Anderson's Takeaways from Week 2 of College Football

Plenty of things were revealed, exposed, and reassured during the second Saturday of this college football season. Whatever you see on a college football weekend, regardless of the week, nothing is ever cemented. There's still a lot of season to watch and a lot of time for some teams to make those needed adjustments to succeed. Currently, outcomes are uncertain but are anticipated. For this week's takeaways from college football, three teams are either climbing, sliding, or are just destined for what's to come.

South Carolina is in for a Rude Awakening

Their sluggish offense could be the reason why they are in for a rude awakening when they play the upstart Vanderbilt Commodores this weekend. They are 2-0 and ranked in the top 20, but not every win is satisfying. In both of their games against Virginia Tech and South Carolina State, the score was tight until the fourth quarter. Lanorris Sellers and the offense took a while to warm up and pull away with the lead in each of those games against inferior opponents. The same Virginia Tech squad that they only beat by 13 was the same squad that Vanderbilt pulverized by the score of 44-20 last week.

The high-scoring Commodores will only be the beginning of a brutal SEC schedule for the Gamecocks. They will have to play Missouri, LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and, of course, their annual bash with Clemson to make things tougher for them. For any football team, this is equivalent to having an exam at the beginning of every week of a semester. For this playoff hopeful to fulfill its preseason expectations, it must learn how to start games quickly and win the early tug-of-war battles. They can't do that by warming up in the first half, then hitting the road fast in the second half.

The Gators remain Far from a Return to Football Prominence

What could be the defining moment for the Florida Gators this season is when they couldn't seal the deal over the South Florida Bulls last Saturday. When they had the ball and the lead with two minutes and 52 seconds left to play. They failed to convert a single first down, and the only positive play they had was a 2-yard run on second down and 10. After that, a beautiful floating pass by D.J. Lagway was dropped by Vernell Brown III. The ball fell right through his fingers and could've sealed the deal for the Gators. Besides the penalties and the mental errors, losing like this at the Swamp to an American Athletic Conference school would be unacceptable for the Gators' teams of the past.

All due respect to South Florida, but the fact that Florida came into the game ranked as the 13th team in the nation, with Heisman praise surrounding their quarterback, exposes the over hype of this team. Forgetting that they have an incompetent head coach, an inexperienced roster, and happen to play in the Southeastern Conference. For any team that feels good after a 55-0 whooping on Long Island, then loses at home 18-16 to a Group of Five program, should be noted as undeserving of attention. Once upon a time, the Swamp was one of those places in college football that you didn't want to go to if you were the visiting team. Now, teams actually want to book a visit there to have their turn in humiliating the Florida Gators. This weekend, it's LSU's turn, unless Florida took their upset loss as a reality check for them to start playing the kind of football they knew decades ago.

Sooners Ball is Back?

Their win over the Michigan Wolverines, where the defense permitted just 13 points and the offense moved the chains as long as they could, became convincing enough to the rest of college football that they’re back. College football becomes more enjoyable to watch when traditional teams like the Oklahoma Sooners are successful. In their second season in the Southeastern Conference, they are better built to prove that they do belong in the conference. They have a suffocating defense and an efficient offense, not just to survive in the SEC, but to dominate in it. Their new quarterback, John Mateer, is already the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. Scoring three touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air, against an elite defense in a playoff atmosphere would definitely make you the Heisman favorite.

It’s all thanks to the new offensive system introduced by new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, which has already proven effective for the program. This Oklahoma team is now one of the most improved and well-balanced teams out there, or at least it appears to be. Michigan itself is still trying to regain football prominence with a freshman quarterback. Oklahoma still has more litmus tests to pass before they are declared a football powerhouse again. They have upcoming matchups with Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama, South Carolina, Missouri, Auburn, and last but not least, the Texas Longhorns. If their now efficient offense and solid defense come together against those SEC contenders like they did against Michigan, they can take the conference title in just their second year in the conference.

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