Week 3 of the 2023 college football season has wrapped up and here are the biggest winners and losers from another crazy Saturday.
You have to love the insanity of college football. It’s what makes it unique and we saw that phenomenon at play once again this Saturday.
It looked like Colorado football was about to be upset by in-state rival Colorado State before Shedeur Sanders put together the best drive and possibly moment of his career.
Sanders threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Horn Jr. to tie the score against Colorado State, capping a 98-yard drive that started with Colorado football down by eight and only two minutes to go in the game.
A top-10 team did go down to an unranked opponent as Billy Napier got a huge victory for Florida football over Tennessee, while North Carolina and Missouri also notched key wins during Week 3 of the college football season.
Here’s our recap of College Football Week 3 with a look at the three biggest winners and losers.
College Football Week 3 winner: Florida football
It’s hard to overstate the importance of Florida football beating Tennessee. The Vols had started to dominate the series and were ranked seventh coming in.
Tennessee was a 12-point favorite in the swamp, which had to feel embarrassing for old-school Florida football fans.
But by the end of the night, Gator fans had to feel better about Napier following his team’s win over 11th-ranked Tennesse. Joe Milton had 287 yards and an interception. Graham Mertz didn’t have as many yards as Milton but was 19-of-24 for 166 yards and a touchdown.
Mertz did all that he needed to do. Trevor Etienne did the rest as he ran the ball 23 times for 172 yards including a long of 62 yards for Florida football. The Vols took a 7-0 lead when Etienne went to the house from 62 yards out.
The Gators missed the PAT but it didn’t matter. It changed the game and Florida should have a new life under Napier after a signature win.
College Football Week 3 loser: Boston College
If close counted in college football, Boston College might have something to feel good about on Saturday. Instead, the Eagles dropped their third straight game in one of the worst ways possible.
Penalties have hurt Boston College, among other things prior to hosting Florida State, a top-five team. But on Saturday, Boston College set a school record for penalties with 18, and the 18th, well it was the absolute worst.
Boston College trailed 31-16 early in the third quarter. However, the Eagles scored two touchdowns and were a missed 2-point conversion from tying the score.
Still, with just over a minute left, Boston College could have gotten the ball back needing just a field goal to win. Instead, the Eagles committed a facemask penalty — their 18th — on third down and Florida State survived 31-29 after the automatic first down.
Jeff Hafley needed a win like that and Saturday only served to remind fans of how his team lost a top-5 program in large part due to the mind-blowing number of penalties.
College Football Week 3 winner: Colorado football
All the people sick of hearing about Coach Prime were probably feeling pretty good when Colorado State took a 28-17 lead in the fourth quarter.
Yet, Shedeur Sanders put together a Heisman performance down the stretch with a touchdown and a two-point conversion (after a 98-yard drive) to tie the game with under a minute left, before throwing two touchdowns in the overtime to win the game by eight.
Sanders didn’t have Travis Hunter who left the game due to injury. That’s a brutal loss for the Buffaloes if the injury sidelines Hunter for the season. However, Colorado football was able to avoid a major letdown thanks to Sanders and his ability to deliver in the clutch.
Colorado football’s last four possessions went: field goal, touchdown (plus two), touchdown, and touchdown (plus two). That’s clutch and makes the Buffaloes a big winner again.
College Football Week 4 loser: Michigan State
It’s been a brutal week for Michigan State football fans. First, their head coach got embroiled in scandal following a 2-0 start and could be fired.
Washington, a top-10 opponent was coming to town as a 16-point favorite, which seemed to some a little disrespectful. Michigan State came into the game 2-0, but Washington didn’t just cover the spread, the Huskies embarrassed the Spartans.
Michael Penix makes defenses look bad. Yet, the Spartans had zero answers as Penix threw for 473 yards and four touchdowns.
It’s one thing to be close. However, there was something especially sad about the performance of the Spartans on Saturday who were outscored 35-0 in the first 30 minutes of the game, causing a mass exodus of their fanbase.
It was another good weekend for the Pac-12 and the domination of Washington of Michigan State was a reminder of that. You also have to think it’s a sign that the Michigan State season is in trouble.
College Football Week 3 winner: Missouri
Missouri notched one of the biggest wins on Saturday as they knocked off 15th-ranked Kansas State at home.
The game was tied in the fourth quarter and Missouri was driving to get into field goal range when a delay of game pushed the ball from the 39 to the 44. That meant a 61-yard field goal — the longest in the SEC.
However, Harrison Mevis drilled the 61-yarder with room to spare, giving head coach Eli Drinkwitz a defining win. Missouri is also 3-0.
College Football Week 3 loser: SEC chances of two playoff teams
Missouri got an upset win, however, the loss by Tennessee means that the SEC has just two unbeaten teams right now: Georgia and Ole Miss.
Tennessee was supposed to be the second-best team and was dominated by a Florida team that got beaten soundly by Utah from the Pac-12. Just saying. Vanderbilt also lost to UNLV, while Arkansas suffered a 38-31 loss to Arkansas.
Georgia was even down 11 at the half to South Carolina before rallying for the win. Flat out, Alabama looked terrible in its 17-3 win over South Florida. Tyler Buchner was benched. Ty Simpson also didn’t lock down the position, so the Tide have work to do.
The SEC does too and the league is looking less and less dominant this season. BYU knocked off Arkansas. UNLV even beat Vanderbilt. Georgia is good but after that, the league is filled with question marks, which includes Alabama.