Group of 5: Five Up, Five Down for Week 2

There's an old coaching adage that says the most improvement in a football team comes between weeks one and two.  The validity of that statement will never be determined, but some teams looked really good in the second week of college football. Meanwhile, other teams look to have gotten worse in the last week.

Time will tell if the second week for many teams was just a blip on the radar or the start of a trend. But right now in the present, we need to analyze and over-react because we don't have future-telling devices. Do you? Of course you don't, unless magic is real, which we don't know since we don't have any future-telling devices. Checkmate.

Five Up

1. Houston's Big Win At Louisville

It's all about the H! It's all about the H! The Tom Herman era in H-Town has followed up a grandiose vision for the program with a surprise 34-31 win at Louisville. The Cardinals, who might have been looking forward to a Thursday night showdown with Clemson, couldn't stop the Cougars balanced attack as Houston got a signature win. The Cougars are now vaulted up as American Athletic West Division favorites.

2. Toledo And Bowling Green Claim SEC and B1G Scalps

The MAC and specifically the state of the Ohio claimed two big wins on Saturday. Toledo went down to piggy country and made Bret Bielema choke on his words as the Rockets took home a 16-12 win over Arkansas in Little Rock. Bowling Green flexed strong late, outscoring Maryland 28-7 in the fourth quarter, running away to the tune of a 48-27 thumping of the Terrapins. These two teams meet for some Tuesday night MACtion in November.

3. Western Kentucky and Louisiana Tech Put On A Show

The Hilltoppers and Bulldogs gave what could be a preview of the Conference USA title game last Thursday night. WKU took the 41-38 victory and looks to add to their Access Bowl resume this weekend at Indiana. LaTech goes to Kansas State in what could be an interesting game.

4. Georgia Southern Sinks The Boat

After looking completely anemic on offense in their 44-0 loss at West Virginia, the Eagles seemed to figure it out last Saturday hosting Western Michigan. Southern kept things on the ground to a tune of 413 rushing yards (only seven yards passing) in a 43-17 rout of the Broncos. That sound you hear is the rest of the Sun Belt gulping.

5. Eastern Michigan And Georgia State Historic Road Wins On The Same Day

It's like the planets aligning and then singing a show tune together. Eastern Michigan claimed their first non-conference road win in 27 years with a 48-29 beat down on Wyoming in Laramie. Yes, 27 years. Meanwhile in a Sun Belt pillow fight in Las Cruces, Georgia State survived a missed field goal to beat New Mexico State 34-32 and claim their first-ever win over an FBS foe. FYI, G-State has been FBS for three seasons now.

Honorable Mention: Temple beating Cincy, BYU's late-game magic and Arkansas State's near-hit of Missouri.

Five Down

1. Mountain West Goes 0-10 In Non-Conference Action

Despite playing a bevy of tough opponents, it still deserves mention that the Mountain West didn't win a single non-conference game in Week 2. From BYU's miracle win over Boise State to Fresno's 73-21 drubbing at the hands of Ole Miss to Minnesota's overtime escape of Colorado State, it seemed like everyone with a MWC patch had some voodoo attached to it. However, one performance stood out above the rest.

2. Wyoming Deserves Its Own Point For Being Terrible

Craig Bohl won three straight National Titles at North Dakota State before taking over at Wyoming. He might be longing for those days now as his Cowboys are 0-2 with home losses to FCS North Dakota (the former Sioux, not the Bison) and the aforementioned historic whupping by Eastern Michigan this past weekend. The Pokes have a chance to turn things around as they travel to the Palouse for a pillow fight with Washington State this Saturday.

3. Army Falls Flat Again

After losing 37-35 to FCS Fordham, another struggling second-year head coach in Jeff Monken took his West Point cadets traveled to UConn. In another close  game, the Huskies took it 22-17 and dented the Black Knight's chances of a winning record. Army hosts Wake Forest this weekend in a game no one wants to see before traveling to finally-up Eastern Michigan.

4. Idaho Being Idaho

Things aren't going well in Moscow. A 59-9 drubbing by USC this past weekend put the Vandals at 0-2. A must-win game versus Wofford looms in the third week. Meanwhile, head coach Paul Petrino is wondering if he can return more stolen merchandise is exchange for a win.

5. UTEP vs New Mexico State This Weekend

Two schools separated by 40 miles will meet this weekend and boy it will be rough. NMSU gave Georgia State their first-ever FBS win 34-32 while UTEP lost their first two games to Arkansas and Texas Tech by a combined score of 117-33. It's the stoppable force versus the movable object for the second straight week in Las Cruces.

Honorable Mention: BYU's nut shots, UCF's 0-2 start, Marshall's rivalry choke.