College Football Overtime: Oklahoma's offseason gamble, USF's upset over Florida top Week 2 takeaways

You hear that? That's the sound of cowbells ringing through your TV sets as Mississippi State upset No. 12 Arizona State Saturday evening. Frankly, it's the melody of college football. The vibrations and sound waves of the unexpected.

And there was plenty of that Saturday!

A massive upset in Gainesville ratcheted up the hot seat conversation around Billy Napier once again. Oregon beat Oklahoma State so soundly that college football's second-longest tenured coach is facing serious questions about his future.

Army, a week after a loss to an FCS opponent, knocked off Kansas State. Last year's playoff darling, SMU, blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to Baylor. UCLA gambled on Nico Iamaleava this offseason but came up bankrupt in Las Vegas against UNLV.

It was a loaded Week 2, and you know how this works: Let's run through College Football Overtime, highlighting everything you need to know from the week that was in college football.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY: OKLAHOMA'S WASHINGTON STATE GAMBLE PAYS OFF

Ten months ago, Oklahoma went all in with a plan: It would pay millions for a 29-year-old offensive coordinator to fix the broken pieces of a once-proud offensive attack. Then it would pay millions more to get that coordinator his hand-picked quarterback, a former three-star recruit who didn't pick up a FBS offer until a few days before the Early Signing Period of his high school senior year.

It was $1.5 million for Arbuckle to pry him from Washington State.

Sources indicated $2-plus million for Mateer in what was, at the time, close to a record-setting NIL deal.

All in an effort to turn around Brent Venables' tenure.

Arbuckle and Mateer are flash. They promise passing yards, big plays and production. But the biggest sign that their combination is working for Oklahoma came with 10 minutes remaining against No. 15 Michigan. The No. 18 Sooners held an eight-point lead and wanted to close the game. Sixteen plays, 78 yards and eight-and-a-half minutes later, they kicked a field goal to go up 11.

It wasn't pretty. There were a few eyebrow-raising throws by Mateer. There were ineffective running plays and plenty of shots on Oklahoma's high-priced quarterback, who often called his own number to get the yardage that the Sooners needed. But Oklahoma scored. It won, too, beating the Wolverines (1-1) 24-13 and advancing to 2-0 with one of the most consequential victories of Venables' time in Norman.

"That's what it's all about," Mateer told ESPN postgame of Oklahoma's final drive. "It's not flashy stuff. It's the gritty hard work on that drive and the urgency. That's football."

There are areas of concern for Oklahoma. Mateer carried the ball 19 times. No other Sooner toted more than nine. That's not sustainable. Oklahoma's other high-priced addition, Cal running back transfer Jaydn Ott, continues to nurse an injury that limited him to four carries. A reworked offensive line only helped average 3.5 yards a tote, and Mateer found himself under a fair amount of pressure.

So often, however, football comes down to QB1. Oklahoma paid handsomely to get Washington State's coordinator-quarterback combo. It made all the difference against the Wolverines.

And if the Sooners continue to win this season, it'll be in large part because of Mateer and Arbuckle, the dueling engines that are guiding a work-in-progress Oklahoma offensive attack.

REPORT CARD

A. USF

There's only one team in the FBS with two top 25 wins early this season: USF.

The Bulls opened with an emphatic four-touchdown win over then-No. 25 Boise State and continued that momentum Saturday with an 18-16 upset of No. 13 Florida, securing the victory with a field goal as time expired.

Florida fans will remember the loss for questionable play-calling down the stretch and a spitting penalty that will go down in shoe-toss-like infamy.

But for the Bulls (2-0), the through line is simple: It's their first win over Florida (1-1) in program history and an early-season College Football Playoff statement.

This is a USF team that went a disappointing 7-6 a season ago. Injuries, including to star quarterback Byrum Brown, derailed the 2024 season for what was a buzzy preseason American pick.

Most Group of Six teams experience an exodus after a season like that. The Bulls kept most of the roster together, losing only a handful of starting-caliber players to the transfer portal and returning the 14th-most production in the FBS.

Now, with a healthy Brown and much-improved defense, USF is emerging as a real national factor. Alex Golesh's offenses always put up points. If the defense plays like that all season, the Bulls are a real threat to reach the playoff.

Get the latest football and recruiting scoop on your favorite college team today.

Don't be surprised to see Golesh's name pop up on a lot of coaching search short lists this winter, too.

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