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College football 2018: Week 3 heroes and villains

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Roar Guru
16th September, 2018
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Another college football weekend is in the books, with all the drama that we’re so used to. Let’s take a look at who covered themselves in glory and who didn’t, with Week 3’s heroes and villains.

Heroes
Alabama: the Tide were unstoppable against Ole Miss, particularly in the first half, where they built an unassailable 49-7 lead, en route to a 62-7 win. Hard to see this squad not going all the way again.

Ohio State: the Buckeyes were challenged by TCU, but showed off their national championship credentials with a 40-28 victory in Arlington. 20 points in a four minute stretch from the end of the third into the fourth iced the game. With Urban Meyer back next week, this OSU team has the potential to do big things. They’re loaded everywhere.

Kansas: The Jayhawks have back-to-back wins for the first time since 2011 after a messy 55-14 win in New Jersey over a hapless Rutgers squad, thanks to 158 rushing yards from Pooka Williams.

Donovan Peoples-Jones: the Michigan receiver had three touchdown receptions of 35, 7 and 41 yards as the Wolverines beat Southern Methodist 45-20 in Ann Arbor.

Alan Bowman: the Texas Tech quarterback eviscerated Houston’s defense for 605 yards and five touchdowns in a wild 63-29 win in Lubbock. That’s a Big XII freshman record.

Syracuse: The Orange handled Florida State 30-7 for the first win over the Seminoles since 1966. The Orange defense spent large chunks of the game in the FSU backfield, recording four sacks.

Brigham Young: The Cougars went into Camp Randall Stadium and defeated No. 6 Wisconsin after Badgers kicker Rafael Gaglianone missed a field goal to tie the game as time expired. A huge win for the Cougars that will definitely have playoff implications.

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South Florida: down 19-7 to Illinois in the fourth quarter at Soldier Field, the Bulls rallied for a 25-19 win on a 50-yard touchdown strike with just over two minutes to play.

Duke: beat Baylor 40-20 without their starting quarterback. They’re ACC Coastal Division dark horses.

Louisiana State: the No. 12 Tigers erased an 11-point deficit to defeat No. 7 Auburn in Jordan Hare Stadium. Their win came on a 41-yard field goal from Cole Tracy as time expired. Important victory for Ed Orgeron’s squad. Another win that’ll jumble up everyone’s playoff

Kyler Murray: making his first road start for Oklahoma, Murray went 21-29 for 348 yards and three touchdowns as the Sooners handled Iowa State 37-27 in Ames.

Oklahoma State: the Cowboys dominated the highly-fancied Boise State Broncos in Stillwater, dominating on defence and especially on special teams for a statement 44-21 win.

Troy: the Trojans from the Sun Belt conference shocked Nebraska in Memorial Stadium, recording a 24-19 win that almost no one saw coming.

Florida: following a surprise loss to Kentucky, the Gators rebounded with a solid 48-10 win over a Colorado State squad who last week beat Arkansas.

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Ezekiel Elliott playing college football for Ohio State.

Another cracking week of college football is done and dusted. (Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

Villains
Wisconsin
: the No. 6 Badgers 24-21 lost to Brigham Young at home, and almost certainly ended their chances of making the college football playoff. A brutal defeat that snaps a 26-game win streak against unranked opponents.

Defences in the Texas Tech/Houston game: as the old saying goes, defence is just the thing around the outside of the field. It was certainly the case in Lubbock, where Red Raiders and Cougars combined for 1326 yards in a game that Tech won 63-49.

Paul Finebaum: the SEC reporter, on ESPN Saturday morning, declared that Boise State would lose to Oklahoma, and went on to mention the sort of schedule OU had, playing UCLA and Boise, and mentioning Kyler Murray. Only problem, it was Oklahoma State playing Boise State whilst the Sooners played Iowa State. Whoops!

Chip Kelly: the vaunted offensive coach’s return to the college football ranks at UCLA has started off terribly with heavy losses to Cincinnati, Oklahoma and now Fresno State. Even casting aside the loss to OU, it’s a horrendous opening for the Bruins, who are 0-3 for the first time since 1971.

Northwestern: up 21-3 to Akron. Lost 39-34, at home. That’s as bad a loss as there is.

Southern California: Trojans fans may look back on this Saturday as the beginning of the end of the Clay Helton era. A 14-3 first quarter lead became a 37-14 loss. Defense couldn’t get a stop on third down. Run game managed -1 yard.

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Special teams were a disaster. Play calling on offense not great, either. A disaster in Austin for anyone who (like me) bleeds cardinal and gold.

Arkansas: a week after watching Colorado State score seventeen unanswered in the fourth quarter to snatch an improbable win, the Razorbacks followed up with a 44-17 loss to North Texas. The Hogs are 2-1 and in real strife.

Justin Herbert: Heisman hype for the Oregon quarterback might die away after his effort against San Jose State, 16-36 for 309 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. A 44 per cent completion percentage won’t move the Heisman needle.

Nebraska: the Cornhuskers are 0-2 for the first time since 1957 and have lost six consecutive dating back to last season. Not the start to the Scott Frost era that the legions of Husker fans expected.

Sydney Cup college football NFL

College football is growing in popularity in Australia (Photo: Jack Prichard)

Florida State: Willie Taggart’s debut in Tallahassee could not have started worse. The Seminoles lost 30-7 against Syracuse ad look terrible across the board. It’s early, but with their only win a close one against FBS outfit Samford, Taggart’s seat is starting to get warm.

Rutgers: lost 55-14 to Kansas at home. Not much more needs to be said. Except that the Scarlet Knights might have overtaken KU as the worst Power 5 team in the country.

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