Week 3 was expected to be relatively quiet, but it delivered several heavyweight clashes. No. 6 Georgia outlasted No. 15 Tennessee in one of the weekend’s marquee wins, while Georgia Tech upset No. 12 Clemson. No. 16 Texas A&M went on the road and snapped a 13-game road losing streak against AP Top 10 opponents, while Vanderbilt smacked No. 11 South Carolina

The slate also turned into a showcase for rising quarterbacks. Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar impressed in his first SEC start, Michigan’s Bryce Underwood carried the offense with his arm and legs, Alabama’s Ty Simpson extended his hot start and Houston’s Conner Weigman posted a career performance against Colorado.

Even the weekends of college football that seem to be lackluster continue to deliver major storylines. And with conference play starting in earnest for many leagues next week, the best college football is just getting started. Here are the biggest winners and losers from Week 3 of college football.

Winner: Texas A&M

In some small way, No. 16 Texas A&M’s upset victory at the last second against No. 8 Notre Dame under the watchful eye of Touchdown Jesus felt like a broken curse. 

The Aggies had a game-winning touchdown called back by a hold. They faced fourth-and-12 because of multiple false start penalties. Their game plan called for throwing the ball to a blocking tight end — a dang former walk-on. And somehow, everything came together in a 41-40 upset victory against the Fighting Irish. 

Suddenly, after snapping a streak of 13 straight road losses against AP Top 10 opponents, the Aggies feel free. The schedule ahead isn’t easy and Texas A&M will have to continue the magic, but Week 3 was a moment of release for a desperate fanbase. 

Loser: Clemson

Before the season, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told reporters he believed his program could be the first to post a 16-0 record in the expanded College Football Playoff era. That dream is already on hold after a stunning 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech — the Tigers’ first to the Yellow Jackets since 2014.

Clemson has struggled in nearly every phase during its 1-2 start, also the program’s first since 2014. Georgia Tech piled up 147 yards rushing — including 103 from quarterback Haynes King — while Cade Klubnik managed just 207 yards passing for the Tigers.

ESPN’s David Hale highlighted a brutal trend: Clemson is two plays — a 58-yard touchdown vs. Pitt and a 57-yard field goal vs. SMU — from being 1-7 in its last eight games against Power Four opponents. The Tigers haven’t beaten a power-conference foe by double digits in 11 months.

The whispers of a Clemson resurgence have been premature. Right now, the Tigers look cooked.

Winner: Georgia

Kirby Smart will have plenty to say to his defense after giving up 496 total yards — including 371 through the air  to Joey Aguilar — in No. 6 Georgia’s 44-41 overtime win over No. 15 Tennessee. But the Bulldogs showed championship resolve in withstanding a back-and-forth game at Neyland Stadium, one of the nation’s rowdiest venues.

After a sluggish start, quarterback Gunner Stockton settled in and justified the staff’s confidence. The junior threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a rushing score to keep Georgia on track. The defense delivered in overtime, holding the Vols to a 42-yard field goal.

It took some fortunate breaks for the Bulldogs to survive their trip to Knoxville, but passing such an early test bodes well for their title hopes. For Tennessee, the missed opportunity could sting for years.

Loser: Virginia Tech

It’s over for Brent Pry at Virginia Tech. It might not be today or this week, but Pry’s done after a horrendous 45-26 loss against in-state foe Old Dominion on Saturday. The Monarchs rushed for an absurd 250 yards and four touchdowns against a supposed defensive-minded coach.

The loss dropped Virginia Tech to 0-3 for the first time since 1987, the first year under Frank Beamer. Astonishingly, the Hokies’ 16-24 record since 2022 is the worst of any legacy ACC team over that stretch. It’s embarrassing for a program of Virginia Tech’s caliber and necessitates serious soul-searching in Blacksburg. 

Virginia Tech plays Wofford next week, but the ACC schedule has countless loseable games on the docket. Pry already posted the first three-win season since 1992 in his first year. Another could be on the horizon. 

Maybe worse! 

Winner: West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez

Nearly 20 years ago, Rich Rodriguez suffered one of the most devastating losses of the 21st Century. His West Virginia team was one win away from playing for a BCS National Championship, but lost 13-9 against hated rival Pittsburgh — a mediocre 5-7 team. After the game, Rodriguez abandoned West Virginia (his home state program) for Michigan, making him a public enemy in the state.  

Nearly two decades later, Rodriguez got his revenge in his second stint with the program. West Virginia went down 24-14 in the fourth quarter and had to score 10 points in the final 5:03 just to force overtime. After scoring a touchdown to open overtime, West Virginia’s defense came alive to deliver the program one of its biggest wins of the last five years. They’re drinking the RichRod Kool Aid again in Morgantown. 

Loser: South Carolina

Speaking of Virginia Tech, No. 11 South Carolina and Vanderbilt had a mutual opponent in the Hokies. South Carolina won by 13. Vandy obliterated them on their home field by 24. Maybe, that should have been our first indication that the Gamecocks’ top 15 AP ranking was a little suspect. 

Of course, South Carolina was significantly impacted by the loss of quarterback LaNorris Sellers in the second quarter. At the time, Vanderbilt held a 14-7 lead, but Sellers could have helped bring them back. Still, Sellers had negative rushing yardage and an interception before he went out. Vanderbilt was the better team in just about every phase. 

Outside of the magical Steve Spurrier era, this was the highest-ranked preseason team in South Carolina history, coming in at No. 13. Already, their dreams of competing with the best in the Southeastern Conference are out of reach. With seven games against AP Top 25 opponents ahead, suddenly bowl eligibility is more of a concern than the playoff. 

Winner: Alabama QB Ty Simpson

Ty Simpson was the face of No. 19 Alabama’s frustrating season-opening loss to Florida State after completing just over half his passes. Two weeks later, he’s leading the Tide’s resurgence.

The junior was nearly flawless in a 38-14 rout of Wisconsin, completing 24 of 29 passes for 382 yards and four touchdowns while connecting with six different receivers. Dating back to the previous win over ULM, Simpson put together a stretch where he completed 31 of 32 passes for 493 yards and six scores across just over six quarters.

Most importantly, he’s getting the ball out quicker and giving his playmakers room to thrive. Alabama still has work to do to climb back into the CFP picture, but Simpson is starting to look like a star.

Winner: Delaware

The Blue Hens are in the first year of a transition up to the FBS level and faced a talented UConn squad on Saturday. Against all odds, in a game they were 8.5-point underdogs, Delaware shocked UConn 44-41 in double-overtime to record the first FBS win in program history. Running back Jo Silver was sensational with 179 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Nick Minicucci scored four touchdowns of his own, three on the ground. 

Delaware coach Ryan Carty is a rising star in the industry after coming from the same New Hampshire tree as Chip Kelly and Ryan Day. He coordinated Sam Houston to the FCS national title under K.C. Keeler before returning to his alma mater, where he was named a captain as a senior despite losing the starting quarterback job to a guy named Joe Flacco. Well if Saturday is any indication, Carty’s name will be right there with Flacco in the annals of Delaware Athletics history. 

There are structural flaws all over Kansas State’s roster during its historically terrible 1-3 start, but Johnson’s performance was truly abysmal in the team’s loss to Arizona. Johnson completed a paltry 13 of 29 passes for 88 yards, and was credited with minus-16 yards rushing as Kansas State became the first offense to record fewer than 200 yards against Arizona since 2021 California. 

Every frustration with Johnson as a passer showed up in the final minutes with a chance to win the game. Johnson read a pull poorly to put Kansas State behind the chains and then threw a wobbly slant that was dropped. When Kansas State got it back, he threw a huge four-yard pass to Jayce Brown, but whiffed on three of his final four passes to cost Kansas State the game. He finished averaging an absurd 3.0 yards per pass attempt. 

By the way, the 1-3 start is the program’s worst since 1989. That was the first year of the Bill Snyder era, when Kansas State was considering shutting down its football program. That’s probably not on the table, but Chris Klieman’s staff is reaching the danger zone. 

Winner: Tulane

Winning a breakup isn’t everything. It’s also pretty nice. Duke made former Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah the most expensive quarterback in college football. In a return game, it was BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff that stole the show in a 34-27 victory. Retzlaff exploded for 245 yards passing, 111 yards rushing and four total touchdowns in the win. 

Mensah was good, finishing with 313 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Much of his damage was done after Tulane took a two-touchdown lead in the third quarter. Suddenly, Tulane is the resurgent program in the Group of Six, and has a real chance to get ranked in the AP Top 25. The Green Wave are in great shape. 

I’m tired of talking about UCLA stinking, so let’s give the Lobos all the flowers. New Mexico walked into the historic Rose Bowl and obliterated UCLA to the tune of 35-10, a dominant victory for Jason Eck’s upstart program. There was nothing special about how they did it, Eck’s offense simply rushed for 298 physical yards against a Power Four defense, with Weber State transfer Damon Bankston fielding 154 of the yards. 

New Mexico is a difficult place to win, and seemed to be behind the 8-ball after dynamic quarterback Devon Dampier transferred to Utah. Instead, the Lobos are somehow off to a magical start. Welcome to the Mountain West championship race, Mr. Eck. 

Loser: Liberty

What on earth happened to Liberty? The Flames are one of the most well-funded programs in the Group of Six. Their coach makes power conference money. They played in the Fiesta Bowl just two years ago. And now, suddenly, they’re 1-2 after losing to Jacksonville State and Bowling Green by double figures. 

The Eagles loss on Saturday was truly a head-scratcher after turning the ball over four times to hand Eddie George his first FBS win. The bottom could easily fall out if Jamey Chadwell can’t get more out of his team. With James Madison and Old Dominion ahead, there are plenty more losses before Conference USA play even gets underway. 

Winner: FIU

It’s been nine long years since the Don Shula Award has resided in FIU’s facility. FAU had cleared the Panthers, winning seven straight games by massive margins. In a matchup of first-year staffs, Willie Simmons’ FIU finally broke the curse behind 173 yards and two touchdowns from Kejon Owens in a 38-28 victory.