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WEEK 3 RESULTS:

Billy Napier Booed During and After 33-20 Loss to Texas A&M

Florida’s Billy Napier has had a rough start to the season as he is one of the least popular people in Gainesville, FL at the moment.

Texas A&M took a strong 20-0 lead against the Gators early, which led to “Fire Billy!” chants amongst the Gator faithful. Florida fought back a little to get to a final score of 33-20, but Napier ultimately still walked off the field to a smattering of boos from the Florida fans who stayed for all 60 minutes of the game.

Florida fans also booed Napier when Napier was on the video board for a pre-recorded PSA on drinking and driving. Napier shared after the game that he understands the displeasure the fans are feeling, and that he “probably would’ve done the same thing.”

Florida State Drops to 0-3, Pays $1.3M to Lose to Memphis at Home

In a defensive slugfest between Florida State and Memphis, Memphis beat out Florida State by a final score of 20-12 in a game which Memphis was paid $1.3 million to show up.

The Florida State offense started off incredibly slowly, not mounting a drive of more than 26 yards until Florida State’s first drive in the 3rd quarter.

Unfortunately for the Seminoles, Florida State had four possessions total in the second half as they only managed a touchdown and a field goal in those four possessions. Florida State did get one final chance with 46 seconds to go, but only got to Memphis’ 39 yard line before needing to attempt a Hail Mary.

Memphis was far from stellar offensively, either, only averaging around 4.75 yards per play. But the opportunism of the Tigers is ultimately what propelled them as they turned 3 turnovers into 13 points.

#1 Georgia Squeaks By Kentucky 13-12

#1 Georgia beat Kentucky in a really close matchup that came down to one or two plays.

Coming off of a 31-6 loss to South Carolina, Kentucky showed much more life, especially defensively, holding #1 Georgia to just 4.85 yards per play. Ultimately, a lack of offense held the Wildcats back from pulling off the upset at home, averaging just 3.89 yards per play and never once finding the end zone.

Going into half, Georgia’s only scoring drive came from a field goal on a drive that only went a total of 7 yards.

The first two drives for Georgia in the 2nd half did go 63 and 68 yards, and finished with a field goal and touchdown, respectively.

The decision of the game came with around 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter, as Kentucky chose to punt when it had a 4th and 8 from Georgia’s side of the field. With all 3 timeouts, the ball on the plus side of the field, and only needing a field goal to take the lead, many disagreed with Kentucky’s decision to punt the ball.

Georgia would then run 8 plays and drain the clock down to 9 seconds before Kentucky would get the ball back needing to go the length of the field with practically no time and no chance.

Texas QB Quinn Ewers Suffers Injury, Arch Manning Shines in Relief

Quinn Ewers had to leave #3 Texas’ 56-7 win over UTSA early as he suffered a strained abdomen according to Texas coach Steve Sarkisian.

Before getting injured, Ewers was 14-for-16 for 185 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Ewers also added a 7-yard rush on the ground.

Arch Manning came in for the injured Ewers and really impressed, accounting for 5 total touchdowns – 4 through the air and 1 on the ground.

Manning finished 9-for-12 for a game-high 223 yards and four touchdowns. He also added 53 rushing yards on 3 carries, including a 67-yard rush.

10 Longhorns caught a pass, with Ryan Wingo and Isaiah Bond both eclipsing 100 yards, finishing with 127 yards and 103 yards, respectively. Bond and Johntay Cook II both scored a pair of receiving touchdowns for the Longhorns, too.

Washington State Wins Apple Cup, Beats Big Ten’s Washington By Score of 24-19

Washington State was left behind by Washington and the rest of the defecting Pac-12 schools, and coach Jake Dickert and the rest of the Washington State Cougars played with a chip on their shoulder against Washington to beat their Apple Cup rivals by a final score of 24-19.

After the game, Washington State coach Jake Dickert said that he thinks the Cougars are going to keep the Apple Cup Trophy and retire it: “I think we might retire this trophy. I think it’s a Pac-12 trophy. I think that might stay in our place a long time and we’ll bring a new one next year.”

Washington State was nursing a 24-19 lead over Washington following the two-minute timeout with Washington in a goal-to-go situation. Washington had a 4th & Goal from the 1-yard-line but a turnover on downs was forced for a loss of 2 after Washington unsuccessfully tried to go with the speed option at the goal line. The Cougars were able to salt the game away and take the win.

Cougars QB John Mateer finished the game 17-for-34 with 245 yards and 3 total touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns came on the ground, as Mateer led the Cougars in rushing, as well.

Washington’s Will Rogers finished 23-for-31 with 314 yards and a passing touchdown, Washington’s lone touchdown on the day. Washington’s Giles Jackson also led all pass catchers in this game with 8 receptions and 162 receiving yards, a pair of impressive performances in a losing effort.

Colorado Comfortably Beats Colorado State 28-9

There was much talking from Colorado State, but Colorado silenced the Rams in a game where Colorado State did not find the end zone.

Colorado forced 4 turnovers en route to a 3 possession victory. Ultimately, Travis Hunter once again showed why he’s one of the most dynamic players in college football, leading all receivers with 13 receptions, 100 receiving yards, and two touchdowns, while also adding an interception from the defensive side of the ball.

Colorado State’s Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi struggled to get much going offensively, only averaging 5.4 yards per attempt passing, finishing with an ESPN QBR of just 6.4.

Colorado’s offensive line also excelled, allowing only 1 sack all day and helping create the necessary holes for Colorado to average 5.7 yards per rush.

Vanderbilt’s Loss to Georgia State Means $10k Bonus for Georgia State’s Dell McGee

Vanderbilt lost to Georgia State by a final score of 36-32. Georgia State coach Dell McGee, interestingly enough, has a bonus clause in his contract where he earned an additional $10,000 in compensation for a win over a power conference opponent.

Georgia State won the time of possession and total yardage battles, though each team’s yards per play were within 0.01 yards of each other.

Ultimately the Panthers won thanks to a 25-yard pass to re-take the lead after Vanderbilt rallied back down 12 points going into the 4th quarter, taking a 3 point lead with 1:14 left in the 4th quarter.

Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia finished 18-for-33 with 270 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 40 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Pat Narduzzi Calls Out Referees in Win over West Virginia, Neal Brown Calls BS

Following Pitt’s 38-34 win over West Virginia in the most recent iteration of the Backyard Brawl, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said, “we beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl, and we beat the officials, too.”

West Virginia coach Neal Brown took exception to this, saying, “Yeah, I think that’s [BS]. I thought the officials, we can say what we want to, but the officials, you know I’m not real pleased with them either. But I don’t know about that. You’ll never hear me blame the officials or anything. I disagree with calls, but it’s a really hard game to officiate. … [Pitt] did a really good job. I’m not pleased with the officials, either. I feel his pain on that. But I don’t necessarily think they beat them. You know, we’re the one that got a long touchdown called back.”

Ultimately, Pitt was penalized 12 times for 112 yards to West Virginia’s 7 penalties for 67 yards. West Virginia outgained Pitt by a tally of 398 to 379, but Pitt won the turnover battle as Garrett Greene threw two interceptions for the Mountaineers.

Pitt QB Eli Holstein really carried the Pitt offense finishing 21-for-30 with 301 yards and 3 passing touchdowns. He also led the Panthers with 59 rushing yards on 14 carries, with the next most prolific rusher being Desmond Reid’s 26 yards on 11 carries for just 2.4 yards per carry.

West Virginia’s Garrett Greene finished 16-for-30 for 210 yards and two touchdowns, of course also adding in the two aforementioned interceptions.

CJ Donald Jr. led all rushers in this game with 79 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Mississippi State Pays $1.2M to Get Blown Out By Toledo at Home

Mississippi State got blown out at home by a final tally of 41-17 to a Toledo team that was paid $1.2 million to show up.

Toledo really controlled this game from start to finish with 4 touchdown drives in the first half, all of which were at least six plays long.

QB Tucker Gleason finished 23-for-28 with 285 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions for the Rockets. Ultimately, the Rockets finished with 6.22 yards per play against a Mississippi State defense that never really had an answer.

Mississippi State opened with 3 consecutive 3-and-outs, and the Bulldogs never really got much consistency going offensively until the game was well out of hand. Mississippi State finished with less than 23 minutes of time of possession and only 5.07 yards per play.

Mississippi State follows up this loss with a matchup against Florida, who is dealing with struggles of their own right now, obviously.

4-Star LB Elijah Melendez Commits to Auburn

4-star LB Elijah Melendez committed to Auburn yesterday after decommitting from Miami. Melendez originally committed to Miami back in December but decommitted on August 31st.

Melendez really liked what Auburn has to offer as “a real deal college town, and is an SEC program. They are on the come up.”

Ultimately, for Melendez, Auburn is “a great cultural fit and family fit. They get a lot of players like me. It’s the perfect fit.”

Melendez ranks as high as 92nd nationally and 4th at his position according to Rivals, with On3’s industry composite ranking him 172nd nationally and 17th at his position.

This is Auburn’s 16th Blue Chip commitment and 24th commitment overall in the 2025 class, a class which ranks 6th nationally and 5th in the SEC.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

None according to 247Sports.