NCAAF

• Georgia 39 Kent State 22
  • Georgia has earned a mulligan. This performance would’ve gotten the Bulldogs beat by any other top team, but thankfully the opponent yesterday was lowly Kent State. It’s always nice to have Brock Bowers and Nolan Smith — two key cogs in this victory.
  • Kent State is a pretty weak team, but give credit where credit is due — the Golden Flashes didn’t roll over against Georgia, Oklahoma, or Washington. That should bode well for Kent State during MAC play. I expect them to handle Ohio next week.
• Michigan 34 Maryland 27
  • I thought the Wolverines had this game in the bag after Maryland muffed the opening kickoff. That definitely wasn’t the case, but Blake Corum made sure Michigan didn’t lose this contest. Iowa has a tough defense, so it’ll be interesting to see if J.J. McCarthy can improve on how he played yesterday for that game.
  • Maryland is going to be a dangerous team all year, especially offensively. Michigan’s excellent defense forced two Taulia Tagovailoa interceptions, but that still wasn’t enough to force a blowout. Michigan State has received a lot of hype this year, but I think Maryland beats the Spartans rather handily next week.
• Clemson 51 Wake Forest 45
  • DJ Uiagalelei isn’t a great quarterback, but he was, at times, given all day to throw in this game. Nearly any quarterback will slice up a defense when given ample time. When Clemson is effective on offense, it’s a tall task to beat them, especially when guys like Trenton Simpson, Tyler Davis, and Myles Murphy lurk on defense. Clemson versus NC State should be a fascinating matchup next week.
  • Wake Forest gave it their all. Sam Hartman is an awesome quarterback, so it wasn’t his fault. The Demon Deacons’ defense simply isn’t up to par to compete for a title. And that’s okay. Dave Clawson is trying to build a program. Unfortunately, Wake Forest will probably drop another game next week, this time to Florida State.
• Penn State 33 Central Michigan 14
  • This spread (Penn State -28.0) got a little out of hand. The Nittany Lions are a good team, but they still have their limitations, including Sean Clifford at quarterback. A good sign? Penn State yet again ran the ball well.
• Baylor 31 Iowa State 24
  • Baylor is one heck of a program these days. The Bears aren’t the most talented team, but it seems they usually find a way to prevail. Regardless, I like Oklahoma State to come into Waco and steal one next week.
  • Iowa State, despite this loss, is still a solid team. Their SP+ ranking of 37 coming into this week was pretty accurate. Will McDonald and others help make this defense a pretty stout unit.
• Pittsburgh 45 Rhode Island 24
  • Pittsburgh just feels sloppy this year. Pat Narduzzi is a solid coach, so it’s probably not on him, but something feels off with the Panthers. Allowing 24 points to Rhode Island is a bad look. It may not matter, though. The offenses remaining on the Panthers’ schedule aren’t exactly world beaters. I can see Pittsburgh finishing 10-2.
• Auburn 17 Missouri 14
  • Auburn is in a tough spot, and definitely in a down period, but it’s obviously good to grab victories whenever you can get them. Still, in the SEC, Auburn will have a tough time, partly due to the fact that Tank Bigsby hasn’t had a ton of success running the ball versus FBS competition. The running back had 19 carries for 44 yards yesterday.
• Mississippi State 45 Bowling Green 14
  • It’s weird to say that Mississippi State had more success against a MAC foe yesterday than top-ranked Georgia did. Mike Leach’s system had no problems tearing up a dreadful Falcons defense, as Will Rogers threw for six touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Bulldogs versus Texas A&M next week should be intriguing, as it’ll be an offense versus defense battle.
• TCU 42 SMU 34
  • We didn’t learn much about TCU in its first two games, as Colorado and Tarleton State aren’t exactly the stiffest of opponents. However, this was an encouraging victory for the Horned Frogs, and should give them good momentum to host Oklahoma next week. I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved to 4-0 after winning that one.
  • SMU is solid, but has come up just short so far against two Power Five programs — TCU and Maryland. The team’s AAC schedule is fairly difficult, so it’ll be a surprise if the Mustangs finish 8-4 or better.
• Kansas 35 Duke 27
  • Kansas! This is perhaps the best Jayhawk team since 2007, when Kansas was the only Power conference team to finish with less than two losses. If the season ended today, Jalon Daniels would be in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
• Louisville 41 South Florida 3
  • Yes, they lost last week to Florida State, but the Cardinals have rebounded nicely since getting destroyed by Syracuse in the opener. Malik Cunningham is a homeless man’s Lamar Jackson, which isn’t an insult — Cunningham is basically capable of winning games by himself. Louisville should be able to take down Boston College next week.