traveling to Salt Lake City. And then I only brought that up to go full circle because they get Tulsa next week.

[00:24:01] Tulsa, that should be ranked. Mississippi State, wow, that's all I can say. They went up into U.S. Bank Stadium and gave Minnesota the business. They get South Carolina this weekend. Just going off a name, Shane Beamer. Don't lose this game. You know, then, of course, we got Maryland and Virginia Tech this week. Another game that I'm interested in as, you know, being born in Maryland.

[00:24:25] You know, but then also, you know, James Franklin, you know, should have been the head coach at Maryland many moons ago. But Ralph Regan wouldn't leave. So now this is Maryland's, both of their first tests in that way. So let's see who wins. Bad weekend for the Big Ten. For those of you that care about the conference stuff. You know what I'm saying? I don't. I'm a Florida State fan, and obviously I ain't got no room to talk about anybody. But I don't care about the rest of the ACC.

[00:24:53] You know, like, just, I want my team to win. I don't care what y'all do. But then again, I am interested in this Bill Belichick at Clemson this weekend. You know, Clemson's still not looking the part. You know, if Georgia Southern had any speed on that team, Clemson would have lost that game last night. They got out of there with the 22-7 win. North Carolina rested on the bye. We'll see what happens. What do you guys think? What games are you looking forward to this weekend? Are you giving up on Oregon?

[00:25:22] Let me know in the comments. Like, review, subscribe, share, rate, do all the free things, do all the good things. I will be back on Tuesday morning. Don't forget, Sports Reports is ordered every Tuesday and Friday night at 845 Eastern Time. So, 2-5 is out of here. I love y'all. Thank you so much. Salute to you. And we are everywhere that you get your podcasts. Please remember that. If you can't watch it live, go ahead and download it.

[00:25:52] Check us out. Sports Reports is ordered. Out. Sports Reports. No gimmicks, no clowns. 2-5, Mr. Lodical. We run this town. Real talk only. No chasing, no doubt. From the east to the west, it's the order we shout. Mic check, lights flash, game time. Stay ready. Two vets in the zone. Keep the pressure real heavy. Big hits, big plays. Yeah, we breaking it down. Truth rings in your speakers. Every word is the crown. From the north side hustle to that southern flame. Midwest grind. West coast of the game. Sports Talk Kings. Yeah, we wear that crown.

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