Dan Mullen names top five college football teams of Week 3
Week 3 of the college football was defined by upset bids, both successful and unsuccessful. Many games that were won by the higher-ranked or Power Five team were much closer than anyone would have expected, whether it was Alabama, Florida State or someone else.
But that led to a lot of great finishes across the country, including Missouri‘s game-winning field goal over Kansas State or Colorado coming back late to hold off Colorado State. But there were a select group that caught the attention of ESPN analyst Dan Mullen.
After the exciting Week 3 weekend of college football, Mullen posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, his superlatives from the week that was. Here are Dan Mullen’s top five college football teams of Week 3.
1. Miami (Ohio)
Cincinnati and Miami (Ohio) have the longest running non-conference rivalry in the country, and the two teams added another classic in Victory Bell history with the game Saturday. The RedHawks pulled off the major upset of the Bearcats with a 31-24 overtime win. It was Miami (Ohio)’s first win in the rivalry since 2005.
Quarterback Brett Gabbert led the way for the RedHawks with 237 passing yards, 75 rushing yards and three touchdown passes. Both his first and last throws of the game were touchdown passes. The first was a 79-yard score on the first play of the game. The last throw was an eight-yard score to in overtime that gave Miami (Ohio) the lead.
2. Florida
Florida‘s game against Tennessee was being hyped up by many as a must-win contest for the Gators, and Billy Napier‘s squad went out and got the job done. A 20-point second quarter led the way for a 29-16 victory for Florida.
Trevor Etienne had a standout game on the ground with 172 yards and 23 carries. The defense also came to play, shutting the Volunteers down on all three of their fourth down attempts.
3. South Alabama
South Alabama and Oklahoma State played twice before Saturday back in 2017 and 2018. The Cowboys won those two games by a combined score of 99-20.
The Jaguars returned the favor at Boone Pickens Stadium with a 33-7 beatdown of their Big 12 opponents. South Alabama took a 23-0 lead into the halftime break and Oklahoma didn’t get on the board until the fourth quarter.
4. LSU
LSU rolled into Starkville, Miss., and left with a statement 41-14 victory over Mississippi State for its first SEC win of the year. The Tigers have now scored 113 points since losing in the first game of the year to Florida State.
Jayden Daniels led the way with a performance he won’t forget for a long time. He was a remarkable 30 of 34 for 361 yards and two touchdowns while also adding 64 yards and two scores on the ground. Malik Nabers was his go-target with 13 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns.
5. BYU
BYU went into Fayetteville, Ark., this past weekend and secured one of the more under-the-radar impressive non-conference victories of the season by a Power Five team with its win over Arkansas. The Razorbacks outgained the Cougars by 143 yards but BYU locked in on a third down.
Arkansas was just 2 of 13 on third down conversions. The Cougars also scored the last 17 points of the game to come back from 31-21 down to win 38-21.
Week 4 of the college football season will have a lot to live up to match all the fun that was Week 3.