College Football Week 2: Notre Dame loses Malik Zaire, SEC loses respect

Gabrielle McMillen, Travis Durkee

College Football Week 2: Notre Dame loses Malik Zaire, SEC loses respect image

Each Sunday we'll provide you with the top story lines from the day's action, beginning with the top plays of the day, and look ahead to the next week's matchups.

On a Saturday full of marquee matchups, overtime thrillers and upsets, Notre Dame QB Malik Zaire’s fractured ankle stole headlines. 

MORE: Who is DeShone Kizer? | How Top 25 fared | Saturday's best players

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly revealed the diagnosis after the game before discussing backup DeShone Kizer, who led the No. 9 Irish to a 34-27 win over Virginia with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Will Fuller with just 12 second left in the game.

“He can win games for us,” Kelly said of Kizer, via ESPN.com . “But I want to win a championship with him. We need to get him to the next level.”

Zaire excelled in his short-lived opportunity under center in South Bend after taking over for Everett Golson, and now it’s time to find out if the move to Kizer will prove as fruitful.

“They made a great adjustment from Everett to Malik,” Kizer said, “and now hopefully they’ll adjust to me.”

While Notre Dame shuffled its depth chart, the highly touted SEC, which entered the week with 10 ranked teams, watched reputation shatter as several of its teams struggled.

No. 6 Auburn needed overtime to defeat FCS Jacksonville State, No. 21 Missouri struggled with Arkansas State, No. 23 Tennessee blew a 17-point lead against No. 19 Oklahoma before losing in double overtime and No. 18 Arkansas fell to unranked Toledo.

“I’m embarrassed for our fans,” Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said. “If there’s a silver lining in any of it, it’s not a conference loss.”

The loss was even more embarrassing for Bielema considering he bashed No. 1 Ohio State three days earlier for having a soft schedule. 

Ohio State beat Hawaii 38-0 Saturday.

Facts and figures

Kentucky won its first road SEC game in 20 years with a 26-22 triumph over South Carolina.

Louisville got off to another rough start, losing 34-31 to the Houston Cougars, who really know how to celebrate.

Strong and steady

Ohio State RB Ezekiel Elliott carried the football just 11 times in the Buckeyes' Week 1 win over Virginia Tech, but coach Urban Myer flipped the script in Week 2 giving Elliott 27 carries, which he converted in to 101 yards and three touchdowns. Elliott has 14 rushing scores in his last six games.

No. 5 Michigan State exacted revenge for last season’s loss against Oregeon with a 31-28 home win over the seventh-ranked Ducks. Spartans QB Connor Cook went 20 of 32 for 192 yards and two touchdowns. He was a bit excited after the win.

HAYES: Look what the Spartans are doing — what no one else is

“It feels so amazing,” Cook told ESPN. “Ever since the loss last year we highlighted this on our schedule. Our defense played their a— off. Our O-line blocked their butts off. Our running backs ran so hard. I’m so frigging happy right now.”

De'Veon Smith's three touchdowns paved the way for Jim Harbaugh's first win at Michigan. The junior running back ran for 126 yards on 23 carries to earn the touchdowns and caught the two point conversion.

Running back Dalvin Cook scored No. 11 Florida's State's first touchdown of the day with a 74-yard run, the longest of his career. He racked up 266 yards and scored three touchdowns in the Seminoles' 34-14 win against South Florida.

The unexpected

No. 6 Auburn's overtime 27-20 victory against Jacksonville State was a huge sigh of relief for Gus Malzahn and his coaching staff. The Tigers managed to tie Jacksonville State with less than a minute in the fourth quarter and secure another touchdown in overtime for the win. Auburn was originally predicted to win the game by a 47-point spread. 

After a tough loss to Alabama last week, Wisconsin shut out Miami (Ohio) 58-0. The Badgers held the Redhawks to minus-3 rushing yards and just 160 passing yards.

Did you see that?

Notre Dame lost QB Malik Zaire for the season Saturday with a fractured ankle, but backup DeShone Kizer gave the Irish hope with a game-winning bomb to Will Fuller with 12 seconds left to defeat Virginia.

Oregon State long snapper Ryan Navarro royally screwed up when he launched the ball far over punter Nick Porebski's head, resulting in a 48-yard loss for the Beavers.

Jim Harbaugh had his first tantrum of the season after Michigan was charged with a roughing the kicker penalty against Oregon State.

Virginia pulled of a sneaky trick play to score a 42-yard touchdown against No. 9 Notre Dame.

Florida running back Kelvin Taylor made a throat-slashing gesture after scoring a 7-yard touchdown in the team's 31-24 win over ECU. He was penalized 15 yards for the act, which really unsettled Florida coach Jim McElwain.

You can't do that

FSU defensive back Lamarcus Brutus was ejected from the game for targeting after he appeared to hit a USF player helmet-to-helmet during a punt return for the Seminoles.

Left tackle Laremy Tunsil missed his second straight game for No. 17 Ole Miss as a "precautionary measure." He is at the center of an NCAA investigation after his stepfather alleged Tunsil has had improper contact with NFL agents.

Lorenzo Carter, linebacker for No. 10 Georgia, was ejected for targeting Vanderbilt quarterback Johnny McCrary in the first quarter.

Next week's highlights (all times ET)

In-conference action kicks into high gear in Week 3, with three current top-25 matchups highlighting the competition.

Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m.:  Georgia Tech will travel to Notre Dame in a battle of unbeatens. The Yellow Jackets have been an offensive jaugernaut in their first two games, while the Irish will have backup QB DeShone Kizer under center for the first start of his career.

Auburn at LSU, 3:30 p.m.: LSU will host Auburn for its second top-25 SEC showdown in a row. If Auburn plays like it did against Jacksonville State, LSU should have no problem using running back Leonard Fournette to speed past a weak defense and easily agitating Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson.

HAYES: We were all fooled by Auburn hype

Ole Miss at Alabama, 9:15 p.m.:  Highlighting the evening is Alabama's first SEC matchup of the year when they host Ole Miss.

Gabrielle McMillen, Travis Durkee