The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Week Two

Week one featured some impressive upsets for the conference with upset wins over Purdue and Texas Tech for Fresno State and Wyoming, respectively. Week two felt like a regression for the conference with a loss to an FCS team and a heartbreaking loss to a Big 12 team. Let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly performances from week two.

The Good

Wyoming

This game was never in doubt, but I have to be honest. I expected a little bit more from the Cowboys after their impressive win over Texas Tech. The offense has looked much improved through two games, and it looks like Andrew Peasley might be finding his footing in Laramie. But the play of the secondary has me a little concerned. However, the Cowboys took care of business and improved to 2-0 on the season.

New Mexico

Sometimes a game against an FCS foe can help a team find their identity. That might be the case for the Lobos who walked away with a convincing 56-10 victory over Tennessee Tech. Dylan Hopkins passed for 273 yards on only 17 attempts, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt added 162 yards on the ground.

Air Force

The Falcons offense has looked disjointed and stagnant against inferior foes the first two weeks of the season, but the defense has looked elite holding Sam Houston to only three points. The first two weeks have not given us a good idea as to where this team stands; we will get a better idea when they kick off conference play against Utah State on Friday.

San Jose State

The Spartans had a brutal start to the season, taking on two top 20 teams in USC and Oregon State. The Spartans showed the true potential of this team this weekend after destroying Cal Poly in San Jose. The 59-3 victory allowed the Spartans to rest quarterback Chevan Cordeiro early and work on establishing a run game that has struggled early.

Utah State

The Aggies used a massive 41 points in the second quarter to propel themselves to a giant 50 point victory over FCS foe, Idaho State. The Aggies had a dominant performance on the ground, rushing for 380 yards. They also added two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. As I stated with Air Force, we will learn what this team is made of this weekend when they take on the Falcons.

Hawaii

It was a rough start for Hawaii as they were tied with Albany at the half. The defense cleaned things up in the second half, and the Rainbow Warriors were able to secure their first win of the year. This team is still very flawed, but progress is being made and they should be able to surprise some teams on the islands this year.

The Bad

Boise State

The Broncos suffered another heartbreaking loss at home. Despite injuries to George Holani and Taylen Green, the Broncos were able to gain a late lead over UCF on a touchdown pass from Maddux Madsen to Stefan Cobbs. Unfortunately, the Knights were able to march down the field and hit a 40 yard field goal as time expired. I was in the stands for this game, and the play of the Bronco secondary continues to be a major concern.

Fresno State

After an impressive road victory over Purdue, the Bulldogs narrowly avoided a massive letdown loss to FCS team, Eastern Washington, at home. An interception allowed the Bulldogs to come away with the 34-31 victory in double overtime. Fresno State’s offense has looked very impressive through two weeks. However, the defense, which was expected to be one of the best in the conference, has really struggled through two games.

UNLV

The Michigan offense was obviously keeping things simple against a clearly inferior opponent in UNLV. But the Rebels battled despite being overmatched. This game is not a fair test to see what type of progress this program has made. It will be interesting to see how this team plays against a far less talented Power Five program in Vanderbilt. The Rebels are only four point underdogs.

The Ugly

Nevada

Idaho is a really good FCS program, but this has to go down as one of the most embarrasing losses in the history of Nevada’s program. They managed only six points and looked outmatched in every aspect of the game. The Wolf Pack gave 473 yards to the Vandals and only managed 266 yards themselves.

San Diego State

Despite starting the season 2-0, the writing was on the wall for this Aztecs team. They have significant issues on both sides of the ball. Jalen Mayden has been wildly inconsistent at quarterback, and his struggles kept the Aztecs from having any real chance in this game due to his three interceptions. This team is also struggling to live up to the standard they have set on the defensive side of the ball. They surrendered 550 yards to the Bruins Saturday evening.

Which performances from week two stood out to you? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.