Week 2 has wrapped up, and the ACC and Big Ten showed they have multiple teams in contention for the College Football Playoff, South Florida beat yet another
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The league also got a nice lift from Army, which responded from a brutal home loss to Tarleton State by shocking Kansas State in the Little Apple. Coach Jeff Monken’s team has fallen off from last year’s 12-win perch, but Saturday’s win stabilized things a bit for Army.
Other opportunities await for teams in the American, including Tulane, which already has a definitive win against a Power 4 opponent (Northwestern) and faces Duke — and former Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah — and Ole Miss the next two weeks. There are some long shots, such as Navy‘s annual matchup with Notre Dame and Temple hosting Oklahoma this coming week, as well as more realistic win chances like Memphis hosting Arkansas on Sept. 20.
Things are never smooth-sailing for leagues like the American during the early part of the season, but thanks to South Florida and others, the highlights are piling up. — Adam Rittenberg
Is Billy Napier done at Florida?
There was no loss more costly Saturday than No. 13 Florida’s 18-16 defeat to South Florida in The Swamp. Once again, the Gators did seemingly everything they could to give away the game late in the fourth quarter.
After USF missed a 58-yard field goal try, the Gators got the ball back with less than three minutes to play. Instead of running the ball and milking the clock, Florida coach Billy Napier called two passing plays. The Gators failed to pick up a first down and used about 20 seconds before punting.
After the Bulls took over at their 11-yard line, Florida’s defense committed two huge penalties to give USF a chance to win. A pass-interference penalty gave USF some breathing room, and then Florida defensive lineman Brendan Bett spat on a Bulls offensive lineman, drawing another 15-yard penalty and an automatic ejection. The Bulls had two big passing plays to get into field goal range, and Nico Gramatica kicked a 20-yarder at the buzzer to win.
The loss dropped Napier’s record at UF to 20-20, and he’s only 14-7 at home. All of the momentum Napier gained from the four-game winning streak to end the 2024 season is gone. Athletics director Scott Stricklin gave Napier a vote of confidence last year and it paid off. Stricklin received a three-year contract extension in June, so it will be his decision on whether Napier returns in 2026. Napier would be owed about $20.4 million if he’s let go.
Barring a miracle, it will not get better. The Gators still play eight teams that are ranked, including four straight starting with Saturday’s trip to No. 3 LSU. They play at No. 5 Miami, host No. 7 Texas and travel to No. 19 Texas A&M. The Gators will face No. 4 Georgia, No. 20 Ole Miss, No. 22 Tennessee and No. 14 Florida State later in the season. Ouch. — Mark Schlabach
Mississippi State’s portal-heavy turnaround is coming together
Mississippi State has lost 15 of its past 16 SEC games. Jeff Lebby took on a daunting rebuild for his first head coaching job and has gone through two long offseasons of reconstructing his roster to catch up to his conference peers.
On Saturday night, the Bulldogs achieved a magical signature win that inspires hope. Mississippi State rolled to a 17-0 lead over No. 12 Arizona State and nearly blew it, giving up 20 unanswered points. But a tough goal-line stop in the final two minutes, forcing the Sun Devils to kick a go-ahead field goal, gave the Bulldogs a chance to play for the win. Blake Shapen did just that on a third down with 30 seconds left, torching the defending Big 12 champs with a 58-yard bomb to speedy receiver Brenen Thompson for the win.
The Bulldogs won this game with 16 starters who joined this program via the transfer portal. Shapen came in from Baylor and stayed with Lebby after a season-ending injury last year. His top receivers, Thompson (Oklahoma transfer) and Anthony Evans III (Georgia), burned the Sun Devils with career-best performances. Seven former transfers started on a defense that held one of the Big 12’s top QBs, Sam Leavitt, to 82 passing yards.
It’s a historic triumph for this rebuilding program, the Bulldogs’ first nonconference home win over a ranked opponent since 1991, and one that Lebby hopes is proof that this team is trending in the right direction. The Bulldogs are working with explosive playmakers and better depth, and now this group has some hard-earned confidence. Mississippi State could easily be 4-0 entering SEC play with positive momentum and an opportunity to keep surprising everyone. — Max Olson
FCS national championship preview?
Please allow for this brief foray into the world of FCS football because it’s a worthy detour. No. 2 South Dakota State traveled to No. 3 Montana State on Saturday for what could be a preview of the FCS national championship game, and it did not disappoint.
South Dakota State — the 2023 national champion under new Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers — fell behind in overtime, but responded by scoring two touchdowns on its next three plays to escape Bozeman with a 30-24 double-OT win. It was the Jackrabbits’ second win against a Big Sky opponent to start the season after dominating Sacramento State 20-3 in their opener. South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason, who backed up new Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski the past two seasons, was excellent, completing 17 of 25 passes for 190 yards with 3 touchdowns.
Mason outdueled former Stanford and Syracuse quarterback Justin Lamson, who landed at Montana State after initially announcing he was transferring to Bowling Green in the offseason. If the Ohio State-Texas matchup was the premier nonconference game of the FBS schedule, then this game was the equivalent for FCS: two of the best teams from the two best conferences. — David Hale
