Mandel’s Final Thoughts: A gloomy Week 3 in the Sunshine State for Florida and FSU

And now, 18 thoughts from Week 3, which was awfully fun to watch, so long as you weren’t in Gainesville or Tallahassee, Fla.

1. Florida and Florida State claim a total of six national championships. Their state produces more blue-chip recruits than any outside of Texas. And their head coaches, Florida’s Billy Napier and Florida State’s Mike Norvell, make a combined $17 million.

How can their teams both be so bad at the same time?

2. Florida State, which went 13-1 a year ago, is now 0-3 after its latest dud, a 20-12 home defeat to Memphis. The Seminoles gained just 238 total yards and put on a Keystone Cops sizzle reel, including a muffed punt in which two players ran into each other and an offsides on a Memphis fourth-and-8 punt that allowed the Tigers to go for it and convert. FSU managed to get within one score and had an outside chance to drive for the tie, but DJ Uiagalelei was sacked twice in three plays. The beleaguered transfer quarterback was 16 of 30 for 201 yards.

Poor Memphis (3-0) thought it was going to Tallahassee to get a big resume-boosting nonconference win, but Norvell’s bewilderingly inept team is careening toward a 4-8 (or worse) kind of season.

It seems so long ago now that Florida State was the sport’s collective object of sympathy after the College Football Playoff selection committee’s snub of a 13-0 team last December. It was only a couple of weeks later that the school filed its lawsuit to get out of the ACC, with an argument that amounts to “We’re too good for your crappy TV deal.” The Noles are 0-4 since. The ACC filed its own suit against FSU, but it’s becoming harder by the week for the league to prove damages.

3. About two hours to the east, a Texas A&M team that hadn’t won a true road game in nearly three years trounced Napier’s Gators 33-20 in the rain. It was 33-7 late in the third quarter, by which point it looked like a spring game in the stands. This, on top of Florida’s season-opening 41-17 loss to Miami in the same stadium, all but assures Napier won’t make it to Year 4. The only question is whether athletic director Scott Stricklin will keep his own job long enough to pull the plug.

Florida is a puzzling place. It has reached two extreme highs, under Steve Spurrier in the 1990s and Urban Meyer in the 2000s, and been mediocre in nearly every other era. Whoever replaces Napier will become the Gators’ fifth head coach since Meyer stepped down after the 2010 season. He better be a heck of a recruiter, because that program desperately needs a talent infusion.

4. It turns out Quinn Ewers does in fact need backup. When Texas’ starting quarterback suffered a strained abdomen (per coach Steve Sarkisian) in the second quarter against UTSA, redshirt freshman Arch Manning came in and cranked out his own personal highlight reel in a 56-7 rout. Peyton and Eli’s nephew threw for four touchdowns and broke off a 67-yard touchdown run, the longest by a Longhorns quarterback since a guy named Vince Young.

Sark indicated afterward that Ewers’ injury is not serious, but it’s uncertain whether he’ll be back for next week against Louisiana-Monroe. Fortunately, No. 2 Texas (3-0) has the best backup quarterback in the country.

5. I’m not a fan of docking teams for winning ugly on the road and thus cannot bring myself to overreact to No. 1 Georgia’s strange 13-12 win at Kentucky (1-2). If anything, it has become a tradition: Georgia (3-0) won 14-3 in Lexington in 2020 and 16-6 there in 2022. Kirby Smart likely relishes the wake-up call for his team, which has now won 41 consecutive regular-season games.

Georgia at least had one excuse for its disjointed offense, as veteran guard Tate Ratledge left with an injury early in the second quarter. Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has no such excuse for punting from his own 48, down one point with 2:58 left. The Wildcats did get the ball back — at their own 20 with 9 seconds left.

6. Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama offense came alive in the fourth quarter last week against USF and only looked more explosive in the fourth-ranked Tide’s 42-10 waltz at Wisconsin on Saturday. Quarterback Jalen Milroe threw three touchdowns and ran for two, stud freshman receiver Ryan Williams had four catches for 78 yards, Washington transfer Germie Bernard caught a 26-yard touchdown and tailback Jam Miller had a 34-yard touchdown run for the 3-0 Crimson Tide.

The Badgers (2-1) are still struggling to find themselves in Year 2 under Luke Fickell and likely will now be without quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who was on crutches following a first-half knee injury.

7. What a missed opportunity for South Carolina (2-1), which led visiting LSU 17-0 early and 33-29 with less than two minutes left before falling 36-33. The Gamecocks had touchdown runs of 75 and 66 yards, but their offense stalled after starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers suffered an ankle injury shortly before halftime. Also, what would have been a dagger fourth-quarter pick six got wiped out by an unnecessary roughness penalty on edge rusher Kyle Kennard, arguably the best player on the field for most of the game.

One big bright spot for LSU (2-1): a breakout showing by freshman running back Caden Durham, who carried 11 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

8. On Thursday, Power 5 castoffs Oregon State and Washington State got to strut for the first time in nearly a year, as the rebuilding Pac-12 raided the Mountain West for four of its best programs. The Cougars (3-0) followed it up on Saturday with a cathartic 24-19 Apple Cup win over hated Washington. On a fourth-and-goal from inside the 2-yard line with just over a minute left, the Cougars defense stuffed an option play to take down one of the schools whose departure to the Big Ten helped kill the old Pac-12. Wazzu quarterback John Mateer, who broke touchdowns of 23 and 25 yards in the win, continued his emergence as one of this young season’s breakout stars.

Oregon State (2-1) was not as fortunate in its own in-state rivalry game, falling 49-14 at home to No. 9 Oregon (3-0). The Ducks offense was strangely out of sync in their first two games, but a couple of changes on the offensive line may have solved their issues. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel, sacked seven times in his first two games, was 20 of 24 for 291 yards and two touchdowns, ran for a 54-yard TD and was not sacked once, as his team averaged 9.3 yards per play. This looked much more like the Oregon team voters expected to see when they ranked the Ducks No. 3 in the preseason polls.

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9. No. 18 Notre Dame (2-1) must have flushed that loss to Northern Illinois quickly. The Irish went on the road and handed Purdue its worst loss in program history, 66-7, in a game Notre Dame led 42-0 at halftime. It was the kind of explosive performance fans were hoping for this season, with touchdowns of 70, 48, 34 and 28 yards on offense, plus a 34-yard pick six by defensive lineman Boubacar Traore. Quarterback Riley Leonard showed off the wheels we saw from him at Duke, with touchdown runs of 34 and 13 yards in the second quarter alone. He was still fairly quiet in the passing game, though the Irish didn’t need him to pass for very long.

10. In one of just two Top 25 games over the weekend, No. 6 Missouri (3-0) spotted No. 24 Boston College (2-1) a 14-3 lead, stormed back to lead 17-14 at halftime and won 27-21. The Tigers defense held the Eagles to 49 yards on the ground, gave up three passing touchdowns to BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos but also picked him off twice. Meanwhile, it appears Eli Drinkwitz hit in the portal jackpot when he landed Appalachian State running back Nate Noel, who had 22 carries for 121 yards.

I don’t believe Mizzou is actually the No. 6 team in the country, but it may have the most favorable schedule in the SEC. The league has four other top-10 teams, of which the Tigers face one, No. 4 Alabama.

11. In the other Top 25 game, played Friday night, No. 14 Kansas State (3-0) looked every bit like a Big 12 title contender in its 31-7 rout of No. 20 Arizona (2-1). K-State allowed an early touchdown, then shut out Arizona’s explosive offense the rest of the way, while quarterback Avery Johnson ran for 110 yards and Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards broke a 71-yard punt return touchdown. It was an impressive rebound for K-State’s defense after struggling against Tulane the week before.

Although Arizona is in the Big 12 now, this was a previously scheduled nonconference game and did not count in the league standings. Because nothing in this sport makes sense.

12. UNLV (3-0) has become one of the best stories in the sport. Barry Odom came in last year and led the Rebels to a nine-win season for the first time since 1984. Now, they are 3-0 for the first time since that season after knocking off Kansas 23-20 on Friday. Odom was the defensive coordinator at Arkansas prior to taking the UNLV job, and a pair of his former players, linebacker Jackson Woodard and safety Jalen Catalon, helped the Rebels hold Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels to 153 passing yards and two interceptions.

It’s still early, but UNLV and Boise State look like the clear-cut favorites for the Mountain West championship, which this year could come with a CFP berth.

13. No. 15 Oklahoma plays its first SEC game next week against Tennessee, and I don’t know what to expect from Brent Venables’ 3-0 team. It bears almost no resemblance to the Bob Stoops/Lincoln Riley pass-crazy offenses. Quarterback Jackson Arnold threw for 169 yards and ran for 97 in the Sooners’ 34-19 win over Tulane (1-2). He has not reached 200 passing yards in a game this season. But Venables’ defense is legit. A week after lighting up Kansas State, Tulane’s Darian Mensah was just 14 of 32 for 166 yards against Oklahoma.

I’m confident the crowd in Norman will be electric next week but uncertain about everything else.

14. At his introductory news conference, first-year Indiana coach Curt Cignetti memorably told reporters, “I win. Google me.” The former James Madison head man is thus far true to his word. The Hoosiers (3-0) went to the Rose Bowl and trounced UCLA (1-1) 42-13. Cignetti nailed it when he brought in former MAC Offensive Player of the Year Kurtis Rourke from Ohio. The sixth-year quarterback finished 25 of 33 for 307 yards and four touchdowns.

The Hoosiers, who have outscored their first three opponents 150-23, play their next three games against Charlotte, Maryland and Northwestern. They may be bowl-eligible by the first weekend of October. UCLA, which plays its next three against No. 16 LSU, No. 9 Oregon and No. 8 Penn State, likely will not be going bowling this season.

15. Pittsburgh (3-0) is having a blast living dangerously. Last week the Panthers, down 27-13 entering the fourth quarter, kicked a field goal with 17 seconds left to beat Cincinnati 28-27. This week, they trailed rival West Virginia 34-24 with 4:55 left before rallying to win 38-34. The key to both wins: Alabama transfer quarterback Eli Holstein. The redshirt freshman was 21 of 30 for 301 yards and three touchdowns, including a 40-yard TD to Daejon Reynolds with 3:06 left. It’s quite the start to the season for coach Pat Narduzzi after last season’s 3-9 debacle.

16. I wasn’t kidding last week when I said Colorado’s defense has gotten better. The Buffs forced four turnovers and shut down rival Colorado State 28-9 in their best overall performance since early last season. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw four touchdowns, and Travis Hunter had another do-everything performance: 13 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns and an interception on defense. But perhaps most encouraging for coach Deion Sanders’ team: It ran the ball (a little). Freshman tailback Micah Welch ran nine times for 65 yards.

Don’t go penciling in Colorado for a bowl game just yet, but that defense should be good for at least a couple of wins.

17. We said all offseason the new 16-team Big 12 would be highly competitive, and the first conference game of the season did not disappoint. UCF (3-0), down 31-13 in the third quarter, stormed back to win 35-34 at TCU (2-1) despite having three kicks blocked. Fourth-year coach Gus Malzahn has assembled quite an offense in Orlando. Running back RJ Harvey, who ran for 1,416 yards last season, scored on touchdowns of 29 and 27 yards, and former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson hit receiver Kobe Hudson (six catches, 145 yards, two TDs) for the game-tying 20-yard catch with 36 seconds left.

The Knights have a week off before welcoming Colorado to the Bounce House.

18. Last week, Northern Illinois did the MAC proud. This week, it was Toledo (3-0), which housed Mississippi State 41-17 in Starkville, the most lopsided win for a MAC team over an SEC team since Ohio beat Kentucky 35-6 in 1971. It’s a great milestone for ninth-year coach Jason Candle’s program, which won the conference in 2022 and went 11-3 last season.

But the gap between the two conferences has not completely closed yet. Also on Saturday, No. 7 Tennessee hammered 0-3 Kent State, 71-0. Though it was only 65-0 at halftime.

(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)