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CFB Week 3: Wins and Losses from key games for Alabama football fans

By Ronald Evans

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 27: A general view is seen during the College Football Sydney Cup match between Stanford University (Stanford Cardinal) and Rice University (Rice Owls) at Allianz Stadium on August 27, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 27: A general view is seen during the College Football Sydney Cup match between Stanford University (Stanford Cardinal) and Rice University (Rice Owls) at Allianz Stadium on August 27, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) /
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Alabama football and 11 other teams from our key games slate gained expected wins Saturday. Four other teams got big wins while five more had bad losses.

The weekly premise for this post is that every week, key game outcomes can influence the future for Alabama football.  Every Alabama football season is first and foremost measured by championships. Right or wrong, any performance short of three championships is viewed as failure. That’s right, the number is three. It is easy to forget but winning the SEC West Division is also a championship.

So every week we track all the SEC West teams, the top teams in the SEC East, any future Tide regular season, non-conference opponents, and the main contenders nationally for CFB Playoff slots. In the normal ebb and flow of a season, teams trend up, down and sideways weekly. Week three of college football had some surprises.

Most teams in our SEC and CFB Playoff track held serve

Although it matters almost nothing at this stage of the season, there are 36 undefeated FBS teams. Only eight Group of Five teams are undefeated. There are 28 undefeated Power Five teams.

SEC teams with no surprises

  • TAMU took down Louisiana-Lafayette 45 -21 after trailing at halftime and looking like Kevin Sumlin would not survive the weekend.
  • Georgia easily dispatched FCS opponent Samford, 42-14.
  • Auburn beat FCS Mercer 24-10 and looked bad doing it. The game was more one-sided than the score with the Tigers giving up five turnovers.

SEC teams with big wins

  • Vanderbilt won its first non-conference game against a ranked team since 1946. The Dores out fought Kansas State 14-7 in a defensive struggle. Neither team was able to generate 300 yards of total offense. The Dores defense could test Alabama football next Saturday.
  • Mississippi State destroyed LSU 37-7. The 2017 LSU offense looked as inept as the past few seasons. The Bulldogs’ statement win allows a claim for SEC West championship contention. Based upon the LSU game the Bulldogs are the biggest threat to an Alabama football return trip to Atlanta.
  • Florida’s inept offense exploded late while the Tennessee defense imploded. By late, we mean the very last play in the game. Gator QB, Felipe Franks nailed a 63-yard aerial bomb to Florida receiver Tyrie Cleveland. Somehow Cleveland raced past all the Vols defenders to make the winning catch in the end zone. The final score was 26-20 for the Gators.

SEC teams with bad losses

  • LSU and Tennessee lead the list with the losses to Mississippi State and Florida.
  • The 2017 Air Raid offense of Ole Miss was only able to concoct 16 points against Cal. Shea Patterson is a tremendous quarterback but he must do it all for The Rebels-Black Bears.  Against Cal, he could not, throwing three interceptions in the 27-16 loss. Ole Miss also committed 16 penalties costing them 113 yards.
  • Missouri is not on our track list but going down 35-3 to Purdue is certainly a bad loss.

Outside the SEC, these teams held serve

Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Washington, Wisconsin and Michigan all won games as expected against weaker teams. USC having to hold off Texas in overtime does cast some doubt about the Trojans.

Outside the SEC big losers

Stanford lost to San Diego State 20-17 for the Cardinal’s second loss of the season. Short of a miracle, Stanford is no longer in contention for a spot in the CFB Playoff.

The other big loser was Louisville. While Clemson looked like the best team in the nation, Louisville QB Lamar Jackson did not look like the nation’s best player.

Big Winner of Week Three

Clemson destroyed Louisville 47-21 in a game that was more of a mismatch than the final score. The Tigers led 33-7 after three-quarters. Is Clemson the best team in college football? After week three the answer is yes. Dabo has led his Tigers to a 9-1 record against Top-15 teams over the last three seasons.

Next: Ten Best Alabama QB's of All-Time

After week four of the college football season, this report’s format will be expanded to track SEC team standings. We will also project the top eight potential CFB Playoff teams. Check in with us every Sunday.

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