Snap judgments from Week 3 in college football
College football's biggest story lines can build up — or get knocked down — in one snap. After a Saturday full of action and overreaction, we're here to help you figure out what's hot, what's not and what's true. Here are five storylines to know (and, in some cases, debunk):
This week's Snap Judgments:
1.The SEC West isn't what it was a year ago ... but it still remains fascinating. Auburn got whipped by LSU a week after eking out a win over FCS Jacksonville State, essentially eliminating the Tigers' shot at the four-team College Football Playoff. Alabama got beat by Ole Miss (second consecutive loss to the Rebs!) and ended the game with way more questions than answers at quarterback.
Oh, and Arkansas lost to an unranked opponent for the second consecutive week. So, we won't be talking about this being perhaps the best and most terrifying division in college football this year. But we will be talking about Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia (Holy Greyson Lambert!) as the league's top dogs and College Football Playoff contenders.
2.There are a LOT of people happy Bret Bielema is losing ... starting with Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury, who handed Bielema's Arkansas team a beatdown Saturday night — and then ripped Bielema in the postgame news conference. Understandably so — he said Bielema trash-talked spread offenses when meeting with Texas high school coaches this summer. Kingsbury made sure to point out that Bielema got his a** kicked — likely will again next week against Texas A&M, he said — and that it felt good to be the one to kick it. We're sure Kingsbury's cell phone will be buzzing all weekend.
3. Leonard Fournette could win the Heisman ... yes, really. We love September Heisman Trophy campaigns, mostly because they look pretty absurd by season's end. But this kid is the real deal. He had 19 carries for 228 yards and three touchdowns against Auburn — and there's no reason to think he won't keep producing at an insane clip this season, especially if LSU emerges as a Playoff candidate. Never forget that Fournette struck a Heisman pose after his first career touchdown last year. Perhaps he was not cocky, but rather prescient?
4. Notre Dame will just keep winning, no matter who's out there ... or not. No team this year has been bitten by the injury bug more than the Irish — who have lost a bunch of key offensive contributors, including starting quarterback Malik Zaire — and now are losing players to injuries that happen while celebrating big plays. (We see you, Drue Tranquill.) Beating Georgia Tech on Saturday was impressive, and certainly one of Brian Kelly's best wins during his tenure in South Bend. But the Irish's schedule appears too tough for a patchwork roster to make a Playoff run.
5. Texas is a mess ... but only on defense. The Longhorns have allowed 45, 42 and 38 points in their three games this season. Though Texas appears to have finally found a good quarterback in Jerrod Heard and was just a heartbreaking missed extra point away from sending Saturday's game against Cal to overtime, there's plenty to be concerned with moving forward. Particularly with the defense, which was supposed to be a strength of this team in Charlie Strong's second season. Texas is allowing opponents 512.3 total yards of offense per game. That's problematic.
HOW THE TOP 25 FARED IN WEEK 3