Week 2 . 2022
- Florida State safety Shyheim Brown on his block of LSU’s PAT with no time remaining to seal a 24-23 win.
In the first game under new Head Coach Billy Napier, Florida took on the Pac-12 favorite Utah and held firm down the stretch to post a 29-26 win in the Swamp, posting a notable victory after a 6-7 season in 2021.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER . 2022 WEEK 2
TEAM TO WATCH: Florida TEAM OF THE WEEK: Pittsburgh Quote of the week “I felt it on my hand. I didn’t try and look back, but I felt my teammates coming on me so I knew it didn’t go through the uprights.”
Quarterback Anthony Richardson completed 71% of his passes for 168 yards and added 106 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. He wowed the crowd with a jaw-dropping play for a successful two-point conversion early in the fourth quarter and then scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:25 left. As Utah drove down the field in the game’s final drive, Amari Burney picked off Cam Rising in the end zone with :17 left to stop the Utes and secure a huge non-conference win for the Gators. Florida returns home against No. 20 Kentucky, looking to avenge a 20-13 Wildcats win last year. Kickoff is Saturday, September 10, at 4:00 pm PHX time on ESPN.
Eleven years after the last meeting between the regional rivals, the Backyard Brawl was back with Pitt hosting West Virginia. The Panthers scored two touchdowns in a :43 span within the final 3:41 to overcome a seven-point deficit and record a 38-31 victory before a Pittsburgh sports record crowd of 70,622 fans.
A pick-six by MJ Devonshire with 2:58 left was the game’s final score to break a 31-31 tie. That came just after a Kedon Slovis 24-yard pass to Israel Abanikanda tied the game for the fourth time. Neither team had a lead greater than seven points. Slovis, a Scottsdale Desert Mountain graduate, finished his Pitt debut with 308 passing yards on 16-of-24 passing, and running back Rodney Hammond, Jr. rushed for two scores. The defending ACC champions host No. 24 Tennessee in another big non-conference matchup on Saturday, September 10, at 12:30 pm PHX on ABC.
WEEK 2 COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER . 2022 AP WEEK 2 Rankings 1. ALABAMA 2. GEORGIA 3. OHIO STATE 4. MICHIGAN 5. CLEMSON 6. TEXAS A&M 7. OKLAHOMA 8. NOTRE DAME 9. 10.BAYLORUSC For a full schedule of Week Two games, click here . (All times in MST) For the full AP Top 25 Rankings, click here . games of the week COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL AT THE VRBO FIESTA BOWL: ESPN – Ohio State vs. Georgia 247 Sports – Ohio State vs. Georgia CBS – Ohio State vs. Georgia Sports Illustrated – Georgia vs. Clemson Action Network – Ohio State vs. Georgia USA Today – Ohio State vs. Georgia GUARANTEED RATE BOWL: ESPN Bonagura – Maryland vs. Texas Tech ESPN Schlabach – Purdue vs. TCU 247 Sports – Purdue vs. West Virginia CBS – Purdue vs. West Virginia Action Network – Northwestern vs. Kansas State USA Today – Minnesota vs. Iowa State 2022 Bowl PREDICTIONS: #1 ALABAMA AT TEXAS 9.10 | 9:00 AM | FOX #24 TENNESSEE AT #17 PITTSBURGH 9.10 | 12:30 PM | ABC WASHINGTON STATE AT #18 WISCONSIN 9.10 | 12:30 PM | FOX #14 USC AT STANFORD 9.10 | 4:30 PM | ABC ARIZONA STATE AT #11 OKLAHOMA STATE 9.10 | 4:30 PM | ESPN2 game of the week #9 BAYLOR AT #21 BYU In this big game between ranked teams, the future Big 12 Conference foes take the field in Provo. Baylor’s strength is its defense, taking on BYU’s high-octane offense.
BYU jumped out to a 38-0 first half lead in a 50-21 road win at USF. This is the first of four games the Cougars will play against teams ranked in the Top 15. The Bears defeated Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl last year to finish fifth in the CFP standings. This year’s opener was a 69-10 win over Albany. Caesars Sportsbook opened the line with BYU as a 3 point favorite and an over/under of 52.5. Kickoff is September 10 at 7:15 pm PHX on ESPN.
• The Big 12 led all conferences with four punt return touchdowns in last week’s games. The last time the Big 12 had four punt return touchdowns in a week was in the second week of the 2002 season. It last happened nationally by the ACC with five in Week 2 of the 2018 season.
• Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen scored on a 96-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of Saturday’s 38-0 victory, breaking the school record of 93 yards. It is also tied for the third-longest run by a Big Ten player in history: Mickey Erehart of Indiana (Nov. 9, 1912) and Darrell Thompson of Minnesota (Nov. 7, 1987) both had 98-yard runs.
• The Big 12’s Week 2 schedule features the first conference matchup of the season with Kansas traveling to West Virginia, as well as contests against future members BYU and Houston.
• Mike Gundy, the Big 12’s longest-tenured coach, collected his 150 th career win in OSU’s season-opening victory over Central Michigan. Gundy is also the career wins leader among active Big 12 coaches.
• Minnesota and Wisconsin currently rank among the top 15 in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Gophers and Badgers shut out their Week 1 opponents, while the pair tie for No. 15 nationally in scoring offense averaging 38.0 points per contest.
• The Big 12 has three teams ranked in the top 11 of both national polls and 70% of teams rated or receiving votes. Ranked squads include No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 9 Baylor and No. 11 Oklahoma State. Texas, K-State, TCU and Texas Tech received votes.
The Cowboys are back in action this weekend, hosting Arizona State at T. Boone Pickens Stadium, with kickoff at 4:30 pm PHX on ESPN2.
Starting with the last drive of second quarter to cut the deficit to 28-14 and through the second half, Sanders was 26-of-33 for 299 yards and 3 TD passing en route to winning Offensive MVP in the Pokes’ 37-35 victory. He finished with 371 yards in the air and 125 rushing yards. Sanders won Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after his hot start, passing for 406 yards and four touchdowns in Oklahoma State’s 58-44 win over Central Michigan. He added 57 yards rushing and two TDs on the ground for a career-best six touchdowns.
• Four Big Ten teams appear in the AP Poll this week. Ohio State leads the conference at No. 3, followed by No. 5 Michigan, No. 14 Michigan State and No. 19 Wisconsin. Minnesota, Penn State and Purdue are all receiving votes.
Big Ten Big 12
ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT: Spencer Sanders
When we last saw Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders, he was bringing the Cowboys back from a 21-point deficit to beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.
• Iowa welcomes in-state rival Iowa State to Kinnick Stadium this Saturday for the 69 th meeting of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. The Hawkeyes have won six straight games in the series, the longest streak since winning 15 consecutive games from 1983-97.
The Guaranteed Rate Bowl features Bowl Season’s only Big Ten vs. Big 12 matchup. As we eagerly await the Dec. 27 kickoff, we’re bringing you weekly game highlights, player reports and other updates from the two conferences. Here’s the BIG news from week two: Big NEWS!
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER . 2022 WEEK 2
MORE THAN JUST A GAME In what has become one of Arizona’s most impactful teacher support initiatives, the Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program provides grants to Arizona teachers for use in their classrooms. The seventh annual program will provide $2,500 awards to 400 teachers, for a total of $1 million in donations. Applications are now open for all Arizona K-12 public and charter school teachers through Friday, September 30 at 5 p.m. Teachers simply fill out the online application at www.WishesForTeachers.org, detailing the teacher’s school or classroom need. Created in 2016, the Fiesta Bowl organization saw that many teachers spent their own money to enhance their classroom experience and developed a program to aid teachers in that effort. In its six years, Wishes for Teachers granted $4.7 million to 1,200 Arizona teachers, impacting 500,000+ students across the state.
WEEK 2 COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER . 2022
REWARD A TEACHER WITH PALO VERDE FIESTA BOWL CHARITIES Wishes for Teachers
At the heart of the Fiesta Bowl Organization is a simple mission: to enhance organizations that contribute to the success of their communities through youth, sports and education. Through its two annual bowl games in the Valley, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, as well as community events throughout the year, Fiesta Bowl Charities has selected 40 Arizona nonprofits through its 2022-23 Grant Cycle. This is the fifth consecutive season that Fiesta Bowl Charities has donated $3 million or more to nonprofits and teachers across Arizona, the most of any college football bowl organization on an annual basis.
®
CHARITY SPOTLIGHT: Fiesta Bowl Charities Grant Cycle Recipients
FIESTABOWL.ORGDECEMBER31,2022DECEMBER27,2022 /FIESTABOWL GUARANTEEDRATEBOWL@FIESTA_BOWL @RATEBOWL
