College Football Awards, Week 3 (2026) September 21, 2026

Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Boise State, Brent Venables, Bronco Mendenhall, Bulldogs, Cardinals, Central Michigan, college football, Florida, football, Gators, Georgia, Houston, Iowa State, Joey McGuire, Kent State, Kentucky, Kirk Ferentz, Kyle Whittingham, Lane Kiffin, Longhorns, Louisville, Miami (FL), Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Elko, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NC State, NCAA, NCAA football, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pete Golding, Purdue, Rich Rodriguez, SMU, South Alabama, South Carolina, Sports, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tigers, Toledo, UCLA, USC, Utah, Utah State, Virginia, Wake Forest, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan
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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Pete Golding, Ole Miss

Glad I’m not him: Lane Kiffin, LSU

Lucky guy: Joey McGuire, Texas Tech

Poor guy: Willie Fritz, Houston

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Brent Venables, Oklahoma

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mike Elko, Texas A&M

Desperately seeking … anything:  Bronco Mendenhall

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Kent State 59-3)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: USC (defeated Rutgers 42-35)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UTEP (lost to No. 19 Michigan 52-17)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  New Mexico (lost to Oklahoma 14-6)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Iowa State (defeated Bowling Green 55-7)

Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad:  Northern Illinois

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Virginia

Did the season start?  Texas A&M
Can the season end?  Utah State

Can the season never end? Ole Miss

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 8 Ole Miss 32, No. 9 LSU 24

Play this again, too: Toledo 49, Temple 48 (OT)

Never play this again: No. 21 Oregon 84, Portland State 0

What?  West Virgina 38, No. 25 Virginia 27

Huh?  No. 23 Louisville 41, No. 16 SMU 31

Are you kidding me??  No. 8 Ole Miss 32, No. 9 LSU 24

Oh – my – God:  Kentucky 31, No. 9 Texas A&M 21

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 4)
Ticket to die for:  No. 1 Texas @ No. 14 Tennessee

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: Appalachian State @ NC State

Best non-Power Four matchup: Boise State @ Western Michigan

Upset alert: Wake Forest @ No. 16 Louisville

Must win: No. 23 Texas A&M @ No. 10 LSU

Offensive explosion: No. 20 Oregon @ No. 12 USC

Defensive struggle: Nebraska @ Michigan State

Great game no one is talking about: No. 15 Utah @ Iowa State

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Kirk Ferentz of Iowa vs Kyle Whittingham of Michigan

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Central Michigan @ No. 5 Miami

Why are they playing?  South Alabama @ Kentucky

Plenty of good seats remaining: Stonehill @ Ohio U

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Mercyhurst @ Western Kentucky

Week 3 Thoughts:

Lane Kiffin’s awkward homecoming back to Ole Miss as the new head coach at LSU was a game that lived up to its hype.  In addition to the obvious awkwardness and intrigue of that matchup (Kiffin’s former assistant at Ole Miss is now the Rebels’ head coach) was a layer of irony piled on top of it all.  Clearly the idea behind Kiffin’s sudden, jarring departure from a playoff-bound program was to go to an even greener pasture.  Yet the team Kiffin left behind played like the more physical team, not to mention having an overwhelming advantage in quarterback play.  Despite the Tigers’ occasional flash of brilliance, the Rebels were able to maintain their lead throughout most of the game, and triumphed in the end, 32-24, in what must have felt like a massive vindication for the faithful fans in Oxford, Miss.

When one widens the angle of the lens, a curious dynamic comes into view.  Louisville opened the season against Ole Miss, and almost beat them.  LSU, seemingly a stronger team than the Cardinals, had greater struggles against the Rebels in their game than the Cards did against the same team in theirs.  Meanwhile, Louisville defeated a formidable SMU team at home.

Next week, Wake Forest comes calling at Louisville, the same Demon Deacons that hanged tough against currently-No. 6 Miami.  Whereas the Cardinals faced a must-win for conference championship viability this just-concluded week, they could face a potential upset in the week to come.

Random Thoughts:

Offensive explosions I did not have on my bingo card this week included Florida at Auburn (the Gators won, 44-39); Mississippi State at South Carolina (the Bulldogs won, 41-34); Florida State at Alabama (the Tide eventually pulled away, 50-36); and, perhaps the most odd of them all, Purdue at UCLA, with the Bruins winning 52-38.

Speaking of Mississippi State, they have been on a tear recently.  The Bulldogs humiliated Minnesota up in Minneapolis the previous week before pulling out another win on the road in Columbia.  Now at No. 24, they face No. 19 Missouri in their biggest test yet.

Speaking of potential upsets, keep an eye on how Ole Miss reacts to their big win, as they venture into The Swamp next week to face an apparently resurgent Florida team, now ranked No. 21.

Meanwhile, whither LSU?  Now at No. 10 (only losing two spots in the rankings), they face Texas A&M, erstwhile No. 9, now all the way down to No. 23 after coughing up the game at home to still-unranked Kentucky.  Both teams now have a chance to recover their wounded pride and standing, making for a uniquely must-win situation.

Along the same subject of must-wins, how does Texas respond to their No. 1 ranking?  They now must venture into a hostile Neyland Stadium to face No. 14 Tennessee.  Not so long ago, on paper, such a discrepancy in the rankings would be overwhelming.  With NIL having brought a new level of parity to the upper rankings, that gap in rank is not so overwhelming anymore.  Bottom line, the Horns will have a major fight on their hands, in what should be the best game of the week, within the Noon Eastern Time slot, no less.