Week 3 arrives with a slate that is packed from noon to night, but the game that jumps off the page is the one bringing Lane Kiffin back to Mississippi. No.
7 LSU visits No. 9 Mississippi in the most anticipated matchup on the 2026 regular-season calendar so far, and the stakes are already clear: the winner gets an early edge in the SEC championship race, even if the loser stays firmly in the College Football Playoff picture.
Kiffin spent six seasons coaching the Rebels before leaving in Nov. 2025, which only adds another layer to a game that already has plenty of weight. It also headlines a Saturday that features several ranked matchups with major implications across the sport.
One of the other most intriguing games of the day comes in Louisville, where No. 16 SMU takes on a Cardinals team that received the second-most votes among squads outside the top 25 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll. With more than two months left in the regular season, that one could go a long way toward shaping who is best positioned to meet Miami in the ACC championship game.
There’s also a revenge angle in Tuscaloosa, where No. 10 Alabama hosts Florida State in a rematch of last year’s stunning 31-17 season-opening Seminoles win. Alabama enters as nearly a three-touchdown favorite and will be looking to settle that score.
The day opens with a full set of ranked teams in action at noon, including No. 2 Georgia at Arkansas on ABC, No.
6 Ohio State against Kent State on Fox, and No. 15 Penn State against Buffalo on Big Ten Network.
At 3:30 p.m., the schedule turns crowded fast, with No. 8 Texas A&M facing Kentucky on ESPN, Alabama and Florida State on ABC, No.
11 USC at Rutgers on CBS, No. 16 SMU at Louisville on ESPN2, No.
17 Utah vs. Utah State on Fox, and No.
19 Michigan vs. UTEP on Big Ten Network.
The late window keeps the pressure on. No.
3 Notre Dame meets Michigan State at 7:30 p.m. on NBC, while No. 7 LSU visits No.
9 Mississippi at the same time on ABC. Also at 7:30, No.
13 BYU plays at Colorado State on CBS and No. 21 Oklahoma hosts New Mexico on ESPN2.
No. 25 Virginia takes on West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network in a game being played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Elsewhere, No. 22 Missouri hosts Troy at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+, No.
14 Tennessee plays Kennesaw State at 7:45 p.m. on SEC Network, and No. 1 Texas closes the night against UTSA at 8 p.m. on SEC Network+.
There are also two more ranked teams in action in the midafternoon and early evening slots, with No. 4 Indiana hosting Western Kentucky at 4 p.m. on Peacock and No. 20 Iowa facing Northern Iowa at 4 p.m. on FS1.
For viewers, Week 3’s top-25 games will be spread across ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, Fox, NBC, CBS, FS1, the ACC Network and the Big Ten Network on Sept. 19. ESPN-family games can be streamed through the ESPN app with a valid cable login or via Fubo, while over-the-air national broadcasts are also available through Fox Sports Go with a TV login, Fubo, SEC Network+ and Peacock.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Fan Just Gave The Grove A Viral GameDay Moment
The Grove already had its usual Saturday buzz when ESPNs College GameDay stopped in Oxford, but Ole Miss freshman James Whitehead turned the backdrop into the days biggest side story. Whitehead stepped into Pat McAfees weekly kicking contest and drilled a 33-yard field goal, a swing that instantly changed the mood in front of the Ole Miss crowd and sent the broadcast scrambling to keep up.
The moment only got bigger from there, especially when McAfee initially wrote the prize as $100 million on a novelty check before correcting himself on the air. Whitehead came away with the actual $1 million prize, and he said he plans to split it with a friend who submitted the winning entry, a tidy finish to one of those rare campus scenes that feels made for replay clips and Saturday folklore alike. [Read more 🡒]
GameDays Ole Miss Split Just Added More Heat To LSU Showdown
College GameDay turned Oxford into a focal point ahead of Ole Miss-LSU, with the crew on hand live from town and Morgan Freeman joining in on the fun by making winner predictions for several Week 3 college football matchups. The buildup fit the stage, too, with the Rebels and Tigers set for one of the weekends most-watched games and the atmosphere around it only getting louder.
The panels view of the matchup was split, which only sharpened the edge on a game that already had plenty of attention. Most of the crew leaned Ole Miss, while Nick Saban went the other way and Kirk Herbstreit stayed out of the pick entirely because he is on the call for the game, leaving the pregame conversation with just enough disagreement to keep the spotlight fixed on Oxford. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffins Family Is Forcing Ole Miss Fans To Confront Something Ugly
As Ole Miss gets ready for a marquee showdown with LSU on Saturday night, the noise around Lane Kiffin has spilled well beyond the usual game-week chatter. His family has been caught in the middle of it, with inappropriate jokes and offensive behavior aimed at people who should have no part in the football noise at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Layla Kiffin posted a message on social media asking for kindness, and Landry Kiffin spoke publicly about the hurt caused by banners and comments that crossed a line. It is the kind of ugly sideshow that tends to surface around big games, and it puts a different kind of pressure on a night that was already set to draw plenty of attention on ABC at 7:30 p.m. ET. [Read more 🡒]