Two weeks are in the books for what’s already been one of the weirder, wackier starts to a college football season in recent memory. With that, we are just two weeks away from my first Top 25 (I detail the formula and why I wait until week four here), and let me just say, there’s a reason we wait four weeks for these. Stability is something I strive for with my Top 25, thus why I give the season a month to work itself out, but as things stand right now, Texas, coming off a dramatic, historic comeback
win over Ohio State, would be the #1 team in the nation while Oregon, fresh off a stunning loss at Oklahoma State, as well as Michigan despite the win over Oklahoma, would both be on the outside looking in (the clock hit zeroes).
There’s a few interesting groups of results occurring right now in college football that really caught my eye this past week. For starters, the Big Ten is scuffling early on this season in a major way. Despite rolling into 2026 with three straight national champions*, the depth of the Big Ten is being stretched thin through two weeks this season. In week one, Rutgers lost in embarrassing fashion to a UMass team that hadn’t won a game since 2024 and hadn’t beaten an FBS team since October of 2023. Wisconsin looks the part of a dead program, and Michigan lost a game to Western Michigan only for a magical second to reappear on the clock, allowing the Wolverines to get a second crack at a Hail Mary attempt, succeeding with their second try. Quickly, is it a Hail Mary if you’re given multiple cracks at the same one? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the phrase?
Anyways, week two was no less unimpressive for the B1G. Oregon followed up its underwhelming performance against Boise State with the upset of the season, falling to an Oklahoma State program that is essentially fielding 2025 North Texas in orange and black uniforms, surrendering nearly 40 points and over 550 total yards of offense in their 39-31 loss while turning the ball over seven times. Illinois started the day as home favorites over Duke and ended it losing on their own turf with their head coach, Brett Bielema claiming they had to change their defensive scheme because NIL funds didn’t allow them to properly address their roster construction up front.
From there, Minnesota got blown out by a surging Mississippi State squad (top 20 team, folks!) on its home turf before Ohio State ultimately ended the two-week embarrassment tour by blowing a 20-point lead in the final quarter to Texas…we’ll touch on that more shortly. Ironically enough, it was Michigan stymying John Mateer and Oklahoma in an impressive 17-10 slugfest of an upset win that saved the weekend for the conference.
Leaders of Offenses, Leaders of Men
There is a current quarterback hierarchy starting to develop in front of our very eyes, and the names that led that list before the season look a lot different just two weeks into the season, so let’s get into it.
RISERS
Kamario Taylor (STATE), Arch Manning (Texas), Gunner Stockton (UGA), Faizon Brandon (UT), Austin Simmons (Mizzou)
Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State found something with Kamario Taylor. Last season, Taylor flashed his mobility more than his arm, but thus far, it’s been his arm that leads every story involving this team. Taylor was the clear best player on the field against Minnesota, tossing three touchdowns while adding 86 yards on the ground. It’s a lightning quick release with serious zip behind it, and he’s shown little issue reading what a defense shows him. A name to watch for this season and beyond.
Arch got his signature win, and his stat line should read a lot better than it does. The box score reads Manning as 23/37 for 195 yards with a TD and an INT. That should easily be pushing 300 passing yards with at least 2 TD’s and zero INT’s. A freak bounce off Cam Coleman’s arm on a perfectly placed deep shot in the first quarter found an Ohio State defender’s hands for the INT, and then Ryan Wingo dropped a pair of wide open pitch-and-catch throws, resulting in the Longhorns getting behind the 8-ball. However, Manning continued to show great poise, stepping up with his legs late in the game as Texas came all the way back to win a game they realistically should have been leading from the start. Now…let’s maybe keep the reporter comments to a minimum? Sheesh.
Gunner Stockton embodies Kirby Smart perfectly. A gritty QB whose jersey will look dirtier than anyone’s by game’s end, Stockton has emerged as the leader of UGA’s offense both in ability and by example. I expect big things from this Georgia team, and it largely hinges around Stockton’s emergence continuing beyond a couple cupcakes.
Faizon Brandon has shown poise and accuracy…mostly…that Tennessee fans longed for with the five-stars of yesteryear. He hasn’t really looked phased at any point yet, delivering with his arm and legs on conversion downs, including a big early 4th down scramble that set up an eventual Tennessee score against Georgia Tech. If Tennessee can continue to run the ball as effectively as they have, Brandon will continue to succeed in the pocket and lead a very underrated Vols team to a quality season.
Simmons has been the most impressive quarterback in the country thus far. Accurate hash throws with ease, playing with defenders with his eyes, and making tight window throws routinely, he’s done nothing but answer every question asked about him thus far. Much like Brandon, Simmons was an unproven, highly touted commodity, and if early returns say anything, Mizzou has an absolute gem here.
FALLERS
Julian Sayin (OSU), Dante Moore (Oregon)
Sayin is not just falling out of the top tier of the CFB QB hierarchy, he’s falling down draft boards at rapid speed. Sayin has shown exactly who he is in every big game Ohio State has had: a game managing steady hand who lacks the athleticism and arm strength to change a game. The Texas game continued to drive this point home, and Sayin is now 1-3 over his last four starts, something that hasn’t happened to an Ohio State quarterback since Joe Bauserman in 2012, the season before Urban Meyer arrived on campus. The former five-star continues to be out-played in big games, and the collapse of Ohio State against the Longhorns revolved around Sayin’s 5/16, 86 yard second half performance where he missed multiple open receivers, a couple of which would have resulted in touchdowns that win this game. Unless Sayin improves, you shouldn’t take Ohio State seriously as a national championship threat.
Dante Moore, and Oregon at large, have some serious heart issues. Don’t believe me? Just ask Dan Lanning, who has identified a lack of leadership as a fatal flaw in Oregon’s early season woes. That all starts with the quarterback. Moore had a much better second half, but his first half, along with poor effort from Oregon’s defense, led to a 24-14 hole that the Ducks couldn’t crawl out of. Moore is still among the very highest ranked QB’s for the Draft, but consider me skeptical about some intangibles here.
