Yours truly is back, and that means Week 3 of the 2025 college football season is in the books. This week was…strange in a number of ways, and there were several surprising developments and several not-so-surprising developments. There were also not one, but two early candidates for game of the year, and one of those contests was one that I stayed up super late for because college football is the greatest sport in the world.
On that note, let’s get into some takeaways from Week 3!
Clemson is in deep trouble
A part of me is a little uncertain as to whether Clemson’s 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech on the road is more an indictment on how good Georgia Tech might be or just how bad the Tigers might be. But there is no denying that Clemson looked rough in this game, particularly offensively.
Cade Klubnik, who was considered a leading Heisman candidate going into the year, completed 15 of his 26 passes for 207 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also posted a QBR of just 56.2.
The bigger problem for the Tigers in this game was their failure to stop the Yellow Jackets’ offense. Haynes King went 20-for-28 for 211 passing yards, and he carried the ball 25 times (!) for 103 rushing yards and a score. The fact of the matter is that Georgia Tech came through in this game when it mattered the most. This is backed up by the Yellow Jackets’ final drive, in which King drove them straight down the field, and it culminated in a game-winning 55-yard fire drill field goal by Aidan Birr to give Georgia Tech the win.
The reason why I say the Tigers are in deep trouble is simple: they are 1-2 on the season. Their path to the College Football Playoff just got substantially more difficult. Big emphasis on substantially. Not to mention they are currently unranked in the newest AP Poll.
And as for Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets are 3-0 and the vibes are sky-high. But Clemson, who was considered a national championship contender coming into the season, are in a world of trouble.
Texas should be concerned
Yeah, uh…Arch Manning, what is going on?
It may be fair to wonder just how good Arch Manning really is. The Texas football program placed a large amount of pressure on Manning after the departure of Quinn Ewers to the NFL. It was officially Manning’s team. No ands, ifs, or buts about it.
Three games into the season, there has been some good, but there has been a lot of bad.
In facing college football powerhouse UTEP this Saturday (sorry, Miners fans), the Longhorns were only up 11 at halftime. It was 27-3 in the fourth quarter and Texas had it wrapped up, and UTEP scored a garbage-time touchdown to make the final score 27-10.
But that’s not what concerns me. For the second time in three weeks, Arch Manning did not play well. He completed less than half his passes (11-for-25) for just 114 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception. His QBR was a putrid 26.5.
I don’t have a whole lot more to say about this game, but I will end with this: if Arch Manning and the Texas offense is struggling to put away UTEP at home, then they will get eaten alive in the SEC. And taking a look at their schedule, they have yet to play Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt this season. Three of those four games are at home, but regardless, Manning and Co. need to tighten things up offensively, and they need to do it sooner rather than later.
Dante Moore and Oregon need more national respect
I previously wrote about Dante Moore when he was at UCLA in 2023’s edition of Elms’ Essentials. I liked what I saw from him through the first couple weeks of that season, and I thought that the Bruins might have found something in him.
Clearly, it did not work out in Los Angeles. But the reason I’m bringing up Moore again is because now he finds himself at Oregon under head coach Dan Lanning, and the Ducks look like, quite possibly, the best team in college football through three weeks.
Yes, I understand that the schedule has not exactly been a juggernaut, but the 69-3 thrashing (no, I did not make that score up, that actually happened) of Oklahoma State in Eugene was legitimately an impressive win. In that game, Moore completed 16 of his 21 passes for 266 passing yards and three touchdowns. Not much went wrong that day.
So far on the season, Moore has thrown for 657 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception. And in this past Saturday’s 34-14 road win over Northwestern, Moore threw for 170 yards and a score on an efficient 80% completion percentage.
It feels as if Oregon is not getting quite enough love in the national media because it’s almost a foregone conclusion that they will be a good regular season team. Things are going according to plan in Eugene, and that’s what is supposed to be happening. But this team should be talked about more, and their quarterback needs to be considered among the sport’s best at this point in the year.
South Carolina was the biggest disappointment in CFB this weekend
Before I get started on this section, I want to preface this by saying I completely understand LaNorris Sellers was hurt. He was knocked out of the game in the second quarter, and backup Luke Doty finished the game.
Doty did his best with the circumstances he was given, but there was more bad than good. Doty completed 18 of his 27 passes, but only threw for 148 yards and an interception. The only Gamecock to find the end zone on the day was running back Rahsul Faison, who ran the ball 15 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.
The problem for South Carolina in this game was that their defense was largely dominated by Vanderbilt’s offense. Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (remember him?) went 18-for-25 for 177 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Gamecocks’ offense was their biggest issue in this one as they turned the ball over four times, and from there, Vanderbilt simply took what South Carolina gave them. The Commodores did an excellent job of capitalizing on the Gamecocks’ sloppiness, and at the end of the day, this was a satisfying win for Vandy.
On the other hand, this was a painful, frustrating loss for South Carolina, and the biggest question now is how healthy their Heisman candidate quarterback will be for next week’s road tilt with No. 23 Missouri.
Georgia-Tennessee is a candidate for game of the year, but…
Hold on to that thought at the end of the title, that’s coming a little later.
But in the meantime, this game was, in every sense of the word, electric. Both quarterbacks put up over 300 passing yards. Each team had over 100 rushing yards (Georgia nearly hit 200). And the game itself was capped off by a game-winning touchdown in overtime. How much better can you get?
Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar was cooking in the first half, as he threw three touchdowns on the Vols’ first three drives. After Georgia could only counter with seven points and fell down 21-7 late in the first quarter, there was a sense that this game was possibly trending towards a blowout.
But the Bulldogs refused to back down, cutting their deficit to four heading into the halftime break. In the second half, the two teams went back and forth throughout and Tennessee found themselves up by eight with six and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter following a 48-yard field goal.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton drove his team down the field on the following drive and connected with wide receiver London Humphreys on a 4th-and-6 for a 28-yard touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion to tie the game at 38.
From there, the game went into overtime, and following a Tennessee field goal, Bulldogs running back Nate Frazier picked up 21 yards on a first-down rush and Josh McCray punched it in one play later to give Georgia an improbable come-from-behind victory.
This game was objectively awesome. Cinema, as the kids might call it. But apparently, this week was saving its best for Saturday night, because…
…Texas A&M-Notre Dame is *also* an early contender for game of the year
Georgia-Tennessee has some competition!
Texas A&M-Notre Dame was a bit different than Georgia-Tennessee in that both teams kept it close throughout the first half or so, as opposed to one team jumping out in front quickly like the Volunteers did to Georgia. At halftime, this game was 28-24 in favor of the Aggies, and it had the look of a barnburner.
Both teams exchanged punts coming out of the break, but the Fighting Irish retook the lead thanks to a 17-yard rushing touchdown by Jadarian Price. Price and star halfback Jeremiyah Love were incredibly effective as a two-headed monster for Notre Dame on the ground in this game, as Love ran the ball 23 times for 94 yards and a score, while Price racked up 68 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
However, that still was not enough. Notre Dame snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory in this one. How?
The Irish took a 40-34 lead with just under three minutes to go in the fourth quarter thanks to a Love touchdown run from 12-yards out. However, a failed two-point conversion on the next play proved to be a death sentence for Notre Dame.
On the very next drive, following a kickoff return touchdown for the Aggies that was called back due to a penalty, Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed and running back Le’Veon Moss led their team down the field, where they got to the Fighting Irish’s 11-yard line before being forced into a 4th-and-goal.
And then this happened.
Again, this game was Georgia-Tennessee’s competition for early game of the year candidate. And we’re only in Week 3! Texas A&M collects one of the best wins for any team so far this season, while Notre Dame is left wondering how that game got away from them.
Oh well. That’s college football for you!
