Week three was eventful to say the least, we had breakouts, comebacks and some craziness. Here are my winners and losers:
Winners:
- Louisville Cardinals: Quarterback Lamar Jackson rushed for 146 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw for 216 yards and a touchdown. Cornerback Jaire Alexander had a punt return for a touchdown as the Cardinals steamrolled the Florida State Seminoles 63-20. Some did pick the Cardinals but I don’t think anyone expected the game to turned out like that.
- Alabama Crimson Tide: Quarterback Jalen Hurts and the backfield combined for 334 yards and three touchdowns. Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen had a pick six. Defensive back Eddie Jackson had a punt return for a touchdown as the Tide came back to defeat the Ole Miss Rebels 48-43 in a thriller. They were down 24-3 in the middle of the second quarter, but you should know by now to never count out the Tide.
- Ohio State Buckeyes: The kickoff was delayed about an hour to wait for a storm to pass but if you’re a Buckeyes fan, it was worth the wait. Quarterback J.T. Barrett threw for four touchdowns, all four to wide receiver Noah Brown, who had the catch of the year so far. Linebacker Jerome Baker had a pick six as the Buckeyes defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 45-24.
- Michigan State Spartans: Quarterback Tyler O’Connor threw for two touchdowns. Running back Gerald Holmes rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns as the Spartans defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 36-28.
- Nebraska Cornhuskers: Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown. Key defensive stops late helped the Huskers defeat the Oregon Ducks 35-32 in barnburner. Great win for head coach Mike Riley and the Huskers.
- UCLA Bruins: Despite having only 50 yards rushing, quarterback Josh Rosen threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns as the Bruins held off the BYU Cougars 17-14.
- North Dakota State Bison: Kicker Cam Pederson’s 37-yard field goal as time expired helped the Bison upset the Iowa Hawkeyes 23-21 in Iowa City. Considering the Bison have won the last five FCS titles and are now 6-0 against FBS opponents, maybe we should’ve seen this coming.
Losers:
- Florida State Seminoles: The Noles had no answer for Lamar Jackson in their loss to Louisville. Suffice to say that this is one of their worst losses and also the most points they’ve given up in school history.
- Oklahoma Sooners: Turnovers and the fact that they couldn’t stop the Barrett/Brown combo were the Sooners’ undoing in their loss to Ohio State. At 1-2, looks like OU’s out of the playoff hunt.
- Ole Miss Rebels: The defense gave up 334 rushing yards and they just couldn’t extend drives in their loss to Alabama.
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish: They only had 57 rushing yards. While the defense gave up 501 yards in their loss to Michigan State.
- Texas Longhorns: The defense gave up way too many big plays in their loss to the California Golden Bears 50-43.
- Illinois Fighting Illini: They only had three (yes, three) rushing yards in their loss to the Western Michigan Broncos 34-10. On the flip side, the Broncos are 3-0.
- Oregon Ducks: Despite 336 rushing yards, quarterback Dakota Prukop’s arm let the Ducks down late in their loss to Nebraska.
Storylines Going Into Week Four:
Clemson goes to Georgia Tech. Florida State plays a sneaky South Florida.
In the Big Ten, Wisconsin battles Michigan State. Penn State goes to Michigan.
In the SEC, Ole Miss will try to bounce back at home against Georgia. Florida goes to Knoxville and face Tennessee. LSU plays Auburn. Arkansas meets Texas A&M.
In the Big 12, Oklahoma State faces Baylor.
And in the Pac 12, USC meets Utah. Stanford travels to UCLA. Colorado faces Oregon.