Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with Saturday Shine and Saturday Shame from the weekend, as well as being wrong about Shaquem Griffin.
MORE: Five weird things from Week 2 | Five-stars on AP Top 25 rosters
Also, listen to the Godfather and Gorney podcast as they break down Week 2
1. SATURDAY SHINE
Here's a look at the teams, units and players that should feel good following their performance in Week 2.
Kellen Mond, Texas A&M – Mond put up more passing yards in a half than Dabo Swinney had ever allowed at Clemson. The former five-star was amazing all game long in the tough loss to the Tigers. Have we seen his coming-out party as a future star? Maybe.
Kelly Bryant, Clemson – Bryant showed his leadership ability as he was the chosen quarterback to pull out the win over Texas A&M. Holding off Trevor Lawrence can either destroy you or make you better and it has seemed to push Bryant to the next level.
Bryce Love, Stanford – After a rough opener, Love was the man once again in Stanford's win over USC beating opponents outside and showing off his speed on his way to 136 yards and a touchdown.
Stanford's defense – This was a very solid defensive effort and what you expect from one of the few hard-nosed teams in the Pac-12 as USC couldn’t get anything going.
Georgia – The Dawgs went into hostile territory against arguably the second-best team in the SEC East and dismantled them. That’s impressive.
Kyler Murray, Oklahoma – Murray continues to impress with his arm and his legs. The Oklahoma offense may be more dangerous than it was last year under Baker Mayfield, if that’s possible.
Arizona State – How about Herm Edwards? The off-season butt of many jokes because of the odd hire is now 2-0 with a win over a ranked Michigan State team.
Kansas – The road losing streak has ended. Should this be reason for celebration? I’m going to say yes even though the streak itself is one of the most embarrassing things you’ll see in college football. But for a weekend, Kansas is a winner.
Penn State – After a weak performance against Appalachian State, the Nittany Lions took Pitt over their knee and spanked them. This was an embarrassing rout.
Karan Higdon, Michigan – Higdon had a huge game, the offensive line looked better and he helped Shea Patterson provide balance in the offense. Western Michigan isn’t Notre Dame, but it was still a good sign.
Ohio State's passing game – This aerial attack is scary because Ohio State can still run the ball as well. The Buckeyes have become one of the most balanced offenses early in the season after struggling so much under J.T. Barrett with the passing game last year.
Kentucky – How about the Wildcats? Kentucky's last win against Florida was in 1986, the last win against Florida on the road was in 1979 and both streaks are finally done.
Benny Snell, Kentucky – This kid doesn’t get enough attention as he’s the real deal and was a key to the Kentucky win with 175 yards on 27 carries.
Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin – He just keeps on putting up big game after big game and 2,000 yards is a lock if he stays healthy.
Steven Montez, Colorado – He was extremely impressive in the Buffs win over Nebraska and has his team off to a 2-0 start with his coach on a warm seat coming into the season.
Houston – Power Five opponent? Heisman candidate? Who cares? Houston looked dominant against Arizona and the Ed Oliver hype continues.
Kylin Hill, Mississippi State – A huge game running the ball and adding a receiving touchdown, he’s one of the best newcomers on the scene in the SEC.
Terrence Horn, USF – Back-to-back kickoff returns for touchdown plus a receiving touchdown in a win over Georgia Tech. Not too shabby.
2. SATURDAY SHAME
Here's a look at the teams, units and players that should be feeling some heat following their performance in Week 2.
USC's Offense – JT Daniels is going to be a great player, but Stanford dominated him and the rest of the Trojan offense on Saturday night. They may have better “athletes” so the story goes, but they didn’t show that athleticism much.
DeAndre Baker, Georgia – I love him as a player but I hate, hate, hate when knuckleheads drop the football before crossing the end zone. He did just that during what should have been a pick-six. Arrrgh!
South Carolina – The Gamecocks were at home, had a chance to send a message to Georgia and the rest of the SEC that they are taking the next step and fell flat on their faces.
UCLA's defense – Oklahoma is hard to stop but sometimes, the Bruins' defense just looked like a joke. In two games I haven’t seen anything inspired under Chip Kelly on defense.
Michigan State – The Spartans struggled in their opener and then lost to Arizona State after having the lead. And they were ranked? I’m beginning to think my pick of Michigan State ahead of Michigan is not a great one in the division.
Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame – Three interceptions and all the momentum gained from the win over Michigan is gone. Now we have questions about Wimbush’s ability to throw again.
Notre Dame's running game – The Fighting Irish barely rushed for more than 100 yards against Ball State. That’s concerning.
Rutgers – No one expected the Scarlet Knights to beat Ohio State, but being competitive for a quarter would be nice. Even the ESPN announcers on College Football Final were making fun of them. That’s not good.
Florida – What the heck, Dan Mullen? This team looked helpless, Feleipe Franks looks beyond average and the offense stinks. Kentucky is supposed to be an automatic win.
Florida State – Samford? Samford? Samford gave the Seminoles trouble and they had to pull the game out in the second half. That’s embarrassing after an awful week one performance against Virginia Tech.
Purdue – An 0-2 start and a loss to Eastern Michigan, a team that never beats the Big Ten, is rough. The Boilermakers just don’t look like a good football team.
Arizona – An 0-2 start for Kevin Sumlin. This is a team that looks lost when Khalil Tate can’t pull out miracles.
Kansas State – I thought the Wildcats would put up a better fight against an SEC team at home. In fact I thought they might pull an upset, but this looks like a very average football team.
Ole Miss' defense – Giving up 41 points to Southern Illinois is a bit concerning, no?
Texas – A touchdown win over Tulsa wasn’t the inspired response to the loss to Maryland I expected. This could be a bad football team.
3. MY TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD SHAQUEM GRIFFIN TAKE
I was wrong. I was very wrong and I’m here to admit it.
Following Shaquem Griffin's tremendous NFL Combine performance earlier this year, I said he wasn’t worth a draft pick. Unsurprisingly, I got a lot of hate for it. Jamal Adams from the New York Jets, among many others, gave me a very hard time about my comments.
My reasoning was simple. I figured Griffin, who has one hand but had played great in college, would be nothing better than a special teams player in the NFL and could be picked up as a free agent rather than drafted. Now, Griffin is starting at linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks after being drafted in the fourth round. He was Seattle's second-leading tackler Sunday in a 27-24 loss at Denver and everyone, and I mean everyone, is reminding me of how wrong I was. And I was wrong, that’s all there is to it.
Griffin has become one of the great stories of the start of the NFL season and I regret doubting him. So to Adams and the thousands of others who called me a fool back in March and continue to do so, here it is: I was wrong.
Here’s wishing him well as a big part of the Seahawks' defense this season and beyond.
