Football Chaos Is Here: Texas Stuns Ohio State, Oregon Crashes & Denver Gets Humbled

Football is officially back because we have reached the part of the season where nothing makes sense anymore.

You spend an entire offseason convincing yourself you know what these teams are. You make preseason predictions. You look at rosters. You talk yourself into contenders. Then we get two weeks into college football and one week into the NFL and suddenly Texas is storming back against Ohio State, Oklahoma State is punking Oregon and the Denver Broncos look like they forgot everything that made them good last season.

So, yeah. Football is back.

Episode 290 of The Far End of the Bench had a little bit of everything. We had massive college football upsets, NFL Week 1 overreactions, the debut of Boom or Bust, fantasy Start/Sit, another week of NFL Pick’em and, of course, Player and Benchwarmer of the Week.

And somehow we're only two weeks into September.

Suggested alt text: FeOTB Episode 290 graphic featuring Texas vs. Ohio State, Oregon’s upset loss, Denver Broncos struggles and fantasy Boom or Bust.

Texas Finally Found Something More Important Than Hype

For about three quarters Saturday night, I was ready to have the exact same Texas conversation we've had for years.

Great recruiting. Great athletes. Great expectations.

Then the lights get really bright and you start waiting for Texas to Texas.

Ohio State looked like the better and more experienced team for most of the night. They built a 23-3 lead, Jeremiah Smith was making plays and Texas looked like it was going to spend another week answering questions about whether all the Arch Manning hype had gotten ahead of reality.

Then the fourth quarter happened.

Texas scored 21 unanswered points and somehow walked out with a 24-23 win.

The biggest thing I took away wasn't even one Arch Manning throw or one Steve Sarkisian play call.

It was belief.

That's something Texas has said it had before. There is a difference between telling everybody you believe and actually having proof.

This team has proof now.

When everything had gone wrong, when Ohio State had controlled most of the game and when Texas easily could have folded, they didn't. The running game came alive, Hollywood Smothers started making plays and Manning finally got the moment everybody has been waiting for.

And on the other side, I still don't understand why Ohio State stopped trying to bury them.

If you put one touchdown on the board in the second half, we're probably not even having this conversation. You don't need an 80-yard bomb when you're protecting a huge lead. Sometimes the knockout punch is a long drive where you hand the ball off, take eight minutes off the clock and finish in the end zone.

Maybe that's the former offensive lineman in me, but when you've got somebody down, finish the damn game.

Ohio State didn't.

Texas did.

That's the difference.

This Win Changes the Ceiling for Texas

There is also a bigger-picture reason this mattered more for Texas.

Ohio State can recover from this.

They fell to No. 6 and still have every opportunity to take care of business in the Big Ten. One early road loss to Texas isn't automatically destroying their season.

Texas needed the proof more.

The Longhorns still have an SEC schedule waiting for them. There will be more chances for this thing to go sideways. But now, when they get into another fourth-quarter fight, the locker room knows it has already done this once.

That's dangerous.

I came into the season thinking Texas had enough talent to be there at the end. After watching them actually survive one of these games, I'm expecting them to be playing for the SEC championship.

If they're not, I'll be disappointed.

That's how much one quarter changed my opinion.

Oregon Didn't Lose a Fluke — Oklahoma State Beat Them

If Texas-Ohio State was the comeback that made me believe in somebody, Oregon-Oklahoma State was the game that made me question everything.

I was watching before heading out to coach and genuinely had the same reaction for most of the first half:

What the hell is happening to Oregon?

This wasn't Oregon losing because of one weird bounce.

Oklahoma State beat them.

The Cowboys finished with 554 total yards while Oregon had 281. Drew Mestemaker threw for 317 yards and then added another 109 on the ground.

That should be the part that keeps Dan Lanning awake.

Oklahoma State came into this game carrying a massive losing streak against FBS opponents, and instead of Oregon walking into Stillwater and reminding everybody why it entered the year with championship expectations, the Ducks got pushed around.

And there might be an even bigger problem.

We talked on the show about the idea that opponents have started identifying tells in Oregon's offense, including things from Dante Moore's stance that can help defenses anticipate what is coming.

If defenses know what you're doing before the ball is snapped, your five-star talent doesn't matter nearly as much.

That's not a player problem anymore.

That's a coaching problem.

Oregon still has enough talent to fix this. I still believe Dan Lanning is capable of getting the ship going the right direction.

But there isn't much room left.

They've put bad football on tape twice now.

Do it again and we're not talking about a championship contender anymore. We're talking about a team trying to sneak into the back end of the playoff.

The Rankings Look Different — But We Still Don't Know Who Is Real

The new Top 10 looks like this:

1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Indiana
5. Miami
6. Ohio State
7. LSU
8. Ole Miss
9. Texas A&M
10. Alabama

Texas earned the No. 1 spot because somebody had to take it after Ohio State lost, but I'm not ready to declare the sport solved.

Not even close.

Give me another couple of weeks.

I still have questions about Notre Dame. I still have questions about Miami. Indiana has impressed me. Alabama has quietly started looking more like Alabama again. LSU and Ole Miss are about to give us another measuring stick.

That's what has made this college football season so much fun already.

We don't know.

And I'd much rather have this than spending three months pretending we already know which four schools are going to matter.

Denver Got Humbled — And It Wasn't Just Bo Nix

There are losses where you leave saying, “Whatever, it's Week 1.”

Then there are losses where a running back has more yards by himself than your entire offense.

Welcome back, Broncos football.

Kansas City beat Denver 31-10, Kenneth Walker III finished with 191 scrimmage yards, and the entire Denver offense finished with 176 total yards.

That's not a typo.

One dude outgained the whole offense.

I have liked Kenneth Walker going all the way back to Michigan State.

I did not expect Denver to make him look like Eric Dickerson.

The Broncos missed tackles all night, struggled to establish anything offensively and wasted one of the few gifts Patrick Mahomes gave them. When Denver got the interception and had a chance to turn the game back into something competitive, they couldn't capitalize.

That's where this game bothered me most.

Good teams punish you for mistakes.

Denver got handed an opportunity and basically gave it back.

Davis Webb's First Game Calling Plays Was Rough

I don't want to fire somebody after one game.

I also don't understand what the offensive plan was.

There was one touchdown drive where Denver ran the football, settled into the game and looked like an actual functioning offense.

Then we apparently decided we had seen enough of that.

Denver finished with only 15 rushing attempts.

Bo Nix was coming back from injury and clearly wasn't moving like the version of Bo we've watched before, yet Denver kept asking him to carry the offense.

At one point we're empty shotgun on third-and-one and trying to run Nix.

Why?

You have running backs.

Use them.

The frustrating part is how quickly this can still be fixed. Denver is 0-1. The season isn't over. I'm not doing the sports-radio thing where everybody is fired and the franchise is burning because one Monday night went badly.

But Jacksonville is coming to Denver next, and this schedule does not give you much time to figure yourself out.

If the same team shows up again, then I start getting worried.

Very worried.

Cincinnati Might Finally Have Something Resembling a Defense

Meanwhile, Cincinnati gave me something I haven't experienced very often over the last few years:

I watched the defense and didn't immediately assume disaster was coming.

Baby steps.

The Bengals forced four turnovers against Tampa Bay, and what impressed me wasn't that the defense suddenly became the 1985 Bears.

It didn't.

Tampa still moved the football.

The difference was that when the field started shrinking, Cincinnati started attacking instead of collapsing.

Myles Murphy forced a fumble. Demetrius Knight took one back for a touchdown. New faces were flying around. Dexter Lawrence changes what everybody around him can do because the offense has to account for him.

That's all I've wanted.

I don't need the Bengals to have the No. 1 defense.

I need them to stop making Joe Burrow score 40 to win a football game.

Is that too much to ask?

Apparently it has been.

Chase Brown also continues to look like a legitimate piece of this offense, and Cincinnati's ability to run the football could end up helping Burrow more than another 150-target season for one of his receivers.

If the Bengals can consistently run the ball and play competent defense, we are talking about a very different football team.

Boom or Bust Has Arrived

Fantasy football is supposed to make watching more games fun.

Instead, it mostly gives you eight additional reasons to be angry every Sunday.

So we debuted a new segment this week: Boom or Bust.

Simple rules.

Who carried your fantasy team?

And who made you stare at your lineup wondering why you voluntarily do this every year?

Jimmy's Boom: David Montgomery

This was exactly what I hoped I was drafting.

Montgomery wasn't ripping off six yards every carry, but he didn't need to. He scored three touchdowns, got involved in the passing game and was used more out of the backfield than I expected.

Houston needs this.

Run the football. Play defense. Make life easier on C.J. Stroud.

If Montgomery continues getting that workload and those goal-line opportunities, I don't need him to be the most explosive running back in football.

Just keep giving him the damn ball.

Jimmy's Bust: A.J. Brown

This one isn't really his fault.

He got hurt.

Fantasy football does not care about my feelings.

I drafted Brown expecting him to be my WR1. Instead, he gave me basically nothing before landing on IR and now I'm trying to rearrange a receiver room that already includes DK Metcalf doing his best impression of a brick wall.

That's a bust.

Maybe not because the player played badly.

But because my fantasy lineup definitely felt it.

Niko also highlighted Jalen Coker and Isaiah Likely as two early fantasy risers, with Likely becoming especially interesting in his new role with the Giants.

And yes, apparently Niko is already trying to turn his backup tight end into trade bait.

It took one week.

Fantasy season is officially here.

NFL WEEK 2 PICK'EM

Niko wasted absolutely no time putting pressure on me.

He starts the year 4-0.

I'm 2-2.

Great.

Exactly where I wanted to be.

Niko's Week 2 Picks

• Panthers over Falcons
• Buccaneers over Browns
• Eagles over Titans
• 49ers over Dolphins

Jimmy's Week 2 Picks

• Buccaneers over Browns
• Jaguars over Broncos
• Chargers over Raiders
• Cardinals over Seahawks

Yes, I picked Jacksonville over Denver.

No, I am not rooting against the Broncos.

This is what I call hedging my happiness.

If Denver finally looks like the team I expected them to be, fantastic. I lose one Pick'em game.

If Jacksonville does what it has weirdly managed to do to Denver throughout history, at least I get something out of the emotional damage.

The Chargers pick scares me for the exact reason everybody knows it should scare me.

They're the Chargers.

Saying they should win a game is basically sticking a fork into an outlet and acting shocked when electricity comes out.

But I'm doing it anyway.

This is why Niko is 4-0.

Fantasy Start/Sit: Don't Get Cute

Last week we kept coming back to one rule:

Don't get cute.

Play the guys you drafted.

One bad Sunday doesn't mean you blow up the roster.

But it can mean somebody loses a little playing time.

Egbuka or Parker Washington?

This was one of our better Week 2 debates.

Parker Washington had five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 and gets Denver.

Emeka Egbuka had five catches for 63 yards and gets Cincinnati.

Niko leaned Egbuka because he's becoming Tampa's primary option and Baker Mayfield is more likely to lock onto his top target, while Trevor Lawrence has more mouths to feed.

That's where I'd lean too.

Washington is tempting.

Egbuka feels safer.

How High Are We on David Montgomery?

After three touchdowns, Montgomery is obviously moving up.

The question is how far.

He's not suddenly jumping Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry and every elite running back after one week.

But he's absolutely becoming a player you should have a serious conversation about starting over that next tier.

My confidence is much higher than it was on draft night.

DK Metcalf and Marvin Harrison Jr. Need to Show Something

I'm not dropping either one after Week 1.

Especially Marvin Harrison Jr.

The name and upside still have too much value to just send him to waivers.

But I'm also not pretending the production has been acceptable.

If you're holding Harrison, I would at least see what the trade market looks like. If somebody still values him like the player everyone expected him to become, listen.

DK is in a similar spot.

The talent is there.

The production needs to show up.

Steelers D/ST Over Denver

This one hurt me to say.

If I had both defenses this week, I'm starting Pittsburgh.

Denver can earn the spot back.

That's how I look at it as a coach too. One bad game doesn't automatically cost you your job, but it can absolutely cost you some snaps.

After what we watched Monday night, the Broncos defense can sit on my fantasy bench for a week and think about what it did.

The Hardware: Players and Benchwarmers of the Week

Jimmy's Awards

Player of the Week: Kenneth Walker III

I hated every second of watching it.

I also can't pretend it didn't happen.

23 carries. 173 rushing yards. 191 scrimmage yards. Two touchdowns.

Kenneth Walker dominated Monday Night Football.

When one player outgains the entire opposing offense, you're getting the award.

Even if I have to say it through clenched teeth.

Benchwarmer of the Week: Oregon's Defense

There really wasn't another answer for me.

Oklahoma State had 554 yards.

Drew Mestemaker ran for over 100.

This is an Oregon defense with NFL talent that came back expecting to compete for something bigger.

Instead, they got punched in the mouth by a team everybody expected them to handle.

Go grab a seat.

Far end of the bench.

Niko's Awards

Player of the Week: Isaiah Likely

Niko went with one of his new favorite toys.

Likely put together eight receptions, 117 yards and two touchdowns and immediately looked like a major part of what the Giants want to do offensively.

Tight end production like that changes a fantasy lineup.

It can change an offense too.

Benchwarmer of the Week: Davis Webb

This was easy for Niko.

And after watching Monday night, I can't exactly fight him on it.

Again, nobody is demanding somebody lose his job after one game.

But if Denver keeps putting up performances where it has almost as many points as first downs, somebody else needs the play sheet.

Run the football.

Use the weapons you added.

Help your quarterback.

Football doesn't have to be that complicated.

Welcome Back to Football

This is why I love this part of the year.

Everything we thought we knew in August is already being challenged.

Texas finally proved it can survive the kind of game it used to lose.

Ohio State proved it still knows how to make things unnecessarily difficult.

Oregon suddenly has real problems.

The Broncos got humbled immediately.

The Bengals might have discovered defense.

Fantasy football has already taken years off my life.

And Niko is walking around 4-0 in Pick'em like he's never going to lose again.

We're only getting started.

Episode 290 of The Far End of the Bench is available now on YouTube and wherever you listen to the show. Subscribe to @FeOTBpod, follow along all season and, as always, come sit on the far end of the bench.