3 College football teams trending up, and 3 trending down after Week 2

In today’s hyper-sensationalized sports media world, the hot takes rule the airwaves.

However, the hottest takes are reserved for the group chats.

That is where the takes are workshopped and refined, and the strongest of arguments are polished -- or even dismissed -- before reaching the pages of the Internet, or the various corners of the podcasting world.

The group chats were not kind to Billy Napier and the Florida Gators on Saturday evening.

After beginning the year with a win over Long Island, the Gators welcomed USF to The Swamp on Saturday. But instead of putting together a command performance, the Gators wilted, dropping a shocker to the Bulls by a final score of 18-16, when Nico Gramatica converted a 20-yard field goal as time expired.

The group chats were filled with ridicule for Napier’s coaching, with one exchange demanding that Florida fire him before he is allowed to board the plane home. Oh, and lest you believe that person forgot the game was in Gainesville, that request was immediately followed with “I know they’re in Gainesville. Just drive him to the tarmac and fire him.”

Offensive play-calling was also questioned, with the Gators’ predictability on third-down passing concepts a flash point.

Then there was this: The 15-yard personal foul penalty handed out to defensive lineman Brandon Bett on USF’s final possession. The penalty came when Bett spat at a South Florida player. Normally one might pass this off as an isolated incident that is hard to hang on the coaching staff, but with that coming less than 36 hours after Jalen Carter’s loogie heard around the world just after kickoff between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, it is hard to imagine the coaching staff did not pull the Gators together -- as every college program likely did on Friday -- and remind their players about keeping their cool.

Either they failed to impart that message, or the message did not have the desired effect.

Whatever the case, the penalty sparked USF’s game-winning drive, dropping the Gators to 1-1 on the young season. The last time the Gators began a year 2-0? That came in 2021, in Dan Mullen’s last year with the program.

Every year under Napier, they have started 1-1. Saturday’s loss to South Florida saw the Gators tumble out of the Top 25 when it released on Sunday.

The group chats will remain unkind until the record improves. But with Florida’s upcoming schedule (the Gators have road games against LSU and Miami before taking on Texas at home), it is hard to see things changing anytime soon.

Napier might have kept his job into 2025, but with how this season has started and what awaits Florida over the next month, things are looking bleak down in The Swamp.

Sticking with the game in The Swamp, how about the Bulls?

For the second week in a row, USF knocked off a ranked team. South Florida defeated then-No. 25 Boise State to begin the season, and then went into Gainesville and beat the Gators, who were ranked No. 13 heading into this week.

And talk about the scenes in the press box:

According to ESPN, that makes the Bulls just the fourth team since 1936 to win its first two games of a season against opponents ranked in the AP Top 25. The other three teams? Oregon State in 2012, East Carolina in 2008, and North Carolina back in 1976.

Up next? Miami, who will likely remain in the Top 5 after their blowout win Saturday night over Bethune-Cookman.

But for now, the Bulls are ranked 18th in the nation, in the new AP Top 25 that came out Sunday.

Illinois opened its season with a commanding 52-3 win at home over Western Illinois.

They almost matched those 52 points on the road Saturday, with a 45-19 win over Duke in Durham.

The 11th-ranked Fighting Illini had just a 14-13 lead at the halftime break, but Illinois broke things open in the second half, outscoring the Blue Devils 31-6 over the final 30 minutes of football. Quarterback Luke Altmeyer threw a pair of touchdowns in the second half and finished the day having completed 22-of-31 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns.

And those 45 points are the most the Illini have scored on the road since the 2015 season.

As things stand right now, Illinois has just a pair of ranked teams remaining on its schedule: 23rd-ranked Indiana, who they will visit in a few weeks, and the top-ranked Buckeyes, who will head to Champaign in early October. That sets up nicely for the Illini to make a deep run this season.

Provided they continue playing the way they have over the past two weeks.

After his second touchdown run staked SMU to a 38-24 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the broadcast team on the CW Network named Mustangs running back TJ Harden the player of the game.

In hindsight, that might have been an early call.

Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson engineered a dramatic comeback for the Bears, throwing a pair of touchdowns in the final six minutes to tie the game late in regulation. SMU had a chance to win the game on the final play, but kicker Collin Rogers’ long field goal attempt started off to the right and never had a chance.

The teams traded scores to open overtime, but after Rogers left another kick wide to the right, Baylor had a chance for the win. Their possession stalled, and on came redshirt freshman Connor Hawkins to attempt a 27-yard field goal.

SMU burned a timeout to test the redshirt freshman’s nerves, but when play resumed, Hawkins split the uprights and Bayor had won by the final score of 48-45:

That kick extended Baylor’s winning streak over SMU to 14 games.

The loss puts an early dent in SMU’s hopes of another run at the College Football Playoff, as the Mustangs still have Clemson and Miami on their schedule, two teams ranked in the top ten right now.

Saturday’s marquee game came to us from Norman, where the 18th-ranked Sooners hosted the 15th-ranked Michigan Wolverines.

Despite their best efforts to make it close -- Oklahoma had several miscues on Saturday night, including a botched punt return and an interception thrown by John Mateer -- the Sooners delivered a comfortable 24-13 victory over the Wolverines.

Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood struggled in his first road start, completing just 9-of-24 passes for 142 yards, and the Wolverines kept things rather conservative, opting for field goals of 42 and 35 yards late in the third quarter that only allowed them to chip away at Oklahoma’s lead but not truly narrow the gap.

As for the Sooners, beating Michigan in 2025 might not carry the weight it might have had a few seasons ago, as the Wolverines are still rebuilding after a down campaign a season ago. But a win over a Top 25 team still matters, especially on a Saturday night in September.

Arizona State went on the road Saturday night to take on a Mississippi State team that finished 0-8 in the SEC last season, and 2-10 overall.

But the Sun Devils got off to a brutal start, trailing the Bulldogs 17-0 early in the second quarter. The visitors scored 17 unanswered points to pull even in the fourth quarter when Sam Leavitt connected with Jordyn Tyson on a short touchdown pass.

A little later in the fourth quarter, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham faced a decision.

The Sun Devils had driven nearly the length of the field and faced a 4th-and-goal at the Bulldogs’ 1-yard line. With just 98 seconds remaining, Dillingham could have left his offense on the field and tried to punch it in from three feet away, or he could have sent his kicker onto the field to convert the short field goal and take a three-point lead.

He opted for the field goal, and Jesus Gomez converted from just 18 yards out to spot Arizona State to a 20-17 lead.

The football gods, however, might not have agreed with the decision:

Blake Shapen connected with Brenen Thompson on a 58-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs the lead, and Leavitt was intercepted on Arizona State’s final offensive play to end any chance of a comeback.

Instead of securing a road win over an SEC team, the Sun Devils now have to wonder what might have been.

On the other side of the field, how about the Bulldogs? After winning just two games a season ago -- one of which was against FCS program Eastern Kentucky and the other came over Massachusetts -- Mississippi State is out to a 2-0 start.

And with games against Alcorn State and Northern Illinois up next, the Bulldogs could very well be 4-0 when they open up SEC play.

A bowl game might still be too ambitious for Mississippi State, but for at least a few more weeks, Bulldogs fans can dare to dream.