Week 2 College Football Takeaways: Texas, Miami Surging Early

The 2023 season is still stretching its legs, but there are important lessons to be learned from the early results.

Week 2 is in the books, and the tardy takeaways are not concerned with a lackluster Week 3 schedule. A surprisingly exciting week of college football delivered multiple juicy storylines beyond just the final scores. Digging into the week’s notable results, we here at SI are determined to find the answer to the question: Which team does the final score say more about?

Texas 34, Alabama 24 says more about: Texas

The Longhorns were just better on the day than Alabama in a way that may seem shocking, but isn’t really if you consider Bama a dynasty in some semblance of decline. The Horns just took another brick out of the foundation, and the extent to which the entire thing may crumble is anyone’s guess. But this was Texas finishing what it started in last year’s meeting when it had a large amount of offensive success before Qunn Ewers went down with an injury and the game turned thanks to Bryce Young’s heroics. Ewers played the whole game this time, and Texas won thanks to the way he executed a gameplan that evolved as the night went on.

Texas had 15 rushing attempts in the fourth quarter after having 22 in the first three quarters combined. The Longhorns used their screen game as an extension of the run game rather than running the ball directly into Bama’s stout defensive front. It was exceptional execution of a wonderfully called game by Steve Sarkisian, and helped to open up the deep pass that Texas used to devastating effect in generating explosive plays. Maybe past Texas teams would have folded in this spot—or past Alabama teams would have found a way to win—but the Horns absorbed shots from the Tide and delivered their own in the way of a 7:14 drive to ice the game, proving that they could play bully ball when 100,000 people in the stadium knew they were going to run it. This win is a Texas-sized statement in Bryant-Denny.

Notre Dame 45, North Carolina State 24 says more about: NC State

This doesn’t discount the fact that Notre Dame finally showed what it can do against a good team, but it shows that North Carolina State may have some of the same big issues moving forward. On offense, they struggled. Despite adding Brennan Armstrong to create a more versatile quarterback run game, the Wolfpack were deeply inefficient overall (a 19% success rate) and not explosive enough in the rushing attack. NC State hasn’t exactly been an offensive powerhouse under Dave Doeren, but they have been able to count on enough offense to win, leaning on a strong defense to create a complimentary team. But a defensive regression is something the Wolfpack really can’t have, especially if running the ball isn’t going to be a strong suit. Since 2021, only one team has scored over 40 points against the Pack (Sam Hartman’s Wake Forest in ‘21). NC State’s been a top-15 scoring defense team in each of the past two seasons. Maybe they bent, but they certainly didn’t break. Saturday against the Irish was what breaking looks like.

Freshman quarterback Nate Johnson has been key for the Utes in the absence of starter Cam Rising :: Raymond Carlin III/USA TODAY Sports

Utah 20, Baylor 13 says more about: Utah

It’s pretty clear that Nate Johnson should have been Utah’s starting quarterback, especially after the redshirt freshman came in and led a successful drive late in the game. Head coach Kyle Whittingham agreed and elevated him over quarterback Bryson Barnes. Until Cam Rising is back, at least Johnson gives the rushing attack more versatility because the Utes could not do much of anything through the air against the Bears.

Kansas 34, Illinois 23 says more about: Illinois

We knew Jalon Daniels was an electric player for Kansas. But for Illinois, there are early warning signs for a defense that gave up more than 24 points just once last season and has now allowed 28 and 34 points through its first two games this year. Last week’s game against Toledo might have actually been a loss if not for an ability to force field goals on long drives, but the first two weeks of 2023 have been concerning for what should be the calling card for Illinois.

Colorado 36. Nebraska 14 says more about: Nebraska

There are big concerns with Nebraska at every skill position, but especially at quarterback, considering Jeff Sims’s turnovers. Eventually, the dam broke on a good defensive performance for Big Red, and Colorado boat raced the Huskers to the finish. But Nebraska’s offense now has two non-garbage time touchdowns in two games. It might hold up against the more ground-and-pound Big Ten West teams, but sluggish performances will eventually be a significant hurdle against the conference’s more explosive offenses like Michigan, Wisconsin and Maryland. You would think that getting Sims to hold onto the ball will produce some better drive results by default, but given what we’ve seen thus far, that’s no safe assumption. There’s a dash of hope that turnover luck can even out over the course of a season. But until it does, the results might not get much better for Nebraska.

Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke threw for 374 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-33 win over Texas A&M :: Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports

Miami 48, Texas A&M 33 says more about: Miami

Previous Miami teams would have folded up in years’ past after getting in an early 10-0 hole. These Canes didn’t. They weathered some early miscuses on special teams and kept on trucking until they ran right over Texas A&M. After punting on their first two drives of the game, Miami scored on eight of its next 10 drives before kneeling out an 11th to end the game. The Canes showed a better offensive line up front to keep quarterback Tyler Van Dyke clean, and he showed the type of upside that has NFL scouts so intrigued by him. Miami has certainly won some big games in recent years, but it has also fallen flat in spots you wouldn’t expect. The next step to get where Mario Cristobal wants them to go is take care of business when they’re expected to.

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Iowa 20, Iowa State 13 says more about: Iowa

Yes Iowa won, again, but the Brian Ferentz offensive points subplot continues to rear its head. The offensive coordinator’s amended contract stipulates the Hawkeys have to win at least seven games and score 25 points per game. If they don’t, his contract terminates. Defensive scores count, and they got one in this game, or else they wouldn’t have even cracked 20 points in this one. There was a school of thought that things would be different for Iowa on offense with some additions in the transfer portal. So far, it’s proving more of the same. This is a somewhat amusing subplot while the Hawkeyes are winning, but what happens when they don’t?

Mississippi State 31, Arizona 24 says more about: the SEC (for now)

You’re looking at the scoreline from SEC’s most impressive non-conference win. Are you impressed? We should note the game went to overtime and Arizona’s Jayden de Laura threw four picks during the contest as well. The SEC is a league that prides itself on its ability to beat all comers, but the rent has come due on one thing observers worried about the conference coming into the season: the quarterback play. Will Rogers went 13-for-17 for 162 yards in this game. The air raid of the late great Mike Leach seems long gone.

The narrative may swing toward defense making a comeback across the league, but two things can be true at once.

Air Force 13, Sam Houston 3 says more about: Sam Houston

Sam Houston may be 0-2, but this is a team that can hang physically on defense. It simply has to find a way to play even average on offense and you might just be looking at a team that could contend in Conference USA. For now, the Bearkats have very much not embarrassed themselves in their first two games at the FBS level, joining a list of recent teams that have made the leap and proven to be no pushovers.