The early slate for Week 2 didn’t feature any ranked-on-ranked matchups, but there was still plenty of intrigue and some fantastic football. Here we’ll take a look at our biggest takeaways from around the country in the early window of games on Saturday:
1. No. 11 Illinois looks legit
It took some time, but Illinois eventually broke through in Durham and pulled away for a 45-19 victory over Duke. The Blue Devils hung around for more than a half — and at times looked like the better team — but costly errors and timely playmaking kept the Illini in control before they wore Duke down late.
Quarterback Luke Altmyer was sharp, with Hank Beatty emerging again as his go-to target. Though Illinois’ offense sputtered early and the ground game didn’t get going until the second half, the Illini showed they can win in multiple ways. Defensively, they yielded yards to Darian Mensah and company but executed a bend-don’t-break strategy, forcing field goals and turnovers when it mattered and capitalizing on Duke’s sloppiness.
This was billed as a road litmus test for Illinois. It wasn’t easy early, but the Illini ultimately passed with authority.
2. Arch Manning will be alright
Manning and the No. 7 Texas offense started sluggishly in Austin against San Jose State, but the quarterback eventually found his rhythm — particularly with receiver Parker Livingstone — offering a dose of optimism after the tough opener at Ohio State. Manning threw for 295 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, while adding 23 yards and a score on the ground.
It wasn’t perfect, as he still needs to be more consistent and keep the offense on schedule, but the talent was obvious. Manning made several jaw-dropping throws, even considering the opponent. Texas remains a work in progress if it hopes to contend for the playoff, but Manning appeared to shake off the jitters. Building confidence and comfort will be crucial moving forward.
3. No. 2 Penn State’s offense…not off to an encouraging start
No. 8 Penn State posted a 34-0 win over FIU on Saturday, but the Beaver Stadium crowd wasn’t impressed. Scattered boos rang out as Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions offense again looked out of sync against an opponent they were expected to overwhelm.
Allar completed 19 of 33 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns, but many of the same issues that plagued him last season — inconsistency and missed opportunities — resurfaced. Penn State eventually leaned on star backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, who combined for 220 yards and two touchdowns, to put the game away.
The Lions get one more tuneup with Villanova before a bye and a Week 5 showdown with No. 6 Oregon. To win that game, they’ll need Allar to take a step forward. For now, though, the offense remains a source of restlessness in Happy Valley.
4. Iowa’s offense is still Iowa’s offense
It doesn’t seem to matter who’s at quarterback or calling plays — as long as Kirk Ferentz is on the sideline, Iowa’s offense looks the same.
The Hawkeyes’ defense played well enough to win Saturday against rival Iowa State, but Mark Gronowski and the offense failed to deliver. The much-hyped promise of a more open passing attack has already fizzled, with Gronowski managing just 83 yards through the air. Iowa finished with 214 yards of offense, while the Cyclones weren’t much better at 238, yet kept the Cy-Hawk Trophy in Ames.
The more things change, the more they stay the same for Iowa.
5. Cut the check, take the loss
There were some beatdowns early, as FCS opponents (and Kent State) took it on the chin from ranked foes. Minnesota bludgeoned Northwestern State 66-0 (scoring all 66 in the first 35 minutes of action), No. 14 Florida State ran it up 77-3 on East Texas A&M and No. 24 Texas Tech put up a 62-14 win on Kent State. Buy games are buy games for a reason, and there was no mercy from any of those trio on Saturday (at least until late).
