College football 2017: Week 3 heroes

Another week of college football is in the books, and, as usual, there were lots of impressive and spectacular individual performances. Here are just a few teams and individuals who covered themselves in gridiron glory, my Week 3 heroes.

Texas and Southern California
It wasn’t a shootout and it wasn’t always pretty, but there was drama a-plenty Saturday night in the Coliseum. The momentum swings, particularly in the last five minutes of regulation and through the 43-yard field goal that won the game for USC, were reminiscent of the Rose Bowl Game between the Trojans and Penn State last year, and the Rose Bowl Game between Texas and USC in 2006.

It was college football at it’s very best – a wonderful advertisement for the game.

I’d suggest that the Longhorns meet Texas every year, but I’m not sure my heart could handle it.

Mississippi State
I always thought that the Bulldogs, at home in Starkville, were a chance of beating Louisiana State, but I didn’t think they’d take the Tigers to the cleaners in a 37-7 victory that was even more dominant than the final score suggested.

Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald showed us he’s the real deal, but the bigger story might be the Bulldogs defence, which held LSU to just 270 yards.

Mason Rudolph
Going against the best defence he’s seen this year, the Oklahoma State quarterback had another day out, and did nothing to downplay his Heisman chances, throwing five touchdowns among 497 yards to help the Cowboys throttle Pitt 59-21.

Florida
The old ‘Hail Mary to win the game with less than ten seconds to go’ play always gets you a berth in my heroes. How Tennessee ever let it happen is beyond me, but Feleipe Franks found Tyrie Cleveland for a 26-20 win. Huge for head coach Jim McElwain and especially for Feleipe Franks. If there’s ever been a quarterback who needed a moment like that, it’s Franks.

Clemson
The Tigers got the better of Lamar Jackson once again, putting an end to any talk that Jackson might win back-to-back Heisman trophies with a 47-21 win in Louisville. Quarterback Kelly Bryant used the national showcase to step out from DeShaun Watson’s shadow, accounting for three touchdowns and the Clemson defence held Jackson to 381 total yards of offense, a far cry from 485 yards against Purdue and 525 against North Carolina. The Tigers look to be the best team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Brandon Wimbush
The Notre Dame quarterback wasn’t great throwing the ball against Boston College on Saturday, but made up for it by setting a school record for rushing yards by a quarterback. He carried it 21 times for 207 yards and four touchdowns, which is also a school record. The Irish won 49-20.

Northern Illinois
The Huskies became the first team not in a Power 5 conference or a major independent program to notch a win against Nebraska at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln since 2004, when the Huskers fell to Southern Mississippi.

Brandon Dawkins
The Arizona quarterback balled out Friday night against Texas-El Paso, doing his best Lamar Jackson impersonation with six touchdowns – three running and three passing – in the Wildcats’ 63-16 road win. The most impressive thing? He did it all in three quarters, playing only one series in the fourth.

Purdue
Don’t look now, but the Boilermakers may be legit. They routed Missouri 35-3 in Colombia, rolling up 477 yards of offense in the process. That’s a big win against an SEC opponent on the road. Head coach Jeff Brohm is doing great things in West Lafayette.

J.T. Barrett
Maligned all week, the Ohio State quarterback accounted for three touchdowns (two passing and one rushing) to lead the Buckeyes to a 38-7 win over Army. In the process, he broke Drew Brees’ record for most total touchdowns in Big Ten conference history. Barrett’s mark currently is 107.

Alex Hornibrook
Against a very good Brigham Young defence, the Wisconsin quarterback had the best game of his career in Madison, completing 18 of 19 passes 256 yards and four touchdowns in the 40-6 Badger win.

Brad Nessler
“A Hail Mary that’s full of grace!” That’s how the CBS play-by-play man ended his perfect call of Florida’s miraculous win. It was Nessler’s first big moment calling the SEC package for CBS and he handled it flawlessly.

Luke Falk
After being benched last week against Boise State, the Washington State quarterback was back with a vengeance against Oregon State, with a ridiculous stat line: 37-49 for 396 yards and six touchdowns. Behind that performance, the Cougars won 52-23.

Shaun Wilson
The Duke Blue Devils running back was the star of the 34-20 win over Baylor on Saturday, rushing for 176 yards and two touchdowns.

Cam Phillips
The Virginia Tech receiver snagged fourteen catches for 189 yards and three touchdowns as the Hokies handled East Carolina 64-17.

Quinn Nordin
The Michigan kicker booted a school-record five field goals as the Wolverines eked out an unimpressive 29-13 win over Air Force.

Memphis
A big 48-45 home win against a ranked UCLA team on Saturday afternoon to vault into the New Year’s Six Bowl conversation. Power 5 programs looking for a new coach at season’s end are definitely going to take a look at Tigers head coach Mike Norvell.

Vanderbilt
The Commodores had a big 14-7 win over Kansas State, their first non-conference win over a ranked opponent since 1946. Their defence is ferocious, and it’s going to give their SEC opponents some headaches as we move into conference play.