College football’s Week 3 slate looked to have some memorable matchups, but delivered a weekend we’ll remember for a while. Topping the list is the performance of Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who snatched the Heisman board with his incredible performance against Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss. Even on Friday, No. 13 Texas Tech survived a battle with No. 22 Houston in an instant classic in Lubbock, while No. 5 Miami got a near-record performance from QB Darian Mensah. Then, No. 23 Louisville beat No. 16 SMU to take control of the ACC title race, and Kentucky earned its first top-10 win under coach Will Stein. But more than the victories, some individual performances have defined the weekend, including that of Chambliss. Here are the winners and losers of Week 3 as prime time begins. Winner: QB Trinidad Chambliss, Ole MissChambliss’ first-half performance against No. 7 LSU was masterful. His last goal of the second half will live forever in the echoes of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. After the Rebels blew a 17-point lead, Chambliss led a game-winning touchdown drive, capped by a 14-yard touchdown run on a perfect read. The Grand Rapids, Michigan, native took a risk by returning to school rather than follow Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge. With 363 yards and three total touchdowns in a surprising victory, Chambliss is creating an unmatched legacy at Oxford. Following his performance, Chambliss became the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. Loser: Oklahoma. Any thoughts that the Sooners could bounce back from a tough loss to Michigan are over. Oklahoma is just bad and their offense will be a liability. The Sooners came painfully close to losing to New Mexico in a 14-6 decision. The Lobos had the ball in Oklahoma’s red zone with less than three minutes left and a chance to tie. After the game, coach Brent Venables refused to express his confidence in offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, stating outright that he is the offensive coordinator they have. Of course, Venables has already lined up four offensive coordinators in five seasons. The unit has steadily declined as former staff talent leaves the program. Now, Oklahoma could be on the verge of a third losing season in five years under Venables. For comparison, Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley combined for four seasons with fewer than 10 wins in 22 years. Winner: West Virginia The last time West Virginia qualified was in 2018, the final year of the Dana Holgorsen era. Since then, the program has been essentially irrelevant, completely unable to make an impact against quality opponents. However, after a 38-27 win over No. 25 Virginia, that could all change soon. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. scored five touchdowns to completely outplay Beau Pribula on the other sideline as the Mountaineers went 3-0. With 247 rushing yards, the program is really starting to look like Rich Rodriguez’s program. More than anything, though, West Virginia is finally being fun again. Loser: ColoradoThere was some real optimism around the program after a promising performance in Week 1 against Georgia Tech. The go-go offense under Brennan Marion was working and the defense did an excellent job creating disruptions. But in a demoralizing 41-7 loss against Northwestern, all those good feelings quickly dissipated. Colorado played well in the first half, but three turnovers led to 14 Northwestern points. A turnover led to another score, and soon the explosion occurred. Overall, Colorado’s offense ended up with four fumbles and the defense was completely unable to stop inconsistent QB Aidan Chiles. Suddenly, a road trip to Baylor next week seems more daunting. After that, there’s a four-game stretch against No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 17 Utah, Oklahoma State and Kansas State. If these are the Buffs we get, Colorado could soon face a six-game losing streak. Winner: RB Jadan Baugh, FloridaFlorida had to fight hard to keep Jadan Baugh on campus, but man, the investment was worth it. In the Gators’ first test against Auburn, Baugh was unreal, recording 162 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. The offense led by first-year offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner delivered and the defense held an explosive Auburn unit to 24 points through the final six minutes of the fourth quarter. Florida should crack the rankings this week, continuing the wave of excitement under first-year coach Jon Sumrall. Loser: NC State NC State put itself in hallowed territory with its loss to Vanderbilt: They pulled off arguably the worst football final play of all time. Leading by three points with seconds left, all the Wolfpack had to do was fall. A safety would almost ensure the victory, and that seemed to be the decision. Instead, quarterback CJ Bailey tried to make something happen with his legs to buy himself more time. Vanderbilt stripped the ball and recovered it in the end zone with one second left for an impressive 35-31 victory. Frankly, there is no way forward in the Dave Doeren era after this embarrassment. He finds himself squarely in the hottest seat. Winner: QB Keelon Russell, Alabama Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell has shown prodigious talent in his first year as a starter, but his consistency has been suspect. He needed a real breakthrough moment, a four-quarter performance. Florida State was ready to play the No. 10 Crimson Tide, but Russell was ready to deliver. After trailing by 15 points in the second quarter, Russell scored three touchdowns in a 2:36 span to end the half and give Alabama an unlikely lead. With the game close in the third quarter, Russell put his foot down and broke off a 57-yard touchdown run to give the Crimson Tide a two-point lead they would never relinquish. Russell’s final stat line was impressive: 320 yards passing, 56 yards rushing, and four total touchdowns. The Dallas native has arrived. Loser: Texas A&M The No. 9 Aggies showed cause for concern during the first two weeks, but a 10-point loss at home to Kentucky sent the program into full panic mode. The Wildcats completely outscored Texas A&M from the start, taking a 28-7 lead and overcoming an early missed field goal to keep going. Quarterback Marcel Reed was especially disappointing in the loss. The second-year starter threw for just 4.8 yards per attempt and two interceptions as the Aggies were completely outplayed by Kentucky transfers Kenny Minchey and CJ Baxter. After the loss, Texas A&M’s playoff dreams are on life support with a road trip against No. 7 LSU next week. After that, there are still No. 1 Texas, No. 10 Alabama and No. 15 Tennessee on the schedule. Could Texas A&M still have a playoff berth by missing a bowl game? It’s on the table. Winner: Kentucky State Winner takes the spoils, and Kentucky is a big winner after pulling off a top-10 road upset in Will Stein’s first SEC road game. Stein talked a lot when he took the job in Lexington, and his Wildcats immediately challenged Alabama and Texas A&M in their first two big games. Kentucky will be a problem in the SEC. Not to be outdone, No. 23 Louisville posted a big win against No. 16 SMU at home to take control of the ACC Championship Game race. Trailing by three points late in the fourth quarter, star running backs Keyjuan Brown and Isaac Brown each went on long touchdown runs to take a 41-31 lead. Unfortunately, Western Kentucky couldn’t hold out much against Indiana, but this must still rank among the greatest days of football in the state’s modern history. Winner: WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State There have been countless great wide receivers who have walked the halls of Ohio State. In Week 3, Smith formally called himself the best. With 85 yards against Kent State, Smith took the all-time lead with 2,958 receiving yards, passing Michael Jenkins’ 2,898 for the No. 1 spot in the Ohio State record books. Smith has two of the top six receiving seasons in Ohio State history and is positioned to extend well beyond the 3,000-yard mark. With another strong season, he could soon challenge John Standeford’s all-time Big Ten record of 3,618 yards, despite playing only three seasons. Loser: Weather In a year full of weather delays, Week 3 featured some of the worst. At one point, Florida State-Alabama and Clemson-North Carolina suffered major delays due to weather. South Carolina against Mississippi State was pushed to the final window. Storms blanketed Auburn before the Florida game, though thankfully they disappeared before kickoff. At press time, BYU-Colorado State on CBS is on a weather delay. In addition to ruining crowds and pregame activity, all of these weather delays ruin the flow of the college football schedule. Find out, good weather!
