From walk-offs to blowouts to … did that really just happen?! All of the ways the Rockies have lost games in 2025
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David Schoenfield
The Colorado Rockies began their 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field, playing the displaced Tampa Bay Rays at the Yankees’ spring training facility in Tampa, Florida. The Rockies and Rays were tied 2-2 when Colorado’s Victor Vodnik came on to pitch in the bottom of the ninth. He threw one 97 mph fastball — which Rays outfielder Kameron Misner, a 27-year-old rookie, deposited into the right-field bleachers for a winning home run.
It was Misner’s first home run in the majors, making him the first player in MLB history to hit a walk-off home run on Opening Day for his first career home run.
Let’s just say that game set an early tone for a season that quickly spiraled into a long list of ugly losses, with displays of baseball that might make a Little League coach hide in shame. For two months, the Rockies played like the worst team in major league history, or at least the worst team since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders — a team so bad it ended up playing most of its games on the road before folding at season’s end.
“I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been difficult,” starting pitcher Kyle Freeland told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “We have a ton of young guys and we’re trying to pull in the same direction to get us back on track to where we want to go, but it’s been a very difficult year. This second half has felt like we can breathe a little bit more. We’ve played better baseball but we’re kind of hot and cold, really.”
The Rockies started 9-50, at which point it seemed certain they would shatter the modern record of 121 losses, set just last season by the Chicago White Sox. To their credit, the Rockies have played better since the All-Star break and will avoid that fate of history. But in one regard, they’ve still been worse than the White Sox: They just lost their 100th game and have been outscored by 362 runs. Meanwhile, the White Sox were outscored by 306 runs all last season.
Babe Ruth called baseball “the best game in the world.” But he never watched these Rockies play. They have lost games in every way imaginable — and some in ways you couldn’t imagine if you tried. Let’s look back on how they got to 100 losses.
Loss No. 5: The “traditional” loss
We begin the Rockies’ woes with the Philadelphia Phillies sweeping them in the second series of the season by scores of 6-1, 5-1 and 3-1 to drop the Rockies to 1-5.
Taijuan Walker started the final game for the Phillies, coming off a 2024 season in which he had been so bad that his mother once cried in the stands as her son was booed. She flew in from Arizona to watch this game and texted her son that she was crying again — with joy, after Walker pitched six scoreless innings in the 3-1 victory.
The Rockies were hitting .203 as a team with a .553 OPS after this initial road trip. On Reddit, Rockies fans were already suffering. “I am not normally this cynical,” wrote one fan. “But man, this team …” Another wrote: “Hunter Goodman and Kyle Freeland are the only ones allowed to fly back home. Everyone else can take the bus.”
How bad would the Rockies’ offense become in 2025? Colorado has been shut out or scored only one run in 35 games — already a franchise record. A majority of those games have come on the road, where the Rockies are hitting just .208 with a .266 on-base percentage.
Loss No. 6: The “extra innings” loss
The home opener. Over 48,000 fans packed Coors Field on a frigid, 37-degree Friday afternoon that featured snow flurries during the game. The players were dressed as if they were on Shackleton’s voyage to the South Pole.
It was a weird game. The Athletics Athletics made three replay challenges and were successful each time. In the fourth inning, Kyle Farmer was doubled off second base on a fairly routine pop fly to center field. On a double in the sixth, the A’s held Tyler Soderstrom at third base, but Ezequiel Tovar tossed the ball in over the third baseman’s head, allowing Soderstrom to scamper home. In the eighth, Farmer appeared to tie the score with an inside-the-park home run after the ball was lodged under the outfield fence, but the A’s won the challenge and it was ruled a ground-rule double (the Rockies managed to tie it anyway).
The A’s won 6-3 with three runs in the 11th inning. The Rockies haven’t been good enough to play many extra-inning games, but you won’t be surprised to know they are 1-5 when they do. You also won’t be surprised to know the Rockies’ bullpen hasn’t been good. They will lose many games in the late innings. To be fair, they will also lose many games in the early innings.
Loss No. 9: The “Bad News Bears in the field” loss
This was a 17-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Antonio Senzatela, who has spent his nine-year career with the Rockies and is 4-15 with a 7.12 ERA in 2025, gave up nine runs, while the Brewers scored five or more runs in three separate innings for the first time in franchise history. But it was the fielding — or lack thereof — that distinguished this game. The Rockies made four errors. There was no snow to blame: It was 71 degrees at game time.
Error No. 1: On a base hit to center field, Brenton Doyle overruns the ball, allowing the batter to reach second.
Error No. 2: Tovar bobbles a grounder and can’t get the force out at second.
Error No. 3: Jackson Chourio hits a slow tapper back to pitcher Seth Halvorsen, who chucks the throw five feet over the first baseman’s head.
Error No. 4: On a base hit to center field, Mickey Moniak bobbles the ball, allowing the runners to move up a base.
All careless errors.
“Uncharacteristic for us,” manager Bud Black said at the time. “We’re used to really clean defensive games. That’s part of what we pride ourselves in. Tonight was not that night, for sure. You play 162 games during the course of a season. We’re not going to have many games like that — if any, really.”
The Rockies would have more games like this. Only the Boston Red Sox have made more defensive errors this season.
Loss No. 12: The “you can’t win if you can’t score” loss
So, it turns out that Phillies series was nothing. The Rockies hit the road in San Diego and lost 8-0 (with three hits and 15 strikeouts), 2-0 (four hits, nine strikeouts) and 6-0 (two hits, eight strikeouts). Yes, that’s nine hits across three consecutive shutouts. The Rockies fell to 3-12 and became only the third team since 1901 to, over three games, score zero runs, have fewer than 10 hits and strike out at least 30 times.
When Black was asked if anything could be done to right the offense, he said, “No, this is our group.”
Loss No. 15: The “starting pitcher forgets to show up” loss
The Los Angeles Dodgers knocked out German Marquez in the first inning with a seven-run outburst, holding on for an 8-7 victory as the Rockies struck out 16 times — four times each by Ryan McMahon and Braxton Fulford. Marquez, a former All-Star, is now 3-12 with a 6.14 ERA and .314 batting average allowed.
Marquez isn’t the only Rockies starter to struggle in the first inning. The team’s first-inning ERA in 2025: 7.96, which puts them on track for the worst first-inning ERA in the wild-card era (the Rangers had a 7.89 ERA in 2000). Opponents are hitting .340/.395/.571 in the first inning against the Rockies — essentially what Matt Holliday hit for the Rockies in 2007, when he finished second in MVP voting. That means the Rockies are turning what is an average hitter against them in the first inning into an MVP-caliber slugger.
Loss No. 18: The heartbreaking “only the Rockies can lose this way” loss
This one was a gut punch, as delivered by George Foreman in his prime. Trailing the Kansas City Royals 2-0 with two outs and nobody on in the top of the ninth, Royals closer Carlos Estevez walked three batters in a row and then Jacob Stallings cleared the bases with a three-run double, putting the Rockies up 3-2. But the Royals tied it in the bottom of the ninth, sending it to extra innings.
Moniak was the designated runner in the 10th inning and moved to third base on a sacrifice. Then, Royals catcher Freddy Fermin picked him off with a well-timed laser beam of a throw when Moniak wasn’t even that far off the base.
Freddy Fermin and Maikel Garcia combined for a nasty pickoff in a clutch spot! pic.twitter.com/E6i6BwYioB
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 23, 2025
The Royals won in 11 innings on a wild pitch, two intentional walks to load the bases and Fermin’s walk-off single.
At this point, we’re not even through the end of April yet.
Loss No. 27: The “three walks followed by a grand slam” loss
Leading the San Francisco Giants 3-1 in the sixth inning, Colorado’s Bradley Blalock walked two batters followed by Jake Bird walking a third before Matt Chapman cleared the bases with a grand slam. The Giants won 6-3, dropping the Rockies to 6-27.
The Rockies have not given up the most grand slams this season. But their pitchers have faced the most bases-loaded situations of any staff in the majors.
Loss No. 33: The “how to get your manager fired” loss
The San Diego Padres pummeled the Rockies 21-0 at Coors Field, bashing out 24 hits as Blalock gave up 12 runs to start the game. A large contingent of Padres fans were in attendance and did the wave in the sixth inning, rubbing salt into the bleeding wound. It could have been worse: Backup catcher Stallings gave up only one run in pitching two innings. It was the biggest shutout victory in Padres history and only one run short of the largest shutout in MLB since 1900 (Cleveland had a 22-0 shutout over the Yankees in 2004 and the Pirates beat the Cubs 22-0 in 1975). Stephen Kolek became the first visiting pitcher with a shutout at Coors Field since Clayton Kershaw in 2013.
As the headline on the Purple Row site read: “Padres 21, Rockies 0: They only lost by three touchdowns…”
The unfortunate folks managing the Rockies’ social media — now that’s a tough job — had this reaction:
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 11, 2025
To top it off, this was the final game in an incredible stretch of terrible pitching: The Rockies gave up 10-plus runs in four consecutive games and 72 runs over a six-game stretch (16 of those runs were unearned).
Before the game, general manager Bill Schmidt had addressed the state of the club, saying, “I feel for the fans, I feel for the people around here. I know we are better than we have played, but we are not good right now. We have to battle through it and get to the other side.”
Said Black: “It’s a tough loss, but it’s just one game.”
He was fired the next day.
Loss No. 43: The “10-run inning” loss
Tied 1-1 in the top of the fifth inning, the Yankees scored 10 runs on their way to a 13-1 victory. The rally: single, double, walk, E1, intentional walk, sac fly, single, sac fly, single, wild pitch, double, walk, single, double, strikeout.
Loss Nos. 53, 54, 55, 56: The “bullpen blues” losses
No. 53: The Rockies served up a season-high six home runs, four of those by the bullpen, in a 13-5 loss to the New York Mets.
No. 54: Zach Agnos and Vodnik gave up four runs in the ninth in a 6-5 loss to the Giants. Agnos gave up a home run and then walked three batters. The tying hit came with two outs on Wilmer Flores‘ swinging bunt down the third-base line that had an exit velocity of 49 mph. Even when the Rockies make a good pitch and get a good result, it turns into a bad result.
No. 55: The Rockies gave up seven runs in the final two innings in a 10-7 loss to the Giants. The go-ahead run in the eighth inning came on a safety squeeze in which the Giants’ baserunner was initially called out at home, only to have the call overturned on replay.
No. 56: A day after the Rockies beat the Giants 8-7, the Atlanta Braves rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win 12-4 with 11 runs from the sixth through eighth innings — all off the Rockies’ bullpen. The Rockies committed four errors (two on one play by first baseman Keston Hiura), threw two wild pitches and grounded into four double plays.
In this loss, Bird gave up a three-run home run in the sixth that tied the score.
“The bullpen has been really good, other than three of the past four games,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “‘Birdman’ always gets the job done. That was an abnormality. Tomorrow, I expect ‘Birdman’ to get the job done, because that’s what he does.”
Alas, that was not the case. Bird would have a 12.21 ERA over his next 16 appearances before he was traded to the Yankees.
The next day, the Rockies lost 4-1 to the Braves, striking out 19 times, a franchise record for Atlanta. The loss dropped the Rockies to 13-57, the worst record through 70 games in the modern era (since 1901). They were on pace for a record of 30-132 and had been outscored 441 runs to 229 (for a run differential of minus-212), or just over three runs per game, which is a stunning level of — there’s no other word here — incompetence. They had played nearly half a season and were on pace to be outscored by 490 total runs. The worst run differential in a full season since 1901: minus-345 runs, by the 1932 Red Sox (in a 154-game season). The 2023 A’s have the worst in a 162-game season, at minus-344 runs.
It’s not hyperbole to suggest that, for 70 games, no team in 125 years played worse than the 2025 Rockies.
They have fared better since that point in the season, at least in the win-loss department, but that run differential sits at minus-362 runs. Unless they miraculously outscore their opponents in the final month, they’re destined to make their own dubious history for worst run differential in the modern era, even if they won’t set the modern record for losses.
Indeed, the Rockies still managed to find special ways to lose games as the season continued.
Loss No. 58: The “walk-off home run” loss
The Rockies scored a run in the top of the 11th to take a one-run lead against the Washington Nationals. James Wood then did this:
JAMES WOOD
GAME OVER
WALK-OFF HOMER 😤 pic.twitter.com/wb5SDPFQB3— MLB (@MLB) June 19, 2025
Loss No. 60: The “really bad baserunning” loss
The key moment in a 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks came in the seventh inning when it was already 5-3. Colorado’s Moniak doubled and Sam Hilliard walked with nobody out. The Diamondbacks brought in reliever Ryan Thompson — who promptly picked off Moniak at second base. Remember, Moniak was the runner picked off third base in extra innings earlier in the season.
The Rockies, along with poor hitting, pitching and fielding, are not a good baserunning team. They are tied for the MLB lead in getting picked off. They have the worst stolen-base percentage in the majors. The baserunning metric at Fangraphs identifies the Rockies as the worst baserunning team in the majors at nine runs below average.
Loss No. 62: The “lose a pop fly in the rain” loss
The Dodgers and Rockies were tied 0-0 in the sixth inning in a rare pitching duel at Coors Field, with Rockies rookie Chase Dollander on his way to the best start of his career — amid what had been a trying season for the 23-year-old right-hander. With two outs and two on, and a steady downpour of rain descending from the tears of the baseball gods, Dollander induced a pop fly from Max Muncy. Second baseman Thairo Estrada called for it. The ball landed 10 feet away, nearly plunking first baseman Michael Toglia in the head. In a season of bad plays, this might be the worst, rain or not. Two runs scored. The Rockies lost 8-1.
Loss No. 63: The “yes, this actually happened this way” loss
On the other hand, maybe the worst play of the season was in Colorado’s next loss. Trailing the Dodgers 3-1 with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Tyler Freeman was on first base when Estrada lined out to left-center field. The one thing Freeman absolutely cannot do in that situation: get doubled off first base for the game’s final out. He wasn’t even the tying run. Well … he got doubled off first base.
Loss No. 66: The “failed pickoff that leads to an impossible grand slam on an impossible pitch” loss
Tied 1-1 with the Houston Astros in the third inning, Dollander has Mauricio Dubon picked off at second — except he throws it away for an error. A few batters later, Victor Caratini belts a grand slam on a pitch so high out of the strike zone, it had just a 3.8% likelihood of being called a strike. The Rockies lose 6-5.
Loss No. 77: The “just an old-fashioned blowout” loss
The Baltimore Orioles won 18-0 at Camden Yards, belting out 18 hits and scoring nine runs in the seventh inning while recording the largest shutout in franchise history. That makes it two teams to record their largest shutout in franchise history against the Rockies in 2025. Along the way, the Orioles became the first team to have 12 different players record both a hit and a run scored in the same game. Only one of the 18 runs came off a position player. Oh, and the Rockies had only two hits.
Selected comments from Reddit about this game:
“Yeah, but take away their seventh inning, we only lose by nine.”
“Well, it wasn’t 21-0.”
“Good news is the Dodgers lost too, so we didn’t lose any ground.”
Loss Nos. 82, 83, 84: The “yes, it can get worse” losses
A three-game home series in early August against the Toronto Blue Jays turned into a series of historic proportions … at least if you’re into the macabre.
No. 82: Lost 15-1, giving up 25 hits
No. 83: Lost 10-4, giving up 14 hits
No. 84: Lost 20-1, giving up 24 hits
The final tally, you ask? That would be 45 runs, 63 hits and a .453 average allowed over the three games. The Blue Jays set modern records for runs and hits in a three-game series.
“We’ve got to make better pitches,” Schaeffer explained.
There have been more losses since, of course. Tanner Gordon gave up 10 runs in a start, a game in which he and Ryan Rolison gave up nine straight hits with two outs. The Rockies scored one run in three games in getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates — but, hey, Paul Skenes started one of those games. The blowouts have piled up, the shutout losses have piled up and the calls for owner Dick Monfort to sell the team have increased in volume.
But along the way, there have been those games that remind us baseball fans that, even in a season of complete misery, one of the worst baseball teams of all time can create joy.
There was a 14-12 win in Arizona, when the Rockies hit five home runs to rally from an 11-6 deficit. There was the walk-off win against the Giants on June 12, when Colorado scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, with Orlando Arcia driving in the winning run. There was Hunter Goodman’s pinch-hit, two-run home run in the top of the ninth that gave the Rockies a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 13. Three days after that, Colorado scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Diamondbacks. Two days after that, there was the walk-off win over the Dodgers when Tovar doubled and rookie Warming Bernabel singled him in.
Maybe no game better encapsulates how the magic of baseball can persevere even for MLB’s worst teams than the matchup between the Rockies and Pirates on Aug. 1 — a game of absolute no consequence, two terrible teams in the dog days of summer playing out the string. It was a perfect 84-degree night at Coors Field and 36,000 fans showed up to enjoy the atmosphere, food and scenery at one of the best ballparks in the majors. They saw one of the wildest, most exciting games — maybe the most exciting — of the entire major league season.
The Pirates scored nine runs in the top of the first inning. The Rockies chipped away. The Pirates tacked on three runs in the fourth and three in the fifth. The Rockies scored four in the bottom of the fifth to make it 15-10. The Pirates added another run in the sixth but left the bases loaded. Yanquiel Fernandez hit a two-run homer in the eighth for the Rockies to make it 16-12. Dugan Darnell pitched two scoreless innings for the Rockies in his major league debut.
In the bottom of the ninth, Goodman homered with one out. There was a walk, Bernabel tripled down the left-field line and Estrada singled him home. Brenton Doyle stepped in with the Rockies down 16-15. He got just enough of an 0-1 slider:
(good)Nightmare Fuel 😈#Rockies x @denvermattress pic.twitter.com/nfFwgr9xKG
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 2, 2025
“I’ve never seen anything like this.”
That’s for sure.
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Bill Connelly
I always say that the worse a week looks on paper, the wilder it ends up becoming. If that’s true, brace yourself for just about the wildest week of all time. After a Week 1 that had three top-10 headline games and Bill Belichick’s not-so-hot debut, the biggest game of Week 2 is a Jordan Brand matchup between the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines and No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners. Nine AP top-10 teams are in action, but my SP+ ratings project them as favorites by a combined 360.3 points. Illinois-Duke might be the biggest game in Saturday’s noon ET window.
It’s an odd schedule, in other words. But in these parts, we love alternative programming. Michigan-OU will give us the Wolverines’ Bryce Underwood facing the most hostile environment of his young career. The Iowa-Iowa State winner will be a legit College Football Playoff contender. The same goes for the Kansas-Mizzou winner. (That’s right, the Border War — er, Border Showdown — is back!!) And after Boise State’s Week 1 defeat to USF, the wide-open battle for the Group of 5’s guaranteed CFP spot features a number of huge résumé-building opportunities in Week 2.
There’s probably no need to watch what the top teams are up to this week (though the Grambling-Ohio State halftime show should be amazing). But we’re going to entertain ourselves all the same. Here’s everything you need to know about Week 2.
All times Eastern.
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Michigan-Oklahoma | Big Ten challenges
KU-Mizzou is back | G5’s big week | Week 2 playlist
Two big brands trying to look the part
No. 15 Michigan Wolverines at No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners (7:30 p.m., ABC)
It’s like a blind spot in college football’s lore: Michigan and Oklahoma rank first (1,013) and tied for fifth (951), respectively, in college football wins, but they’ve played each other only once. Nearly 50 years ago, in the 1976 Orange Bowl — the first time a Big Ten team was allowed to play in a bowl other than the Rose — Oklahoma won a 14-6 slog that, when paired with Ohio State’s loss in the Rose Bowl, earned the Sooners their fifth of seven national titles. Otherwise, these two iconic helmets have never crossed paths.
After down seasons in 2024, both programs expect improvement this fall. They should have excellent defenses again, but on offense Michigan signed all-world freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood and a new coordinator (Chip Lindsey) while Oklahoma went with a full-on transplant, taking Washington State’s OC (Ben Arbuckle) and QB (John Mateer) and nearly a full lineup’s worth of transfers. Everyone looked as good as expected in easy Week 1 wins, but now the rubber meets the road.
Owen Field vs. a true freshman
The first time I attended an Oklahoma game in Norman, the home crowd forced a fumble. With OU nursing a narrow fourth-quarter lead over Missouri in 2007, Sooners fans made such shrill noise that (A) I had to grab on to the seatback in front of me because my equilibrium was failing, and (B) Mizzou’s Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin miscommunicated and botched an exchange, which Curtis Lofton recovered and took for a touchdown. What they call Sooner Magic might simply be eardrum-bursting shrillness. Regardless, it’s probably going to test Underwood quite a bit.
Underwood was perfectly solid for a true freshman starting in his first collegiate game. New Mexico did its best to confuse him, but he went 21-for-31 for 251 yards. He got help from an effective run game that produced a couple of 50-yard bursts from Justice Haynes and no negative plays.
There was one red flag, though: UNM pressured him seven times, and in those plays he took two sacks, completed just two passes and averaged 2.0 yards per dropback. OU is probably going to pressure him more than seven times. The Sooners ranked 13th nationally in sack rate last year and boast a bevy of pass rushers led by R Mason Thomas. The Sooners also ranked second in rushing success rate allowed, meaning there’s no guarantee that Underwood can lean on Haynes.
Underwood is “no average freshman,” but it’s common for even an awesome blue-chipper to flunk an early road test. Still, if he can avoid devastating mistakes in a deafening environment and the Michigan defense plays its part, the Wolverines could have a chance.
Big plays and rushing quarterbacks
If Week 1 was any indication, a repeat of the 14-6 scoreline from the first Michigan-Oklahoma game is conceivable. The biggest story of Week 1 to me was the complete disappearance of points. The use of safe, two-high coverage (with two high safeties patrolling and attempting to limit big plays) has increased. Combined with the fact that defenses have adapted well to tempo offenses through the years, this led to long, frequently scoreless drives and low point totals in Week 1. It’s as if the entire college football universe suddenly turned into Iowa.
How do you punish teams for two-high looks and force them to get aggressive? With ruthless efficiency. For the SEC in Week 1, that frequently meant running the QB. Auburn’s Jackson Arnold rushed for 151 non-sack yards against Baylor, while Georgia’s Gunner Stockton and Missouri’s Beau Pribula topped 70 yards and seven others topped 30.
Mateer didn’t need to run much against Illinois State. He completed seven passes of 20-plus yards against the Redbirds (the Sooners averaged just 1.5 such completions per game in 2024). Still, considering he had games of 212 and 127 non-sack rushing yards at Wazzu in 2024, plus six more games over 70 yards, we know he’ll probably run a lot when it matters.
Michigan used two-high coverage 38% of the time in Week 1 — 19th most in the FBS — so I’m guessing Mateer’s legs will be frequently involved Saturday evening even though star running back transfer Jaydn Ott should be ready for a heavier load. A threat from Mateer will put pressure on Michigan’s linebackers, which could make the first-half absence of Jaishawn Barham a concern. Of course, Michigan’s defensive front, led by veteran Rayshaun Benny and transfers Tré Williams and Damon Payne, will test OU’s rebuilt offensive line in ways that ISU couldn’t.
Last week didn’t give us definitive answers to the offseason questions we had about the Wolverines or the Sooners. But one of them will be 2-0 and feeling awfully good about themselves Sunday morning.
Current line: OU -5.5 | SP+ projection: OU by 5.7 | FPI projection: OU by 0.9
Big tests for Big Ten hopefuls
Even without the ridiculous “multiple auto-bids in a college football invitational” idea, the Big Ten stands to get plenty of teams into a 12- or 16-team CFP moving forward. Anyone who can get to 10 wins or so is going to have a good shot.
Per SP+, Illinois has a 29% chance of reaching 10-2 or better, and if Bret Bielema’s Illini survive what amounts to a coin-toss game at Duke on Saturday, those odds will see a pretty solid boost. Iowa is at only 4%, but if the Hawkeyes beat their Cy-Hawk rivals — something they’ve done six straight times in Ames — their outlook will be rosier. Noon is Big Ten Time, and Saturday features a pair of awfully important noon contests.
Few teams have proved more through two games than Iowa State. The Cyclones outlasted Kansas State in a massively important Week 0 contest in Ireland, then returned home and mauled both jet lag and a solid South Dakota team last Saturday. They’re tackling well, defending the run effectively and forcing loads of turnovers. Basically, they’re doing the things Iowa typically does to win lots of games.
Iowa wasn’t tested much against Albany in Week 1; the Hawkeyes ran the ball at will — Terrell Washington Jr., Xavier Williams and Jaziun Patterson had 33 combined carries for 238 yards — and they neither asked for nor got much from new quarterback Mark Gronowski. The defense gave up a single, 68-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter but otherwise allowed 2.9 yards per play.
A two-time FCS national champion at South Dakota State, Gronowski disclosed that he had some “anxiety and anxiousness” in his first FBS start, and he suffered some misfires while going 8-for-15 for just 44 yards. (He had 47 non-sack rushing yards, too, which was something.) He’ll have to get over that pretty quickly in Ames. And against ISU quarterback Rocco Becht, who was ever-so-slightly better Saturday (19-for-20 for 278 yards and three TDs), the Iowa defense will have to prove that it remains plug-and-play — Becht & Co. will test the Hawkeyes’ five new starters in the back seven.
Enough Big 12 teams looked awesome in Week 1 that the conference doesn’t have to think about settling for being a one-bid league just yet. Still, with a loss Saturday, ISU could focus on reaching the CFP with a conference title. Iowa probably won’t have that luxury; this one is therefore a bit more important for the road team. But considering the Hawkeyes’ recent record in Ames, that probably doesn’t scare them all that much.
Current line: ISU -3.5 | SP+ projection: ISU by 6.5 | FPI projection: ISU by 3.8
Since the start of 2024, 24 power-conference teams have won double-digit games. Illinois and Duke are among them. Granted, they’re a combined 11-2 in one-score finishes in that span, and that will likely be hard to maintain, but both entered 2025 feeling spry and ambitious, and both crafted easy Week 1 wins.
Well, it was eventually easy for Duke. The Blue Devils found themselves tied with Elon at halftime, thanks in part to a missed field goal and a fumble, before winning the second half by 28. Expensive new quarterback Darian Mensah had to stay in a bit longer than intended and took a pair of sacks, but he finished 27-for-34 for 389 yards and three TDs.
Coach Manny Diaz’s intentions were clear this offseason. The Blue Devils won nine games despite an inefficient, three-and-outs-heavy offense last season, so he spent big to land one of the best QBs in the portal. Play Diaz defense and get high-level QB play and you’re going to be awfully good.
Illinois has provided some proof of concept in that regard. Granted, the Illini defense is far more bend-don’t-break than Diaz’s aggressive units, and Luke Altmyer isn’t exactly a Heisman contender. But he has the best QBR of any Illinois quarterback for the past 20 years (min. 14 starts), and the Illini return about seven starters from a unit that ranked 26th in defensive SP+.
Everything played out as intended in a 45-3 win over Western Illinois. Altmyer went 17-for-21 (albeit with three sacks), while running backs Kaden Feagin, Aidan Laughery and Ca’Lil Valentine combined for 226 rushing yards and the defense allowed 3.0 yards per play. The sacks might be red flags for both QBs, but we’ll learn a lot about two intriguing teams in Durham. And one might actually lose a close game for once.
Current line: Illini -2.5 | SP+ projection: Illini by 2.9 | FPI projection: Duke by 0.1
3:25
Mizzou’s Eliah Drinkwitz reviews Week 1, looks to matchup vs. Kansas
Drinkwitz expresses the Tigers’ need to improve each week, reviews what they can change from last week and how they can put themselves in a position to win against the Jayhawks.
A mighty big Border Showdown
It has featured weird ties, rushing records and probably a few too many Civil War references, if we’re being honest, but the Border Showdown is back for a couple of years! Hell, yes. And whether Mizzou and Kansas players are prepared or not — almost none of them really grew up with this rivalry, after all — they’re going to be playing in a lion’s den Saturday afternoon. “I had no idea about the whole Civil War history,” Missouri QB Beau Pribula told the media this week. “I thought it was just a sports rivalry, but I guess it goes beyond that.” Indeed.
Emotions aside, this is a massive game for two programs that have looked the part of late. Mizzou rocked Central Arkansas by 55 points last Thursday, and Kansas has beaten Fresno State and Wagner by a combined 77-14. Mizzou is 22-5 since the start of 2023 — only Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia and Michigan can top that 81.5% win rate — and although close losses dragged KU down to 5-7 last year, the Jayhawks have still enjoyed a spectacular program turnaround under Lance Leipold. They’ve been good enough early on to think of themselves as Big 12 contenders. (Then again, who isn’t a Big 12 contender?)
Pribula, a Penn State transfer, lit Mizzou fans’ imaginations up with a brilliant debut, completing 23 of 28 passes for 283 yards and two scores while rushing for five first downs and ripping off a 31-yard touchdown run. The Tigers’ offensive line was probably their biggest question mark heading into the season, and it looked fine aside from one confusingly awful second-quarter drive. The unit had better have those glitches ironed out because the Kansas defense has been attacking with far more vigor under new coordinator D.K. McDonald. It has already recorded 19 tackles for loss, 6 sacks and 8 passes defended.
Strangely, it seems as if the Jayhawks’ defense is ahead of their offense at the moment. Quarterback Jalon Daniels & Co. have been efficient enough, but situational play has been horrendous: Kansas is 101st in third-down conversion rate (30.0%), and that includes a trio of third-and-1 conversions; on third-and-3 or more, it’s a ghastly 3-for-17 (17.6%). The Jayhawks are also 78th in red zone TD rate (8-for-13) and 103rd in goal-to-go TD rate (1-for-4). These numbers are so bad that they’re almost guaranteed to improve. But Mizzou is 11th in defensive SP+ and held UCA to 2 or fewer yards on 30 of 62 snaps last week. This might not be the best week to expect third-down improvement.
Mizzou did get bitten by the injury bug last Thursday: Quarterback Sam Horn, supposedly still in a battle with Pribula at kickoff, suffered an injury on his first snap and will miss at least a few weeks, and big-legged kicker Blake Craig is now out for the season. The Tigers won a lot of close games over the past couple of years, and long field goals were a huge part of that. The bar is pretty high for freshman kicker Robert Meyer.
Current line: Mizzou -6.5 | SP+ projection: Mizzou by 5.7 | FPI projection: Mizzou by 3.4
Résumé Week in the Group of 5
Heading into 2025, it seemed like a “Boise State vs. the Field” situation when it came to landing the guaranteed Group of 5 CFP spot. Well, the Field swatted that down pretty quickly. USF’s stunning 34-7 win over BSU in Week 1 opened the CFP race wide. BSU’s hopes aren’t kaput, but the Broncos are now part of the second tier of contenders.
The Allstate Playoff Predictor lists 11 G5 teams with at least a 2.0% chance of reaching the CFP: Tulane (31.2%), Memphis (16.3%), USF (14.3%), UNLV (13.5%), Boise State (3.8%), Texas State (3.3%), Fresno State (3.1%), Navy (3.0%), JMU (2.6%), Ohio (2.3%) and UTSA (2.0%). At least six of these teams have particularly interesting matchups in Week 2, games that could alter these odds a solid amount. Here they are in chronological order:
JMU is the betting favorite in the Sun Belt and has a prime upset opportunity Friday night. Both teams handled FCS opponents with aplomb in Week 1. New Louisville quarterback Miller Moss looked good, and Isaac Brown needed only six carries to gain 126 yards in a 51-17 win over Eastern Kentucky. JMU, meanwhile, outgained Weber State by 300 yards and outscored the Wildcats by 35. Is Louisville simply too explosive for the Dukes to handle, or might JMU make this game awfully tricky for Moss & Co.?
Current line: Louisville -14.5 | SP+ projection: Louisville by 11.4 | FPI projection: Louisville by 8.4
This year’s Battle of I-35 is a huge head-to-head matchup of G5 hopefuls in the Alamo Dome, and it might honestly be one of my favorite matchups of Week 2. UTSA was explosive and exciting against Texas A&M, trailing by only four in the third quarter before stumbling late. Texas State, meanwhile, walloped Eastern Michigan 52-27. Despite massive turnover, the Bobcats look dangerous once again, and they finally beat UTSA as an FBS rival last year. Major track meet potential here.
Current line: UTSA -4.5 | SP+ projection: UTSA by 3.8 | FPI projection: UTSA by 1.7
USF has the third-best odds of any G5 team to reach the CFP, and that’s with a likely loss in Gainesville this weekend. If the Bulls can pull an upset here or even give the playoff committee something to think about with a super-competitive loss, that will be quite the bonus. Is that actually likely? We’ll see. USF’s offense was all-or-nothing against Boise State, and the Bulls started quite slowly overall and benefited from some turnovers luck. Still, they’re super explosive, and they now face a Florida team that wasn’t all that explosive itself against Long Island last week.
Current line: Florida -17.5 | SP+ projection: by 20.3 | FPI projection: Florida by 10.8
Tulane is your new G5 leader, thanks both to Boise State’s loss and to the Green Wave’s utterly dominant 23-3 win over Northwestern. They’ll face a unique test in Mobile. Can they avoid a letdown after such a stirring showing? And how will they perform against a team that — sorry, Northwestern fans — might actually be able to pass? USA’s Bishop Davenport was 12-of-14 with three completions of 30-plus yards against Morgan State last week, and though I doubt the Jaguars’ defense can handle Tulane QB Jake Retzlaff & Co., the offense might score enough to make this uncomfortable.
Current line: Tulane -10.5 | SP+ projection: Tulane by 10.7 | FPI projection: Tulane by 9.6
UNLV has suffered serious defensive issues thus far, giving up a combined 52 points and 887 yards to Idaho State and Sam Houston. So why are the Rebels fourth on the G5 playoff odds list? Because of an offense that has scored 76 points and gained 936 yards. That raw potential might be problematic for a UCLA team that got utterly swamped by Utah on both offense and defense last week. The Bruins could rebound, but I have no idea what they’ve done to earn being favored in this game.
Current line: UCLA -2.5 | SP+ projection: UNLV by 2.6 | FPI projection: UNLV by 6.4
Week 2 chaos superfecta
We have another one! We’re once again using this space to attempt to will chaos into existence, looking at four carefully curated games with pretty big point spreads and mashing them together into a much more upset-friendly number. We scored upsets in 10 of 14 weeks last season, and thanks to Florida State’s upset of Bama, we’re 1-for-1 in 2025.
Who are we taking down this week? Someone good! SP+ says there’s only about a 51% chance that No. 13 Florida (90% over USF), No. 8 Clemson (89% over Troy), No. 20 Ole Miss (84% over Kentucky) and Louisville (76% over JMU) all win. Surely Ole Miss wouldn’t lose to Kentucky again, right?
Week 2 playlist
Here are some more games you should pay attention to if you want to get the absolute most out of the weekend from information and entertainment perspectives.
Friday evening
Northern Illinois Huskies at Maryland Terrapins (7:30, BTN). Freshman quarterback Malik Washington grew beautifully into his first start last week, and he’s at least 17 places ahead of Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik in QBR. But can he overcome the Curse of Playing Northern Illinois in Week 2? Notre Dame couldn’t last year, after all.
Current line: Terps -18.5 | SP+ projection: Terps by 16.0 | FPI projection: Terps by 13.0
Early Saturday
Baylor Bears at No. 17 SMU Mustangs (noon, The CW). Against Auburn, Baylor proved it has some major speed this season. But the Bears got pushed around early and made too many mistakes. SMU, meanwhile, took a while to find an offensive rhythm against East Texas A&M and fell well short of projections. Which team will head into Week 3 having disappointed twice in a row?
Current line: SMU -3 | SP+ projection: SMU by 9.9 | FPI projection: SMU by 4.5
Virginia Cavaliers at NC State Wolfpack (noon, ESPN2). NC State’s CJ Bailey looked awfully good in the Wolfpack’s 24-17 win over forever-upset-minded ECU, but the UVA defense absolutely wrecked shop against Coastal Carolina. Are the Cavaliers better than we thought? Can State fend off an early upset attempt?
Current line: Pack -2.5 | SP+ projection: Pack by 2.0 | FPI projection: UVA by 0.4
UConn Huskies at Syracuse Orange (noon, ESPN+). Syracuse alternated between wobbly and exciting in last week’s loss to Tennessee, but the Orange will need to get their feet underneath them quickly because UConn made loads of big plays last week — yes, against Central Connecticut, but still — and is good enough to make this one a near-tossup.
Current line: Cuse -6.5 | SP+ projection: Cuse by 1.8 | FPI projection: Cuse by 4.3
Saturday afternoon
No. 20 Ole Miss Rebels at Kentucky Wildcats (3:30, ABC). New Ole Miss starter Austin Simmons threw two early picks against Georgia State last week but eventually got rolling. He’ll likely find far more resistance against a Kentucky defense that held Toledo to 4.8 yards per play, but that will matter only if the Wildcats can score. They averaged a woeful 4.6 yards per play with two turnovers, and I’m pretty sure Ole Miss’ defense is better than Toledo’s.
Current line: Rebels -10.5 | SP+ projection: Rebels by 16.1 | FPI projection: Ole Miss by 11.5
Oklahoma State Cowboys at No. 6 Oregon Ducks (3:30, CBS). Oklahoma State QB Hauss Hejny looked awesome in his first start but got hurt. Now Zane Flores will make his first start on the road against a team that looked about as good as anyone last week. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was accurate against Montana State, a committee of Ducks running backs romped, and the team’s defense erased what will likely be one of the FCS’ best offenses. I’m not sure what resistance OSU can come up with here.
Current line: Ducks -28.5 | SP+ projection: Ducks by 21.8 | FPI projection: Ducks by 20.8
Troy Trojans at No. 8 Clemson Tigers (3:30, ACCN). An interesting stats-versus-sportsbooks contrast here. ESPN BET says Clemson will beat Troy by nearly five touchdowns, but neither SP+ nor FPI trust the Tigers that much. Of course, Troy needed a late charge to beat Nicholls State last week, so maybe the numbers should stand down a bit.
Current line: Clemson -33.5 | SP+ projection: Clemson by 19.5 | FPI projection: Clemson by 19.4
West Virginia Mountaineers at Ohio Bobcats (4, ESPNU). Ohio racked up 440 yards at 7.1 yards per play against a Rutgers defense that we expected to be better than West Virginia’s. West Virginia, meanwhile, started slowly against Robert Morris but caught fire and finished with 625 yards. Points have been hard to come by overall this season, but this one has some track meet potential.
Current line: WVU -2.5 | SP+ projection: WVU by 6.9 | FPI projection: WVU by 0.9
Saturday evening
Grambling’s World Famed Tiger Marching Band vs. Ohio State’s Best Damn Band in the Land (approximately 5, BTN). This has to be one of the first times a football game was scheduled to set up a halftime show. But make no mistake: The halftime show, pitting two of probably the five or 10 best marching bands in the country, will be unreal. This might be the single coolest 20 minutes of the Saturday slate.
SP+ projection: WFTMB -2 (just kidding)
Vanderbilt Commodores at Virginia Tech Hokies (7:30, ACCN). Virginia Tech’s defense showed up in Atlanta against South Carolina last week. The offense, not so much. Kyron Drones was 15-of-35 with two INTs and two sacks, and his receiving corps was plagued by drops. Vandy’s defense erased Charleston Southern, but this is obviously the Commodores’ real test.
Current line: Tech -1.5 | SP+ projection: Vandy by 3.8 | FPI projection: VT by 3.3
No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils at Mississippi State Bulldogs (7:30, ESPN2). MSU was sloppy early against Southern Miss last week, and Arizona State woke up only marginally against Northern Arizona. Both won, obviously, but now we get to find out how each will really start the season. Is ASU’s Sam Leavitt really going to throw only to Jordyn Tyson again (12 catches, 141 yards last week)? Can MSU run well enough to keep pressure off of Blake Shapen?
Current line: ASU -6.5 | SP+ projection: ASU by 9.7 | FPI projection: ASU by 1.0
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Toledo Rockets (7, ESPN+). I almost included this one in the G5 Résumés section above. Points might be at a premium this season, but WKU has scored 96 of them in two easy wins while Toledo’s defense looked the part, at least, against Kentucky. The winner of this one will be in the G5’s CFP hunt — especially if it’s unbeaten WKU.
Current line: Toledo -6.5 | SP+ projection: WKU by 2.3 | FPI projection: Toledo by 3.4
Houston Cougars at Rice Owls (7, ESPN+). What would a column of mine be without a reference to Scott Abell’s option offense? Granted, defense played a huge part in Rice’s first-week upset of Louisiana, but now the Owls get a shot at a power-conference rival, a Houston team that shut Stephen F. Austin down last week but never really got rolling offensively. Rice can’t start 2-0, can it?
Current line: Houston -12.5 | SP+ projection: Houston by 13.9 | FPI projection: Houston by 4.9
Army Black Knights at Kansas State Wildcats (7, ESPN). One of these teams could be in crisis Sunday morning. Both came into 2025 with major expectations, but Army suffered a season-opening upset loss to Tarleton State, and Kansas State came within about a minute of falling to 0-2 last weekend before rallying to beat North Dakota. Stumbles happen, and it’s early, but the loser of this one will be in a hole.
Current line: K-State -17.5 | SP+ projection: K-State by 12.3 | FPI projection: K-State by 19.2
Boston College Eagles at Michigan State Spartans (7:30, NBC). Boston College overachieved against SP+ projections by a couple of touchdowns in a 66-10 win over Fordham, while Michigan State underachieved slightly in a 23-6 win over Western Michigan. Both teams could have salty defenses, and both teams have either inexperienced (BC’s Dylan Lonergan) or sack-prone QBs (MSU’s Aidan Chiles). MSU is favored at home, but this seems like a huge statement opportunity for BC.
Current line: MSU -3.5 | SP+ projection: BC by 1.5 | FPI projection: BC by 0.6
UL Monroe Warhawks at No. 21 Alabama Crimson Tide (7:45, SECN). I’m just saying, you always need to check in on ULM-Bama. Just in case.
Current line: Bama -36.5 | SP+ projection: Bama by 31.6 | FPI projection: Bama by 26.6
Late Saturday
Stanford Cardinal at BYU Cougars (10:15, ESPN). Portland State is clearly not good, but BYU outgained the Vikings 606-51. Six-hundred-six to 51. Stanford, meanwhile, lost to Hawai’i in Week 0. I’m honestly not sure how this line is under three touchdowns.
Current line: BYU -18.5 | SP+ projection: BYU by 24.6 | FPI projection: BYU by 16.0
Smaller-school showcase
Let’s once again save a shoutout for the glorious lower levels of the sport. Here are three games you should track.
D-III: No. 17 Wheaton at No. 2 Mount Union (1 p.m., FloFootball). Now the party’s complete. The Division III season kicks off Saturday, and Mount Union, a 12-time national champion battling a seven-year title drought, gets going against some high-level competition. Wheaton missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018 last season, but the Thunder still went 9-2 and are projected ninth in D-III SP+ to start the season. Can Geoff Dart’s Purple Raiders handle their business at home as we’ve come to expect?
SP+ projection: Mount Union by 8.1
NAIA: No. 4 Benedictine at No. 1 Grand View (1 p.m., local streaming). I told you to watch Benedictine’s top-five showdown with Morningside last week, and the Ravens won in a thriller. How are they following that up? With another top-five showdown! We’re going to watch this one too! Grand View won its second national title last fall and starts this season atop the polls. Will the Vikings stay there after Saturday?
SP+ projection: Grand View by 9.9
FCS: No. 2 South Dakota State at No. 3 Montana State (8 p.m., ESPN+). After handily disposing of Sacramento State 20-3 to start the season, second-ranked South Dakota State heads west to face a Montana State team that was treated very unkindly last weekend by Oregon. Will the Bobcats, national runners-up twice in the past four seasons, bounce back and give the Jackrabbits a fight?
SP+ projection: SDSU by 1.6
With Week 1 in the books, the college football season shifts into full gear as contenders begin to separate from pretenders. September is often when momentum is built, hype meets reality, and early missteps can linger all season. From blue-blood clashes such as Michigan–Oklahoma to rivalry battles in Ames, Iowa, and Columbia, Missouri, Week 2 brings both tradition and intrigue. Quarterbacks are already defining the season’s storylines, and new coordinators and transfers continue to shape the national conversation.
Our college football experts give insight on key matchups, quarterbacks and the top quotes going into Week 2. — Kyle Bonagura
Jump to:
Michigan-Oklahoma
Quarterbacks to watch | Rivalry matchups
Quotes of the week
What does each quarterback need to do to win?
Bryce Underwood: Underwood had a scintillating debut in Michigan’s victory over New Mexico. The true freshman completed 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards — more passing yards than any Michigan quarterback had in any game last season. It’s already clear that Underwood’s arm talent alone will elevate the Wolverines’ passing attack. But what was most impressive was his poise — he didn’t look like a freshman playing in his first game. That poise will be put to the test at Oklahoma. The Sooners have been tough defensively under Brent Venables, especially at home. But if Underwood can remain poised, make a few plays with his feet and continue delivering accurate throws in his first road start, the Wolverines will have a chance to pull off the upset — and send a message that with Underwood, they’re ready to contend again for a playoff spot. — Jake Trotter
John Mateer: Mateer and new Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle brought their Washington State offense to Norman, and it’s no surprise they’re already executing it at a high level. Mateer had a career-high 30 completions for 392 yards in his Sooners debut against FCS Illinois State. His accuracy (81%) and efficiency (9.95 yards per dropback) were on point, and he flashed his rushing ability on a 7-yard touchdown. The Sooners were able to score on only five of 10 drives in a 35-3 win, and they’ll need more from their run game after their backs combined for 67 rushing yards on 24 carries with touted Cal transfer Jaydn Ott playing only three snaps. Michigan’s defense has more talent than any Mateer has faced over 13 career starts, but he and Arbuckle will have plenty of tricks up their sleeve. — Max Olson
Five quarterbacks to watch in Week 2
Duke‘s Darian Mensah: In the opener against Elon, Mensah showed off exactly why Manny Diaz was so eager to bring him in from Tulane this offseason. Mensah threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. This week, Duke hosts Illinois, and that will be a far bigger test for the Blue Devils. Illinois’ run defense is exceptional, so a lot will be put on Mensah’s shoulders to carry the Duke attack. It’s a big ask. This will be Mensah’s third career start against a Power 4 opponent. He lost each of his previous two against Kansas State and Oklahoma in 2024.
South Florida‘s Byrum Brown: Plenty of attention will be given to the QB on the opposite sideline for USF’s showdown against Florida in Week 2, but DJ Lagway won’t be the only show in town. Brown has 21 starts under his belt, and he won’t be rattled by playing in The Swamp. He’s also coming off a decisive win over Boise State in the opener, accounting for 253 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Brown is a dual threat with 19 career rushing touchdowns, and he’s more than capable of upstaging Lagway and leading USF to an in-state upset.
Michigan’s Bryce Underwood: Going toe-to-toe with Mateer and Oklahoma means Michigan will need to put up some points — something the Wolverines struggled to do last season. The 2024 campaign was scuttled almost entirely by bad QB play, but Underwood — a highly talented true freshman — appears to be a savior. In his debut against New Mexico last week, he completed 68% of his throws for 251 yards and a touchdown without turning the ball over. It wasn’t a gaudy stat line, but it’s the first time a Michigan QB has posted those numbers in a game since Week 8 of 2023. Underwood will need to deliver even more against the Sooners, whose offense figures to be among the most explosive in the country.
Texas‘ Arch Manning: No, we’re not concerned about Manning struggling against San José State. Texas should win this one easily. But the reaction after the Longhorns’ offense was stymied against Ohio State in Week 1 was so emphatic, that it would still be good news — and a welcome relief to Horns fans — if Manning can use the opportunity against a Group of 5 opponent to reset a bit. It is still only the fourth college start for Manning, but this should be his biggest opportunity for some stat padding. In the big picture, he remains one of the most intriguing QB prospects in the country — and Week 2 is a good chance to remind fans of why that is.
Iowa‘s Mark Gronowski: This was supposed to be the year the Hawkeyes finally had a QB who could elevate the offense beyond the traditional “punting is winning” formula. When Kirk Ferentz landed Gronowski via the portal from South Dakota State, he seemed to fit the bill as both a hard-nosed pocket passer in the typical Iowa mold, but also one with sufficient upside to actually make the Hawkeyes a tad more dynamic. But in Week 1 against FCS Albany, he didn’t exactly light it up. Gronowski finished just 8-of-15 passing for 44 yards. No, he didn’t need to do more than that to secure an easy win, but the formula changes a good deal in Week 2 for the Cy-Hawk game against Iowa State. Dating to 2018, Iowa’s starting QBs have combined for a 41.3 Total QBR, 53% completions, one touchdown and four picks in six games vs. Iowa State. — David Hale
Early rivalry matchups
Iowa at Iowa State: No. 16 Iowa State and Iowa renew their rivalry Saturday in Ames in the 72nd edition of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
The Cyclones, fresh off an 11-win season and a Pop-Tarts Bowl victory, enter with momentum behind quarterback Rocco Becht, who has thrown a touchdown pass in 20 straight games and is coming off an incredible performance against FCS South Dakota, in which he completed 19 of 20 passes. Kicker Kyle Konrardy also entered the record book with the longest field goal in school history — a 63-yard boot to close the first half.
Iowa, meanwhile, cruised through its opener against FCS Albany 34-7, giving up only 177 yards of total offense. Quarterback Mark Gronowski — who started 54 games at South Dakota State before arriving in the offseason — eased into his first game for the Hawkeyes, completing 8 of 15 passes for just 44 yards.
Iowa State has won two of the past three against Iowa but has dropped its past six games in the series in Ames. — Bonagura
Kansas at Missouri: First and foremost, it’s the renewal of a bitter rivalry that has been dormant since the Tigers left the Big 12 for the SEC after the 2011 season. This matchup isn’t the “Iron Bowl” or “The Game,” but college football is better when Kansas and Missouri are playing each other. The Tigers enter with a 56-55-9 advantage in the all-time series as winners in five of the past six matchups between the schools from 2006 to 2011.
As for Saturday, the Jayhawks come to Columbia with a stout veteran defensive line unit led by defensive end Dean Miller and tackles Tommy Dunn Jr. and D.J. Withers. How well can that group limit Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy and attack Missouri’s renovated offensive line will define the 120th edition of the Border War.
It also should be an occasion for the quarterbacks. Sixth-year Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels, who threw three touchdowns in Kansas’ opener against Fresno State, has the chance to claim his latest signature victory in Week 2. Meanwhile, Penn State transfer Beau Pribula meets his first Power 4 opponent since joining the Tigers, facing an unproven Kansas secondary in his second start with Missouri after going 23-of-28 with 283 yards and four total touchdowns in his debut against Central Arkansas last week. — Eli Lederman
Quotes of the week
“I thought we dominated them in the second half, so he’s really a really good grader for giving himself a 58, or he’s a really hard grader on us,” LSU coach Brian Kelly on Dabo Swinney’s evaluation of the Tigers’ 17-10 win over Clemson. “Or he didn’t see the second half, which, that might be the case. He might not have wanted to see the second half.”
“They outplayed us, outcoached us, and they were just better than we were tonight,” North Carolina coach Bill Belichick said after the Tar Heels’ 48-14 loss to TCU on Monday night. “That’s all there was to it. They did a lot more things right than we did.”
“It means a lot to a lot of people,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said this week on what he wants his players to understand about the significance of the Border War rivalry with Kansas. “It’s a privilege to wear the Mizzou on your chest. And when you wear Mizzou, you represent 6 million people in this state. And that’s just current. Past and present, [too]. I think we’re Team 136, there are some people that felt like there’s just a lot of importance and this is our chance to write our part of the story. We’re going to continue to play this game. So this is just one part of the story, but it’s an important part. You get a chance to be a part of it.”
“I could walk through the jersey. You could open it up, and at 6-4, 280 pounds, I could walk right through it and not touch one side of the thing,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said of the oversized jersey Yellow Jackets punt returner Eric Rivers threw on in the first quarter against Colorado in Week 1. “… You will not see that jersey ever again.”
With Oklahoma State redshirt freshman quarterback Zane Flores preparing for his first career start at No. 6 Oregon, Cowboys coach Mike Gundy recalled one of his earliest starts at Nebraska in the fall of 1986: “It was 15 degrees and sleeting … we came out of the locker room and — you know the movie ‘A Christmas Story’ where the kid goes down like this? — that’s how I came out,'” Gundy said before lifting his shirt for reporters. “And when we broke the huddle, Nebraska’s defensive line had their shirts tied up like this. And I thought, ‘This is not good.'”
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