Michigan and Notre Dame are far from playoff ready. Especially on offense.

The two top-10 teams will tumble down the AP Top 25 on Sunday after embarrassing losses. The No. 10 Wolverines were manhandled by No. 3 Texas in a 31-12 loss that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. And No. 5 Notre Dame followed up its 10-point win at Texas A&M in Week 1 with an embarrassing 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois. The Fighting Irish entered the game as 28.5-point favorites.

Both teams sit 1-1 largely because of their inability to pass the football effectively. Michigan didn’t add a transfer after J.J. McCarthy’s departure to the NFL and held a quarterback competition between Davis Warren and Alex Orji. After adding a transfer QB in Sam Hartman a season ago, Notre Dame went the transfer route again and signed Duke’s Riley Leonard for 2024. In addition to Leonard, Notre Dame re-hired former offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock from LSU, where he coordinated an offense that included Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and first-round picks Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas in 2023.

Neither Warren, Orji or Leonard has been an effective passer so far this season. Warren was named Michigan’s starter as Orji has seen limited playing time for the second straight season. After throwing for just 118 yards on 25 pass attempts against Fresno State, Warren wasn’t much better against the Longhorns. He was 22-of-33 passing for 204 yards, but many of those yards came after Texas went up 31-6. A big reason for that deficit? Warren’s two interceptions.

Warren’s story is phenomenal. The senior was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019 while he was in high school. He spent more than four months in the hospital getting treatments and is now starting games for the defending national champions. You cannot question his desire or perseverance.

But you can question the performance of the Michigan offense over the past two weeks. The Wolverines have scored just three touchdowns and 36 offensive points over the first two games of the season. Yes, Michigan lost a lot from its offense a season ago. Given the offseason change in Ann Arbor, it was realistic to expect some early growing pains as offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore took over as the team’s head coach.

It’s hard to find offensive bright spots, however. Jim Harbaugh’s offense was predicated on play-action pass plays off a dogged run game. So far, Michigan has recorded 57 carries for 228 yards. Are teams loading up even more to stop the run knowing that McCarthy is now in the NFL? Warren averaged 4.7 yards a pass against Fresno State and only surpassed that mark against Texas after the Longhorns knew the game was out of reach.

Leonard, meanwhile, has not displayed the traits that make some draft analysts believe he’s a possible first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s averaging just over five yards per pass attempt over the first two games of the season and his second interception of the game on Saturday ended up being the pivotal moment.

With Notre Dame facing a second-and-short up by one with less than six minutes to go, Leonard fired this pass across the middle into a two-high safety look.

Northern Illinois then drove down the field and kicked the go-ahead field goal with 31 seconds to go.

The expanded playoff isn’t out of reach for either team. Alabama made the playoff a season ago after losing in Week 2. Notre Dame has a schedule that includes just two top-25 teams the rest of the season as of Saturday and Michigan will have opportunities for big wins against USC, Oregon and Ohio State.

But the margin for error for either team is pretty much zero. We’re not counting out Notre Dame and Michigan from the postseason, but we’re a lot more pessimistic than we were at the start of the season unless the passing offenses take a huge step forward.

Here are this week’s winners and losers.

Winners

Syracuse QB Kyle McCord: The Orange took down No. 23 Georgia Tech 31-28 on Saturday thanks to a strong performance by the former Ohio State QB. McCord was 32-of-46 passing for 381 yards and four touchdowns. McCord threw his first two TDs to Trebor Pena before hitting Oronde Gadsden II for two more scores. His TD throw to Gadsden with 8:39 to go turned out to be the winning score as Syracuse ran out the clock after Tech cut the lead to three with 2:31 to go.

Army: The Black Knights had no issue with Florida Atlantic. Army won 24-7 as it ran 58 times for 405 yards. FAU was helpless to stop Army’s rushing attack and also allowed a 44-yard TD pass on Bryson Daily’s only completion of the day.

The real highlight came from backup punter Matthew Rhodes, however. Look at his wheels on this 23-yard fake punt TD.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks were dominant on defense in a 31-6 drubbing of Kentucky in the first SEC game of the season. Kentucky quarterbacks Brock Vandagriff and Gavin Wimsatt were just 6-of-17 for 44 yards as South Carolina recorded five sacks and forced two turnovers. It was a huge win for South Carolina and coach Shane Beamer as the team looks to bounce back from a disappointing 5-7 season in 2023.

Louisiana-Monroe coach Bryant Vincent: The Warhawks got a huge 32-6 win over UAB. The loss drops UAB to 3-9 against FBS opponents in former NFL coach Trent Dilfer’s time as head coach. Dilfer was hired ahead of the 2023 season after Vincent spent 2022 as the team’s interim coach when he was promoted following Bill Clark’s retirement. Instead of keeping Vincent after a 7-6 season, UAB chose Dilfer. On Saturday, Vincent got a bit of revenge.

Losers

Cincinnati: Things were looking good for the Bearcats during the third quarter of their game against Pitt. Cincy had a 27-6 lead and looked to be on the way to an easy win. Instead, Pitt scored 22 unanswered points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to steal a 28-27 win. Pitt’s game-winning points came with 17 seconds left on a 35-yard field goal by Ben Sauls as Cincinnati’s final four possessions ended in three punts and last-ditch fumble as time expired.

Auburn: The Tigers’ offense is far from a finished product in Hugh Freeze’s second season. Cal went to Auburn and got a 21-14 win on Saturday after forcing five Auburn turnovers. The Tigers fumbled once and QB Payton Thorne threw four interceptions. His final two picks came on Auburn’s last two drives of the game after the Tigers cut the Cal lead to seven with 6:06 to go. With a schedule that includes Oklahoma, Georgia, Missouri and Alabama, a win over Cal would have been a huge step for bowl eligibility. Instead, Auburn needs to get at least three wins in the SEC to make the postseason.

Arkansas: You were so, so close, Razorbacks. Arkansas was up 21-7 on Oklahoma State in the first half before the Hogs were outscored 24-10 in the second half in a 39-31 OSU win in double overtime. OSU’s first score came on a pick-six and Arkansas fumbled twice in the second half. Those turnovers led to 10 points by the Cowboys as they slowly crept back into the game. It’s a bad loss for the Razorbacks, but there’s still some reason for optimism. Oklahoma State is a Big 12 title contender and Bobby Petrino’s offense is working. Arkansas racked up 648 yards of total offense after scoring 10 TDs in 10 possessions in Week 1.

In roughly 30 minutes, the Huskies will clash with Eastern Michigan in attempt to go 2-0. The game will be on the Big Ten Network. As noted in the open thread posted earlier, this is your spot to comment on the game and follow along during all of the action with your fellow Husky fans.

We will be extremely loose with the definition of trolling and any offenders will be banned. Also, any comments directed at other posters will be deleted and the offenders may be placed on pre-moderate mode.

The Huskies go into the game as 25-point favorites, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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Eastern Michigan Offensive Preview

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Eastern Michigan Defensive Preview

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Opponent Q&A

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The Prediction

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How to Watch

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Go Dawgs!

Spectators at the University of Michigan football game against Texas on Saturday will be reminded of a different rival before the game: Ohio State. 

At the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, an aerial banner paid for by the Democratic National Committee will read: “JD Vance

From the tailgates until kickoff, fans at four separate college football games in battleground states on Saturday will see aerial banners paid for by the Democratic National Committee, according to details first shared with CBS News. 

The trolling by the DNC comes as they look to keep the election front-of-mind for battleground state voters, particularly younger voters. 

Other banners about Project 2025 will fly over the University of Georgia vs. Tennessee Tech and the Pennsylvania State vs Bowling Green games. At the University of Wisconsin vs. South Dakota game in Madison, Wisconsin, the banner will say: “Jump Around! Beat Trump + Project 2025,” referencing the football team’s fourth-quarter tradition.

“The DNC is reaching voters where they are,” DNC spokesperson Abhi Rahman told CBS News. “These banners carry a message that resonates with fans and reminds them that the most important contest is still to come in November.”

Trump and his campaign have sought to distance themselves from Project 2025, though a CBS News analysis has found hundreds of its proposals match Trump’s past and proposed campaign promises.

Vance has alluded to the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry during his own campaign stops in Michigan.

“To my Ohio brethren, guys, we gotta win Michigan. That’s the most important thing this election cycle,” he said at a July event in Grand Rapids. 

Other outside political groups are also looking to tap into the intersection of college sports and politics. 

NextGen America, a non-partisan youth voter engagement organization, is paying hundreds of student-athletes in the battleground states to get them to use their platforms to encourage others to vote.

The payment makes them one of the first political organizations to utilize the “Name, Image, and Likeness” (NIL) ruling that enables athletes to monetize their personal brand. 

“Sports is a fantastic way of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist of the nation,” NextGen America Vice President of Communications Antion Arellano told CBS News. 

The battle over the young vote

Sustaining the support President Biden received from college-aged voters in 2020 is key for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. 

In 2020, Mr. Biden easily garnered more support from voters 18 to 24 years old than former President Donald Trump (65%) as well as those between 25 to 29 (54%), according to a CBS News exit poll. Voters under 30 years old made up 38% of new voters in that election, according to the Pew Research Center.

But comparatively, younger voters turn out at significantly lower numbers than older voters. 

Voter turnout in the 2020 elections for those between the ages of 18 to 24 was just 51.4%, compared to 76% for those between 65 to 74 years old, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This was an increase from 2016 when 46.1% of those between 18 and 29 years old turned out to vote. 

Both candidates are being backed by college outreach programs.

Turning Point USA, an organization founded for outreach to young conservative voters, has hosted Trump and Vance at multiple events. 

The group said they’ve focused on outreach to Greek life on Arizona and Wisconsin campuses, in addition to having booths at tailgates during college gamedays. Turning Point USA’s founder, Charlie Kirk, also plans to go to over 22 campuses in swing states. Some of his visits so far to Arizona and Wisconsin have been open debates with students, and the organization says it has led to hundreds of new voter registrations. 

Earlier this month, the Harris campaign launched a “Back-to-School” campaign targeting 150 college campuses in the battleground states with social media and campus newspaper ads, visits from surrogates, as well as a doubling of its staff dedicated to youth engagement. They’re also running ads during college football games this fall. 

Likely voters under 30 years old heavily lean towards Harris, according to an August CBS News poll. There has also been a 175% increase in young Black women registering to vote since the vice president became the nominee, according to data firm TargetSmart.

But young voters were also the group with the lowest marks in terms of saying they “definitely” will vote in November, according to the CBS News poll.

Engagement with social media influencers and content creators has also been frequent this cycle. The Democratic National Convention credentialed more than 200 influencers to attend in person, with some interviewing Harris or her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 

Trump himself has appeared on multiple podcasts or streaming shows geared toward younger audiences. 

Earlier this summer, he appeared on internet celebrity Adin Ross’ stream. The appearance was panned by Democratic critics who pointed to Ross’ show hosting white supremacist Nick Fuentes, as well as his ties to social media influencer Andrew Tate, who has faced allegations of human trafficking with minors. 

“Make the move now, all you young people,” Trump told viewers on Ross’ show.