5 College Football Programs That Should Be Worried After Week 2

1. Arizona State Sun Devils

The warning signs were there. Head coach Kenny Dillingham was publicly displeased with some of his team’s offseason preparations. They surrendered too many big plays against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in Week 1, and their game last season against Mississippi State was a close one. I predicted the Mississippi State Bulldogs would upset the Arizona State Sun Devils, but that doesn’t make this any less concerning for the preseason Big 12 favorite. They gave up 345 yards and were just 3 for 14 on third down. Despite a 15-minute edge in time of possession, the Mississippi State Bulldogs took advantage of single coverage. They connected on a 58-yard touchdown pass with just 30 seconds left to grab the decisive score and pull off the upset. With games against Baylor, TCU, Utah, Texas Tech, and Iowa State coming up in the next seven weeks, Arizona State is in trouble.

Week 3: Texas State at Arizona State (-14.5)

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2. Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry entered the season under a lot of pressure, and the first two weeks have only dialed up the heat in Blacksburg. They lost a reasonably competitive game in Atlanta against South Carolina, but took a big step backwards on Saturday evening. The Hokies were waxed at home by the Vanderbilt Commodores 44-20, and they were outgained 490 to 248. Pry was optimistic that his team had fixed its defensive front via the transfer portal, but Vanderbilt churned out 262 yards rushing and averaged 7.1 yards on the ground. The Hokies do not have any answers on offense, and Pry’s time might be up.

Week 3: VT (-7.5) vs. Old Dominion

 

3. Big XII Fans

This goes hand in hand with Arizona State’s loss, and after two weeks of play, there is very little chance the Big 12 can land more than one team in the College Football Playoff. Baylor lost at home to Auburn in Week 1, and the preseason favorite in the league got knocked off by a team picked at the bottom of the SEC. The league doesn’t really have any marquee victories yet, and while teams like Utah, TCU, and Texas Tech have looked great, there might only be one seat at the table at the end of the season.

 

4. Florida Gators

The Florida Gators have a whole lot of talent, but they lost at home to the South Florida Bulls, and Billy Napier is now just 20-20 in his tenure as the head coach in Gainesville. The Gators made so many mind-boggling decisions in that game, and they had 11 penalties for 103 yards as they fell apart, and DJ Lagway was outplayed by Byrum Brown. Nico Gramatica connected on a 20-yard field goal to propel the Bulls to the win. Still, it was dreadful in-game management and situational football screwups from Napier and the Florida Gators that cost them this game, and that is a continuation of the flaws that have been seen throughout the Napier era. Up next for Florida? LSU, Miami, and Texas A&M on the road and home games against Texas, Mississippi State, and Georgia.

Week 3: Florida at LSU (-8.5)

 

5. UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins made a big splash by bringing in Nico Iamaleava at quarterback, but through two games, DeShaun Foster looks over his head, and the Bruins are 0-2 after losing to the UNLV Rebels. The Bruins were manhandled by the Utah Utes in Week 1, and they fell behind 23-3 to UNLV at halftime before a late rally fell short. Iamaleava did what he could, running for 59 yards and throwing for 255 yards, but they were penalized 14 times for 129 yards and were only 3 for 13 on third down in the disappointing loss to the Rebels. They have a chance to rebound with games against New Mexico and Northwestern, but there does not appear to be a clear path to a bowl game, barring some significant progress.

Week 3: UCLA (-14.5) vs. New Mexico

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