CFB Week 3 Winners and Losers

From a thrilling top 10 showdown in Oxford, Mississippi, to a shootout in Louisville to miracle finishes for Cincinnati and Vanderbilt. Week three of the 2026 NCAA football season was thrilling from the first kick to the final whistle.

Winner: Kentucky (2-1) Win 31-21 over #9 Texas A&M (2-1)

If it wasn't for a really bad fourth quarter last week against Alabama, the Wildcats could very easily be 3-0 and entering the AP Top 25 after this dominating second half performance against a playoff team from last year.

The Mark Stoops era ended with a thud, after he almost left Lexington to become the Aggies new head coach. After an awkward two years and firing Stoops, Kentucky brought in Oregon OC Will Stein and the improvement has been immediate.

After the game was tied 7-7 at halftime, Kentucky scored 3 consecutive touchdowns, shutting down the Aggies anemic offense and left little doubt in the then impending result.

The future schedule is still brutal, with five ranked teams plus games against South Carolina and Florida. But with the early results against Alabama and Texas A&M, Kentucky could be in line to make a nice little bowl appearance in Will Stein's debut season.

Loser: #9 Texas A&M (2-1) Loss 21-31 to Kentucky (2-1)

Texas A&M has looked anything but a playoff team so far this season.

The Aggies had a very slow start to the season, only leading 19-0 against Missouri State at halftime before cruising to a 50-0 win. Then the following week, Arizona State challenged the Aggies for three quarters before a 24-0 fourth quarter lead to what appeared to be another comfortable win for the Aggies.

However, coming off of a spirited performance the week before, Kentucky was determined to finish the job this time, and Texas A&M's lesser offense was exposed and ultimately, leading to their third loss in their last four games against power 4 opposition.

Texas A&M's biggest weakness, which doomed their brief 2025 playoff run and appears to have once again put their 2026 season on the wrong track, is their offense. In losses against Texas, Miami (FL), and Kentucky, the offense has only scored a total of 41 points.

If the Aggies want to make another playoff appearance, the offense must improve greatly against stiff competition, beginning next week with a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face LSU. A loss there could already see Texas A&M's playoff hopes dashed before the end of September.

Winner: #23 Louisville (2-1) Win 41-31 over #16 SMU (2-1)

Louisville didn't have too much time to dwell on their tough late loss to Ole Miss to open the season and had another tough test against SMU.

A back and forth battle turned into yet another high scoring shootout that the Cardinals were able to come out on top of this time. The defense was able to force three turnovers, even though the offense actually couldn't get any points off their ensuing drives.

There are things to work on, Louisville committed 11 penalties for 110 yards and went just 3 for 10 on third down conversions. However, Louisville does not play another current top 25 team this season and is favored in every game remaining this season. A path to the ACC Championship game, and a potential CFP spot, is wide open for Jeff Brohm and company.

Loser: Miami (OH) (1-2) Loss 31-35 to Cincinnati (3-0)

The Redhawks looked ready to cause a major upset and steal back the Victory Bell after the Bearcats have won 17 of the last 18 matchups.

Miami started out excellently, leading 28-7 at halftime which including a kickoff return for a touchdown. But their execution in the second half was marred by two missed field goals from 36 and 45 yards, with an interception, a fumble, and another drive that couldn't result in a touchdown after getting down to the Cincinnati 1 yard line.

Obviously the results in this rivalry will favor the power 4 school, but this one is going to absolutely sting for a long, long time.

Winner: Vanderbilt (3-0) Win 35-31 over NC State (1-2)

It was pretty well expected that this Vanderbilt squad wasn't going to be as good as the 2025 team lead by Diego Pavia that went 10-3 last year for their first double-digit win campaign in school history.

The Commodores looked dead in the water and out of options as NC State held the ball with just 6 seconds left in the game. However, Miles Cooper forced a fumble from quarterback CJ Bailey who was trying to bleed out the final six seconds. Cayden Daniels recovered the ball for Vanderbilt and gave them a comeback of the ages. Vanderbilt will have to play better next week when they travel to Auburn, but getting a win like this should make Clark Lea and his entire team feel good about the rest of their season.

Loser: Florida State (1-2) Loss 36-50 to #10 Alabama (3-0)

Florida State did everything right for approximately 25 minutes, storming out to a 21-6 lead on the road in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They gashed the Crimson Tide for drives of 72, 69 and 75 yards on three of their first four possessions and looked poised to upset Alabama for the second year in a row, and this time in a hostile road environment.

However, Keelon Russell and the Crimson Tide offense woke up, scoring a touchdown before a lightning delay, followed by two more scoring touchdowns before halftime to take a 26-21 lead. The Seminoles took a lead again briefly but another Bama TD would permanently give the Crimson Tide the lead and later the win 50-36 over a reeling FSU team.

Time is running out for Mike Norvell to turn things around and after an game against FCS foe Central Arkansas, the Seminoles will have to play Virginia, Louisville, Miami (FL), and Clemson all in a row. A path to even get to 6-6 is narrow, and would all but be certain that Florida State will be hiring a new head coach this offseason if they can't get back to a bowl game. Even that might not be enough at this point.

Winner: #8 Ole Miss (3-0) Win 32-24 over #7 LSU (2-1)

The Rebels had some extra motivation for this game, even if they didn't want to say it out loud. Beat Lane Kiffin, who bolted from Ole Miss to LSU this past fall, in the middle of a playoff run to the CFP Semifinals. Ole Miss came out like a team on fire, taking a 17-0 lead and a 24-7 lead at halftime, completely outclassing LSU in every phase of the game.

However, LSU responded well and tied the game in the fourth quarter after the offense struggled in the third quarter with an interception and a missed field goal. A strong fourth quarter drive, their only offensive possession in the fourth quarter ended with a touchdown and thanks to a two offside penalties on LSU, made a two point conversion to take a 32-24 lead.

As LSU marched down the field in their final attempt to tie the game, they held on thanks to a deflected pass from the helmet of Kam Franklin that landed in the hands of Jaylon Braxton and sent the fans from Oxford home happy.

Star QB Trinidad Chambliss threw for 363 yards, two passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. The excellent QB performance, outside of one interception is why Ole Miss is 3-0 before a trip to The Swamp and an also undefeated Florida Gators team.

Loser: #7 LSU (2-1) Loss 24-32 to #8 Ole Miss (3-0)

For Lane Kiffin, who made the bold decision to leave Ole Miss for LSU as the Rebels were in the middle of a playoff run, this kind of felt like a must win game, not for LSU's hopes entering 2026, but more so for his pride.

LSU had a tragic start to this game, moving the ball just 31 yards on three possessions as they ended up in a 17-0 hole to the hosts. Sam Leavitt and company were able to get a touchdown before the half and then outside of the first drive in the third quarter, drove the ball well on every drive.

However, on the final possession, Leavitt missed a wide open TE Zach Grace before a bad throw that got deflected off of an opposing defensive lineman on fourth down ended up as a game ending interception.

Like stated earlier, LSU's season is far from over. A statement win this week at home against a suddenly shaky Texas A&M can be a good rebound opportunity. The schedule is still daunting moving forward, but LSU does still have room for one more loss this season.

Winner: (FCS) Southeastern Louisiana (2-2) Win 38-35 over UL-Monroe (0-3)

The Lions of Southeastern Louisiana were the only FCS team to win over an FBS team this week, 38-35 over the Warhawks of Louisiana Monroe.

SE Louisiana has never defeated an FBS school since the football program was reinstated back in 2003, going 0-35 in those 23 years. A quick start saw the Lions hold a 21-6 lead and later leads of 31-13 and 38-20. UL-Monroe outgained SE Louisiana 511 to 279 yards, had 27 first downs to 15. The difference was the 14 points off of turnovers, including a pick six, and a punt return for a touchdown, which proved to be the difference as the offense scored zero points in the second half.

For UL-Monroe, a team that since making the jump back to the FBS ranks in 1994 with 1 winning season and bowl appearance (both in 2012), this is just another painful loss that likely confirms it will be yet another long losing season in Monroe, Louisiana.

Loser: Colorado (2-1) Loss 7-41 to Northwestern (2-0)

Colorado and Deion Sanders were hoping to bounce back from last season's 3-9 brutal campaign that saw all of the hype from 2024 wiped early. And once again, Colorado got humiliated in the worst fashion possible. This was the final game at Northwestern's temporary lakeside stadium and Colorado left without putting up a fight.

Colorado committed four turnovers, including three drives in a row in the first half, and an additional three turnovers on downs, meant the offense could only muster a single touchdown.

If Colorado wants to avoid a third poor season out of four under Sanders, whose record in Boulder is just 18-22 with half of those wins coming in 2024, the start of conference play is going to be crucial is the Buffaloes want to go bowling this year.