College football Week 2 takeaways: Ohio State shows eerily similar shades of 2014

College football Week 2 takeaways including Ohio State learning from the past, Florida bucking conventional wisdom and the greatest catch you’ll ever see.

For the second week in a row, the No. 3 team in the nation lost. Last week it was Clemson losing to Georgia and this week it was Ohio State losing to Oregon. The situations and circumstances are different for both but in the case of the Buckeyes, they’ve been in this position before and can learn from history to still make a run at a national championship.

Prior to losing to the Buckeyes, Ohio State had not lost at Ohio Stadium since Week 2 of the 2017 season when Baker Mayfield planted the flag at The Shoe. That season also saw the Buckeyes get taken behind the woodshed in a loss to Iowa that ended any chances of a playoff berth.

For some reason, if Ohio State is going to lose, it’s either going to be in the playoff or Week 2. In 2014, Ohio State fell to Virginia Tech behind a young quarterback, J.T. Barrett, which shares some similarities to the 2021 team.

2021 Ohio State can learn from the past to make playoff run

Barrett was the first-year freshman starter for a Buckeyes team that had high expectations. C.J. Stroud is the first-time freshman starting quarterback for a Buckeyes team coming off a championship game appearance. Just as it was for Barrett, the pressure on Stroud’s shoulders is immends. It was not a great first impression for Barrett who threw three interceptions in the Week 2 loss to Virginia Tech that had Buckeyes fans ready to bench him and kiss away the season.

A little patience goes a long way.

Stroud got off to a rough start in the first half vs. Minnesota in Week 1 before settling in and winning Big Ten Freshman of the Week after throwing for 294 yards and four touchdowns in the comeback win. The 284 yards were the second-most by a Buckeye in his first start since 2000. Stroud had some bouts with inaccurate passes early vs. Oregon but had great numbers, throwing for 484 yards and three touchdowns. However, it was his one mistake, an interception that thwarted a comeback attempt late in the fourth quarter that will ring in the minds of Ohio State fans all week, perhaps longer.

It’s not time to hit the panic button.

Chalk that up to a learning experience just as it was for Barrett in 2014.

What happened after the Week 2 loss for Barrett was a 66-0 win over Kent State. They didn’t lose the rest of the season en route to beating Oregon in the National Championship Game.

Can history repeat itself in 2021?

Stroud can certainly do what Barrett did that year, but for Ohio State to learn from the past, it starts and stops with the defense. This defense is just not good enough as currently constructed. The secondary woes that plagued the Buckeyes last year are still glaring, but it’s a rush defense that was gashed by Minnesota and exposed by CJ Verdell and Oregon has to be fixed to salvage the season.

The 2014 roster was loaded with NFL talent on both sides of the ball from Ezekiel Elliott to Michael Thomas but it was Joey Bosa that was the stalwart of the defense that struck fear into opponents.

There is no player on the Ohio State defense that does that, at least not yet.

It’s time to unleash the young Bucks on this defensive line and give Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau opportunities to grow and develop. The former five-star recruits are very young, Tuimoloau has only been on campus for about six weeks. But it’s time to take the training wheels off and turn them loose. Let them learn on the job. Larry Johnson is the best defensive line coach in the nation so let him work his magic with these two.

Sawyer and Tuimolau can be transformative pieces in the future for Ohio State but they can be the ingredients to put together a defense that can get to the quarterback and stop a running back from running for 100 yards every Saturday.

The future is now if Ohio State is going to turn back the clock and have the 2021 season end like the 2014 one did.

Oregon scores win for themselves and the Pac-12

You know how SEC football fans claim conference wins when Alabama wins another national championship? Like there are fans beating their chests and chanting S-E-C! S-E-C! when Alabama wins while they claim Mississippi State or South Carolina as their team. It’s a common thing in the SEC while some SEC fans hate it, it’s still something that sticks to the conference more than any other.

It makes me wonder if there were some fans of Pac-12 teams that were rooting for Oregon against Ohio State. The Pac-12 has been a punching bag in the sport for the better part of the last decade, or since the Pete Carroll dynasty at USC came to an end. Even with the Big 12 taking a number of jabs this summer with Texas and Oklahoma jilting them for the SEC, it’s the Pac-12 that’s been the worst conference for years.

Outside of Pac-12 after dark, there would be no redeeming qualities. But with Oregon beating Ohio State, it was the biggest win for the conference since Marcus Mariota led Oregon to a win over Jameis Winston and Florida State in the 2014 season.

The Pac-12 needed a win over a quality opponent like Ohio State. Oregon beating LSU last week didn’t really qualify, but while it was nice, the Ducks may have secured a win that gets them in the College Football Playoff. Just as long as the Ducks can avoid a total catastrophe in conference play, Mario Cristobal’s team looks to join Alabama and Georgia in the four-team field. It’s only Week 2 but there may only be one spot open to be claimed from the likes of Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Iowa and one-loss Clemson and Ohio State.

Dan Mullen may be able to make the 2-quarterback system work

Dan Mullen is no stranger to playing two quarterbacks. Mullen was the offensive coordinator for Urban Meyer when Florida started Chris Leak and played Tim Tebow in certain situations. Mullen did it at Mississippi State when Dak Prescott would share time with Tyler Russell. Mullen made a habit of jockeying quarterbacks around early in his tenure at Starkville but that was the most successful. Could he be bucking the trend that “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none?”

Mullen is going to continue to start Emory Jones when Florida takes on Alabama next week despite the play of Anthony Richardson. It only took three passes and four carries for Richardson to lead the team in both categories in the win against USF. Richardson’s big-play ability where he had a 75-yard touchdown pass and 80-yard touchdown run may be too tantalizing to keep on the bench long. Jones hasn’t been bad but he hasn’t been great either which has led to an increased volume of calls for Richardson to get his job.

Alabama’s defense is a juggernaut, even if Chris Allen is out and Will Anderson is questionable. GIving the Tide two quarterbacks to worry about is better than giving them one to worry about. If any coach can pull off a two-quarterback system, it’s Mullen.

College football catch of the year

It’s only Week 2 but we already have the catch of the year and nothing will top it. Not a player making a one-handed catch after doing a somersault. Not a player jumping 11 feet in the air and catching the ball with their helmet. Literally, nothing can top the catch made at Hard Rock Stadium by some Miami Hurricanes fans. In the most shocking video I’ve ever seen at a football game, a cat falling from the upper deck was caught by some fans who held open an American flag to stop the feline’s fall. The cat is okay. The viewers who saw what happened will never be the same again, however.

College football power rankings after Week 2

1. 1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Oregon
4. Oklahoma
5. Iowa
6. Texas A&M
7. Cincinnati
8. Notre Dame
9. Clemson
10. Penn State

Best college football games to look forward to in Week 3

1. Alabama vs. Florida
2. Auburn vs. Penn State
3. Nebraska vs. Oklahoma
4. Michigan State vs. Miami
5. Fresno State vs. UCLA (Pac-12 after dark special)

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