Category: News Feeds

After three full weeks of college football, there are four teams at the top of my top 25 who have yet to show flaws: Indiana, Georgia, Miami and Notre Dame. That does not mean that these teams are flawless. There’s still time and a number of ranked opponents for each of them to face before we can come to a definite conclusion on just how perfect — or imperfect — these teams are. But suffice it to say that after Ohio State and Texas’ outstanding meeting last weekend, we’d all like to see Miami vs. Indiana and Georgia vs. Notre Dame — or some permutation of those four — only to make the winners of those games face off to find out which team really is the best. And we’d like to make them do it all over again at the end of the season. Call it the NFL. It’d work, and we’d love it. For now, we’ve got my rankings. A quick housekeeping note on teams we said goodbye to after this week: Former top-10 Texas A&M dropped a game to unranked Kentucky at home. SMU lost to a Louisville team that has a streaky passer but gifted runner at quarterback. Virginia lost to what might be an up-and-coming West Virginia team, and Houston dropped its first ranked matchup against Texas Tech on the road. Those four teams are out and four new ones in. With that, here are my top-25 rankings after a wild Week 3! Week 3 game: 35-26 win vs. Maryland The Hokies are off to their first 3-0 start since 2017. That means Virginia Tech has never seen a loss with James Franklin at head coach. Week 3 game: 41-34 win vs. South Carolina Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor is the best quarterback not enough people have seen throw a football. He only needs to flip his wrist for the ball to seemingly effortlessly travel 50 yards through the air. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 251 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Week 3 game: 55-0 win vs. Northern Iowa Iowa — yes, Iowa! — has scored 40 points or more in two of its first three games while pitching two shutouts to begin the season 3-0. Coach Kirk Ferentz and his Hawkeyes get their first real challenge against Michigan next week, though. Week 3 game: 31-10 win vs. Sacramento State The Bison continue to play fundamental, sound football — the kind that could lead to it stealing the only Group of Six spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff this season. And they ought to be favored to win every game they play the rest of the season. Week 3 game: 52-17 win vs. UTEP The partnership between quarterback Bryce Underwood and wide receiver Andrew Marsh continued to prove fruitful. Saturday, 10 of the 19 completions Underwood threw were to Marsh, who racked up 105 yards with a touchdown. Week 3 game: 42-9 win vs. Kennesaw State The Vols rushing attack was on full display with four players — including true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon — running the ball at least seven times each. Tennessee amassed 268 rushing yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry against the defending Conference USA champs. Week 3 game: 33-0 win vs. Utah State Utah has outscored opponents, 122-24, through three games and looks like a Big 12 title contender. The team has Houston and BYU on its schedule but no Texas Tech. Still, it certainly looks like it could beat all three given the chance with the kind of defensive prowess it has shown so far. Week 3 game: 48-16 win vs. Eastern Washington Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. put together a Heisman Trophy highlight tape against an FCS opponent with 373 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and just one interception. Week 3 game: 41-31 win vs. SMU Louisville put itself in position to contend for the ACC title with this win. The strength of Jeff Brohm’s team, though, isn’t quarterback Lincoln Kienholz but a robust run game. The Cardinals rushed for 265 yards at 7.2 yards per carry against the Mustangs, and Kienholz seemed to make as many great throws as what-are-you-doing throws in this game. That meams their quarterback is also their ceiling for success. Week 3 game: 44-39 win vs. Auburn In his first year in Gainesville, John Sumrall’s Florida has scored 40 or more points in each of its first three games of the season for the first time since 2007. That is in large part due to running back Jadan Baugh continuing to be one of the best in the country. In the win against Auburn, he rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Week 3 game: 55-13 win vs. Buffalo The Nittany Lions put up 573 yards on offense and held Buffalo to just 173 yards — a 400-yard margin. Even more impressive is that Matt Campbell’s defense allowed the Bulls to convert just one of 14 third-down attempts. However, his offense was just two of 10 on third down, and that has to change before Penn State begins conference play. Week 3 game: 27-17 win vs. Troy Tigers quarterback Austin Simmons didn’t play great football, completing just more than half his passes — 10 of 19 — for 91 yards. But he didn’t have to be. The Tigers were not disciplined, committing nine penalties for 90 yards, but they didn’t have to be. That tells me a lot about the talent Eli Drinkwitz has on his roster to improve to 3-0, and that’s with star running back Ahmad Hardy still on the sidelines. Week 3 game: 84-0 win vs. Portland State After an embarrassing loss on the road to Oklahoma State last week, the Ducks took out the 55-gallon drum of whoop-ass and poured it all on the Vikings. Starting quarterback Dante Moore was elite in the pass game, completing 19 of 23 passes for 280 yards with four touchdowns. But backup quarterback Dylan Raiola was perfect — 11 of 11 for 124 passing yards with three touchdowns. Week 3 game: 42-35 win vs. Rutgers Yes, the Trojans won. Yes, the Trojans remain undefeated. But my goodness, Gary Patteron’s defense looks suspect after consecutive weeks of giving up 30 points or more to Louisiana and Rutgers. It’s a familiar refrain, and USC fans are learning what Oklahoma fans learned: Marrying a suffocating defense with a Lincoln Riley offense is frustratingly difficult. Is a close win against Rutgers better than a loss to Oklahoma State? Asking for Oregon fans. Week 3 game: 41-23 win vs. Colorado State Cougars running back LJ Martin remains an absolute force, and he is the best tailback in the Big 12. In BYU’s win, he rushed for 176 yards with three touchdowns on just 15 carries. Week 3 game: 32-24 loss vs. Ole Miss After all that — and there was a lot of THAT — Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers fell short of earning the only win on the schedule that I believe he had to win to justify his enormous annual salary. That is, the enormous salary his roster demands and the grief he put college football fans through by simply being a trolling, petulant 51-year-old man with little-to-no manners. Week 3 game: 28-26 win vs. Houston Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond led the Red Raiders to their first ranked win of the year on the strength of 17 of 27 passing with 287 total yards and a touchdown. Sure, they were inches from being forced to play at least one overtime period, only to narrowly escape and remain unbeaten. Week 3 game: 50-36 win vs. Florida State I genuinely despise how Alabama has chosen to wait until there are three minutes left in the third quarter to decide to separate from inferior competition for consecutive weeks. It’s also a luxury Kalen DeBoer’s team simply will not be able to rely on when it plays Georgia on October 10. Get your shells together or get rolled, Tide. Week 3 game: 59-3 win vs. Kent State On Saturday, Jeremiah Smith became the all-time leader in receiving yards in Ohio State history. He needed just two years and three games to break that record. This is fitting for Smith, who will leave Ohio State as the man considered the very best wideout in Buckeyes history, regardless of record, future NFL Draft selection or individual awards won. Week 3 game: 32-24 win vs. LSU If you’re going to award the Heisman Trophy to the best player in college football based on what he’s done against elite competition through three games, you’re going to award it to Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. Against LSU and his former coach, he threw for 363 yards with three total touchdowns and one interception. And now he’s led Ole Miss to an undefeated start with two wins against Associated Press Top 25 teams. Week 3 game: 33-20 win vs. Wake Forest Quarterback Darian Mensah has not only forced his way into the Heisman Trophy conversation but has also made the best case for winning it so far this season. Through three games, he’s completed 70 of 79 passes — that’s 89.9 percent! — for 873 yards with 11 passing touchdowns. Week 3 game: 27-10 win vs. Michigan State The Fighting Irish played a mostly clean game against the Spartans with zero turnovers and just three penalties in a workmanlike win against Michigan State. Yes, this game was a little too close for a team that expects to play for the national title, but it’s not as poor of a reflection as if Notre Dame had only won this game by one score. Week 3 game: 45-17 win vs. Arkansas Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are off to their most dominant start ever. Through three games, they’re plus-145 in scoring margin — the Dawgs’ best start in 100 years. And they’ve done it without needing a potent passing game. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton has attempted just 32 passes all year. Week 3 game: 38-0 win vs. Western Kentucky And thus ends the delicious assortment of cupcakes for the defending national champions. They beat North Texas. They hammered HBCU Howard. And they crushed Western Kentucky. It will be nice to see what the Hoosiers look like once they start punching teams that have the ability to more adequately defend themselves. Week 3 game: 30-6 win vs. UTSA Following a week of making news for the wrong reasons off the field, the Texas Longhorns took care of business with a dominating win against the Roadrunners, holding the UTSA offense to just 142 total yards and allowing just one of 11 third-down conversions. The stat book won’t reflect a brilliant performance for quarterback Arch Manning, who completed 17 of 33 passes and accounted for 214 total yards with two touchdowns. But it was enough to keep the Longhorns unbeaten and No. 1.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

There was so much build up, hype and emotion surrounding Lane Kiffin’s much-anticipated return to Ole Miss. The LSU head coach has a nose for the headlines and managed to stay firmly on top of them ever since he left Oxford for Baton Rouge ahead of last year’s College Football Playoff. The hostility and resentment has remained ever since amongst Rebels fans who were angry at how the Kiffin era ended. Perhaps all is forgiven now (or not) — because Ole Miss came out and beat LSU, 32-24, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday night in the most electric college football scene we’ve seen so far this season. Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss shined in prime time, and his defense made a goal-line stand to seal the victory with less than a minute to play. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, you could see it on everybody’s faces. Justice for Ole Miss, disappointment for Kiffin and LSU. “Our team is resilient, and I love them so much,” Chambliss said on the broadcast post-game. “I’m speechless. “Hotty f****** Toddy!” Here are takeaways from this Week 3 showdown: 1. An Epic Night For Trinidad Chambliss… In the first half, Chambliss was in complete control. He was calm under pressure, poised in the pocket, sharp with his passes and firmly in command of the offense. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 248 yards with two touchdowns by halftime, leading Ole Miss to a comfortable 24-7 lead. The sixth-year quarterback looked every bit like a potential top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Then he made a costly error by throwing an interception on the Rebels’ first drive of the third quarter, which swung momentum toward LSU and the Tigers went on to tie the game, 24-24, early in the fourth. But a little adversity didn’t bother Chambliss. He looked more like himself in the fourth quarter when he capped a 13-play touchdown drive with a 14-yard run into the end zone. Then the Rebels had the guts to go for two, and after drawing LSU offsides twice, running back JT Lindsey ran in for the conversion. 2. …And The Ole Miss Defense, Too With about six minutes remaining, LSU’s offense would have to score a touchdown and go for two to win. Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt marched his team down the field but ultimately failed to convert from inside the 10 on four tries. In the end, defensive end Kam Franklin tipped Leavitt’s final pass, which was then intercepted by cornerback Jaylon Braxton to all but end the game. “We’ve worked our butts off this week and this whole year,” said Chambliss, who ended up completing 33 of 48 passes for 363 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, plus one rushing score. “We don’t quit.” The Rebels’ defense kept Leavitt in check in the first half. The Arizona State transfer quarterback managed just 51 passing yards and looked rattled. And aside from the third quarter — where LSU had two touchdown drives and tied the game — they held the nation’s No. 3 offense to just 330 total yards by the end of the night and made the play of the game when it mattered. 3. Lane Kiffin’s Return Was Nearly Legendary The pregame scenes were exactly what we thought they’d be. Cameras caught Kiffin moments before leading his team out of the tunnel, escorted by multiple security officers. He was stone-faced, ready for whatever sights and sounds might greet him while his LSU players behind him were clapping and getting hyped. The Tigers ran out onto the field at the same time as the Rebels, and while the stadium was roaring with cheers for the home team, they weren’t loud enough to mask the boos directed at Kiffin. During warmups, Kiffin and Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding, who are close friends, hugged and dapped each other up on the field. The bad blood was not between them — if anything, Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU helped Golding get his first head coaching job. Of course, there was chirping elsewhere. On his way off the field following warmups, Kiffin threw a football into the recruiting section. Then, former Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith, who followed Kiffin to Baton Rouge, had some things to say to Rebels fans: Throughout the game, shrewd chants directed at Kiffin were heard on the broadcast. They say drama like this goes away if you do one thing: win. LSU failed to do that, despite Kiffin’s second-half adjustments that nearly brought the Tigers back. But don’t worry, Kiffin will most likely find a way to stay on top of the news cycle. And worst case, thanks to the new nine-game SEC schedule, the Tigers and Rebels will meet again next season in Baton Rouge. 4. It Only Gets Tougher From Here This Week 3 battle was considered one of the most highly anticipated games of this season as soon as Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU before last year’s playoff. Now that it’s over, and both teams are past all the hoopla, well, the tests only get harder. LSU will go home and immediately begin preparing to host No. 9 Texas A&M. Both teams are coming off a loss, desperate not to lose another SEC game in order to keep their CFP hopes intact. The Tigers’ slate in October is somewhat manageable with matchups against Kentucky, Mississippi State and Auburn, but then a challenging November awaits with Alabama, Texas, Tennessee and Arkansas coming in consecutive Saturdays. There are really no breaks for Ole Miss, either. Once they get into mid-October, the Rebels play Missouri, Texas, Auburn, Georgia and Oklahoma in straight weekends. And they hope to get star running back Kewan Lacy back after he left Saturday’s game in the second half with an upper body injury. The SEC could get anywhere from four to six teams into the CFP, and there are plenty of landmines down the stretch for both of these teams even after getting through this one.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Clemson found a way to beat North Carolina on Saturday. But according to FOX Sports college football studio analysts Chris Petersen and Bruce Feldman, the bigger questions surrounding head coach Dabo Swinney aren’t going away. “To me, he’s been slow to change and slow to adapt in three things,” Petersen said. “No. 1, the transfer portal, he didn’t want to there. The second thing is NIL money. His roster’s at like $30 million, and the top teams are at $40-plus million.” “And the third thing is the quarterback. A lot of these good teams, they go get a proven quarterback in the transfer portal and recruit a really hot-shot young guy, develop him, and make sure he’s going to be good. But if he’s not, they go get a transfer quarterback that they know is good, and he hasn’t done any three of those things.” After kicking off the season with an ugly 51-10 loss to LSU, Clemson followed that up with a 22-7 home win over Georgia Southern. But after the Tigers fell behind early against the Tar Heels on Saturday and faced a 17-6 deficit heading into halftime, fans at Memorial Stadium began voicing their frustration with Swinney. Clemson responded with a strong second half, led by sophomore running back Gideon Davidson’s season-high 105 rushing yards and a touchdown, to rally for a 28-20 comeback win. The Tigers, who have traditionally refrained from building their roster through the transfer portal, are coming off a 2025 campaign in which they began the year ranked No. 4 in the country but finished 7-6. The seven wins were the fewest for Clemson since 2010, Swinney’s second full season as head coach, and just the second time since 2010 that the Tigers failed to win double-digit games. Moreover, the Tigers have made the College Football Playoff just once since 2020, making the playoff in 2024, the inaugural year of the 12-team format. “The problem for Clemson is they owe him $55 million. There is no offset in Dabo’s deal. Dabo’s not leaving money on the table from what we’ve heard,” Feldman said about Swinney’s future with the Tigers. “Also, Clemson is not like Texas A&M where they have all these big oil-money people throwing money around.” Clemson travels to Cal next weekend for an ACC road game before hosting No. 5 Miami the following week. “If he doesn’t adapt, he’s going to become the ‘Blockbuster’ of college football coaching, once dominant and now out of business,” FOX Sports Studio Host Mike Hill said of Swinney.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports