The College Football Marty McFly Rankings for Week 2: USC is the most back of any team that’s ever been gone

I know the Longhorns lost, and even though a (sun) Burnt Orange win in Austin would’ve vaulted them perhaps to the top of my list, I’ve penned too many negative pieces about the program to care more about their McFly Ranking than my history of mocking Steve Sarkisian.

Texas might’ve rolled over Alabama in a way that Nick Saban hasn’t been subjected to in a long time had Quinn Ewers not Colt McCoy’d his way out of the game. Longhorns supporters are no strangers to bad luck in big games against the Tide, and their misfortune was enough to offset the late-game mismanagement from the coach. Be that as it may, we’ve seen Texas fail to get up against lesser opponents in the past, and a close call against a perennial title contender is meaningless if they struggle in the run-up to Oklahoma. Texas Tech and UTSA should be easy Ws, but they did lose to West Virginia last year.

For about a half, it looked as if No. 13 Miami might be the team who doesn’t perform up to its side of the bargain for this week’s non-conference headlines. Yet, it was Texas A&M who dropped (and couldn’t move) the ball in Week 2. The Aggies free fell down the AP Poll (from No. 6 to 24), and the line followed suit. Texas A&M opened at -9 and has been bet down to -5.5.

The Hurricanes trailed Southern Miss for most of the second quarter Saturday, and Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke threw an atrocious interception before The U was able to gain control of the contest in the third quarter. The final score (30-7) didn’t reflect the fact that Miami was 20 seconds away from going into the halftime break down 7-3, and was playing poorly enough that I turned it on (albeit for half a quarter).

College Station isn’t an easy place to get a win, and yet Appalachian State did it. They were able to hold A&M to less than 200 yards of total offense, and Miami, if they are back, should be more than capable of following the blueprint the Mountaineers laid out for them this Saturday.

It’s not so much that FSU deserved to drop a spot after beating LSU in New Orleans a week-and-a-half ago. They just fell victim to other schools going scorched earth while they were on a bye week. The Seminoles are still riding high after beating the Tigers, and ESPN gave them the evening window Friday when they visit Louisville, who barely edged out UCF last Friday night.

Unfortunately, the ’Noles did take a loss during their off week, announcing starting right tackle Bless Harris is done for the season. He was seen with his arm in a sling during the LSU game, which he didn’t play in, and that isn’t great news for coach Mike Norvell’s (pictured above) depth. The caveat to that is FSU’s line and QB Jordan Travis won without him. Hopefully, the next two outings — at Louisville and home against Boston College — will be enough to solidify the protection because the Wake Forest matchup in two-plus weeks looks like it’ll be an actual test of how far back they really are.

The No. 15 Vols had the most impressive win of all the Marty McFly candidates, holding off No. 17 Pitt in Pittsburgh in overtime. Quarterback Hendon Hooker lit up the Panthers in the first half, overcoming 10-point deficits of 10-0 and 17-7 to earn a 24-17 lead at the break.

The second half is what would make me nervous if I was a Volunteers fan though. The team had three punts, a fumble, and a field goal. Pitt’s backup QB Nick Patti, who, like starter Kedon Slovis, got injured during the game, was able to finish the game, unlike Slovis. And he tied it on one foot in the fourth before losing in the extra period.

It looked as if UT coach Josh Heupel was going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and judging by his jumps (if you can call that jumping) for joy afterward, he was extremely happy that it didn’t happen. I love the uptempo style of play, but my only concern is its effectiveness once opponents adjust.

Up next for the Vols is Akron before hosting rival Florida to round out September.

After two games, the No. 7 Trojans are 8-0 in the turnover battle, which is great. It means Caleb Williams is under control of the offense, the skill players are valuing ball security, and the defense is forcing takeaways. USC played so well against Stanford on Saturday night that Kirk Herbstreit was ready to buy every box of Lipophedrine that Lincoln Riley had in his garage.

But in football, like in pyramid schemes, the devil is in the details, and lost in USC’s 41-28 win over Stanford was the Cardinal’s ability to move the ball. The final wasn’t as competitive as it seemed — the score was 41-14 at the start of the fourth — but David Shaw’s squad had 221 yards on the ground, an even split of the time of possession, and only 60-some-odd yards less in offensive production (505 to 441). Stanford had more yards rushing against USC than they had in Week 1 against Colgate and they were playing from behind.

I agree that USC’s offense is terrifying. Jordan Addison and Williams already have chemistry. Addison, the Pitt transfer, caught seven balls for 172 yards and two scores Saturday. There aren’t a lot of Pac-12 defenses, if any, that can stop or even moderately disrupt the Trojans’ offense. That said, we know the best way to stop an explosive team from scoring is to keep them off the field, and a sound running game, plus a turnover-free performance, could be enough to pull off an upset.