1: Carson Beck and Georgia offense struggle against Kentucky
Coming into Saturday, Carson Beck and the Georgia offense were off to a hot start: defeating Clemson 34-3 in week 1 and a 48-3 thrashing in week 2 against Tennessee Tech. Beck was already over 500 yards passing and had totaled 7 touchdowns through the air in the Bulldogs’ first two games. The Wildcats, coming off of a 31-6 letdown defeat to South Carolina, were 24 point underdogs. The Wildcats’ highly praised defense performed up to their potential in week 3. The defense held strong for 3 quarters, ultimately allowing a Branson Robinson touchdown, which proved to be the difference in the 4th quarter. Beck and the offensive line looked out of sync all night, partially due to their RG, Tate Ratledge, going down with an injury. The credit has to go to Brad White and his veteran defense, who held Georgia’s star running back, Trevor Ettiene, to under 4 yards a carry. The Wildcats were a few plays and calls away from upsetting Kirby’s top ranked squad in front of a sold-out crowd. The Bulldogs will look to fix their offensive struggles during their upcoming bye week before their week 5 clash in Tuscaloosa against Alabama.
2: The Bayou Bengals storm back to beat South Carolina
The 1-1 LSU Tigers took on the Gamecocks of South Carolina for College Gameday. Brian Kelly in his second year as the head coach of the Tigers has had success but after a week 1 loss to the USC Trojans needed a win on the road over the Gamecocks. Redshirt junior quarterback Garret Nussmeier is off to a hot start throwing for over 300 yards in both of their first two games. South Carolina’s edge rushers have been a pleasant surprise to the SC fanbase this season. The Gamecocks struck first with a LaNorris Sellers rushing touchdown, then followed this up with 10 more unanswered points. LSU trailed 24-16 at halftime but came roaring back to win 36-33 and earn a much needed road win. LSU was the beneficiary of some good luck throwing two pick sixes which were called back for penalties. Sellers also went down with an ankle injury in the closing seconds of the first half which played a huge part in the Gamecocks second half offensive struggles.
3: The Tide Roll in Madison
Alabama and Coach Kalen DeBoer earned their first marquee win in this new era of Alabama football. Camp Randall Stadium was filled with Badger faithful to watch the 4th ranked Crimson Tide play Wisconsin. The Badgers came out and opened the game with a field goal but once Jalen Milroe connected with Ryan Williams the Tide never looked back. Milroe tallied two touchdowns on the ground and three more through the air. Tyler Van Dyke went down with an injury in the first quarter and this led to a lot of offensive struggles for Wisconsin. The credit has to be given to DeBoer’s defense forcing two fumbles. Coming off of a national title birth a year ago with Washington the CFB world knew DeBoer can coach. With that being said he has taken on a whole new challenge taking over for Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. Unfortunately for DeBoer he will be following up one of the greatest coaching careers in college football history. If his highly ranked squad can maintain the level of play they were at on Saturday, the transition from Saban to DeBoer will be seamless.
4: Oregon routes Oregon State in the Civil War
Dan Lanning’s angry Oregon squad walked into Reser Stadium for the annual Civil War with bad intentions on Saturday. The Ducks had faced criticism after two subpar performances to start the season. Dan Lanning and his squad heard the criticism and knew it was time to turn it on and perform at a high level. This is exactly what happened on Saturday when Dillon Gabriel and the Oregon offense threw up 49 points. Will Stein, the Oregon offensive coordinator, schemed up a phenomenal game to beat the Beavers. Tez Johnson, Jayden Limar, Jordan James, and Noah Whittington led the way for the Ducks. Anthony Hankerson, running back for the Beavers had a strong two touchdown performance. All of the skeptics doubting the Ducks have been given reason to stop worrying for the time being. Lannings squad is poised to contend for a Big 10 Championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff.
5: Avery Johnson and Kansas State throttle Arizona
The 14th ranked Kansas State Wildcats hosted the 20th ranked Wildcats of Arizona for a Big 12 clash on Friday night. Noah Fiifta and Tetairoa McMillan of Arizona are one of the most high powered duos in all of the land. They connected 11 times for 138 yards, but this proved to not be nearly enough to beat Avery Johnson and Kansas State. Johnson and K-State scored their first touchdown at the end of the first quarter and they never looked back. Dylan Edwards had the play of the game running a punt back for 71 yards in the 2nd quarter. From this point on it was all Avery Johnson who rushed for 110 yards and threw for 156 and two touchdowns. The Wildcats of Kansas State silenced some of the skeptics after their narrow win over Tulane the previous week.
