Five Things Feeding My Soul: Week 3 College Football Takeaways
College football rarely follows the script, but Week 3 tore it up.
Revenge, 293 days since Lane Kiffin’s left Ole Miss for LSU, was served in a thrilling top-10 showdown in Oxford. The UK welcomed college football back to Britain and North Carolina State discovered that even when running down the clock with six seconds remaining, victory is never entirely guaranteed. Throw in another top-10 upset and several teams continuing to upset the expected script, and there was plenty feeding the soul this Saturday.
Ole Miss gets its revenge on Lane Kiffin
No.8 Ole Miss 32, No.7 LSU 24
A hostile reception greeted former coach Lane Kiffin on his return to Oxford since leaving Ole Miss for the riches of LSU. The two top-10 teams, bitter rivals for over a century, served up a classic in the latest edition of the Magnolia Bowl.
Ole Miss raced into a 24-7 lead on the back of a hugely impressive first half performance from quarterback Trinidad Chambliss who was 8-for-8 on third down passing. The Rebels' defense contained Sam Leavitt, restricting LSU's quarterback to just 51 yards before the break.
LSU turned up the pressure in the third quarter with 17 unanswered points to level the game at 24-24. Ole Miss were apprehensive. The usually unflappable Lucas Carneiro missed a 53 yard field goal and Chambliss was sacked by safety Ty Benefield. Chambliss recovered to lead a 74-yard touchdown drive and converted a gutsy two-point conversion to put Ole Miss eight points clear late in the fourth quarter.
Kiffin made a huge call to go for it on a 4th-and-4 play with 4:59 left. Failure to convert would have handed the ball, and almost certainly the victory, to Ole Miss.
"He's put all the chips in the centre of the table here." - ESPN's Chris Fowler on Lane Kiffin's gutsy call
LSU's gamble paid off but Jaylon Braxton’s interception of a tipped Leavitt pass in the end zone with under a minute handed Ole Miss an emotional win.
Revenge aside, this win says more about Ole Miss emerging as a real contender for the SEC title and another deep run in the playoff. The Rebels remained composed in a cauldron of emotion and delivered a superb performance under real pressure. Don't overlook Pete Golding's team as a real threat for the national championship. What a story that would be.
College football returns to the UK
Arizona State 24, Kansas 17
The first college football game in the UK in 38 years meant British-based fans got a chance to sample the pageantry and occasion college football can deliver.
Not since the Richmond Spiders defeated Boston College 20-17 on 16th October 1988 in front of just over 2,500 fans at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. 38 years on, a crowd of 46,532 at Wembley witnessed the Sun Devils' 24-17 win over the Jayhawks in an event that lacked the desired impact of the Union Jack Classic organisers.
Jaren Hamilton's 100-yard second-half kickoff return for Arizona State was the highlight of this Big-12 matchup which the Sun Devils controlled, despite a scoreline that flattered Kansas.
In an era where the NFL has successfully exported its product overseas, college football, in this writer's view, a more open and exciting sport, has an extraordinary opportunity to do the same. It will take time to build, as the NFL games in the UK did, to garner sell-out occasions but the lessons seem evident.
Initial ticket sales were vastly overpriced leading to unexpected apathy from potential buyers. Was Wembley the right venue? The glamour and prestige of England's national stadium could be seen as a fitting stage to host college football, but if the ambition for the Union Jack Classic is to be seen as a regular event, would it not have made sense to stage a game between two teams outside the Top 25 in a more central, slightly smaller stadium where fans from across the UK could travel more easily to? That might generate the excitement that a half-full Wembley evidently lacked.
The promotion of the game also needs to be looked at. Outside of the initially overpriced tickets, the game was only available to UK-based fans on DAZN's subscription channel, where making the game available on a free, accessible channel would have generated much more awareness. And please, trust the knowledge of UK fans. We don't need overhyped social media influencers explaining the rules of American football for the umpteenth time before an NFL or college game is played here. There is a much more knowledgeable, committed array of UK-based college football media who can help you promote and cover the game in a way the educated fans will appreciate.
It is brilliant to see college football played in the UK, there is a wonderful opportunity to make it a regular sell-out.
It ain't over 'til it's over
Vanderbilt 35, North Carolina State 31
In one of the most extraordinary endings witnessed in college football, North Carolina State led Vanderbilt 31-28 with just six seconds on the clock and in full possession yet lost the game with an inexplicable lack of judgement.
On a 4th-and-7 on their own four-yard line, Wolfpack quarterback just needed to run the ball out or kneel and concede a two-point safety. Instead, quarterback CJ Bailey tried to run down the last few seconds, fumbled the ball on a tackle and Vanderbilt defender Cayden Daniels dived on the ball to give the Commodores the most unlikely of winning touchdowns.
"This is easily the dumbest loss ever... Ever. No contest whatsoever." - Fox News reporter Joe Concha.
To provide context on the rarity of this outcome, teams in possession of the ball with the lead in the final 10 seconds of the game in the last twenty years were 1,046-1.
While the headline is the staggering last play that cost the Wolfpack the game, let's not overlook a continually improving Vanderbilt team that has started the season 3-0 in the last two seasons and have now won ten straight at home.
No.9 Texas A&M stumbles in loss to Kentucky
Kentucky 31, No. 9 Texas A&M 21
One script that seems to deliver consistently is the expectation placed on Texas A&M which quickly turns to anxiety and frustration. I've been nervous about the Aggies' credentials as a realistic contender this season and Kentucky proved me right. First-year coach Will Stein secured a huge win early in his first season at the helm of the Wildcats, halting an unbeaten 19-game stretch for the Aggies at College Station against unranked opponents. It was Kentucky's first win against Texas A&M since 1952.
Kenny Minchey completed 14 of 18 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns, while Kentucky’s defence intercepted Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed twice and put Texas A&M under pressure they couldn't seem to shake.
Despite the talent and money available, and promise that the Aggies have shown under Mike Elko, the former Duke coach's team seem to crumble under the significant expectation of College Station fans. Is this their one poor performance of the season or are their broader questions to be asked about their credentials? This was a chastening loss for Texas A&M, who have tougher opponents on the road at LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma to come.
Kentucky, after a rough 45-17 loss to Alabama last week, rebounded in the best way possible. Both teams move to 2-1.
Surprise teams are rewriting the rankings
In a three-week old season that's already seen preseason top 10 teams Oregon, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Ohio State lose, a number of programs are announcing themselves as potential playoff dark horses.
My surprise preseason pick to make the playoff, No.23 Louisville, beat No.16 SMU, a key ACC rival, 41-31 in a thrilling game where the lead changed hands seven times. No.25 Virginia, succumbed 38-27 to a West Virginia team who have moved to 3-0 on the back of five touchdowns accounted for by Michael Hawkins Jr. The Mountaineers could challenge in a hotly contested Big 12 conference.
Vanderbilt, now 3-0, are consistently improving under Clark Lea. Tougher tests await in the SEC bt the Commodores are more than capable of Auburn and Arkansas in the next month, although games against Ole Miss and Georgia in early October will be the real measure of their level. Kentucky's win over No.9 Texas A&M is an encouraging start for Will Stein and shows SEC teams the Wildcats can't be overlooked.
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