2025 College Football: Week 3 Takeaways
Surprisingly, most of this week’s games were completely noncompetitive. However, those that were turned out to be spectacular affairs. We had ourselves a couple of upsets, a few top-25 battles, and unfortunately some putrid performers (sorry Gators fans; I’ll get back to your team in the coming weeks). Old rivals went to OT, while QBs determined many outcomes (shocker right?). Over these first few weeks, we seem to be learning more about who’s not real than we are about the teams to fear. Nobody has become an overwhelming favorite, which just makes things more exciting. Read on for my week 3 takeaways!
Kansas State and UCLA are Ruing Their QB Choices
Sometimes when you make an upside play at the QB position, it can backfire in a big way. Two teams are learning that lesson during the first few weeks of this season. First, we have Kansas State, one of the preseason favorites to win the Big XII. I’ve touched on their fateful decision several times. Pushing Will Howard out in favor of Avery Johnson seemed dubious at the time and only looks worse now. The coaching staff craved his dual-threat capabilities, but so far, he hasn’t been highly effective as a runner or a passer. When Ohio State came calling for Howard, that should’ve been a clue for the team to make the right choice.
This season, in the very first game, the Dublin Kickoff, Johnson actually had his best outing, but his team blew a lead to a turnover-happy Iowa State team. His stats were better against North Dakota, but that’s an FCS team. In fact, Johnson barely beat this FCS team at home. The wheels fell off after that. He threw for 172 yards and an INT against Army, losing to a team that lost to Tarleton State the prior week. This week, his 13/29 line for 88 yards against Arizona cost KSU the game. Johnson couldn’t even capitalize on multiple dropped INTs and a missed FG by the Wildcats. Now they sit at 1-3, their season already a lost cause.
Over in UCLA, you probably know the story. Nico Iamaleava forced his way out of Tennessee over NIL money and wound at at UCLA. He ended up signing a deal worth less than his pact with the Volunteers, but the Bruins had their QB. One problem: they don’t. When I watch Iamaleava, the word that keeps popping into my head is “milquetoast”. In his one year as Tennessee’s starter, I saw a completely average game manager. He didn’t make many mistakes, but he also didn’t do much to help what could’ve been a high-powered offense. His yardage totals were low, and he basically rode his strong defense to a winning season.
As a Bruin, more was expected. Instead, it’s been the same Iamaleava. He’s averaging under 200 passing yards per game, and he has thrown exactly one TD pass and one INT in each contest. The difference is that he doesn’t have the talent around him like he did in Tennessee. The result has been three noncompetitive losses. In week 1, Utah destroyed UCLA. UNLV beat them in week 2 in a game that only looks close because of garbage time. Worst of all, New Mexico crushed the Bruins 35-10 this week, breaking an 0-22 streak against power opponents. What started as a season with hope has given way to the worst team in the Big Ten.
So what can we make of all this? First off, development matters. Someone having the traits to be a star doesn’t mean that he’ll magically become one on his own. In Kansas State’s case, the takeaway is to not take what you have for granted. The Wildcats could’ve been Big XII contenders for another year with Howard while Johnson sat and learned. For UCLA, maybe searching for a quick fix at the most important position isn’t the ideal approach unless you can reel in someone like OU’s John Mateer. Regardless of the reason for these teams’ predicaments, both of them are likely starting from square one at QB in 2026.
(11) South Carolina, (12) Clemson Upset by Programs on the Rise
It wasn’t a fantastic day to be a South Carolina football team. With apologies to Coastal Carolina (who isn’t very good), we’re focusing on the two ranked teams from the state. In the early window, Clemson faced a tricky Georgia Tech team with a strong running game. This matchup hinged on whether the Tigers’ defensive line could stop the Yellowjackets, and they could not. Part of the problem was GT QB Haynes King (20/28, 211 yards; 25/103/1 rushing) throwing the ball better than expected. Clemson couldn’t simply sell out to stop him and RB Jamal Haynes (12/26/1; 4/36 receiving), creating open rushing lanes.
In essence though, Georgia Tech was the better team. I can’t mince words about that; they confused Clemson’s offense enough to limit their output. While Tigers RB Adam Randall (16/80/1) and WR Bryant Wesco Jr (7/126/1) had good games, QB Cade Klubnik (15/26, 207 yards, TD, INT; 17/62/1 rushing) came up short. He looked more like the 2023 version of himself, which is a credit to the GT defense. The final score, 24-21, accurately reflects a hard-fought battle, but the Yellowjackets are the ones who are improving. Clemson is back where they were last season: only able to make the CFP if they win the ACC outright, which seems unlikely.
South Carolina suffered a 31-7 blowout at the hands of Vanderbilt, but they can clearly pinpoint one moment as the time at which they lost. QB LaNorris Sellers, a Heisman candidate, left the game in the second quarter after taking a nasty hit to the chin from Vandy LB Langston Patterson. Patterson got ejected, but he indirectly helped his team win. That feels terrible to say, but the switch from Sellers to backup Luke Doty (18/26, 148 yards) was steep. Granted, Sellers (6/7, 94 yards, INT) wasn’t having an amazing day, but his rushing threat and overall electric play left the team completely stuck in the mud from then on.
The Gamecocks scored 0 points after the first quarter, while Vanderbilt took their opportunity and ran with it. QB Diego Pavia (18/25, 177 yards, 2 TDs, INT) has completely revived this program, and it is no longer the laughingstock of the SEC. You actually have to take the Commodores seriously now, which is impressive. Sadly, SC may have been exposed. Their energy leaves the stadium when Sellers isn’t there, and the team is far too dependent on him. South Carolina’s CFP hopes aren’t dead, but their job is harder now. If Sellers doesn’t recover from his concussion quickly, the situation could worsen against (25) Missouri.
(6) Georgia Survives (15) Tennessee, (16) Texas A&M Outlasts (8) ND
We had ourselves two marquee matchups involving the SEC this week (with one independent mixed in). Both games were fantastic, so we’re covering them both. When you think Georgia football, I’m sure you envision a suffocating defense paired with an offense that does just enough. That wasn’t the Georgia we saw in this game, and frankly, neither team’s defense made much of an impact. It started with the QBs. UGA’s Gunner Stockton (23/31, 304 yards, 2 TDs; 13/38/1 rushing) had his finest passing game (including his first passing TDs of the season) while remaining dangerous on the ground with his athleticism.
Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar (24/36, 371 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs, rush TD) continued his coming-out party, though he made a couple of mistakes. He led his team to an early 21-7 lead before Georgia scored 20 unanswered points. The teams traded scores from there, and Stockton led a tying drive (with an accompanying 2-point conversion) with a difficult 4th-down TD pass to WR London Humphreys (2/59/1). Still, Tennessee held the upper hand most of the time, and they seemed poised to claim victory with a last-second FG. Alas, K Max Gilbert missed the 43-yard kick, sending the game to OT. I think the pressure really got to him.
Gilbert bounced back with a 42-yard in FG to give the Volunteers a 41-38 lead, but it was too little too late. Georgia RBs Nate Frazier (14/73) and Josh McCray (7/17/2) covered 25 yards in 3 plays, with the latter notching the walk-off score. Both teams showed us good things here. Tennessee proved that they can hang with the best teams, perhaps better than they could a year ago. Meanwhile, Georgia taught us that they can score in bunches when their defense isn’t having its best day. That makes the Bulldogs scarier than previously thought and puts them in a great position to win the SEC and make the CFP.
In the evening window, Notre Dame returned from their bye week to face a Texas A&M team that always seems just a bit below the elites. For a change, they battled a top-10 team and came out on top. It wasn’t easy at all though. At first, the Aggies were discombobulated. The officials incorrectly called a first down back with a phantom holding call, and the drive ended with a blocked punt for a TD. Someone missed an assignment, as the man who blocked the kick (Loghan Thomas) came through as a free rusher. TAMU broke out of their funk soon after that, with shoddy tackling giving WR Mario Cramer (7/207/1) an 86-yard TD.
Texas A&M had plenty of explosive plays, but not a ton of consistency, with QB Marcel Reed (17/37, 360 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 7/37 rushing) completing less than half of his passes. The Aggies also committed 13 accepted penalties compared to just 5 for Notre Dame; one foul even got a late KR TD called back. Three players really guided them through the game: Cramer with his blazing speed, WR KC Concepcion (4/82) with his reliability, and RB Le’Veon Moss (20/80/3) with his power. Both teams consistently traded blows, but the Irish committed one mistake more than TAMU did. It came at a critical moment as well.
Tied at 34, ND rode star RBs Jeremiyah Love (23/94/1; 4/50/1 receiving) and Jadarian Price (12/68/2) to a TD with 2:53 left in the game. However, a botched snap led to an aborted PAT attempt. TAMU then ran a 13-play drive that ended with an 11-yard TD pass to TE Nate Boerkircher on 4th and goal. Notre Dame erred there too, as their defensive holding penalty bailed TAMU out of a 4th-and-16 situation on the drive. With that, the Aggies won 41-40 and positioned themselves well for SEC play. Notre Dame fell to 0-2, and I’m struggling to see a path back to the CFP. They may be in worse shape now than when they lost to NIU last year.
Tulane Takes Over as Best Bet for Group of 6 Playoff Bid
While (18) South Florida has been the talk of the college football world given their back-to-back upsets through the season’s first two weeks, they hit a brick wall against (5) Miami. The Hurricanes outclassed them in every way in a 49-12 demolition. Miami proved to be a bigger and faster team, showing the Bulls how far they still have to go. To be sure, their start to the season has been fantastic. I’ve never seen such energy around the USF program. However, they might fall out of the rankings with this loss, which creates the chance for a new Group of 6 team to take the lead in the race for a coveted playoff spot.
In my opinion, that team is clearly Tulane. They were one of the preseason favorites anyway, but how they got here is intriguing. This offseason, QB Darien Mensah left for Duke in the priciest transfer of the cycle. As fate would have it, Mensah and the Blue Devils returned to New Orleans to face his old team in week 3. Ignore the 34-27 score: this game was fully controlled by the Green Wave. Their new QB, Jake Retzlaff, came in with a story of his own. He left BYU because he was facing a 7-game suspension for having premarital sex at the Mormon school. To be clear: he did nothing illegal and would’ve faced no penalty at most schools.
The new Tulane QB outshined the old one. Mensah (30/51, 313 yards, 3 TDs, INT) compiled good stats, but he earned most of them while playing catch-up. Retzlaff (15/23, 245 yards; 17/111/4 rushing) dominated on the ground but also threw the ball more accurately than he typically does. It’s not an accident that he led BYU to their best season in recent memory last year, so it’s entirely plausible that he could do so again. Tulane possesses one of the most complete teams outside of the power conferences, so he has plenty to work with. Their game next week against (17) Ole Miss will tell us a ton about where they stand.
Remnants of the Pac-12 Crumbling in Real Time
Two years ago, conference realignment ravaged the Pac-12. Ten of the schools left for the Big Ten, Big XII, and ACC, leaving only Washington State and Oregon State remaining. Those schools lost plenty of players following these events due to all the associated uncertainty. While you can’t blame the kids for making such decisions, the Cougars and Beavers were left as shells of their former selves. In 2024, they held on to post respectable seasons, but the same cannot be said for 2025. Let’s see where each of these teams is to analyze how bad their situations are. We’ll start with Wazzu, who actually started off 2-0.
However, despite what Bills Parcells says, your record doesn’t tell the entire story. Week one brought a lucky dose of survival in a 13-10 home win over Idaho. That FCS team gave WSU all they could handle and shut down their rushing attack. Week two provided hope, as Washington State beat up a San Diego State team, but the Aztecs might not be any good. Reality struck in week 3, with North Texas dominating the Cougars for a 59-10 win. Washington State committed 5 turnovers in the first half alone and fell into a hole they wouldn’t dig out of. Their mirage of weeks 1 and 2 cast away, WSU didn’t seem to know what hit them.
Oregon State has had no such illusions of success. This is an 0-3 team that looks exactly like their record. A surprising 34-15 drubbing by California in week 1 was a bad omen, and things did not improve from there. The Beavers then lost at home to an average Fresno State team in week 2, suffering several bad snaps on kicks with a backup LS. Facing (21) Texas Tech in week 3, the 45-14 result was completely expected. Transfer QB Maalik Murphy hasn’t been awful, but he hasn’t been the answer either. Defensively, this team is plain bad, and they don’t possess the offensive firepower to engage in shootouts.
Moving forward, these two schools intend to rebuild the Pac-12. Utah State has already agreed to join, and others could follow. That is going to be a long process though, and the teams want to win games in the interim. Playing mostly a Mountain West schedule, both of them should have chances to stack wins. Washington State seems to at least have some pieces to work with. Young QB Jaxon Potter possesses some upside, and there’s talent elsewhere on the roster. Unfortunately, I can’t be as optimistic about the Beavers. OSU trended in the wrong direction last year and only seems to be spiraling further into the abyss.