College Football Week 3 Awards September 24, 2015

(Note:  All rankings are current AP [week 3] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES Wish I were him: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss

Glad I’m not him: Nick Saban, Alabama

Lucky guy: Jim Mora, UCLA

Poor guy: Mike Riley, Nebraska

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bret Bielema, Arkansas

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Steve Sarkesian, USC

Desperately seeking … anything:  Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

TEAMS

Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 12 Oregon (defeated Georgia State 61-28)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 4 Michigan State (defeated Air Force 35-21)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Idaho State (lost to Boise State 52-0)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  UConn (lost to Missouri 9-6)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  North Carolina (defeated Illinois 48-14)

Dang, they’re good: Georgia

Dang, they’re bad:  Rutgers

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Georgia Tech

Did the season start? Arkansas

Can the season end?  Idaho State

Can the season never end?  LSU

GAMES Play this again:  No. 10 UCLA 24, No. 19 BYU 23

Play this again, too:  Cal 45, Texas 44

Never play this again: Arkansas State 70, Missouri State 7

What? Colorado 27, Colorado State 24 (OT)

Huh?  Texas Tech 35, Arkansas 24

Are you kidding me?  No. 15 Ole Miss 43, No. 2 Alabama 37

Oh – my – God:  Stanford 41, No. 6 USC 32

NEXT WEEK

(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)

Ticket to die for:  No. 9 UCLA @ No. 16 Arizona

Also:  Tennessee @ Florida

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Boise State @ Virginia (Fri.)

Best non-Power Five matchup: Cincinnati @ Memphis

Upset alert: No. 24 Oklahoma State @ Texas

Must win: UCF @ South Carolina

Offensive explosion: No. 3 TCU @ Texas Tech

Defensive struggle: No. 25 Missouri @ Kentucky

Great game no one is talking about:  No. 18 Utah @ No. 13 Oregon

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Bronco Mendenhall of BYU vs. Jim Harbaugh of Michigan

Who’s bringing the body bags? Southern @ No. 7 Georgia

Why are they playing? La. Monroe @ No. 12 Alabama

Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida Atlantic @ Charlotte

They shoot horses, don’t they?  Kansas @ Rutgers

Week 3 Take-aways:

I thought that Notre Dame was supposed to lose to Georgia Tech after the Irish lost their starting QB last week.

Louisville is, without a doubt, the best 0-3 team in college football by far.

Last week, I noted about Steve Spurrier is on thin ice.  After losing so horribly to Georgia (as good as the Bulldogs are), it has become clear that he and the Gamecocks have no quarterback play, and recruiting seems down overall.  If he is wise, he shall start planning his exit strategy.  Now.  Moreover, the South Carolina administration needs to start finding a good replacement coach after season’s end.  Now.

Who would have thought that Florida vs. Kentucky would be a defensive struggle?  This guy did, but this this guy is still in disbelief that it was.  That said, the true surprise defensive struggle was Mizzou vs. UConn.  The Tigers must have decided to take a week off.

The game of college football has changed so quickly that it is starting to marginalize defensive-minded coaches.  This is the biggest reason that the Alabama Dynasty has some to an end.  It is not anybody’s fault per se, it is simply that the current rules and the trends have combined in a way to render defensive-minded coaches at a disadvantage.  That being said, Nick Saban does himself zero favors by not attracting a good enough quarterback on account of his refusal to modernize his offense.  The Tide’s other skill personnel are exemplary, to be sure.  They are just pedestrian – at best – at the most important position on the field.