Week 3 of the college football season is in the books! For those of you keeping track at home, my Top 25 this week contains:
10 teams from the SEC
3 from the Big Ten
5 from the ACC
3 from the Big 12
3 from the American
1 from C-USA???
3 Bulldogs
3 Tigers
1 Cougar
2 Officially sanctioned Native American tribes
0 Unofficial
5 Colors (Yellow, Golden, Crimson, Green X2)
4 weatherbased systems
Miami (FL) (3-0, 0-0, +268) - The Miami Hurricanes did not FAFO on Saturday, jumping right on their opponents, the Cinderella South Florida Bulls, and dominating them from beginning to end en route to a 49-12 win. The most impressive stat of the night was Miami holding USF to only 40 total rushing yards for the game on 27 attempts for an average of 1.5 yards per rush. The Hurricanes now have two impressive home wins, over Notre Dame (formerly coached by Lou Holtz) and South Florida (formerly coached by Lou’s son, Skip). They’ll get a chance to add to their resumé in the coming weeks, with big games scheduled ahead versus Florida and at Florida State.
Mississippi (3-0, 2-0, +251) - It’s best to think of this spot in the Power Rankings as reserved for the number one SEC team. For now, that team is the Mississippi Rebels, who outlasted the Arkansas Razorbacks 41-35, and now have two SEC wins, both by one score. Next week, the Rebels will be putting it all on the line against the Tulane Green Wave, in a game that has a lot more playoff implications now than I think anyone believed it would at the beginning of the season.
Iowa State (4-0, 1-0, +241) - One of the themes of Week 3 was power teams fucking around and looking a little sus against supposedly inferior competition. One of these culprits was the Iowa State Cyclones, who defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves 24-16. Iowa State needed all four quarters to put away Arkansas State, as they went into the 4th quarter only up 17-13. Nevertheless, the Cyclones are off to their second consecutive 4-0 start to the season, which is something they have never done before in their 133 years of playing football. They also maintain (for now) the inside track to the Big 12 Championship, as they have a favorable conference schedule ahead.
LSU (3-0, 1-0, +237) - Aside from maybe Miami, the LSU Tigers have been the most impressive team to me during the early stages of the season. They outlasted the Florida Gators in Baton Rouge 20-10, notably causing Florida quarterback DJ Lagway to throw five interceptions, and now get a warm-up game against Southeastern Louisiana before they travel to play Ole Miss.
And what about Florida? I honestly almost feel bad for the Gators (almost! I do not like the Gators!) with the absolutely brutal schedule that they have to play this year (rankings are my own, but the official rankings will tell you a similar story):
W vs FCS Long Island
L vs (10) South Florida
L at (4) LSU
At (1) Miami (FL)
Vs (57) Texas
At (6) Texas A&M
Vs (24) Mississippi St
Vs (17) Georgia
At (49) Kentucky
At (2) Mississippi
Vs (48) Tennessee
Vs (18) Florida St
It’s not a good sign when the easiest team left on your schedule is Texas.
North Carolina State (3-0, 1-0, +232) -
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Texas A&M (3-0, 0-0, +225) - Is Texas A&M the best college football team in the state of Texas? The Aggies got their signature win on Saturday night, winning a 41-40 barnburner against Notre Dame in the Game of the Year of the Week (Part Deux). I have tremendous respect for Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, who had his team go for it on 4th and 1 from the Texas A&M 18-yard line to set up the go-ahead touchdown instead of settling for the field goal. However, the Irish then had a bad snap/hold and missed their extra point kick, allowing the Aggies to drive 74 yards in 13 plays to score the winning touchdown AND extra point.
Notre Dame might now be the greatest 0-2 team in history. They have lost by 3 points on the road to a Top-5 team, and by 1 point at home to at least a Top-10 team. Their schedule gets significantly easier from here on out, but it may be too late for them in terms of the playoff race.
Ohio State (3-0, 0-0, +215) - Ohio State was another team that dicked around for a while on Saturday before finally putting away an inferior opponent. They beat the Ohio Bobcats of the MAC 37-9, but led at one point in the Third Quarter by only 13-9, and didn’t really put the game away until the 4th. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin was decent, going 25 /32 for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns, but also threw 2 interceptions. This might become an issue later on in the season. Just sayin’.
Ohio, meanwhile, have themselves in an interesting position. They didn’t embarrass themselves against Ohio State, they beat West Virginia, and they only lost to Rutgers by 3 points. I would expect Ohio to be contenders this year in the MAC, and keep your eye on them for some potentially hilarious late-season victory-by-transitive-property scenarios, since they’ve already beaten West Virginia, who just beat Pittsburgh.
Houston (3-0, 1-0, +198) - Is Houston the best college football team in the state of Texas? Probably not, but they looked very good in their Big 12 opener, a 36-20 win over the Colorado Buffaloes. Curiously, this is only the second ever meeting between Houston and Colorado, the other being a 29-17 Colorado victory in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. The Cougars turned what was a close game into a laugher in the second half, when they outscored the Buffaloes 20-6, and caused two interceptions and a turnover on downs. Houston gets a bye next week before they travel to Corvallis to take on the sadsack Oregon State Beavers, followed by a key Texas showdown against rivals Tech!
Georgia Tech (3-0, 1-0, +186) - One of the great things about college football is definitely the “Any Given Sunday” factor; that even a week of games that might look a little boring on paper can turn out and give you a slate of great games. This was true of the Georgia Tech-Clemson game, in which Tech managed to pull out a 24-21 win over the Tigers. And in a season that has had us see more than our fair share of botched end-of-game clock management, a special shout-out ought to go out to Georgia Tech coach Brent Key. After Clemson scored a touchdown to tie the game with 3:26 left, the Yellow Jackets executed a 10-play, 38-yard drive that ended with kicker Aidan Birr hitting a 55-yard field goal - the longest game winning field goal in Georgia Tech history. Tech also ran an incredibly clean game, especially for their style of play, committing 0 turnovers and only 3 penalties for 26 yards.
South Florida (2-1, 0-0, +182)
Auburn (3-0, 0-0, +167)
Oklahoma (3-0, 0-0, +166)
Utah (3-0, 0-0, +162)
Vanderbilt (3-0, 1-0, +161)
Tulane (3-0, 0-0, +158)
California (3-0, 0-0, +156) - Pac-12 After Dark is alive and well in Berkeley! Yes, the California Golden Bears of the Atlantic Coast Conference defeated their hated tawny mammalian rivals, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 27-14, in a game that kicked off at 7:30 local time, or 10:30 P.M. at the ACC headquarters in Charlotte. Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele went 24/38 for 279 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, and he could start getting a little Heisman buzz. By me. I hereby buzz. Call could also be a dark horse (a black bear?) in the ACC title race, as they do not have to play Clemson, Miami, or Florida St. this year.
Also of note in the ACC: Stanford got their first win of the season, 30-20, over Boston College which means, according to Google AI, that this was the first time that both Stanford and Cal won home football games on the same night since September 3, 2022, when Stanford beat Colgate and Cal beat UC Davis. This also means that you had the Golden Bears, the Golden Gophers, and the Cardinal all playing football at the same time within 40 miles of each other. And I was going to say the Golden Eagles, but I guess that BC is just the Eagles. I fucking hate the Eagles, man.
Georgia (3-0, 1-0, +152) - In the Game of the Year of the Week, the Georgia Bulldogs came back to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers 44-41 in overtime to secure their ninth consecutive win in that series. Although there are still some questions about them, I do think that Georgia will become an elite team, and at this point I would pick them to eventually win the SEC. Now, about that game …
After squandering a 21-7 first half lead, Tennessee actually fought back to tie the game 41-41, and was driving with the ball and a chance to win the game in regulation. After they got into field goal range, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel did something curious. The Volunteers had just ran the ball 4 yards to set up a field goal attempt at the Georgia 20-yard line with seven seconds left. But then Heupel sent the offense back out on the field to do - what, exactly? The ball was already where they wanted it. Did he feel like they needed another extra yard? He didn’t have enough time to take a shot at the endzone. What was he trying to do? As it turned out, the offense got called for a false start, and ended up being pushed back 5 yards. They then attempted the field goal, and Tennessee kicker Max Gilbert pushed it wide right. Now, the kick had enough distance, so maybe the last second penalty didn’t matter. But we’ll never know …
Florida State (2-0, 0-0, +137)
Missouri (3-0, 0-0, +130)
North Texas (3-0, 0-0, +122) - Is North Texas the best college football team in the state of Texas? No, no they are not. However, the Mean Green from Denton, Texas looked like it in 59-10 destruction of the Washington State Cougars, a game in which they caused five total turnovers and outgained Wazzu 410 yards to 275. If nothing else, UNT should be able to throw their hats into the ring for the American Conference championship, and, therefore, for the Furious Five at-large bid for the playoff.
Oregon (3-0, 1-0, +119) - Oregon looked less than overwhelming in their Big Ten opener against the Northwestern Wildcats. In fact, they looked exceptionally whelming. The Ducks “only” outgained Northwestern 373 yards to 313, and there were moments when it looked like the Wildcats offensive line was able to push the Oregon defenders off their marks. However, Oregon was able to hold Northwestern scoreless until the 4th quarter, and Oregon quarterback Dante “The Inferno” Moore finished 16/20 for 178 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.
This game kicked off at 11:00 a.m. Central Time (9:00 a.m., PT) and was played in front of 12,023 fans at Northwestern’s Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. Martin Stadium is actually Northwestern’s field for their soccer and lacrosse teams, and is only temporarily hosting their football team while their football stadium is being renovated. This means that Oregon got to be only one of 13 visiting teams that will ever play there.
Alabama (2-1, 0-0, +111) - Alabama is going to be just fine. Their defense was dominant against a Wisconsin team that I thought could have given them some troubles, allowing only 92 rushing yards on 34 attempts and causing 2 turnovers en route to a 38-14 win. However, questions remain about the Crimson Tide’s offense, and they don’t have a lot of time to figure it out. They get a bye next week before they have to play at Georgia on Sep. 27th.
Louisiana Tech (2-1, 1-0, +96) - I don’t know what the fuck Louisiana Tech is doing here, either. Congratulations on reading this far.
Mississippi State (3-0, 0-0, +91)
USC (3-0, 1-0, +91)
