Seven things you need to know coming out of college football Week 3

It always happens like this, right? The weeks expected to be the least eventful end up being completely the opposite. 

That was definitely the case during Week 3 of the college football season.

Two top-15 teams lost, including one on an SEC record 61-yard field goal. No. 1 Georgia trailed entering the second half. No. 3 Florida State barely beat a Boston College team coming off a loss to Northern Illinois and a narrow victory over FCS Holy Cross. Meanwhile, two other top-10 teams (No. 4 Texas and No. 10 Alabama) were both tied with Group of Five opponents (Wyoming and USF) well into the second half.

Oh, and we saw the latest drama from Deion Sanders and Colorado during a double overtime win in a game that finally ended at about 2:30 a.m. ET.

Here are seven things you need to know coming out of Week 3:

Alabama has real issues on offense

Last year Alabama’s offense averaged 41 points per game.

This year’s has just 41 total in the Crimson Tide’s last two games combined. While there were clear issues on offense that were exposed during Alabama’s 34-24 loss to Texas in Week 2, the Crimson Tide offense has now essentially reached five-alarm fire status coming out of its debacle of a performance during the Tide’s 17-3 win over USF on Saturday.

Alabama starting QB Tyler Buchner, who replaced Week 1 and Week 2 starter Jalen Milroe, was pulled after beginning the game 5 of 14 for 34 yards. His replacement, Ty Simpson, was then just 4 of 8 for 28 yards the rest of the way aside from one 45-yard completion. And the Tide offensive line, a unit that’s produced 11 first- or second-round draft picks in the last 12 years, gave up five sacks to a Group of Five defense that had just four sacks total in its previous two games (against a combination of Western Kentucky and FCS Florida A&M).

Not good.

Alabama didn’t score until getting a field goal with two minutes left in the first half, was locked in a 3-3 tie until scoring its first touchdown 10 minutes into the third quarter and then had just 10 points until finally adding a second touchdown with 33 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

It ended up being the first time since Nick Saban’s second season at ‘Bama in 2008 that the Tide was held to fewer than 31 points by a regular season non-Power Five opponent. And it happened against a defense that gave up an AAC-worst 41 points per game last season and 41 points during that season-opening loss to Western Kentucky.

Now, after playing three different QBs in the last two games, Saban is left to figure out his best option at the position heading into Alabama’s SEC opener against No. 15 Ole Miss this weekend.

Signature win for Billy Napier

Throughout the offseason at Florida, there was a belief that the Gators were poised to take a step forward in Year 2 under Billy Napier as well as legit confidence around the program that they were going to surprise people on defense and at quarterback. 

Saturday was proof that they were justified in believing all of that. During a much-needed signature win for Napier over No. 11 Tennessee, Florida scored 26 unanswered points in the first half in building a 19-point halftime advantage and ended up holding a high-powered Vols offense to 189 fewer yards and 22 fewer points than the Gators gave up during a 38-33 loss to Tennessee last season.

Napier really needed this win, especially after Florida’s ugly 24-11 loss to Utah in Week 1. Now, the Gators are all of a sudden ranked No. 25 and it’s not crazy to think they could be in the 5-2 range or maybe even better heading into their Oct. 28 game against Georgia.

Florida’s next four games are against Charlotte, at Kentucky, at home versus Vanderbilt and at South Carolina.

Shedeur Sanders is clutch

There are certain athletes that, even in the most high-pressure of situations, have a way of staying calm, raising their game to an even higher level and consistently delivering game-winning type plays. It’s becoming clear that Shedeur Sanders falls in that type of category.

Even without star teammate Travis Hunter, Sanders led the way as Colorado overcame an 11-point fourth quarter deficit against Colorado State on its way to winning in double overtime. Sanders guided the Buffaloes on a 98-yard game-tying touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter and then to touchdowns on each of their two possessions in overtime.

During those final three drives, Sanders was 10 of 12 for 161 yards with three touchdown passes and two additional scoring passes on two-point conversions. It came after Sanders was 11 of 12 for 227 yards with two touchdown passes during the back-and-forth final 17 minutes of Colorado’s season-opening win over 45-42 TCU.

Combining those two games, Sanders is 21 of 23 for 388 yards with five touchdown passes, two converted two-point conversions and no interceptions in the final three possessions of the Buffaloes’ two games that have been decided by one-score.

Don’t forget about LSU

It may not have looked like it to the casual observer considering Mississippi State was picked to finish last in the SEC West in the SEC preseason poll, but it would have been easy going into Saturday to make a case as to why the Bulldogs could actually end up providing LSU with a real challenge.

After all, the Tigers were in their first Power Five game since their second-half meltdown against Florida State two weeks ago and the game was in Starkville against a Mississippi State team that quietly has several players projected to be selected in next year’s NFL draft.

Instead though, LSU looked like a team deserving of remaining in the College Football Playoff conversation despite the Week 1 outcome against Florida State.

The Tigers jumped out to a 24-0 lead and led by as much as 34 in the fourth quarter before a late touchdown from the Bulldogs.

In addition to LSU’s defense holding Mississippi State to 201 yards, the Tigers also posted 530 yards and five touchdowns on offense against a defense that’s ranked in the top-five in the SEC each of the last three years.

Jayden Daniels became the first SEC QB since Jalen Hurts in 2016 to finish with 400+ yards and 4+ touchdowns against a Mississippi State defense. He also broke an LSU single-game record for completion percentage among QBs with more than 20 pass attempts. He finished 30 of 34 with a completion percentage of 88.2.

Meanwhile, Tigers wide receiver Malik Nabers showed why he’s viewed by NFL scouts as a potential top-20 draft pick. His 239 receiving yards was the second-most from an LSU wide receiver in any single game in the last 22 years.

An emerging second-year SEC playmaker

Nabers wasn’t the only SEC wide receiver who stood out in a big way on Saturday. Another one: Missouri sophomore Luther Burden.

It continues to be very clear that the Class of 2022 blue-chip recruit is primed for a big, breakout second season with the Tigers. Burden, the No. 1 ranked wide receiver and No. 3 overall prospect in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking, had seven catches for 114 yards with two touchdowns in Missouri’s 30-27 win over No. 15 Kansas State. 

Through three games for the 3-0 Tigers, Burden already has 22 catches, 327 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. In comparison, he posted just 375 receiving yards all of last season.

Six Power Five losses to G5 or FCS opponents

Although Alabama ended up beating USF and Texas ultimately pulled away from Wyoming, there were several other Power Five teams teams that weren’t as fortunate in games against non-Power Five opponents.

Five different P5 teams fell to Group of Five opponents in Week 3. Those teams: 

— Iowa State, which fell 10-7 to Ohio.

— Vanderbilt, which lost 40-37 to UNLV.

— Cincinnati, which fell 31-24 to Miami (Ohio).

— Oklahoma State, which lost 33-7 to South Alabama.

— Arizona State, which fell 29-0 to Fresno State.

In addition, Stanford and first-year head coach Troy Taylor lost 30-23 to the FCS team, Sacramento State, that Taylor coached the last four seasons before leaving for the Cardinal.

A new top weapon for Drake Maye

North Carolina has a new No. 1 wide receiver for its star quarterback.

After missing Week 1 with an injury and then finishing with just one catch in Week 2, Georgia Tech transfer Nate McCollum broke out during UNC’s 31-13 win over Minnesota with 15 catches for 165 yards with a touchdown. No other Tar Heels player had more than four catches. McCollum, who is currently viewed by NFL scouts as a mid-Day 3 NFL draft prospect, had 60 catches for Georgia Tech last season.

The original expectation at North Carolina was that McCollum and Tez Walker were both going to have All-ACC caliber seasons. While the Tar Heels won’t have Walker this season thanks to the NCAA, they do at least now have McCollum back and starting to live up to expectations.