"Week 3 Recap”
Written by Wendi
Another wild Saturday in the books for College Football. Speaking of wild, did you catch the ending to the NC State and Vanderbilt game? If you didn’t, please watch the highlights for an improbable but not impossible ending. Vanderbilt pulled off a stunning 35-31 comeback victory thanks to a wild, last-second fumble recovery touchdown in the end zone. Vanderbilt staged a massive comeback after trailing 24-7 in the third quarter. NC State – you had one job and failed miserably.
Arizona State defeated Kansas 24-17 in a historic inaugural Union Jack Classic played at Wembley Stadium in London. The Sun Devils leaned on explosive special teams and defense to spoil the Jayhawks’ international debut. After taking a 10-7 lead into halftime, the Sun Devils broke the game open immediately on the first play of the second half and took the kickoff 100 yards to the house. Kansas attempted a late fourth quarter rally but Arizona State iced the final minutes to capture their first international win.
Kansas State pulled away in the second half to overcome Tulane 31-20. The Wildcats faced their first real adversity, trailing early after giving up their first offensive touchdown of the year. Avery Johnson put together a historic performance to rally the Wildcats. He became the first player in school history to reach 200 passing yards and 150 rushing yards in a single game accounting for 379 of K-State’s 428 total yards. Tulane fought hard early behind a solid ground attack, by the Wildcat defense clamped down registering with 6 sacks to ice the game.
After multiple weather delays, FSU built a quick 21-6 lead early behind explosive plays and efficient third-down conversions over Alabama. However, the Crimson Tide offense caught fire just before halftime, stringing together a relentless sequence of scoring drives to retake control. Alabama put up 567 total yards to secure the win 50-36 and avenge their loss to FSU last year.
Louisville defeated SMU 41-31 outlasting the Mustangs in a high-scoring, back-and-forth ACC thriller. The top 25 matchup featured an explosive showcase of running games, with the lead changing hands eight times before Louisville broke away late in the fourth quarter. Despite SMU outgaining Louisville in total yardage and winning the time of possession, costly errors doomed the Mustangs. Louisville’s defense capitalized heavily on miscues, forcing three turnovers and stopping SMU on two critical fourth downs.
Mississippi State rallied from an early deficit to defeat South Carolina 41-34. South Carolina dominated the first 24 minutes of play, racing out to a 16-0 lead following an 80-minute lightning delay. However, the Bulldogs erupted on a 41-7 scoring run led by QB Kamario Taylor, exposing the Gamecock’s defense to seize control of the game. South Carolina mounted a late rally, cutting the deficit to a single touchdown in the final minute, but the Bulldogs held on to remain undefeated at 3-0.
Florida defeated Auburn 44-39 in a high scoring conference game opener. The Gators used a balanced offensive clinic to earn their first road victory at Auburn since 1999, improving to a 3-0 record under first year head coach Jon Sumrall. After Auburn crawled back to a 17-17 deadlock, Florida seized absolute control by scoring 24 of the next 31 points. The Tigers engineered a late fourth-quarter surge behind QB Byron Brown, but Florida’s relentless pass rush proved too overwhelming.
Ole Miss held off a ferocious comeback from LSU to win 32-24 spoiling Lane Kiffin’s highly anticipated return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels built a commanding 24-7 lead by halftime behind a hot start from QB Chambliss. However, the Tigers put up a relentless 17-0 run in the second half to tie the game at 24. In the final minutes Chambliss drove the Rebels down the field for a clutch, tiebreaking score, and a dramatic defensive stand in the end zone sealed the game for Ole Miss. Was I the only one thinking Ole Miss was trolling Lane with the multiple hard counts to draw LSU offsides while attempting the two-point conversion late in the game? It worked both times.
Northwestern dominated Colorado 41-7 forcing a staggering seven total turnovers to dismantle the Buffaloes’ unblemished start to the season. The Wildcats took full advantage of a short field all night, capitalizing heavily on an error-prone offensive display from Colorado. Despite moving the ball well at time for Colorado, any momentum was completely neutralized by four true turnovers alongside three failed fourth down conversion. Behind senior QB Aiden Chiles’ explosive five touchdown performance, Northwestern cruised to a 21-0 halftime advantage and never looked back, closing out their temporary lakefront stadium era in style.
Virginia Tech jumped out to an early lead and defeated Maryland 35-26 snapping Maryland’s nation-leading 20-game nonconference winning streak. The Hokies passed their first major test against a Power 4 opponent under new Head Coach James Franklin, controlling the game from opening kickoff. Playing in front of a sold-out crowd, the Hokies scored touchdowns on five of the first six possessions to build an insurmountable 35-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Maryland attempted a late aerial rally but Tech’s early efficiency proved too much to overcome.
On to Pick’ems…
There sure was a lot of red in the back half of those games on the weekly score sheet. It took a toll on a lot of us. For Sean, Marc and Noah, they were able to score 40+ points which landed Sean in first place overall. How long can he stay at the top? Time will tell. Not sure what’s going on out on the West Coast, but you have both Megger’s sitting in the top three spots with Kim in between in second place. Should this be renamed to the Hall/Meggers Family College Football Pick’Ems if they finish in the top spots?
We’ve seen this before Kim, it never lasts so don’t get your hopes up this early. Prove me wrong. LOL!
Evelyn and Christian rebounded from the previous two weeks at the bottom and finished tied for third with 39 points with Kim. I see you Christian. With Chris’ suffering, David, Teddy and Adam also joined him toward the bottom in a relentless week that gave no mercy.
Is it me or has anyone else noticed other than me and Cindy that Jacob seems to always pick the Mississippi teams? It worked out for him on both games this week. And yes Cindy, all three kids are STILL beating you just in case you are wondering.
Ten points on Colorado Sam? What were you thinking? This week seems to be another challenging week with five ranked matchups. You just had to go and put Michigan on the picks didn’t you David? /sigh
Most points for the week: In a challenging week, Sean was able to snag 43 points along with $10 and some bragging rights.
Least points for the week: Chris decided to give Evelyn a break and took her spot at the bottom this week with 26 points.
Best pick of the week: Those who picked Ole Miss over LSU and Northwestern over Colorado made a big difference in the picks. Rick was the smart one and nailed both of those.
Worst pick of the week: For those of us who bought in to the Lane Train at LSU and went big over Ole Miss.
Letters to the Editor:
Is the FSU Defensive Coordinator pretty much done after giving up a slew of points the past 3 games? He is definitely in the hot seat I would imagine but I looked back and in three games, they have given up 94 points and 1,471 total yards against New Mexico State (319), SMU (585) and Alabama (567). They are currently ranked 128 out of 138 FBS teams in total defense (according to NCAA after two games. They have not factored in this last game so they could drop even further). Yikes!
Does Chris get more than 20 points in Week 4? Each week his score gets lower, so there's a high probability it will be below 25. Below 20? That's also on the table as we wait and see this coming weekend.
Here are the rankings after Week 3:
1. Sean – 148 points
2. Kim – 145 points
3. Rick – 142 points
4. Wendi – 141 points
5. Marc – 139 points
6. Jacob – 137 points
7. Sam – 137 points
8. Noah – 136 points
9. David – 134 points
10. Cindie – 131 points
11. Adam - 130 points
12. Teddy - 127 points
13. Mike H - 125 points
14. Christian - 119 points
15. Evelyn – 106 points
16. Chris – 103 points
There is a 45-point difference between 1st and last place
