This article is part of our Week In Review series.
ACC
It's not often that a game between Duke and Wake Forest steals the show in the ACC, at least on the gridiron. Duke receiver Conner Vernon's 181 yards and two touchdowns wasn't enough as Wake came away with a 54-48 win. Elsewhere, Boston College and Maryland pulled off non-conference wins.
The rest of the ACC wasn't nearly as fortunate.
Virginia Tech's loss to FCS power James Madison was just one of the shockers. Kansas defeated a sluggish Georgia Tech team a week after dropping its home opener to North Dakota State. Florida State fell behind Oklahoma early and never recovered as the Mark Stoop's new-look defense resembled last year's ineffective unit. Miami wasn't able to overcome a dreadful second quarter and came up short against Ohio State.
Big 12
After looking awful in the opener against Utah State, Oklahoma put on a clinic and dusted Florida State in Norman to move back into the top 10 in the polls. Meanwhile, the four Texas schools rolled to easy wins against non-conference competition. Kansas pulled off the upset of the week with a spirited performance against the Georgia Tech.
Iowa State quarterback Austin Arnaud threw three interceptions as the Cyclones were run over by rival Iowa in a 35-7 loss. After an impressive win in the opener against Colorado State, Colorado ran into a well-oiled machine at California. Mike Gundy's Oklahoma State team survived, but probably cost itself a spot in the top 25 in the near future by squeaking
ACC
It's not often that a game between Duke and Wake Forest steals the show in the ACC, at least on the gridiron. Duke receiver Conner Vernon's 181 yards and two touchdowns wasn't enough as Wake came away with a 54-48 win. Elsewhere, Boston College and Maryland pulled off non-conference wins.
The rest of the ACC wasn't nearly as fortunate.
Virginia Tech's loss to FCS power James Madison was just one of the shockers. Kansas defeated a sluggish Georgia Tech team a week after dropping its home opener to North Dakota State. Florida State fell behind Oklahoma early and never recovered as the Mark Stoop's new-look defense resembled last year's ineffective unit. Miami wasn't able to overcome a dreadful second quarter and came up short against Ohio State.
Big 12
After looking awful in the opener against Utah State, Oklahoma put on a clinic and dusted Florida State in Norman to move back into the top 10 in the polls. Meanwhile, the four Texas schools rolled to easy wins against non-conference competition. Kansas pulled off the upset of the week with a spirited performance against the Georgia Tech.
Iowa State quarterback Austin Arnaud threw three interceptions as the Cyclones were run over by rival Iowa in a 35-7 loss. After an impressive win in the opener against Colorado State, Colorado ran into a well-oiled machine at California. Mike Gundy's Oklahoma State team survived, but probably cost itself a spot in the top 25 in the near future by squeaking out a 41-38 win against Troy.
Big East
After being vastly outplayed by quarterback Brian Anderson and Marshall for almost the entire game, quarterback Geno Smith regrouped and West Virginia escaped with a 24-21 win against its rival in overtime. Elsewhere, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Connecticut took out some frustration against weak competition and Louisville and Rutgers survived scares to emerge victorious.
South Florida was given at least an outside chance to compete with Florida, but quarterback B.J. Daniels looked absolutely dreadful against the Gators' defense. Syracuse wasn't able to score enough points to keep up with Jake Locker and Washington's strong offense.
Big Ten
The Big Ten looked strong again Week 2. Ohio State's offense performed very well in the win over Miami, as Terrelle Pryor vastly outplayed Jacory Harris in a marquee quarterback matchup. Elsewhere, Michigan's Denard Robinson vaulted the Wolverines into the top 25 and appears to be well on his way to a fantastic season if he can stay healthy.
Iowa running back Jewel Hampton looked healthy in his first game action since the 2009 Outback Bowl, but it was Adam Robinson who stole the show for the Hawkeyes, rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries in the 35-7 win over Iowa State. Michigan State, Purdue and Illinois pulled off wins against non-conference foes, and Wisconsin and Northwestern also won.
Minnesota suffered another puzzling loss to a non-conference opponent, this time to South Dakota in Minneapolis. Penn State's offense was never able to find rhythm against the reigning National Champs in Tuscaloosa Saturday night.
Conference USA
Houston's place atop Conference USA remains secure after an easy win over UTEP Friday, though they didn't have to deal with UTEP's best player, running back Donald Buckram (knee). Another huge game for quarterback Dominique Davis helped East Carolina improve to 2-0, and Tulsa, Southern Miss and SMU rebounded after opening-week losses.
Rice needed a fourth quarter touchdown to escape with a 32-31 win over North Texas. After playing tough against Texas in Week 1 and keeping up with an explosive North Texas offense, Rice is looking much better than the 2-10 team from 2010.
Elsewhere, Central Florida and Tulane fell to BCS Conference opponents. Marshall, UTEP and UAB came out on the losing end, as well.
Independents
Optimism took a huge hit Saturday in South Bend as Brian Kelly's team failed to take advantage of numerous opportunities against Michigan. The Irish are likely to improve, but remain a work in progress and evidently need Dayne Crist to stay healthy, as Nate Montana was highly ineffective after Crist left the game with an eye injury.
Coming into the season, Navy looked like a dangerous sleeper team. After barely escaping with a 13-7 over Georgia Southern, things aren't looking so good for the Midshipmen.
Army dropped its home game against Hawaii when the Rainbows kicked a field goal with seven seconds remaining. On the bright side, the Knights were able to rally from a 21-0 deficit in the second quarter.
MAC
Heavy favorite Temple managed to pull off a big win in an early-season conference clash against Central Michigan in overtime. Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Miami (OH) rebounded from opening week losses and Toledo pulled off an upset against Ohio.
Overall, the MAC isn't in great shape after the first two weeks. Gardner-Webb beat Akron in overtime, and Ball State fell to Liberty in another MAC-FCS contest. Kent State competed with Boston College but suffered a 26-13 loss Saturday. Elsewhere, Bowling Green struggled to keep Tulsa's dynamic offense under control in a 33-20 defeat.
MWC
TCU just keeps right on rolling. The Horned Frogs scored a late touchdown to cement a 62-7 win over Tennessee Tech Saturday. Elsewhere, Air Force racked up over 400 yards rushing in a 35-14 win over BYU. San Diego State's offense appears to be in midseason form with quarterback Ryan Lindley leading the way. Utah dusted UNLV 38-10 and climbed into the top 20 in both the AP Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll.
Colorado State, Wyoming and New Mexico suffered crushing defeats and find themselves scrambling for answers.
Pac-10
Things were all good in Pac-10 country this weekend as the conference went undefeated during inter-conference play; the only loss coming in UCLA's 35-0 defeat at the hands of Stanford. That's right, even Washington State came up with a much-needed win in Week 2. Oregon overcame an early deficit to Tennessee as its talent eventually prevailed en route to a 48-13 win. Arizona slammed the Citadel and now awaits a battle in the desert against Iowa Saturday night.
Washington seemed to figure things out against Syracuse, and USC survived a surprising scare against Mike London's Virginia team in SoCal.
SEC
The SEC began conference play in Week 2 Thursday night when Auburn bested Mississippi State 17-14 in Starkville. Georgia began a difficult stretch in the schedule with a loss to South Carolina. Things won't get any easier against Arkansas this week with star receiver A.J. Green still sidelined by his suspension.
LSU withstood a challenge from Vanderbilt but pulled away with 17 fourth quarter points. Running back Trent Richardson had no trouble replacing Mark Ingram as Alabama dominated Penn State.
Elsewhere, Derek Dooley's Tennessee team put up a good fight before falling to Oregon, and Florida fell in the polls again despite improving to 2-0 on the season.
Sun Belt
The Sun Belt had a weekend to forget in Week 2, with only Middle Tennessee State and Louisiana Lafayette able to scratch out victories.
North Texas dropped a heartbreaker against Rice and both Florida Atlantic and Florida International were more than competitive against BCS Conference competition.
WAC
Run, Nevada, run. The powerful Wolfpack ran through and around Colorado State to notch a 51-6 win. Colin Kaepernick stole the show with 402 yards of total offense and four touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Utah State looked good for a second-consecutive week and defeated Idaho State 38-17. Hawaii kicker Scott Enos helped the Rainbow Warriors escape with a win against Army in the final seconds.
Both Idaho and San Jose State have to be encouraged after at least making things interesting in trips to Nebraska and Wisconsin, respectively.
Boise State returns to action Saturday as the Broncos make a trip to Laramie to face the Wyoming Cowboys.
