Michigan never stood a chance.
No. 3 Texas sailed to a 31-12 win against the No. 9 Wolverines behind 246 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Quinn Ewers, simultaneously flashing the Longhorns’ immense talent and potential while illustrating just how far the defending national champions have fallen since January.
Among the list of issues for Michigan is quarterback play. While Ewers burnished his Heisman Trophy case, former walk-on Davis Warren went 22 of 33 for 204 yards and two interceptions for the Wolverines, who have yet to crack 300 yards of offense in the first two games of this season.
That this team went into the opener with Warren is almost mindboggling given how easy it has become for programs such as Michigan to find plug-and-play quarterbacks in the transfer portal. Through two games, the senior is averaging 5.5 yards per attempt with more interceptions, three, than touchdowns. Most of his yardage Saturday came after Texas had the game in hand.
The loss snaps the program’s Big Ten record of 29 regular-season wins in a row and ends what was the nation’s longest active winning streak at 16 games. The last defeat for the Wolverines, against TCU in the 2022 College Football Playoff, sparked last year’s historic run to perfection; this one raises some very significant questions about how far Michigan can really go in coach Sherrone Moore’s first year.
The offense is already a mess bordering on a disaster, and barring any in-season adjustments or improvements stands to be a monthslong concern with do-or-die games to come against No. 14 Southern California, No. 6 Oregon and No. 3 Ohio State. It seems like a lock that current backup Alex Orji will get a chance to replace Warren, but how much difference would that make?
The Wolverines would be able to stay in the Big Ten and playoff mix with another elite defense. But Texas made this unit look underwhelming, too. The Longhorns were the first regular-season opponent to throw multiple touchdowns without an interception against Michigan since Ohio State on Nov. 27, 2021, and the first non-conference opponent to do so since Colorado on Sept. 17, 2016. Thanks in large part to freshman wide receiver Ryan Wingo’s 55-yard gain, Texas also ran for 143 yards on 4.5 yards per carry with a touchdown.
Winners
Nebraska
There was never a question that Matt Rhule would win at Nebraska — the only question was how much. Beating Colorado 28-10 doesn’t itself scream that the Cornhuskers are ready to make a permanent home in the USA TODAY Sports US LBM Coaches Poll; the Buffaloes are horrible and the Cornhuskers were very sloppy on offense in the second half, so it’s hard to make too much of even an 18-point win. What Saturday shows is the progress from one season to the next. Last September, the Cornhuskers barely sniffed Colorado in a 36-14 loss in Boulder. A year later, this program has eclipsed the Buffaloes and left its longtime rival in the dust. In contrast to the quick-fix blueprint used by Deion Sanders that leans heavily on major roster turnover, Rhule wants to build a sustainable program that’s built to last. In other words, Nebraska’s program is substantially better than Colorado’s today and that gap will only grow in the future.
Quinn Ewers
Ewers has to be seen as the current Heisman favorite after his performance in Ann Arbor. It’s a very deep race at this early moment: Miami’s Cam Ward has been terrific, Georgia’s Carson Beck continues to excel and Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart is off to a torrid start, so Ewers has plenty of company near the top. Already sitting at 506 yards and six scores through two games, Ewers will stay in the national spotlight thanks to games against No. 13 Oklahoma (Oct. 12) and No. 1 Georgia (Oct. 19).
Tennessee
If things were fair, dismantling No. 23 North Carolina State 51-10 on a neutral field in Charlotte, North Carolina, should thrust No. 12 Tennessee into the top 10. Where the team falls in Sunday’s new Top 25 is less important than the idea that doing such a number on one of the best in the ACC shows that the Volunteers deserve to be included among the elite teams in the FBS. Josh Heupel’s team are rolling early behind new quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who had 211 passing yards, 65 rushing yards and three combined scores against the Wolfpack and continues to look like one of the most promising young players in the sport. But it was the defense that delivered on Saturday, limiting the Wolfpack to just 143 yards and 1.4 yards per carry. After taking a slight step back to nine wins last season, Tennessee has a chance at putting together a special season.
Kansas State
The No. 16 Wildcats were able to escape with a 34-27 win at Tulane after the defense stepped up in the fourth quarter, breaking the 27-27 tie with a 60-yard fumble return for a touchdown with eight minutes to go and then intercepting the Green Wave in the end zone to seal the victory with 12 seconds left. This is not a win to overlook because of Tulane’s place in the Group of Five: Down the line, Kansas State should earn credit from the playoff selection committee for a solid road win. Running back DJ Giddens had 114 yards on the ground and a team-best 63 yards receiving while safety VJ Payne had seven tackles, one for loss, and the game-clinching interception.
Syracuse
The Orange moved to 2-0 under rookie coach Fran Brown after a 31-28 win against Georgia Tech keyed by Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord’s 381 passing yards and four touchdowns. McCord, who had 24 touchdowns for the Buckeyes last season but left after being told he’d have to compete for the starting job, now has tossed eight scores through two games. The win itself keeps Syracuse on track for a third bowl game in a row — that would make Brown the third new coach to reach the postseason in school history — but there’s a question of what beating the Yellow Jackets actually means. Tech had made an early reputation on beating Florida State in Week 0, but that victory has lust some luster after the Seminoles lost big on Labor Day to Boston College.
Losers
Deion Sanders
At some point, you’ve got to look past all the hoopla to see the program that’s actually being constructed at Colorado. After another offseason chocked with roster moves, the Buffaloes still can’t block, have no running game, can’t protect, can’t get after the passer and are so poor defensively that keeping Nebraska off the board in the second half feels like a victory. The loss drops Sanders to 5-9 overall and just 3-9 against the Power Five, with no real reason to think that a switch can be flipped that will turn the Buffaloes into a competent group before taking on the Big 12. In fact, the Buffaloes’ schedule features five teams ranked in this week’s Top 25, so it can and maybe will get even worse.
Notre Dame
Northern Illinois 16, No. 7 Notre Dame 14. Given last week’s confidence-boosting win at Texas A&M and the rolling hype train that had already painted the Fighting Irish as almost a lock for the playoff, this debacle qualifies as one of the worst losses in program history. Start with the postseason impact: Notre Dame has a weaker-than-usual schedule and now has to run the table to ensure a playoff berth. There’s also the intense pressure on coach Marcus Freeman, who has now suffered losses to Marshall and the Huskies at home during his three-plus seasons. Again and again under Freeman, the Irish have played down to their competition; this time, doing so could very well cost Notre Dame a shot at playing for the national championship.
Hugh Freeze
Given what he took over, Freeze deserved a mulligan for last year’s 6-7 finish. We’ll see if that same understanding continues in 2024 after Auburn’s 21-14 loss at home to new ACC member California, which kicked things off last week with an underwhelming 31-13 win against UC Davis. So how do the Tigers lose at home to a team picked to finish 10th in the ACC? Well, those five turnovers didn’t help. Four came via interceptions by quarterback Payton Thorne, who has tossed at least one pick in each of his five games against the Power Four. Does Freeze need to make a change to get Auburn back into a bowl?
Arkansas
Arkansas’ latest dumb, idiotic, boneheaded loss spells major trouble for embattled head coach Sam Pittman. Ahead 21-7 at halftime against No. 17 Oklahoma State — the Cowboys’ points coming via a pick-six in the second quarter — the Razorbacks gave things away in the second half and fell 39-31 in double overtime. The loss is even more difficult to comprehend when you look at the box score: Arkansas gained 648 yards of offense and 33 first downs but was crippled by three turnovers and two missed field goals. Given what’s ahead in SEC play, this was a game the program had to have to reach bowl eligibility; falling short of six wins would ensure that this year is Pittman’s last.
Cincinnati
Another coach headed toward dire straits is Cincinnati’s Scott Satterfield, who went 3-9 in debut last season and now has the Bearcats at 1-1 after a fourth-quarter meltdown against Pittsburgh. Up 27-6 with just under five minutes to go in the third quarter, UC gave up three touchdowns — the Panthers missed the ensuing two-point try on each score — and a field goal down the stretch to lose 28-27 and fall to 2-7 at home in Satterfield’s brief tenure. His predecessor, Luke Fickell, went 41-10 at home from 2015-22.
Kent State
There should be no doubt over which team is the worst in the FBS. Already slotted in at No. 134 in the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-134, Kent State will be locked into last place until further notice after losing 23-17 to Saint Francis of the Championship Subdivision. Owners of just one winning season since 2017, Saint Francis is far from an FCS powerhouse. But the Red Flash were too much for the Golden Flashes, losers of 13 of 14 under second-year coach Kenni Burnes.
Alabama-Birmingham
There was something poetic about a 32-6 loss to Louisiana-Monroe and coach Bryant Vincent, who spent several years as Bill Clark’s offensive coordinator at UAB and went 7-6 as the interim coach in 2022 but was passed over for the permanent position in favor of former NFL quarterback, TV pundit and high school coach Trent Dilfer. Well, that’s been an ugly mess: Dilfer is now 5-9 with the Blazers after inheriting a program coming off five winning seasons in a row. Dilfer’s lack of experience before taking over the program has threatened to undo all the progress UAB made after being reinstated as a program in 2017.
