Georgia Takes Down Tennessee in a Classic, Notre Dame and Clemson in a Race to the Bottom: Week 3 CFB Recap

What a week. We had a couple of incredible shootouts that went down to the final plays, frauds exposing themselves and so much more. Let's get into the top stories from Week 3 of college football.

- Tennessee Has Closed the Gap With Georgia, But Gave Away a Critical Opportunity

Tennessee and Georgia played an instant classic in Neyland Stadium and aside from the Bulldogs being able to battle back and win it on the road, my biggest takeaway is that the Vols have pretty much eliminated the gap between them and the team that has been a thorn in their side for a decade. They played considerably better for about 55 minutes and did more than enough to win.

Then they self-destructed.

I really don't even remember the last time Tennessee played that well against a good team and lost. That's why this one stings so badly. UT is absolutely good enough to go 8-1 the rest of the way and secure a College Football Playoff spot, but more likely than not, it's going to find itself in a position at the end of the year where it needed that game.

Brutal.

- Texas A&M Gets the Biggest Win of Mike Elko's Career Thanks to a Botched Extra Point

When Jeremiyah Love scored to give Notre Dame a presumably seven-point lead with less than three minutes to go against Texas A&M, it seemed like the worst that could happen for the Fighting Irish would be overtime — which would have been fitting for such a great game. Unfortunately, backup quarterback Tyler Buchner bobbled the snap on the extra point, which opened the door for the Aggies to go down the field and score the game-winning touchdown on 4th and goal from the 11-yard line.

That play obviously swings Notre Dame's season dramatically, but it also puts A&M in a great position to be a College Football Playoff squad. The Aggies' SEC schedule isn't easy, but a road win in a shootout at Notre Dame should still look great at the end of the year. Mario Craver looked like one of the best receivers in the country and while Marcel Reed's stat line ended up looking a little wonky, he's got th to

Notre Dame still technically has its goals in front of it, but they're slipping away rapidly.

- The Rumors of Clemson's Resurrection Were Greatly Exaggerated

After back-to-back four-loss seasons, this was supposed to be the year Clemson was back to being Clemson. Cade Klubnik was supposed to be a Heisman contender as a senior and the Tigers' front seven was going to eat people alive. And three games in, a double-digit comeback against Troy is the only win Clemson has been able to put on the board.

Now I think Georgia Tech is a potential Playoff team, so going to Atlanta was never going to be an easy proposition, but if you had never watched college football before this game and I told you one of these teams was a national title favorite, you would not have guessed it was the team in purple. Several bad short yardage play calls from the Yellow Jackets are the only reason this game was close, honestly.

Outstanding win for Brent Key and Co., though. That guy is one of the best football coaches in America.

- DJ Lagway … Shew

Yes, you read that correctly. DJ Lagway threw FIVE interceptions in Florida's 20-10 loss to LSU. Honestly, the Gators only losing by 10 points in Death Valley with five turnovers is maybe the most encouraging sign they've shown this season.

Billy Napier is still the coach in Gainesville because he got Lagway to campus and the five-star quarterback led the Gators to a strong finish to the 2024 season as a freshman. But in a cruel twist of irony, it seems like he might now act as an accelerant for Napier's firing.

- Talk to Your Children About 5-0 Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt went into South Carolina on Saturday night, knocked LaNorris Sellers out of the game and spent the rest of the evening whipping the Gamecocks' ass.

South Carolina was ranked way too high coming into the season after losing its entire defense, but I don't know that anybody had the Commodores going in there and winning by four scores. That's now back-to-back road wins by 24 points to move Vandy to 3-0 with Georgia State and Utah State on deck before the Dores travel to Tuscaloosa.

Warn your children of Diego Pavia and a 5-0 Vanderbilt team taking on Alabama.

- The 2023 QB Class Is the Worst We've Ever Seen

I said after the Ohio State game that I'd buy any Arch manning stock people were selling. Thankfully, nobody sold me any.

Manning struggled again in a 27-10 sleepwalk win over UTEP, completing 11 of 25 passes for 141 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The quarterback on the other side, by the way, is fellow 2023 five-star Malachi Nelson, now at his third school after stops at USC and Boise State. And though Nelson did actually manage a much higher QBR against the Texas defense than Manning had against UTEP's, his career obviously hasn't gone according to plan. Dante Moore looks great and the jury is still out on Jackson Arnold, but a quarterback class that featured Manning, Nelson, Nico Iamaleava and Jaden Rashada at the top sets the recruiting industry back a decade.