It is hard to believe that week three of college football is in the books!
As the college football landscape starts to clear away the pretenders from the contenders, some of the traditional super powers are struggling to win and some of the traditional losers are catapulting up the rankings.
This week in the SEC, we saw the most anticipated conference match-up of the year, a hateful intrastate rivalry and a battle of a traditional superpower against a traditional bottom-dweller (with a result that could surprise).
Ole Miss (2-0) 44
Texas (1-1) 23
Despite jumping out to a quick 14 point lead, Ole Miss spent the second and third quarter playing catch-up before simply running away from a Texas team that is likely in for a world of hurt this season. Freshmen Laquon Treadwell and Evan Engram led the Rebels in receiving again, while senior running back Jeff Scott had 164 yards on the ground.
Kentucky (1-2) 13
Louisville (3-0) 27
Behind a 250 yard passing performance by quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and a 242 yard four-headed rushing attack, Louisville ran away with the game in the third quarter, after letting an overmatched Kentucky team stick around through the entire first half. Interesting note: Kentucky’s leading receiver was Ryan Timmons with 72 yards. Timmons, you may remember, chose the Wildcats over the Gators earlier this year.
Arkansas (3-0) 24
Southern Mississippi (0-3) 3
Arkansas continued their surprising year with a win that was backed by 258 yards on the ground, including 115 yards by freshman phenom Alex Collins. The Razorbacks, however, did lose their starting quarterback Brandon Allen after he injured his shoulder running for the first touchdown of the game. Back-up quarterback AJ Derby only attempted six passes, completing four for 36 yards.
Alabama (2-0) 49
Texas A&M (2-1) 42
In the “Game of the Year”, the Crimson Tide bested the Aggies after getting into a quick 14-0 hole, by scoring the next 35 points. The Crimson Tide sealed the win with 2:28 left in the game going up 49-35, while the Aggies scored a touchdown with just 15 seconds left making the final score seem a bit closer than it actually was. Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron threw for 334 yards with four touchdowns, while sophomore running back TJ Yeldon had an additional 149 yards on the ground. Texas A&M redshirt sophomore Johnny Manziel threw for 464 yards and 98 additional yards on the ground, but also had two costly turnovers.
Tennessee (2-1) 14
Oregon (3-0) 59
The Volunteers had no answer to the up-tempo offense. After Tennessee got out to a quick 7-0 lead, the Ducks scored the next 59 points behind 456 yards by quarterback Marcus Mariota, while running back De’Anthony Thomas had an additional 86 yards on the ground.
Mississippi State (1-2) 20
Auburn (3-0) 24
Auburn won their first SEC game since 2011 and Guz Malzahn notched his first SEC win as a head coach. After blowing an 11-point lead, Auburn scored a passing touchdown with just 10 seconds left in the game. Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall had 339 yards through the air.
Kent State (1-2) 13
LSU (3-0) 45
LSU got out to a quick 21-0 lead in the first quarter and there was no looking back. LSU had 264 yards through the air and 307 on the ground, while only giving up 248 yards.
Vanderbilt (1-2) 25
South Carolina (2-1) 35
Although Vanderbilt had a valiant comeback, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks were too much to handle. South Carolina had 359 yards in the air and 220 on the ground, while controlling the ball for more than 37 minutes. Vanderbilt does have something to hang their hat on, however: they committed zero penalties.