The 2025 college football season has officially gotten into full swing, as we now have two full weeks in the books. This week was not quite as action-packed in terms of scheduling as week one, but there was still a plethora of heart-pounding action and some wild finishes. And we may or may not have learned a thing or two about some of the teams currently in the Top 25…
But that last thing is what you all came for, so I’m going to stop talking now! Let’s get right into it!
Arch Manning (and Texas) bounced back
Yes, I understand it was San Jose State. I get that. No disrespect to the Spartans, but beating up on a lower-level Mountain West team when you’re one of the top ten teams in the country is not exactly something to write home about when it comes to College Football Playoff seeding.
Maybe we’re too early in the season to think about that, but Arch Manning and Texas looked far better than they did in their season-opening loss to Ohio State where the Longhorns’ much-hyped quarterback looked indecisive and incredibly nervous.
Although the offense started off a bit slow, it didn’t take too long for Manning to get going, as he threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns by the time all was said and done. The running game for the Longhorns was not incredibly impressive, but on this day it didn’t need to be. Manning’s connection with wide receiver Parker Livingstone was legit in this one. Livingstone racked up 128 receiving yards and two touchdowns on a wildly efficient four receptions.
Again, I understand that San Jose State does not measure up anywhere close to Texas competition-wise. And there will be much tougher games on the schedule coming up for the Longhorns (see Oklahoma, Georgia, etc.). But this game absolutely felt good for Manning and the Texas offense.
Sawyer Robertson is a Heisman candidate
Now, some of the more casual college football fans may be asking themselves…who in the world is Sawyer Robertson?
Sawyer Robertson is the starting quarterback for the now 1-1 Baylor Bears, who recovered from a frustrating week one loss to Auburn and beat No. 17 SMU 48-45 in a thriller of a game in which the Bears trailed by 14 points with five and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter.
They ended up stealing victory from the jaws of defeat via a walk-off field goal in double overtime, because college football is just the greatest sport in the world, isn’t it?
Robertson is coming off a 2024 season in which he threw for 3,071 yards and 28 touchdowns with just eight interceptions, and he has continued his stellar play this year. He has racked up 859 passing yards and seven touchdown passes through the first two games of the season, and he nearly single-handedly carried Baylor back from the precipice in this game. Robertson completed 34 of his 50 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns.
This game was quite possibly a season-altering win for Baylor, who was in legitimate danger of falling to 0-2. And for a team that has aspirations to win an ultra-competitive Big 12, this was a resume-building victory for the Bears. And their quarterback needs to be considered for college football’s most prestigious award with the way he has been playing in 2025.
South Florida could be a sneaky Group of Five pick for the CFP
What? Too soon?
I understand that it’s only been two games. But South Florida has gotten off to a 2-0 start while taking down some extremely legitimate competition, including an upset win over No. 13 Florida this past weekend in the Swamp. Do you know how hard that is to do?
Bulls quarterback Bynum Brown played a solid and efficient game against the Gators’ defense, as he completed 23 of his 36 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown. He also did a great job taking care of the ball against a feisty and opportunistic Florida defense, as he did not register a turnover all game.
Those stats don’t necessarily jump off the page at you, but Brown and the South Florida offense did what they needed to do, and their defense also helped them out tremendously. The Bulls made life largely miserable for Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, as he threw for 222 yards and a score, but he also threw an interception and managed just a 58.8 QBR.
The key play in this game was a 29-yard completion from Brown to running back Alvon Isaac with just under two minutes to go that eventually led to a game-winning field goal from the Bulls to upset the Gators.
Again, I do understand that it’s only been two games. But South Florida’s schedule isn’t the worst going forward, and it isn’t totally out there to wonder if they could be this year’s version of Boise State. Watch out for the Bulls. They’ve got all kinds of momentum on their side right now.
Illinois is living up to the hype…so far
There was some time in Illinois’ 45-19 win over Duke in Durham where it looked like the Fighting Illini could be on upset alert. The game was 14-13 in favor of Illinois at halftime. However, in the second half, the Fighting Illini turned up the heat in a big way.
It is worth mentioning that Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer had one of the worst games of his career the last time he went up against Duke head coach Manny Diaz. Diaz was the defensive coordinator at Penn State the last time the two faced each other.
However, in this game, Altmyer made sure Diaz did not have the same gameplanning success against him again. By the time this game was over, Altmyer had completed 22 of his 31 passes for 296 yards and three scores. Illinois had turned what was a one-point game at halftime into a 26-point blowout victory.
This was less about Duke struggling to keep up with the Fighting Illini’s high-powered attack in the second half and more about, well, just how impressive Illinois has looked through the first two games of the season. They are set to take on Western Michigan next week before a widely anticipated matchup with No. 22 Indiana in Week 4.
But until then, the Fighting Illini have looked like one of the more impressive teams in the Top 25. They’ve done what they needed to do to handily win games, and that’s exactly what the expectation was going into the season. That’s why they’re now ranked No. 9 in the newest AP Poll. Illinois should be poised to make some serious noise in postseason discussions at the end of the year.
Bryce Underwood underwhelmed in Michigan’s loss
This should not necessarily be a surprising result, as Underwood was making his first career road start in front of a raucous crowd in Norman. He looked considerably nervous and frazzled at various points during the Wolverines’ 24-13 loss to Oklahoma.
This is similar, in some ways, to Arch Manning’s play last week on the road against Ohio State: Manning looked uncomfortable, unconvincing, and he did not throw the ball with a ton of conviction. And while Underwood was able to make a few plays with his arm and his legs, generally speaking, he looked…less than impressive.
Underwood only completed nine of his 24 passes and only tallied 142 passing yards. He did not throw a touchdown or an interception. He did not turn the ball over, which is always good, but the fact of the matter is that he and the offense did not do enough to win the game. The Sooners’ defense was suffocating throughout the game, and John Mateer and the offense did just enough to secure the victory for Oklahoma.
There was a brief glimmer of hope at the very beginning of the second half, where Michigan running back Justice Haynes ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run for what was the Wolverines’ best play of the game offensively, but they only managed six points the rest of the way.
Again, the play of Underwood should not necessarily be a shock to the college football world. Keep in mind, Underwood is a true freshman making his first ever road start at one of the toughest places to play in the entire country. It should not necessarily be put against him. He should improve as the season goes on.
But for this game, it was a rough performance all the way around for Underwood and the Michigan offense.
And last but not least…
Arizona State sold
Three words. That’s all you need to know, though, as for how this game went.
Arizona State was ranked No. 12 in the country following an excellent 2024 season that culminated in a College Football Playoff berth. They were coming off a 38-19 win in Week 1 over Northern Arizona and were heading out to Starkville to take on Mississippi State, in what is also one of the toughest places to play in the country.
The Sun Devils fell into a 17-0 hole relatively quickly, and at halftime the score was 17-3 in favor of the Bulldogs. However, Arizona State recovered in the second half, and they knotted up the game at 17 early in the fourth quarter following a fourth down touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Leavitt to wideout Jordyn Tyson from two yards out.
After a Bulldogs punt, Arizona State got into field goal range and converted an easy 18-yard field goal to take a 20-17 lead with a minute and a half left in the fourth quarter. So, game over, right? All the Sun Devils’ defense has to do is blanket the field, prevent big plays, and stop the Mississippi State offense in their tracks. Do that, and they’ll escape Starkville with a win.
Well, apparently they didn’t get that memo.
Mississippi State got to their own 42-yard line and the drive seemed to be on the way to fizzling out, but then, all hell broke loose: Bulldogs quarterback Blake Shapen found wide receiver Brenen Thompson on a game-winning 58-yard touchdown to put Mississippi State up 24-20 with mere seconds remaining.
From there, Sam Leavitt threw an interception, his second of the night, and the Bulldogs officially sealed the win over the Sun Devils.
There isn’t much more to say about this game other than what you have already figured out by now: this was an absolutely pristine sell job by the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Nothing else needs to be said.
