As we bid farewell to Week 3 of college football, we take a look back at the highs and lows we saw last weekend.
After Georgia was knocked out of the AP Top 25 poll with a closer-than-expected win over Kentucky, 5 teams showed they can compete with Power 4 programs early in the season and SEC schools in 12-team college football Playoffs.
Can Georgia’s offense get back to normal before its Week 5 game against No. 4 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium? Will we see another Group of Five upset against a ranked opponent this season? As SEC play begins, how will these results impact the future of this CFP contest?
Our college football experts break down the key takeaways from Week 3’s performance.
Currently, the SEC dominates the CFP race
The SEC currently holds five of the top six spots in the ESPN Football Power Index (No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Mississippi State ). Missouri ranks 10th. There are no restrictions on how many teams in a conference can qualify for the new 12-team playoffs, other than guaranteeing the top five conference champions (which obviously includes an SEC team). According to ESPN analysis, the SEC has a 60% chance of getting five or more teams into the College Football Playoff.
While three or four teams seems reasonable, put the brakes on before you think this is the SEC Invitational. They still have to play each other, and Georgia watching LSU’s tough trip to Kentucky on Saturday after escaping from South Carolina was a reminder that anything can happen — especially on the road. The SEC will produce playoff teams with multiple losses. The question is whether the selection committee will reward it more than other teams with fewer losses but less challenging schedules. — Heather Dinich
Pete keeps looking for a way out
Pitt once again completed an incredible rally, fighting back from a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to defeat West Virginia 38-34 in the “Backyard Brawl.”
With a little more than 3 minutes left in the game, the Panthers faced second-and-30 when quarterback Eli Holstein put the ball in the end zone. Daejon Reynolds leaped over triple defense for a 40-yard touchdown catch, his first of the season, to pull Pitt in for a field goal. After forcing a quick punt, Pitt immediately struck back with Derrick Davis Jr. scoring the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard dash with seconds left.
With a 21-point comeback victory over Cincinnati last week, Pitt became the first FBS team since Tulsa in 2020 to overcome a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit and win back-to-back games, according to ESPN Research.
A team with that much toughness could be a surprising factor in a hotly contested ACC title race. — Jack Trotter
Cheers to the group of 5
Overall, the Group of Five is coming off its most successful weekend of the young season. A week later, Northern Illinois reached then-No. 5. The University of Notre Dame and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas defeated the University of Kansas, the University of Memphis defeated Florida State University, Georgia State University defeated Vanderbilt University, and the University of Toledo defeated Mississippi State University by 24 points. Meanwhile, Texas State, Arkansas State, Miami (Ohio), UAB, Tulane, Troy and Louisiana Tech all terrorized their respective Power 4 opponents in Week 3.
Saturday’s four wins account for two-thirds of the Group of Five’s six wins this fall against Final Four and Notre Dame opponents. Through three weeks, 14 five-man offenses ranked in the top 50 nationally in total offense, while 12 five-man defenses ranked in the top 50 in total defense. No. 23 Northern Illinois is the only Group of 5 representative in the AP’s latest top 25, but there are five other Group of 5 programs on the ballot this week.
As the gap between college football’s strong and weak teams grows wider, we must celebrate the wins of the Five. The stakes remain high for contenders such as Boise State, Memphis, Northern Illinois, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Liberty as the top-ranked Five-school conference champion will clinch a College Football Playoff berth . Guys, keep an eye out for them. — That’s Lederman
those who escaped
I saw firsthand Saturday night in Fort Collins what makes Colorado’s Travis Hunter the most special player in college football. In a 28-9 win over Colorado State, Hunter played 123 of 138 games and had 13 catches for 100 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, five tackles and a breakup. ball.
He was all over the place at once, or at least it seemed that way, and later he smiled shyly and said he wasn’t tired but was looking forward to an ice bath when the bus returned to Boulder.
I can’t help but think back to 2021, when Hunter had one of the most shocking signing days and traded his long-term commitment from Florida State to Deion Sanders and then to Jackson State (Hunt eventually followed Sanders to Colorado). It was one of several low points in the early days of Florida State head coach Mike Norvell’s tenure, and it was an especially devastating blow considering Hunter had been at it for more than a year and the Seminoles were desperate. People like Hunter were needed to help get the program off the ground, and Hunter turned them down.
Three years later, Hunter is expected to be a top-10 NFL draft pick, and Florida State is off to an 0-3 start.
The Seminoles have a good program going without Hunter, but the start of the season has put more focus on Florida State’s performance in the CFP, which may have been overshadowed. Florida has lost its top-rated commit on signing day each of the past three years. In 2022, defensive end Keldrick Faulk transferred to Auburn.
In December, Florida State finished a 13-0 season but was snubbed in the playoffs, losing defensive back KJ Bolden to Georgia. The signing-day loss adds to the sense that Norvell can’t get a deal done when it comes to recruiting. While there are certainly differences among the three situations — Hunter, for example, saw an opportunity to play for a coach he admired growing up — Florida State, despite its reputation as a gateway guru, is still trying to build a team through recruiting.
Florida really needed the portal early on to help reverse the downward spiral. But its recruiting efforts simply haven’t reached their full potential. Of the 20 ESPN 300 players signed between 2020 and 2022, zero developed into an All-ACC player. Maybe those who escaped can help. Maybe not. But it definitely hurts to watch a departed player blossom into a star. — Andrea Adelson
Washington State QB John Mateer has the ‘It’ factor
While Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward helped return Miami to the national stage, his successor at Washington State, John Martel, convinced many in Pullman that the Cougars might support an upgrade. Mateer, WSU’s first true dual-threat quarterback in years, was in the Apple Cup after setting the single-game school record for rushing yards on Sept. 7 against Texas Tech (197) Naka had 23 and 25 rushing yards against Washington on Saturday.
As a passer, he completed 17 of 34 passes for 245 yards against perhaps the best defense the team faced all year. He took some ill-advised chances as WSU hung on — including a nearly costly interception that was reversed on replay — but he had a Gardner Minshew feel to him. Such confidence is something to behold, especially from a player who has only started three games. — Kyle Bonagula
Explosive performance will define Karen DeBoer’s first Alabama team
Coaches often talk about 5-7 plays that influence the outcome of every game. Alabama is a team more than capable of generating offense on both sides of the ball. After spending time with the Crimson Tide this weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, I was impressed with the number of playmakers on coach Karen DeBoer’s first team. Wisconsin is clearly at a disadvantage from a talent standpoint, but even if the Badgers do well, Alabama will counter with takeaways or making strides on offense.
The Tide are “a work in progress,” as DeBoer noted after the 42-10 win, but they are also arguably the most explosive team in the country when they’re playing clean. Quarterback Jalen Milroe has fit that definition since becoming the starter, but others can break out of the defense, including freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams, transfer wide receiver Jamie Bernard and running back Ja Jim Miller. Alabama also had four different backs commit Saturday, and the staff is excited about the arrivals of transfers Cohen Sabu and LT Overton to complement veteran stars Deontay Lawson and Malachi Moore. .
“We wanted to make some plays that shouldn’t have been made,” Bernard said. “It gives us the mentality that whenever our number is called, we can go out there and have a great game.”
The Tide may not be the most complete team in the country, and they’ll need a strong effort in two weeks to beat Georgia. But their ability and confidence to create game-changing plays should keep them in contention in the SEC. — Adam Rittenberg
Slow start should be a problem for Georgia offense
Should Athens, Georgia be ringing alarm bells? The Bulldogs pulled off a closer-than-expected win at Kentucky on Saturday night, something that didn’t look like the No. 1 FBS team and a day after Texas ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. an important reason to surpass them.
Georgia had just 262 yards of offense and 12 first downs. He went 5-for-13 on third downs and averaged 3.4 yards per carry. Even star quarterback Carson Beck struggled, completing 15 of 24 passes for 160 yards.
This is not surprising. As good as Georgia has been under Kirby Smart, for some reason his team struggled at Kentucky. Since 2020, the Bulldogs have been held to less than 20 points on the road three times. The Wildcats have won every game: 14-3 in 2020, 16-6 in 2022 and 13-12 on Saturday.
This isn’t the first time Georgia has played a weaker SEC opponent on the road. Last year, Georgia trailed Auburn 10-0 and didn’t take the lead for good until Brock Bowers’ 40-yard touchdown run with 2:25 left in the game en route to a 27-20 victory. Last year, the Bulldogs needed two touchdowns in the final 9 minutes and 39 seconds to beat a pesky Missouri team 26-22 on the road.
Georgia’s offense still has a lot to clean up. It was the second time in three games that there was no touchdown in the first half. The offensive line was swamped by Kentucky’s defensive front, and it didn’t help that All-American guard Tate Rutledge lost the game in the second quarter to a leg injury. Tight end Ben Yurosek, a transfer from Stanford, also missed several key blocks.
The good news for Georgia is that it will have two weeks to recover and regroup before facing No. 4 Alabama on Sept. 28. With No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Ole Miss still having road games remaining, it can’t afford another performance like Saturday night. — Mark Schlabach
