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Players of the week

Players of the week · College · Week 2

College football players of the week: Week 2, 2026

Oklahoma State's upset of No. 6 Oregon supplied the offensive and special teams winners. Cal's Kingston Lopa intercepted three passes at Syracuse, and the last two won the game.

Offense

Drew Mestemaker

QB · Oklahoma State

W Oklahoma State 39, Oregon 31 · vs No. 6 Oregon

26 of 43, 317 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; 6 rushes, 109 yards, 1 TD

426 yards of offense against a top-10 team in the biggest upset of the week. After Oregon went up 31-30, his 10-yard touchdown run with 10:21 left put Oklahoma State ahead for good. Two interceptions, one returned 96 yards for a touchdown, keep it from being a clean game, but nobody else did this much against a team this good.

Runner-up: Jesse Legree, Oregon State: 8 catches, 240 yards, 2 TD in a 35-24 loss to No. 13 Texas Tech

Walter Camp agreed · Box score

Defense

Kingston Lopa

DB · California

W California 21, Syracuse 18 · at Syracuse

5 tackles, 3 INT (77 return yards), 1 pick-six

Three interceptions, and the last two decided the game. His 24-yard pick-six with 4:51 left put Cal up 21-18, and his third interception, with 54 seconds left, ended Syracuse's last drive. He's the first Cal player with three interceptions in a game since Jaylinn Hawkins in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl.

Runner-up: Alonzo Jackson Jr., Louisiana Tech: 12 tackles, 3 sacks, 3.5 TFL in a 45-14 loss at No. 8 LSU

Walter Camp agreed · Box score

Special teams

Sam Keltner

K · Oklahoma State

W Oklahoma State 39, Oregon 31 · vs No. 6 Oregon

4 of 4 field goals (20, 24, 44 and 31 yards), 3 of 3 extra points, 15 points

Fifteen points and no misses in an eight-point upset of a top-10 team. His 31-yarder with 3:11 left made it 39-31, so Oregon needed a touchdown and a two-point conversion just to tie.

Runner-up: Caden Buhr, Iowa: 3 of 3 field goals, including a 42-yard game-winner with 15 seconds left, in a 16-13 win over Iowa State

Box score

How we pick

One player per slot, judged the way the power rankings judge teams: what happened on the field, against whom and where. Production counts, and so does the opponent. A big game against a good defense or on the road beats the same numbers at home against a bad one, and a play that decided the game beats one that padded a lead. A great game in a loss can still win if nothing else comes close.

NFL awards follow the league's format, AFC and NFC, and go up on Tuesday morning, a day before the league names its own. College awards are national and go up on Sunday morning. Where there's an official pick (the NFL's, or Walter Camp's for college offense and defense), it's listed under ours, agree or not.

Sources: Walter Camp: Week 2 national players of the week · Cal postgame notes. Stat lines from each game's ESPN box score.

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