Syracuse: The Orange already had a lot of momentum off the field with new head coach Fran Brown, and now they’ve got some on it after taking down a ranked Georgia Tech team to begin ACC play. While things didn’t work out at Ohio State, Kyle McCord seems to really elevate this team.
Iowa State: This year’s iteration of El Assico proved to be fairly exciting — relatively speaking, at least. The Cyclones overcame a pair of two-score deficits and put up 361 yards on Iowa’s elite defense before hitting a game-winning field goal to clinch back-to-back victories in Iowa City.
South Carolina: A cautionary tale in overreacting to Week 1, South Carolina had much more success on the road against Kentucky offensively than it did in its opener against Old Dominion, somehow. It’s still hard to tell where this team stands in the SEC — it will be easier after it plays LSU on Saturday — but it’s clearly not at the very bottom, which is where it looked like it could be before the Week 2 win.
Michigan State: Jonathan Smith has quite the rebuilding project in East Lansing, but perhaps things are a bit ahead of schedule. Maryland is not an upper-echelon Big Ten team, but it’s a solid team that, in theory, shouldn’t have had any issues with the Spartans at home. Instead, Smith’s team claimed a marquee early road win.
FCS Upsets: We didn’t see any true FCS upsets in Weeks 0 or 1 (Montana State was a two-touchdown favorite. It doesn’t count, sorry, I don’t make the rules.), but we saw a few in Week 2. After giving Oregon a game, Idaho beat Wyoming in Laramie in a contest it frankly should have probably been favored in, while Southern Utah and St. Francis (PA) upset UTEP and Kent State, respectively.
Texas State: The Bobcats were a major surprise team in Year 1 under GJ Kinne last fall, and they looked like a legitimate contender in the Sun Belt after blasting UTSA, a team some thought would contend for the G5 playoff spot, 49-10.
Florida QB DJ Lagway: It may have come against Samford, but the five-star true freshman dazzled in his starting debut while Graham Mertz was out with a concussion. He threw for 456 yards — a freshman record for the Gators — and made things quite interesting for Billy Napier ahead of a crucial home game against Texas A&M in Week 3.
UL Monroe: The Warhawks are comprised of former UAB interim coach Bryant Vincent, who was passed over for the full-time gig, much of his former staff and several transfers from the Blazers as well. You can bet that the 32-6 win over UAB on Saturday was more than a little bit personal.
Nebraska: Dylan Raiola looks like he could be a truly special player, and the defense stole the show in a convincing win over Colorado. This team should be poised to take a leap this year.
Clemson: Many had the Tigers on upset alert against Appalachian State. Instead, quarterback Cade Klubnik threw for more than 350 yards and scored seven total touchdowns in a 66-20 win.
Washington State: The Cougars find themselves in a rough spot in the sport, but they got some catharsis by taking down a power conference team in blowout fashion as they beat Texas Tech 37-16.
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo: You can’t run for 262 yards single-handedly against an SEC defense — even a bad one — without getting some recognition in this column.
Northern Illinois: If you still don’t quite grasp how much this win meant for the Huskies program, let head coach and former Northern Illinois running back Thomas Hammock explain it himself.