College football spent Week 3 delivering the kind of chaos that keeps the sport wired into every Saturday, even without a giant upset to hang the weekend on. The games still came with plenty of juice, plenty of drama, and one heavyweight matchup that actually lived up to the billing. That sets the stage for the biggest overreactions coming out of the weekend - and, in the case of Oxford, for a little reality check after the celebration.
Trinidad Chambliss did not win the Heisman Trophy
He certainly looked the part in one of the weekend’s most eye-catching performances. Chambliss handled the spotlight against LSU, beating the Tigers with both his arm and his legs while sending former coach Lane Kiffin to a loss. He threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns, then finished off the fourth-quarter game-winning drive with a run for a secore.
That’s the kind of night that sticks with voters. But the calendar still says September, and the season is barely into its first quarter. The Heisman is not handed out this early, no matter how loud the moment feels.
USC is not in the clear yet
The Trojans got the result they wanted in their Big Ten opener at Rutgers, but the trip to Piscataway was anything but tidy. USC left with a win, yet the Scarlet Knights still put up 35 points and 460 total yards. That’s the same Rutgers team that Massachusetts pushed around on that same field just two weeks earlier.
There’s no need to sound the alarm just because of one sloppy road outing. USC may have walked into this game with an eye on what’s coming next, and the schedule certainly doesn’t get softer.
Still, the Lincoln Riley era has already built a reputation for explosive offense and not much resistance on the other side of the ball. Five of the Trojans’ next six opponents are in the US LBM Coaches Poll Top 25, so the real answer on USC won’t take long to show up.
Ole Miss and Louisville may end up boosting each other
Week 1 already gave us a pair of SEC-ACC showdowns, and the more time passes, the more it looks like one of them may have been undervalued. Last week, the argument was that LSU may have received too much credit for blasting Clemson. This time, the case is that Ole Miss might not have gotten enough for surviving Louisville.
That result matters because the Cardinals backed it up in Week 3 by beating SMU, one of the more important wins of the weekend. Louisville’s offense, with Lincoln Kienholz at the controls, looks like it could hang around with early ACC favorite Miami (Fla.) in the race for conference supremacy. If the Cardinals keep stacking wins, that Week 1 loss could age very well for Ole Miss.
The Big 12 picture is starting to narrow fast
If the current polls hold, the league title game might already have its outline. Texas Tech got past Houston thanks to a late stop on a two-point conversion attempt, and the Red Raiders do not have another ranked opponent left on the schedule. They won’t see either Brigham Young or Utah in the regular season.
Those two teams are set to meet in the “Holy War” on Nov. 7, and the winner would then be positioned to face Texas Tech for the championship. That’s obviously a lot to assume this early, and the rest of the conference still has every chance to disrupt the script. Even so, Texas Tech, BYU and Utah have clearly separated themselves for now.
North Dakota State is in the playoff conversation
The path is open in a way it simply wasn’t before. In June, the NCAA Division I cabinet voted to remove the two-year waiting period for teams moving up to the Bowl Subdivision, which makes North Dakota State eligible right away in its first FBS season. That means the Bison can play for the Mountain West title, and yes, they can even reach the College Football Playoff.
They’ve already made a strong start, too, going 4-0 and winning their first conference game at Air Force. That gives the longtime FCS power a chance to reach the playoff field even faster than James Madison.
Of course, there’s still work to do. Even if NDSU runs the table in its new league, it would still need to finish as the highest-ranked conference champion from the Group of Six.
And the road ahead is no joke, with trips to New Mexico, UNLV and Hawaii still waiting. For now, the Bison get a week off and a little time to imagine how far this could go.
In Other News...
Louisville Made A Statement But One Problem Should Worry Fans
Louisvilles win over Southern Methodist was the kind that can change the tone around a team for a while. The Cardinals pulled away for a 41-31 victory, their first ever against SMU, and they got there with timely defense and explosive offense. Brycean Scott and Kaleb Beasley helped steady the back end, while Kejuan Brown broke the game open with multiple long touchdown runs that gave Louisville the kind of balance it has been looking for.
Even with all that, the box score carried a warning label. Louisville was tagged for 11 penalties and 110 yards, the sort of self-inflicted damage that can turn a good night into a wasted one if it shows up again in a tighter game. The Cardinals have a statement win to build on, but the discipline issue is hard to ignore after a performance that otherwise suggested they can handle a quality opponent. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville's Big Win Brought A Problem Fans Can't Ignore
Louisvilles 41-31 win over No. 16 SMU at L&N Stadium gave the Cardinals a much-needed statement result, and the home crowd of 50,199 had plenty to enjoy. Lincoln Kienholz helped keep the offense moving, while the defense came up with the kind of timely stops that can swing a ranked matchup and give a team momentum heading into its next stretch.
Still, the box score had a familiar blemish. Louisville piled up 110 penalty yards on 11 flags, a costly number in a game that could have been more comfortable if the Cardinals had played cleaner football. For a team looking to build on a marquee victory, the bigger question now is whether this kind of sloppiness can be trimmed before it starts to undercut the progress. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Finally Showed The Late Toughness Fans Wanted To See
Louisvilles 41-31 win over Southern Methodist at L&N Cardinal Stadium had the feel of a game the Cardinals have been waiting to close out all season. The back-and-forth matchup featured multiple lead changes, but Louisville kept leaning on a strong running game to stay in range, with Brown powering the offense for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
The finish was every bit as tense as the middle of the game, and it gave the Cardinals a late-game edge that had been missing in some of the tighter moments this year. In the final minutes, Louisville needed a defensive stand to settle it, and Kaleb Beasley delivered the kind of play that can change the tone around a team heading into the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]