Week 2 of the NCAA football season gave us a ton of presumably close, hyped-up matchups. The result? Blowouts, and lots of them.
With that, we can use Saturday’s results to help separate the contenders from the pretenders and see which teams established their supremacy in college football’s second week of action.
Here’s who’s on the desired come-up and the dreaded downswing:
Rising
Texas pummels Michigan at The Big House
Saturday marked only the second time that these two college football juggernauts—Texas and Michigan—have met.
The first matchup came in the 2005 Rose Bowl, where Longhorns kicker Dusty Mangum knocked in a 37-yard field goal to beat the Wolverines 38-37 as the clock hit zeros en route to Texas’s ninth national championship in program history.
In Saturday’s sequel matchup, No. 3 Texas flexed its muscles, dominating No. 10 Michigan at The Big House 31-12. It’s the fifth-biggest home loss by a defending national champion at home in NCAA history. Longhorns junior quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for a hat trick of touchdowns as his team had firm control over all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. The maize and blue turned the ball over three times. 
It was a historic win for Texas. The now No. 17 Wolverines were on a Big 10-record 29-game regular season win streak, with 23 straight home victories and a nation-best 16-game win streak, including the playoffs. The Longhorns became the first team to beat Michigan and Alabama on the road in consecutive seasons since Notre Dame did it four and a half decades ago. 
“I just enjoy big moments,” Ewers said.
It’s safe to say that No. 2 Texas is for real.
Tennessee routs NC State
No. 14 Tennessee and No. 24 NC State met in the Duke Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. But this game was far from a classic.
The Volunteers beat the brakes off the Wolfpack, 51-10. Tennessee freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleva bounced back after two early interceptions, combing for 276 yards and three touchdowns.
“He played within himself and responded well to adversity, and that is one of the things we haven’t seen from him,” Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel said. “I am really proud of his demeanor.”
On the other hand, Tennessee’s defense held the No. 24 team in the nation to 10 points, including a big-time pick from senior walk-on safety Will Brooks, who made his first career interception count by taking it back 85 yards for a back-breaking Vols defensive score.
“The standard at Tennessee is to be elite on defense,” Heupel said. “This is the home of Reggie White, Al Wilson, and Eric Berry.”
While NC State struggled at points in their FCS opener against West Carolina, Saturday’s matchup felt more like a statement win for the No. 7 Volunteers than a disaster by the unranked Wolfpack. 
Falling
The Auburn Tigers
Following a disappointing 6-7 campaign in 2023, the second-year Auburn head coach was looking for his Tigers to leap into 2024. While Auburn obliterated Alabama A&M in their FCS opener, 73-3, the same can’t be said for Saturday.
The Tigers’ offense combined for five turnovers, including four interceptions from senior quarterback Payton Thorne, and averaged just five yards per play in a disheartening 21-14 loss to Cal.
“This is disappointing. I had hoped we were further along,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said. “You can’t turn the ball over five times and expect to beat anybody.”
With that, Auburn looks to be in line for another disappointing season. The Tigers have yet to even begin conference play, including an intimidating three-game SEC Stretch hosting No. 15 Oklahoma before going on the road to play No. 1 Georgia and No. 6 Missouri. 
Kentucky gets clobbered at home
When the Wildcats hosted SEC-rival South Carolina on Saturday, almost everything went wrong for Kentucky.
In Week 1, the Wildcats did what it had to in their 31-0 shutout victory vs. Southern Miss. In Week 2, the exact opposite could be said. Kentucky couldn’t do anything right.
The Wildcats were held to only 183 yards of total offense, including 139 yards on the ground off of 46 carries. Georgia-turned-Kentucky transfer quarterback Brock Vandagruff completed 3 of his 10 passes for only 30 yards and a 24-yard interception return for a touchdown by fellow junior Gamecock defensive back Nick Emmawori that killed any life that the Wildcats had at the start of the fourth quarter.
The backup didn’t fare much better. Junior quarterback Gavin Wimsalt finished the game with 3-7 passing and an interception.
“We’ve been beaten pretty badly by some really good football teams, but I felt like our team always fought back,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said. “Today, it didn’t look like we were a very well-coached team and it didn’t look like a team that really wanted to respond.”
Reminder: South Carolina barely squeaked by Old Dominion at home in Week 1, 23-19, so this loss doesn’t bode well for the Wildcats.
Add the fact that Kentucky plays No. 1 Georgia and No. 5 Ole Miss later this month, on top of November matchups with No. 7 Tennessee, No. 3 Texas and No. 19 Louisville, and one thing is for sure: the Wildcats are in big trouble.