College football's Week 2 reshuffles the national order as Texas and Oklahoma State land defining wins
The second week of the 2026 college football season delivered a Saturday that rendered preseason rankings academic. No. 1 Ohio State, No. 6 Oregon, and No. 11 Oklahoma all fell, and the Big Ten conference had few clean answers by…
Key takeaways
- In Week 2 of the 2026 college football season, No. 1 Ohio State, No. 6 Oregon, and No. 11 Oklahoma all lost.
- Texas rallied from a 23-3 fourth-quarter deficit, led by quarterback Arch Manning's three scoring drives, to beat Ohio State in Austin.
- Oklahoma State, which had lost 21 straight games to FBS opponents, upset No. 6 Oregon 39-31 for coach Eric Morris's biggest win.
- Michigan's win over No. 11 Oklahoma in Ann Arbor was the result that most closely matched preseason expectations.
- The upcoming week centers on Lane Kiffin's return to Ole Miss as LSU's head coach.
The second week of the 2026 college football season delivered a Saturday that rendered preseason rankings academic. No. 1 Ohio State, No. 6 Oregon, and No. 11 Oklahoma all fell, and the Big Ten conference had few clean answers by the time the final whistles sounded, against the backdrop of upsets spread across multiple venues and time zones.
The Texas result commanded most of the attention. Ohio State held a 23-3 lead entering the fourth quarter at DKR Stadium in Austin, and at the moment the stadium speakers began playing "Don't Stop Believing," little inside the press box suggested belief was warranted. Quarterback Arch Manning settled that debate. He led three scoring drives spanning more than ten plays each, converting a 20-point deficit into a Texas win and sending Ohio State's travelling supporters into a state of shock. Manning said afterward that last year's game against the Buckeyes had given him nightmares. Saturday in Austin gave him something different to think about.
Oregon's afternoon in Stillwater
The Oklahoma State result carries its own weight because of the surrounding context. The Cowboys had dropped 21 consecutive games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents and entered the week having lost to Tulsa the previous Saturday. Eric Morris, in his first year as Oklahoma State's head coach, collected the biggest win of his tenure in a 39-31 victory over the sixth-ranked Ducks. That scoreline needs a qualifier the source supplies: fourteen of Oregon's points came off turnovers, meaning Dan Lanning's offense was not operating freely in Stillwater. An expensive roster absorbed an early loss, and preparation questions now follow the Ducks into the coming week.
Michigan's win over Oklahoma in Ann Arbor reads, by contrast, as the Saturday result that tracked most closely to what the preseason anticipated. The Big Ten exits Week 2 with fewer ranked teams and more open questions than it carried into the weekend.
Lane Kiffin heads back to Oxford
The week ahead centers on Lane Kiffin's return to Ole Miss as head coach of LSU. Kiffin's departure from Oxford occupied offseason conversation for close to ten months, and the reunion in Mississippi is expected to generate a heat of its own. SMU faces Louisville and Houston meets Texas Tech on the broader schedule, but Oxford is where the week's highest temperature is concentrated.
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