With three weeks in the books, the Heisman race is already starting to take shape, and Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is still the name everyone else is chasing.
Chambliss strengthened that case in a huge way during No. 8 Ole Miss’s 32-24 home win over No.
7 LSU. In a game loaded with attention because of Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford, the Rebels had the one thing LSU didn’t: Chambliss.
The sixth-year starter was sharp from the jump, carving up a defense that had been tough early on. In the first half alone, he went 21-of-27 for 248 yards and two touchdowns, and he was a perfect 8-of-8 on third downs.
He settled down after halftime, but he still found ways to make the kind of plays that stick in voters’ minds. That included a wild backhanded toss that went for 19 yards and the game-winning 14-yard rushing touchdown.
Through three games, Chambliss leads the SEC in completions with 77, attempts with 110 and passing yards with 924. He’s also thrown seven touchdowns against two interceptions, and right now he has set the pace for the entire field.
The first real challenger may be Florida running back Jadan Baugh, who keeps piling up monster performances. After Florida’s 44-39 win at Auburn, the Gators are 3-0 for the first time since 2019, when they finished 11-2.
Baugh was a major reason why. He logged a season-high 26 carries for 162 yards and three touchdowns, including a 53-yard run on 4th-and-1 in a 10-point game early in the fourth quarter.
For the season, Baugh has 458 rushing yards on 54 carries, an SEC-best 8.5 yards per attempt, and eight touchdowns. That production sets up a massive Week 4 home matchup with Ole Miss, and if Baugh has another big day, he could leave The Swamp sitting in the top spot.
Miami quarterback Darian Mensah is making a serious statistical statement of his own. Through three games, he has more passing touchdowns, 11, than incompletions, eight.
He’s completed 71 of 79 passes for 873 yards, a ridiculous 89.9 percent. The schedule has helped, and he won’t see a major test until an early November trip to No.
3 Notre Dame, but the numbers he’s putting up are impossible to ignore.
Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is also firmly in the mix after another strong Saturday. He’s up to 400 receiving yards a quarter of the way through the regular season, which puts him on a 1,600-yard pace.
The comparison that jumps out is DeVonta Smith, the last exclusive wide receiver to win the Heisman. DeVonta entered the 2020 ceremony with 1,511 receiving yards, and while that season came in a pandemic-shortened schedule, the two are tracking closely on a per-game basis.
DeVonta averaged 137.4 yards per game; Jeremiah is at 133.3.
There’s also a dark-horse name worth keeping an eye on in Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton. No.
2 Georgia has been the most dominant team in the country so far, outscoring its first three opponents by an average of 46 points per game, the biggest margin in FBS. The offense has been rolling too, with 178 points through three games - the third most by an SEC team through three games in conference history and Georgia’s most since 1913, according to ESPN Insights.
Stockton was efficient again in Saturday’s 45-17 win over Arkansas, going 10-of-13 for 147 yards and a touchdown while adding a career-high 97 rushing yards on seven carries. He flashed both parts of his game, breaking loose for a 62-yard designed quarterback run before dropping a perfect pass to freshman wideout Craig Dandridge for a 61-yard touchdown that pushed Georgia ahead 38-3.
In Other News...
Georgia Oklahoma Line Says Something Fans Didn't Expect
Georgia heads into Week 4 at 3-0 after rolling past Arkansas 45-17 in its SEC opener, and the next test brings a familiar kind of attention. The Bulldogs are favored by 14 points over Oklahoma, with the over-under set at 47.5, setting up a matchup that already looks like it will say plenty about how comfortably Georgia can control the game on both sides of the ball.
Oklahoma arrives with a defense that still has plenty of credibility, even as its offense has struggled in recent games, which is part of what makes this line stand out. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, Sept. 26, and for Georgia, the bigger question may not be whether it can win, but whether it can do so in a way that matches the expectations now attached to it. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Won't Love This Detail About The Oklahoma Game
Georgia gets its first SEC home game of the season Saturday in Athens, and the matchup comes with plenty of familiar stakes. The Bulldogs are 3-0 entering the date with Oklahoma, a game set for 3:30 p.m. EST on ESPN, and oddsmakers have already made Georgia a 14-point favorite with an over-under of 47.5 points.
Still, there is one detail around this meeting that figures to land differently with the home crowd, even before the teams take the field. For Georgia fans, this is the kind of early conference showcase that can quickly turn from a routine spotlight into a measuring-stick afternoon, especially with the Sooners coming in as the opponent for the Bulldogs first SEC home test of the year. [Read more 🡒]
Danny Kanell Just Gave Georgia Fans A Fresh SEC Reality Check
Danny Kanells latest post-Week 3 rankings offered a reminder that the early SEC race is already sorting itself out, and Georgia landed a spot that will draw plenty of attention in Athens. After updating his top teams for the 2026 season, Kanell stacked four league powers near the top, with the Bulldogs checking in at No. 7 as the conference picture starts to take shape.
Mississippi States rise is part of what makes the list interesting, especially with Kamario Taylor and Jeff Lebby guiding the Bulldogs to a fast start that includes two Power 4 road wins and a 41-34 victory over South Carolina. Even with that kind of resume, the broader SEC pecking order still has room to shift, and Georgia fans will be watching closely to see whether the Bulldogs can move back into the center of that conversation. [Read more 🡒]