The Hodgepodge: Ohio State Nearly Flawless in Win over Western Michigan, Texas Humiliates Michigan, Notre Dame Suffers Unforgivable Loss to Northern Illinois

By Garrick Hodge on September 9, 2024 at 11:37 am
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Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Welcome to the Hodgepodge.

On the surface, outside of a few games, Week 2 of college football didn’t appear to be the meatiest slate of marquee matchups we’ve ever seen.

But man, somehow this wonderful sport always comes through, doesn’t it? Let’s dive in.

Buckeyes look nearly flawless in clubbing of Western Michigan 

All was well that ended well in a 46-point win, but Ohio State’s season opener against Akron left a smidge to be desired in the first half. 

Week 2 left an entirely different impression. 

From kickoff until the final whistle, the Buckeyes put on a clinic that validated the unrelenting offseason hype machine surrounding this team in their 56-0 victory. It was borderline soul-crushing to Western Michigan, which had no prayer of success on either side of the ball. Sure, it’s a MAC team that went below .500 a season ago, but it’s also a squad that had a lead on Big Ten foe Wisconsin early in the fourth quarter in Week 1.

Will Howard came out inspired, completing his first 10 passes and nearly eclipsing the 300-yard mark as his strengths were highlighted in Chip Kelly’s game plan with a bevy of intermediate and short passes and a 6-yard touchdown run mixed in.

The offensive line was leaps and bounds better collectively and helped pave the way for 683 yards of total offense. Quinshon Judkins went over the century mark on the ground and recorded two touchdowns without taking double-digit carries, and that’s not even factoring in a long touchdown run that was negated by a holding penalty. Jeremiah Smith continued to be a star as a freshman, catching five passes for a career-high 119 yards and a touchdown.

OSU’s defense didn’t create a bevy of turnovers like it did last week, but it was fundamentally sound, generated countless pressure on quarterback Hayden Wolff and made life a nightmare for the WMU rushing attack. And speaking of OSU’s defense…

Ohio State spotlight of the week: OSU’s entire defense

We’ve written about it ad nauseam at this point, but with Ohio State off until Sept. 21, we might as well take the opportunity to give OSU’s defense its flowers for such a dominant performance. The Buckeyes secured their first shutout win since 2019, held an opponent to less than 100 yards of total offense for the first time since 2017 and limited the Broncos to a paltry 2.1 yards per play. More than that, they did so despite reserves playing for the majority of the second half, showcasing just how deep Ohio State truly is on the defensive side of the ball. Further illustrating that point, star cornerback Denzel Burke was ejected from the game in the first quarter after a targeting penalty and the unit didn’t miss a beat.

Not that the Buckeyes’ offense isn’t exciting, but personally, Ohio State’s defense is the most fun unit of the team to watch for me based on its sheer dominance, and I say that as someone who normally gravitates towards offense.

RELATED Ohio State's Defense Posts First Shutout Since 2019, Allows Just 99 Yards in Dismantling of Western Michigan

Texas humiliates Michigan

The warning signs were there in Michigan’s season-opening win against Fresno State. The Wolverines’ offense was stuck in the mud, as the offensive line couldn’t run or pass block, the forward pass looked like it had just been invented and its video game cover athlete ran for 27 yards on 11 carries. 

With SEC contender Texas coming to Ann Arbor, it was evident scoring was going to be an issue. But the Wolverines’ vaunted defense didn’t expect to get gashed for 31 points and nearly 400 total yards of offense in an eventual 31-12 loss that honestly doesn’t represent how lopsided this game was. Former Ohio State signal caller Quinn Ewers picked apart Michigan's secondary at will and the Longhorns ran for 143 yards on the day.

By the way, the most points allowed by the Wolverines in a game last season? Twenty-four. Texas should have had more than that too if it didn’t get a touchdown called back for holding and then in turn didn’t miss a field goal on its opening drive. 

Michigan turned the ball over three times, went 3-of-12 on third down, still couldn’t generate a consistent running game and performed poorly enough that college football fans everywhere posted no shortage of Connor Stalions memes.

One thing’s for certain: Whether you’re on the side that Michigan is a program full of rat-cheating bastards that did nothing but secure a tainted title or that Stalions was a crazed lone wolf that broke the rules, Michigan doesn’t have a championship-caliber roster for 2024. 

The Wolverines will still likely be favored in most of their remaining games except the Oregon and OSU contests (the Buckeyes have gone from a 9.5-point favorite in April to a 17.5-point favorite after Saturday, in case you were wondering), though there's an outside chance it could be near even odds when USC rolls into Ann Arbor in two weeks. But with an offense that anemic, it’s not hard to envision a potential loss to someone like USC, Washington or a suddenly resurgent Illinois, either.

NIU shocks Notre Dame in wild upset

We’ve probably already had our biggest upset of the season in Week 2. 

Northern Illinois entered Notre Dame Stadium as a four-touchdown underdog Saturday and walked out both undefeated and nearly $1.5 million richer following a stunning 16-14 victory for the Huskies. 

Before we get into the angle of just how humiliating this is for Notre Dame, first let’s give NIU some flowers. Running back Antario Brown gave a very good Fighting Irish defense legitimate problems, as he ran for 99 yards on 20 carries and caught two passes for 126 yards, which included an 83-yard touchdown. Huskies coach Thomas Hammock was clearly emotional following the victory, and now his group has the best Group of Five win of the still-very-early season. 

As for the Fighting Irish. Woof. 

Pundits had built Notre Dame’s season opener against Texas A&M as a make-or-break game for the team’s College Football Playoff at-large chances, and once it secured a win in South Bend, people like this big dummy wrote about how the Fighting Irish’s remaining schedule is essentially operating on cruise control save for a few opponents. 

Well. It’s the Monday after Week 2. And the Fighting Irish are in complete disarray. 

For the second straight season, Notre Dame heavily relied on a transfer portal quarterback to lead its offense. By all accounts, of all the transfer portal signal-callers on the market, Riley Leonard was by far the Fighting Irish’s top choice. Sure, the man only threw for three touchdowns in an injury-marred 2023 season, but the athleticism and tools had vast appeal.

There’s at least some buyer’s remorse now. Leonard has yet to throw a single touchdown pass this season and has averaged around 160 passing yards per game while leading a stagnant offense. Furthermore, this wasn’t some fluke Group of Five, luck of the Irish win. Northern Illinois won the battle in pretty much every statistical barometer of success, including total yardage, passing and rushing yardage, yards per play, third-down efficiency, total plays, turnover margin and time of possession. 

Notre Dame keeps enduring unexplainable, unacceptable losses in Marcus Freeman’s tenure, which I’ll get into a little more in-depth further on in the column. But in the interim, the Fighting Irish’s playoff chances have taken an incredible nosedive. To get an at-large, Notre Dame would either have to win out, or finish 10-2 and pray the second loss is a close defeat to a playoff contender and that NIU goes on a tear in MAC play.

One final thing, I’ve finally acknowledged the first legitimate complaint in my estimations that I’ve seen vocalized with the 12-team playoff. Under the old guard, Notre Dame would be dead and buried in the national title race, regardless of what it did the rest of the way. Frankly, if you lose to a MAC school at home, you don’t deserve the right to participate in a tournament designed to crown the nation’s best. But now, Notre Dame still has a chance to salvage its season. 

The only silver lining for Notre Dame: Its next opponent is Purdue on the road, and now instead of a top-five team, the Fighting Irish enter West Lafayette ranked No. 18. That’s one way to avoid that cursed Spoilermaker voodoo.

Week Two had some fun moments

  • We are dangerously close to college kickers being too trustworthy. Iowa State’s Kyle Konrardy sunk a 54-yarder as time expired to beat in-state rival Iowa and complete a double-digit comeback.
  • Can’t get enough of watching Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. His 192 yards and three touchdowns kept the Broncos alive against Oregon until the very end, and he’s capable of changing the game at any time.
  • Illinois sold out its first game since 2016 and took down ranked Kansas. Fun night for a program that needed it.
  • Illini wideout Zakhari Franklin pulled off the catch of the week with a snazzy one-handed grab.
  • Marshall wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick, who will play OSU in two weeks, gave Franklin a run for his money for the catch of the week, though.
  • Hoosiers broke a program record for both points (77) and total yards (701) in a 77-3 win against hapless FCS program Western Illinois, which has not won a game since the 2021 season. Fun evening for the Hoosiers, but could you imagine how you would feel if you went to WIU? Man, can’t imagine that. Certainly not this writer. No way. (It’s all good, Curt Cignetti is awesome). 
  • Another week, another strong performance from former OSU signal-caller Kyle McCord. He finished 32 of 46 passing for 381 yards and four touchdowns while leading Syracuse to a 31-28 win over Georgia Tech.
  • Terrible weekend for Notre Dame, but at least Jeremiyah Love had an awesome hurdle that led to a touchdown.

Week Two had some wacky things, too

  • On the Iowa side of things, the Hawkeyes blew a 13-point second-half lead for the first time since the 2014 season against Nebraska. Iowa had a pretty manageable schedule to give itself a chance at a playoff appearance, but now it’ll have to be perfect outside of the Ohio State game to have a shot. 
  • Oregon kick returner Noah Whittington should thank his lucky stars his teammate had the awareness to save him and quickly pick up the ball in the end zone immediately after he dropped the ball shortly before arriving in the end zone on a 100-yard touchdown return.
  • Took a glance at some of the Colorado and Nebraska footage. The Huskers often lined up defensively with five defenders in the box, practically daring the Buffs to run the ball. They wouldn’t do it. Poor Dallan Hayden only had five carries in the 28-10 defeat. Instead, Colorado opted for plays like this. 
  • It’s probably getting close to time to comment in-depth on the Deion Sanders experiment in Boulder, but we’ll give it a few more weeks first. In the meantime, Colorado attempted a 61-yard field goal. How do you think it went?
  • Just how they drew it up, Nebraska edition.
  • Just how they drew it up, Rutgers edition.
  • A rabbit invaded Northwestern’s makeshift stadium in the Wildcats’ Friday night double-overtime loss to Duke.
  • In Sam Houston State vs. UCF, we had a punt that went, wait for it, negative 39 yards. 
  • A walk of shame for Power Four teams that were dangerously close to losing to a Group of Five team and only led by one possession at one point during the fourth quarter but still won: Alabama, Oregon, Penn State and Kansas State.
  • Oklahoma also deserves a walk of shame for only beating Houston, which lost to UNLV 27-7 in Week 1, 16-12 on Saturday. 
  • Sometimes when you hurdle, you regret it.

Former Buckeye of the week 

Week Two former Buckeye of the week: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas

Deepest apologies to Kyle McCord, who would have won it with his stat line any other week. But, I mean, who else would we pick here? Though Ewers hasn’t been on any OSU fan’s Christmas card list since he departed from Columbus after one season, he may be now after he dismantled Michigan on Saturday, completing 24 of 36 passes for 246 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Past results

Week Zero former Buckeye of the week: Mason Arnold, LS, Florida State
Week One former Buckeye of the week: Evan Pryor, RB, Cincinnati

Games of the week

I’m sure all of you will have a lot more time to watch other games this week with the Buckeyes being off. Unfortunately, this weekend’s slate was made for true sickos. On the bright side, we had a good week picking games, so hopefully that continues.

Week 2 record: 5-2
Overall record: 9-5

Appointment viewing

LSU at South Carolina, noon Saturday on ABC

Pick: LSU -7

Breakdown: LSU has gotten off to an underwhelming start this season, losing to USC and taking a bit to get going against Nichols State. South Carolina had an underwhelming win over Old Dominion in Week 1, then was more impressive in a 31-6 rout of Kentucky in Week 2 on the road. Trends aside, LSU should have the offensive firepower to overwhelm South Carolina and cover on Saturday.

Arizona at Kansas State, 8 p.m. Friday on FOX

Pick: Arizona +7.5

Breakdown: Honestly the preferred bet we’d like to make in this game is the over, as both of these teams can put up points in a hurry. Both teams weren’t overly impressive a week ago but secured wins, and now play a contest that somehow doesn’t count towards the conference standings. In the latest edition of can’t predict ball, Arizona wideout Tetairoa McMillan had more than 300 receiving yards in the season opener, then just 11 yards in the win over Northern Arizona. Still, I’m expecting him and quarterback Noah Fifita to bounce back, and while it’s not likely Arizona wins outright, it should be able to challenge Kansas State and keep it within a one-score game. 

Alabama at Wisconsin, noon Saturday on FOX

Pick: Alabama -15.5

Breakdown: Remember that team that Ohio State just utterly humiliated, Western Michigan? Wisconsin was losing to the Broncos entering the fourth quarter. The Badgers didn’t show much against FCS South Dakota, either. Sure, Alabama had its own problems with USF, but I have a bad feeling about where this matchup is headed, and likely where the Badgers’ season is going.

Boston College at Missouri, 12:45 on SEC Network

Pick: Boston College +16.5

Breakdown: I would have never believed you if you told me three weeks ago that both teams in this matchup would be ranked heading into this game. Alas, here we are. Missouri has been on fire on both sides of the ball and has not allowed a single point yet this season, but Boston College plays with a style that should chew clock off the board and make it easier to cover a 16-point spread. Missouri should win this contest, but asking for at least a 17-point win might be a little much.

Underrated games

Oregon at Oregon State, 3:30 p.m. on FOX

Pick: Oregon State +14.5

Breakdown: Until Oregon shows me it can dominate an inferior opponent, I’m going to continue taking the points against the Ducks, since they’ve failed to cover their first two games. The Civil War will be Oregon State’s Super Bowl and its fans will be raucous as ever. Maybe the Ducks can finally rebound, but as a two-touchdown favorite on the road against an in-state rival, I’m not convinced. 

Washington State at Washington, 3:30 p.m. on Peacock 

Pick: Washington -4.5

Breakdown: Unlike the previous former Pac-12 rivalry, I’m taking the newly acquired Big Ten team in this one. At 4.5 points, the Huskies should be able to cover against the Cougars at home, though like Oregon State, Washington State has all the motivation in the world to show out in the Apple Cup. Between Jedd Fisch as a tactician and the Huskies’ defense not allowing double digits in either of their games so far this season, they should have enough to get it done.

Memphis at Florida State, noon on ESPN

Pick: Memphis +5.5

Breakdown: This game is kind of akin to the car wreck you can’t look away from. If Florida State can lose to Boston College and Georgia Tech, it certainly can lose to a Memphis team that many are considering a contender for the Group of Five playoff spot. Who knows if Mike Norvell will continue to roll with DJ Uiagalelei or elect for Brock Glenn, but either way, you have to like the Tigers’ chances here.

Hot seat tracker

Now that we’re two weeks into the season, we’re only rolling with coaches who have hot or warm seats in this section.

Seat is red hot

Billy Napier, Florida: The man with the hottest seat in college football probably feels a little better after a victory against Samford, but that’s not going to move the needle a whole lot. On the positive side, DJ Lagway looks legitimately exciting, as the five-star freshman threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The path to Napier salvaging his job may be via the arm of Lagway if the Gators are to spring a few upsets. 

Sam Pittman, Arkansas: If nothing else, the Razorbacks are fun to watch, I will give them that. Arkansas actually looked very reminiscent of the Bobby Petrino era against Oklahoma State, meaning it massively outgained its opponent (648 to 385) yet still lost in part because of unfortunate turnovers. Makes sense, considering Petrino is back as the offensive coordinator. 

Dave Aranda, Baylor: The Bears’ game against Utah was a lot more lopsided than the 23-12 final score showed, as Utah got up big early, then went into cruise control following an injury to Cam Rising. In any case, a loss to preseason Big 12 favorite Utah isn’t the end of the world, but a limited passing attack isn’t helping garner much optimism.

Seat is probably a little warm

Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame: Welcome to the list, Marcus! It should be noted that Freeman is (probably?) safe for this season, but after Notre Dame’s embarrassing loss to NIU, the discussion around his job is going to get louder. The Fighting Irish had a tailor-made schedule set up for a College Football Playoff appearance, beat Texas A&M in Week 1, then turned around and lost to damn Northern Illinois. Unacceptable for a program of that stature. Even worse, it’s not his first unforgivable loss. In his brief three-year tenure at Notre Dame, Freeman has lost to Northern Illinois, Marshall and a 3-9 Stanford team, all at home. And psstttt, he kinda, sorta had only 10 players on the field during the most crucial moment of last year’s Ohio State game. Not exactly the mark of a coach equipped with the track record to maintain the lofty aspirations of a blueblood program.

Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati: Oh Bearcats. Cincinnati had a game that you watch for a half, see it’s well in hand, go do something else, then find out WAIT, THEY LOST? Pittsburgh scored 22 unanswered points in the second half to storm back and beat Cincinnati 28-27. Not exactly something that’s going to endear you to your fanbase, especially one that was hoping to see vast improvement after a rough first year.

Shane Beamer, South Carolina: The Gamecocks looked shaky against Old Dominion, but a victory by double digits against a conference rival is enough to probably calm some nerves for now. But let’s be real. South Carolina has matchups against LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson remaining on the schedule. The Gamecocks will need to win at least one of those to get bowl-eligible, assuming they beat Vanderbilt, Akron and Wofford. 

Off the list for now

Justin Wilcox, Cal: The Golden Bears took down Auburn on the road, securing an upset win and locking up a 2-0 start. It’s the kind of win that can help get Cal bowl-eligible and secure momentum the team is looking for as it transitions to the ACC.

Kalani Sitake, BYU: After upsetting SMU on the road, BYU has a real path to a 4-1 start, with matchups against Wyoming and Baylor sandwiched in between a game against Kansas State. The middle of the schedule is pretty brutal, but the Cougars close with Arizona State and Houston and could finish the season with some momentum.

Clark Lea, Vanderbilt: If we’re being honest he’s probably going right back on the list after a conference game or too but c’mon, you’re talking about receiving votes in the AP Poll Vanderbilt right now! 

Tony Elliott, Virginia: Elliott went 3-9 in each of his first two seasons at the helm of Virginia, but following a narrow victory against Wake Forest Saturday, the Cavaliers are one win away from matching their win total from the past two years. More importantly, they have further 50/50 matchups incoming on their schedule, such as bouts against Maryland, Coastal Carolina, Boston College, Pitt, SMU and Virginia Tech. I wouldn’t count on a bowl bid, but I wouldn’t rule it out. Either way, the team looks much improved from where it has been.

Hodgepodge Week Two team classifiers

Conference championship contenders: Ohio State, Miami, Utah, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Georgia, Texas (and still probably Clemson and Oregon)

At-large bid contenders: Penn State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, USC, Alabama

Better get your act together fast if you have playoff aspirations: Notre Dame, Michigan, Clemson, LSU, Iowa, Oklahoma

Playoff hopes already practically sunk: Florida State

Playoff darkhorses: Nebraska, Syracuse, Louisville, Kansas, Arizona, Iowa State

Tough Group of Five teams: Boise State, Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Toledo, Miami (Ohio), Memphis, Liberty, Tulane, South Florida, UNLV, Texas State

Could make a nice bowl game but don’t know about much else: NC State, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Illinois, Washington

Just making a bowl game would be a win: Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan State, Maryland, Cal, Duke, Pittsburgh, Colorado, TCU, South Carolina, Florida, Auburn, Boston College, BYU, SMU, Arizona State, Vanderbilt

Not optimistic, but it’s still early: Northwestern, UCLA, Purdue, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Stanford, Baylor, Houston, Cincinnati, Arkansas, Mississippi State

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