Winners and Losers: College Football Week 3

WINNER: Tiger Kings

https://www.wafb.com/2022/07/25/lsu-mike-tiger-mascot-star-feature-film-report-says/

It was a great weekend for Tiger fans, with Memphis, Missouri, LSU and Auburn all earning big wins.

Memphis beat a reeling Florida State team that’s now dropped to 0-3 (we’ll get to them more later) behind quarterback Seth Henigan’s two touchdown passes, his 40th-straight game with a passing score.

Missouri defended their top-10 ranking with a home win over No. 24 Boston College in a 14-3 comeback (17-0 run), committing no turnovers and almost 150 more yards than the Eagles.

LSU won perhaps the game of the week at South Carolina, spoiling the College Gameday hosts with a Josh Williams two-yard touchdown run to take the lead in the final 90 seconds. The Tigers held the Gamecock offense to a fumble, punt and turnover on downs in the final nine minutes of the game.

Auburn fell flat in their FBS opener against California, but boy, did they wake up against the New Mexico Loboes in Week 3, 45-19 the final after Hank Brown took over quarterback duties and tossed four scores. War Eagle only held a four-point lead at halftime but ripped off 28 in the second half to send UNM back west.

LOSER: Florida State. Again.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/acc/2024/09/14/florida-state-vs-memphis-game-buyout/75226625007/

Oh, Florida State. It seems so far from the magical 13-0 2023 season, but it’s all too close for the Seminoles and Mike Norvell as they see the loss column fill for the third time in as many games played.

The ‘Noles are 0-3 for the third time in school history, twice now with Mike Norvell at the helm (2021). Even worse, FSU is the first team since 1976 Arizona State to kick the season off coming after an unbeaten year.

FSU is the first preseason AP top-10 team to drop to 0-3 all against unranked teams, and this loss with a $1.3 million price tag stamped right on it.

DJ Uiagalelei is painfully not the answer in Tallahassee, he managed 16/30, 201 yards and a pick. The running game did no help either, just 1.5 yards per carry (24 carries, 37 yards).

Florida doesn’t escape the turmoil either, losing by two scores to unranked Texas A&M in Gainsville to drop to 1-2, 0-1 in the SEC.

Billy Napier falls to 12-16 in his tenure, 3-12 in his last 15 against Power 4 teams.

If both seats were warm before this week, the Florida heat has scorched both behinds plenty (and it’s still September).

WINNER: The Kansas State Wildcats

Derby High School alum Dylan Edwards runs a punt back for a touchdown during the second quarter the Kansas State’s game against Arizona on Friday night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Travis Heying The Wichita Eagle
Read more at: https://www.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article292417274.html#storylink=cpy

Ranked Big 12 teams had a great weekend, but none better than the No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats who won the big cat battle 31-7 against No. 20 Arizona.

The game technically was a non-conference affair, scheduled before the ‘Zona move to their new conference.

Four different players scored the four K-State touchdowns, ruining Arizona’s FBS-best nine-game winning streak.

Penalties plagued the desert ‘Cats, nine for 74 yards, 30 of which in the ugly first half where neither team looked impressive.

Both teams travel to Utah next weeks; Arizona at the Utes and K-State at BYU.

LOSER: 2nd-Half Frawgs

https://www.frogsowar.com/2024/9/15/24245811/frog-recap-what-we-learned-from-tcus-big-12-loss-against-ucf

Shades of 2022 painted the TCU Horned Frog’s first two weeks, a strong win at Stanford and an easy W vs. Long Island heading into the Big 12 opener against UCF, plus a 28-7 start early in the third quarter.

Then came KJ Jefferson and the Cardiac Knights.

Touchdown after touchdown led UCF to a 35-34 win despite a 99.3% chance for a Frog win with 50 seconds to go.

Josh Hoover at quarterback was nearly perfect: 402 yards, four scores and no turnovers. That effort would not be enough with an anemic defense allowing just as many scores in the final 35 minutes of play.

Two plays almost saved TCU: a fumble recovered by the Frogs called back due to receiver Randy Pittman Jr. called back and then a wide-right Kyle Lemmermann 58-yard attempt at the buzzer.

WINNER: Confidence in Notre Dame

https://www.onefootdown.com/2024/9/16/24246086/notre-dame-fighting-irish-vs-purdue-boilermakers-online-overreactions-leonard-drum-angeli-football

Any and all doubt for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish washed down the drain this Saturday with a 66-7 angry in-state win over the Purdue Boilermakers.

If that beatdown looks historically bad, well, that’s because it is. It’s Purdue’s worst loss in their entire 137-year history, beating out a 21-month-old loss to LSU in the Citrus Bowl.

The Shillelagh Trophy stays with the Irish for the ninth-straight season, the longest streak since 11-in-a-row by Notre Dame from 1986-1996. Purdue’s longest all-time streak against ND is three.

All this comes off an embarrassing 16-14 loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies in the Irish’s home opener, one that dropped them over ten spots in the AP poll.

LOSER: The Mountain West

The week kicked off with a great Mountain West upset, UNLV over Kansas, but sputtered with Utah State, Nevada, Hawai’i, New Mexico, Air Force, Colorado State, Wyoming and San Diego State all losing.

Fresno State and San José State were the only Saturday winners, both against Conference-USA squads.

These sad stats aren’t why the MWC is here, however, as news broke this weekend that Colorado State, Boise State, Fresno State and San Diego State will all leave for the Pac-12, pushing that once-dying conference’s membership from just two now to six in 2026 with perhaps more moves to come.

Air Force is also reportedly in talks to join their armed forces brothers Army and Navy in the American Conference.

There are no current plans to fill back the Mounatin West, but AAC, C-USA and western FCS teams all fit the bill.

Perhaps it’s finally time for the Montana and Dakota schools to make the jump.

Wyoming versus North Dakota State? New Mexico against UTEP?? Montana at Hawai’i???

Sign me up.