Fox News Digital Sports’ college football winners and losers: Week 3

The Texas Longhorns entered Week 2 with a major test against UTSA and performed admirably as Arch Manning had to enter the game for an injured Quinn Ewers. In its aftermath, Texas was voted as the No. 1 team in the nation in the latest AP Top 25 college football poll.

That’s just the tipping point of the weekend that was. Texas defeated UTSA, 56-7, on its way to the top spot in the rankings. Georgia fell to No. 2 after they struggled in a win over Kentucky.

Some teams and players did better than others and there were some who did worse.

Read below for the weekend’s winners and losers from the weekend slate of college football.

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Winners

LSU: There is obviously some type of voodoo hanging over the LSU bench during these games. After trailing South Carolina numerous times on Saturday, the Tigers finally overcame a 17-point deficit with their rushing attack. As the final field goal from the Gamecocks sailed left of the goalpost as time expired, which would’ve sent the game into overtime, there was a sense of relief from the LSU bench. If Brian Kelly was going to continue building the Tigers back into a powerhouse, they couldn’t have lost that game. 

UCF: How about those Knights! UCF looked dead in the water, down 21 points to TCU. But Gus Malzahn must’ve given one helluva speech on the sidelines in the third quarter when his team trailed 28-7. After storming back, KJ Jefferson hit Kobe Hudson for a 20-yard touchdown with just 42 seconds left in the game, securing the comeback win. The Knights play Florida in two weeks in a game in which they could put the dagger in Billy Napier’s time as the Gators head coach. 

Washington State: Those Cougars did a solid for the newly remodeled Pac-12 on Saturday afternoon in the “Apple Cup.” But this was a game of dramatics as Washington State held the Washington Huskies on a 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line to secure the win. It was an amazing way to win this rivalry game.

Arch Manning: The Texas Longhorns did not want to see their Heisman frontrunner quarterback Quinn Ewers go down with an abdominal injury in the second quarter. However, Manning, the nephew of NFL greats Peyton and Eli Manning, made the most of the relief against UTSA as he threw for four touchdowns and had a 67-yard rushing score in his best college performance yet. Of course, Ewers is still the team’s starter, but head coach Steve Sarkisian said he doesn’t know the seriousness of that abdominal strain yet, so there is a chance Manning will have to step up for his first career start next week. Either way, Longhorns fans got to see what the future looks like and it’s very bright.

Notre Dame: The new College Football Playoff format allows teams to have a slipup, and Notre Dame had that against Northern Illinois last week when they lost on a walk-off field goal. But they bounced back in dominant fashion, destroying Purdue, 66-7. While the Fighting Irish were supposed to rout the Boilermakers, this is the type of win that can get a season going again.

TEXAS HEAD COACH SINGS PRAISES OF ARCH MANNING AFTER HE TAKES OVER FOR INJURED QUINN EWERS: ‘I’M REALLY PROUD’

Losers

Florida head coach Billy Napier, left, and Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko greet each other before an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Florida: Goodness gracious, things have taken a turn for the worse in Gainesville for Billy Napier. Heading into that important game against Texas A&M, things were in the right spot for the Gators, with the Aggies having to use backup Marcel Reed. Well, it turns out the Aggies and their backup QB ran all over Florida, which led to fans booing head coach Billy Napier at halftime and after the game. There’s no sugarcoating this, the Florida football program is in a very bad spot, and the likely outcome will be them looking for a new head coach. 

Florida State: It’s now just a laughable situation in Tallahassee as Memphis rolled into town, took the $1.3 million check and sent the Seminoles to 0-3 on the season. There’s nothing we can say any longer to make this situation look better. Florida State is a bad football team with some really good players. They messed up with DJ U at quarterback in the offseason (should’ve just paid for Cam Ward) and spent way too much money on the wrong players. The chemistry is gone, and now Mike Norvell has gone from an undefeated regular season in 2023 to a winless start to the 2024 season. Crazy how things turn.

Vanderbilt: What are you doing, Commodores? You had everyone believing that a 3-0 start was coming after a trip to Georgia State. Entering the game as 8.5-point favorites, Vanderbilt just blew up all the good will they received to start the season 2-0. Georgia State scored with 15 seconds remaining in the game to steal the comeback run from the ‘Dores. The over-under on wins before the season started was 2.5 wins, but it’s going to take some work to secure that third. You let me down on Saturday, Vandy.

Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter, left, confers with quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Colorado State, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Shedeur Sanders: The Colorado Buffaloes took care of business against its rival, the Colorado State Rams, and Sanders was a big piece in doing so as he threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns. However, after the game, Sanders was seen refusing to shake Rams QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi’s hand, saying that he saw him “talking s— on Instagram” and “You can’t f— with me” as Fowler-Nicolosi walked away. Sure, the Rams gave the Buffaloes bulletin board material to use as motivation heading into this game, including Fowler-Nicolosi. But Sanders has been doing a lot of talking this season, and this was yet another moment that could leave some with a sour taste after a dominant performance. Whether it’s win or lose, Sanders has viral moments that aren’t in the Buffaloes’ best interest after games.

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The Fox News Digital Sports college football winners and losers were compiled by the Fox News Digital Sports staff and the OutKick.com staff.