Week 3 of the college football season was not kind to some of the top college football programs in America, but it was sure fun for the rest of us.
On the other side of the coin, Saturday’s extensive slate of games provided the perfect stage for a few players to become rock stars for a day.
With so much happening this weekend, it was hard to decide which stories were worthy of being mentioned. These are the ones that caught our eye.
1. Clemson cannot continue shooting itself in the foot
Clemson (No. 11) was lucky to get out of Louisville with a win on Thursday night to open up Week 3. Missed opportunities and turnovers gave the Cardinals a shot at winning, but thankfully a clutch, last-second interception by Jadar Johnson sealed the ugly win for the Tigers.
Sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson was equal parts tremendous and forgettable. He threw a couple of interceptions and missed on a couple of easy throws that could have made Clemson’s night much easier, but head coach Dabo Swinney isn’t sweating the mistakes.
“He played pretty good,” Swinney said about Watson, via ESPN.com. “He’s going to be disappointed in two missed throws. I mean, shoot, he ain’t perfect.”
The Tigers improved to 3-0 with the win. And, while Louisville is no easy out, the going only gets tougher the next couple of weeks with Notre Dame and Georgia Tech lined up in Weeks 4 and 5. Any more stinkers like this one will surely result in a loss for Clemson, if not two.
Still, rough wins on the road have merit, regardless of how ugly they are. Florida State had a similar experience at the same venue in 2014 and bounced back in a big way, winning out until Oregon stymied the Seminoles at the Rose Bowl.
2. Maty Mauk must play better for Missouri to remain relevant
Connecticut had a legitimate shot to steal a win on the road against Missouri (No. 22) on Saturday. And, if not for a ridiculously inept fake field-goal attempt, the Huskies might have pulled off the upset. Instead, the Tigers were lucky to get away with a 9-6 win in a game they should have won handily.
Missouri junior quarterback Maty Mauk endured a miserable outing against a swarming Connecticut defense. He failed to throw a single touchdown pass and threw a bad interception, prompting the large home crowd to boo the quarterback mercilessly — something Mauk didn’t exactly appear to appreciate.
For Mauk, it was the third game in a row in which he turned the ball over through the air. His season numbers don’t look pretty: 42-of-80 passing (52.5 percent) for 474 yards (5.93 yards per attempt) with five touchdowns and four interceptions.
Granted, Mauk wasn’t the only man to struggle for the Tigers on Saturday. It was a team effort. That said, as the leading man on offense, it’s his job to make sure he steps up his game in the coming weeks, or Missouri can say goodbye to a spot in the top 25 as the season comes down to the wire.
3. It’s time to start taking Kyle Allen and Texas A&M seriously
The Aggies entered the 2015 season outside the top 25, but blowout wins are becoming the order of the day for this program.
Texas A&M first put its flag on the national map this year by taking down Arizona State, which was No. 15 in the nation entering the season. Things have seemed to come easy since that time, with a big win against Ball State last weekend and another huge blowout over Nevada on Saturday.
Leading the charge is sophomore quarterback Kyle Allen, who has been sharp in each of the three wins thus far. After piling up six total touchdowns in the first two games, Allen scored five times on Saturday, throwing four touchdowns and running in a quarterback sneak to open the game in the first quarter.
Obviously, the meat-and-potatoes portion of the schedule is yet to come, so it’s too early to crown this team. With contests against SEC foes Arkansas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Auburn and LSU still looming, we still don’t quite know what to make of the Aggies’ chances for a big-time bowl game.
That said, after three convincing wins, it’s time to start taking Allen and the Aggies for real.
4. LSU’s Leonard Foursette looks like an early Heisman favorite
While Jeremy Johnson’s star looks to be almost completely fading for Auburn, Leonard Fournette is quickly becoming college football’s version of a supernova.
Before we launch into Foursette’s brilliant game, it’s worth noting that Gus Malzahn really does have a huge decision upcoming. Johnson was just atrocious for most of the game. Here’s what Malzahn said at halftime, “Right now our passing game is God awful,” via Jon Solomon of CBS Sports. He also said they would evaluate a potential switch at quarterback at halftime, but that didn’t materialize.
Back to the man of the hour, Fournette was a man amongst boys on Saturday in Death Valley. He piled up 228 yards on 19 carries (12 yards per carry) and scored three times on the ground. He made a habit of absolutely pummeling his would-be defenders, including this ridiculous touchdown romp.
In just two games (remember, LSU’s first game was cancelled due to lightning), Fournette has tallied 387 yards on 47 carries (8.24 yards per carry) with six touchdowns. And he’s done this against top-flight competition, unlike some of the other men viewed as Heisman favorites.
A couple more performances like the one Fournette put together against Auburn will signal the burly running back as the man to beat in the race for the coveted trophy.
5. Could it be time to bring Braxton Miller back as QB for Ohio State?
Ok, to be fair this question is posed with a bit of tongue in cheek. However, after three weeks the Buckeyes (No. 1) still don’t have a good handle on any offensive identity, while both Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett have struggled to make a case as the team’s starter going forward.
Saturday’s near-miss at home against Northern Illinois was an eye-opener — not the good kind — for Urban Meyer’s program. A narrow 20-13 victory over a team that nobody thought had a chance heading into the contest offers more questions than answers.
Jones was pulled early after completing just 4-of-9 passes for 36 yards and tossing two interceptions. But Barrett wasn’t much better. He couldn’t crack 100 passing yards and threw just one touchdown while adding an interception of his own.
As a team, Ohio State totaled 136 yards through the air on 29 attempts and turned the ball over five times while converting just 14 first downs.
Against Northern Illinois.
At home.
Couldn’t agree more with Bleacher Report’s Ben Axelrod, here. Meyer needs to pick a quarterback and then stick with him. Even if that quarterback is Miller, who actually did complete the only pass he attempted on Saturday, for three yards.
6. Notre Dame showed off a championship-caliber defense against Georgia Tech
Don’t let the final score of 30-22 or Georgia Tech’s (No. 14) rushing total of 216 yards fool you — Notre Dame (No. 8) once again displayed championship-caliber defense on Saturday.
The scoreboard read 30-7 until the 00:48 mark in the fourth quarter. A garbage-time touchdown and successful onside kick that led to another garbage-time touchdown made the game seem much closer than it actually was.
Heading into the contest, the Yellow Jackets had averaged 457.5 rushing yards per game and had scored 15 rushing touchdowns. With just 216 yards allowed and one touchdown, the Fighting Irish held the Georgia Tech powerhouse running game masterfully in check.
On the other side of the ball, sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer looked like a worthy replacement to Malik Zaire, who was lost for the season last weekend. Notre Dame’s offense was sound, and Kizer once again displayed prowess throwing the deep ball to up-and-coming Heisman candidate Will Fuller.
That said, it’s going to be Jaylon Smith and Notre Dame’s defense leading the way as this program attempts to squeeze its way into the four-team playoff.
7. Al Golden’s tenure at Miami can’t end soon enough for Hurricanes fans
How strange is it that a coach on a team that is 3-0 has fans calling for the university to fire him? Welcome to the life of Al Golden, who, for the second weekend in a row, endured banners flying overhead calling for the University of Miami to fire him.
Even after the Hurricanes finished Week 3 with an overtime victory, Twitter was aflame with “#FireAlGolden” hashtags. Fans were upset at the conservative nature of Golden’s offense at the end of the game, as his strategy allowed Nebraska to crawl back into the contest after being down 33-10 early in the fourth quarter.
The defensive strategy in that fourth quarter was also reprehensible. Miami’s front seven was undisciplined, allowing Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong, Jr. to get to the outside countless times to make plays outside the pocket.
Miami crumbled down the stretch, and if not for a ill-conceived and apparently vindictive late hit penalty by Nebraska, the Cornhuskers would have gotten a shot to win the game in overtime.
So, apparently it’s not just winning that matters.
Fans of the “U” are sick and tired of mediocrity, which is all they’ve experienced to this point in the four-plus seasons Golden has been the leading man at Miami. At this point, however, maybe it’s better to just see how the rest of the season plays out before running the man out of town.
8. Greyson Lambert’s coming-out party against South Carolina
Apparently Georgia (No. 6) now features a complete offense — a fact that should scare the heck out of the rest of the SEC.
Greyson Lambert transferred to Georgia from Virginia, where he didn’t show much promise. Georgia head coach Mark Richt hadn’t relied much on his new quarterback the first couple of games, but the passer blossomed in front of a national audience on Saturday, to record-breaking effect.
The Gamecocks were helpless to stop Lambert from dropping bombs all game long. His 330 yards constituted a career high, and he set a school record completing 20 passes in a row.
Combined with the sensational running of Heisman hopeful Nick Chubb, who contributed 159 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, Georgia’s offense could be downright deadly come November and December.
9. Stanford reasserted itself as a Pac-12 contender vs. USC
The Cardinal laid an egg in Week 1 to Northwestern, losing a spot in the national rankings. After bouncing back in Week 2 with a big win over UCF, nobody knew what to expect this week against USC (No. 6).
From the opening snap, it was apparent this Stanford team was ready for battle. Winning the game in the trenches on both sides of the ball, the Cardinal dictated the pace of play and the tenacity in which the game would be contested.
While the Trojans put up an admirable fight, Stanford would not be stopped.
Much-maligned quarterback Kevin Hogan put together his finest performance since last year, completing 18-of-23 passes for 279 yards with two touchdowns and most importantly no interceptions. He made big throw after big throw when his team needed him the most, leading the Cardinal to a 41-31 victory over Pac-12 rival USC with the help of a punishing rushing attack.
The 10-point underdog rose to the occasion, and after Week 3 it’s quite clear Stanford is still a team to be reckoned with. The real challenge for this program is to carry the positive momentum into the weeks to come, with contests against Arizona and UCLA upcoming.
10. Ole Miss showed serious clout downing Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium
Attack. Attack. Attack.
That’s all Ole Miss (No. 15) had on its mind in its 43-37 win over Alabama (No. 2) on Saturday night. The visiting Rebels absolutely punished ‘Bama in front of its home crowd, dominating on both sides of the ball — until the end when things got absolutely crazy.
After a see-saw first half that saw Ole Miss take a tenuous 17-10 lead into the locker room, the Rebels turned on the jets to open the second half. Before you knew it, Ole Miss was up by 20 points with a comfortable 30-10 lead.
During this stretch, the Rebels pulled off one of the craziest plays you’ll ever see on a botched snap that ended up g0ing for six in the most improbable way.
It seemed fate had destined for the mighty Crimson Tide to go down in flames this weekend.
But the football gods weren’t content with a blowout — they wanted an epic finish, and they got it.
The final quarter was ridiculous.
‘Bama opened up with a quick-strike touchdown drive to move to within six points with the scoreboard reading 30-24 in favor of Ole Miss. Then in a period of just a couple of minutes the Rebels answered with two touchdown strikes to go way ahead 43-24.
Thinking the game was over, many of the home fans started a mass exodus, but they missed a heck of a finish.
Jake Coker, who filled in for Cooper Bateman (who got leveled by Robert Nkemdiche and had to leave the game early), was magnificent in the final stanza, leading Alabama to within six points. Unfortunately he ultimately threw the game-sealing interception with two-and-a-half minutes left, allowing Ole Miss to leave with a huge upset win.
Huge plays were the order of the evening, and Ole Miss proved it certainly belongs in the top 10. On the other side, it’s going to be interesting to see how far down the rankings ‘Bama tumbles when the next polls are released.
Bonus: Jared Goff was sensational in his national debut
Cal quarterback Jared Goff has NFL scouts drooling at his pro potential. He’d been pretty much out of the national spotlight the first couple of weeks but finally got his chance to shine in the national spotlight on Saturday night in Texas.
Goff picked the Longhorns apart all night long, finishing with 268 yards and three touchdowns. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over in the exciting 45-44 victory.
His first touchdown strike was a thing of beauty. About to be sacked, Goff spun away from the defender, rolled to his left and fired a dime to receiver Maurice Harris for the first score of the game.
His third touchdown — a jump-pass to Kenny Lawler — had Bleacher Report NFL draft guru Matt Miller just shaking his head in awe.
What Goff displayed against the Longhorns was consistent, graduate-level quarterbacking. We haven’t seen a kid with these tools since Stanford’s Andrew Luck entered the 2012 NFL Draft, in my opinion.
The Golden Bears, now at 3-0 to start the season, have a real chance to make some noise in the Pac-12. With games against all the top teams in that conference, including USC, UCLA and Oregon, Goff can certainly become part of the Heisman race with strong performances in the weeks to come.