Week 3 delivered non-stop drama with wild, down-to-the-wire finishes and the first major upset of the young season.
Even with the AP poll's top six teams facing lesser competition, the college football gods delivered plenty of late-game heroics and drama throughout Saturday's afternoon and evening action. Ole Miss secured an unforgettable victory in Oxford over former head coach Lane Kiffin and LSU. Meanwhile, inside one of the nation's most formidable venues, unranked Kentucky delivered a decisive blowout against top-10 Texas A&M in College Station.
To top it off, NC State suffered a heartbreaking, self-inflicted collapse in the closing moments at Vanderbilt.
The question, as we enter the final full week of September, is whether we have learned anything new about the contenders in Week 3 or if we know less about the aforementioned top 10.
We'll sort that out today. As always, we're here every Sunday, prisoners of the moment, overreacting to this week's results.
Maybe Ole Miss should be No. 1
Move over, Texas. Play someone with a pulse, Georgia. Ole Miss has the nation's best resume, with two wins against ranked opponents and is deserving of the No. 1 spot in the polls entering Week 4. The question is whether anyone has the guts to give the Rebels a first-place vote.
The Rebels' 32-24 victory over Lane Kiffin's LSU will be remembered forever in Oxford, but beyond the satisfaction of rubbing their ex's nose in the dirt, the win also strengthened the Rebels' case for being atop the polls as they improved to 24-1 at home since 2023, the best record in the FBS.
Pete Golding's bunch owns two wins against teams worthy of top-15 consideration, including an LSU team many considered worthy of a top-four ranking a week ago. Texas has the best win of the young season in the improbable comeback against then-No. 1 Ohio State eight days ago, but then failed to impress Saturday in a 30-6 win against UTSA.
Ole Miss has more impressive wins and the most clutch quarterback in the country. Trinidad Chambliss may not be one of those select few QBs with more touchdowns than incompletions (Miami's Darian Mensah and Georgia's Gunner Stockton), but that's because he has faced legitimate competition. He's worthy of rising in the Heisman Trophy odds, and his team, despite some defensive issues, has proven capable of winning week after week against tough competition.
'The most dangerous underdogs in the SEC'
Well, Kentucky did it. The Wildcats upset a top-10 team on the road Saturday. Remember, I tried to tell you in April this was on the horizon. I just didn't expect Will Stein to do it in his first SEC game.
Kentucky upset No. 9 Texas A&M 31-21 on the road, physically dominating the Aggies with 28 unanswered points — 21 of which came in the second half. Back in April, I noted this potential, though I didn't anticipate Stein pulling off such a victory in his first SEC road game.
Stein, one of the best hires of the cycle, put together a top-15 transfer class upon his arrival in Lexington, sparked fan interest and quickly instilled a new belief in his players. Paired with his brilliant offensive mind -- just ask Oregon how much they miss his play-calling -- the Wildcats delivered an ahead-of-schedule signature win.
To put it in perspective: predecessor Mark Stoops managed just one road victory against a top-10 team across 12 years. Stein accomplished the feat in his first attempt.
Texas A&M has issues. The Aggies replaced too much after last season's run to the College Football Playoff and QB Marcel Reed presses himself too often. The program looks more like an eight-win team this fall. The Aggies have lost three of five games dating back to last season. Next up is a trip to Baton Rouge to face a peeved off LSU.
NC State collapse has attention of hot seat committee
CJ Bailey only needed to take a knee for a safety to salt away NC State's first win against an SEC team since 1999. Instead, he rolled into his end zone, was stripped for a sack and Vanderbilt recovered the ball for an improbable 35-31 victory with no time remaining.
NC State didn't trail until the final second. The Wolfpack built a 14-0 lead and even held off a furious Vanderbilt rally led by star freshman QB Jared Curtis before disaster struck. Chalk it up as one of the worst losses in Doeren's 14 seasons leading the Wolfpack. "I was proud of how our guys played for 59 minutes and 59 seconds," Doeren said.
It's early, but the blowout loss to Virginia in the season opener and this heartbreaker against Vandy -- Bailey, if he was told once to protect the ball, should have been told twice -- make you wonder if Doeren is inching closer to the hot seat. He's 96-72 with only three losing seasons, but if this continues and NC State has two losing seasons in three, tough questions will need to be answered.
"it's just a play where you roll out and you don't get tackled," Doeren said. "You try to burn as much time as you can, and then fall the ground and protect the football. He got hit, and didn't protect the football. The plan was to take a safety, and we're trying to run out the clock if we can. There's no intent to run the football and get hit on that play."
Louisville could challenge Miami
Louisville's offense is clicking under QB Lincoln Kienholz, running back Keyjuan Brown is insanely explosive and a win against SMU has cemented the Cardinals as the ACC's second-best team.
There's just one issue: the defense needs work. The Cards allowed 41 points in a loss to Ole Miss and 31 in Saturday's win. That can't continue, primarily because weekly shootouts usually catch up to you at some point in the season. The good news is zero ranked teams remain on the schedule.
If the Cards can shore up a defense that ranks in the triple digits nationally -- they still forced three turnovers Saturday -- there's reason to believe they could challenge Miami in an ACC Championship matchup.
Georgia is playing possum
No. 2 Georgia needs a challenge. The Bulldogs may finally get it this week against Oklahoma's solid defense.
Georgia stomped Arkansas, 45-17, in its SEC opener on the road last week, but we still haven't learned much about the Bulldogs. Every game has been a blowout, with an average score of 59-13, and on Saturday they curled up in their doghouse, playing conservatively by running the ball 36 times in the first 42 plays.
Gunner Stockton has thrown more touchdowns (9) than incompletions (7), but is averaging only 15 passes a game. At some point, Georgia needs to open up the offense and let him throw downfield. That was the knock on the Bulldogs last season, and may have cost them in the CFP loss to Ole Miss.
The good news: the lone deep pass Stockton threw Saturday was on the money for a 61-yard touchdown to Craig Dandridge Jr. Georgia entered Saturday ranked seventh in yards per attempt (11.4).
FSU is better than we thought, but what about Bama?
Florida State stormed out to a 21-6 lead at Alabama, but the defense couldn't slow Bama QB Keelon Russell after a lightning delay, and the Seminoles fell in a 50-36 loss in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama avoided disaster -- the Tide have won 88 straight at home against unranked teams -- but the defense, which was supposed to be a big strength, left much to be desired and should concern Alabama faithful with offenses like Mississippi State, Georgia and Tennessee up next. Russell came of age, throwing for 320 yards and three touchdowns and running for 56 yards and another score. He elevates the offense more than any other quarterback in the Kalen DeBoer era.
Florida State showed us it is better than what many projected in the preseason. The staff leaned on Duce Robinson, their best player, and he didn't disappoint with six catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. The issue is, and will continue to be, the quarterback. Ashton Daniels threw three interceptions.
FSU looks like a bowl team. But is that enough to save Mike Norvell's job?
Florida got the best of the American hires
Data was limited after Week 1, but that didn't stop me from examining the outputs of the four former American Conference coaches who made the jump to the Power Four this year.
The findings have held up after three weeks: Florida's Jon Sumrall, a defensive coach by trade, has the more explosive offense and the most reliable week-to-week performances on both sides of the ball.
The Gators held on for a 44-39 win at Auburn (coached by Alex Golesh, a former American Conference coach) on Saturday and controlled most of the second half, leading by 17 points until the final minutes. Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner's offense has averaged 54 points through three games; Aaron Philo has thrown for 200 yards each time; and Jadan Baugh has run for at least 136 each week.
Florida's offensive output was the highest by an Auburn opponent inside Jordan-Hare Stadium in seven years.
Sumrall's squad has generated more points in the first three games than any Florida team in program history, outscoring squads led by offensive geniuses Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer.
Three of the next four opponents are ranked in the AP Top 25, including Ole Miss next week in Gainesville.
BYU is the Big 12 favorite
Texas Tech got its first signature win in a 28-26 thriller against Houston on Friday night. That's the good news for the Red Raiders, who many had questioned after two lackluster performances to start the season against Abilene Christian and Oregon State.
The bad news is that there isn't much left on the schedule to impress the pollsters. The Red Raiders do not have another ranked opponent on the regular-season docket. They luckily avoid BYU and Utah, who appear to be the top contenders in the Big 12 alongside dark-horse Oklahoma State. Texas Tech's mission remains the same: Get through the conference championship game undefeated, because there's nothing else to suggest a worthy at-large CFP resume.
BYU, at any rate, stands out today as the best team in the Big 12. The Cougars improved to 11-2 on the road since 2024 after a 41-23 laugher at Colorado State. LJ Martin rushed for 176 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. They have at least two more ranked opponents on the schedule, including No. 3 Notre Dame in Provo on Oct. 17.
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