College Football Scores 2015: Top 25 Teams' Week 3 Results, Key Stats and Stars
The Associated Press Top 25 teams lived up to their rankings in Week 3, with a couple of teams staving off near upsets and others overwhelming their opposition in lopsided wins. Still, with a few ranked teams pitted against each other, some numbered squads had to fall this week.
No. 18 Auburn could fall outside of the Top 25 altogether after losing to No. 13 LSU 45-21. The LSU Tigers racked up 411 total rushing yards, with 228 of them from sophomore stud Leonard Fournette (more on him later). It's Auburn's first loss of the season but its fourth-straight underwhelming performance after barely surviving a still-winless Louisville and unheralded Jacksonville State in its first two games.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 14 Georgia Tech's vaunted triple-option offense was no match for a stifling No. 8 Notre Dame defense. A pair of touchdowns late in the fourth quarter from the Yellow Jackets saved face on the scoreboard, but this was a dominant 30-22 win for the Fighting Irish.
Here are the scores, key stats and top stars for Top 25 teams as of 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.
| No. 11 Clemson | 20-17 | Louisville | Clemson 202 yards rushing, Louisville 19 |
| No. 9 Florida State | 14-0 | Boston College | FSU no turnovers |
| No. 12 Oregon | 61-28 | Georgia State | Oregon gets two interceptions first quarter, 311 rushing yards |
| No. 23 Northwestern | 19-10 | Duke | Duke 3-17 on 3rd-down conversion attempts |
| No. 4 Michigan State | 35-21 | Air Force | MSU no turnovers, four passing TDs |
| No. 16 Oklahoma | 52-38 | Tulsa | Oklahoma 773 yards total offense |
| No. 17 Texas A&M | 44-27 | Nevada | Texas A&M's Kyle Allen: five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) |
| No. 22 Missouri | 9-6 | Connecticut | UConn 2-13 on 3rd-down conversion attempts, 1-3 on 4th down |
| No. 13 LSU | 45-21 | No. 18 Auburn | LSU 411 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns |
| No. 24 Wisconsin | 28-3 | Troy | Troy 255 yards total offense, Wisconsin 401 |
| No. 25 Oklahoma State | 69-14 | Texas San Antonio | Texas San Antonio committed seven turnovers (five fumbles lost, two interceptions) |
| No. 8 Notre Dame | 30-22 | No. 14 Georgia Tech | GT just 216 rushing yards, 3-15 3rd-down conversions |
| No. 1 Ohio State | 20-13 | Northern Illinois | OSU five turnovers, 2-13 3rd-down conversion attempts |
Stars of the Week
Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
This was the Fournette performance we've all been waiting for (save for fans of LSU's rivals in the SEC). After receiving some Adrian Peterson comparisons before his freshman season, Fournette was something of a disappointment. He didn't crack 100 yards rushing until his fifth game, and he had five games where he ran for less than 50 yards as he shared carries with Kenny Hilliard.
Now, as the unquestionable lead back, Fournette has shown he's ready to rip up college football defenses with his awesome blend of speed and power. His 228 yards on Sunday made for a career high, and his three rushing touchdowns matched his efforts against Mississippi State on September 12.
According to ESPN's Joe Schad, an Auburn football player's comments inspired Fournette's rampaging afternoon:
Here's Fournette shrugging off an overzealous Auburn defender, via NFL Network's Albert Breer:
Saturday Down South gave Fournette the Tecmo Bowl treatment and a Bo Jackson comparison:
Forget the Heisman Trophy—that's the highest honor a college tailback can receive.
Fournette now has 387 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the young season. LSU hasn't had a great quarterback in years, but it might not need one. Brandon Harris completed 12 of 17 passes for 74 yards and one touchdown, and the Bayou Bengals still beat their ranked opposition by 24 points.
LSU's next game is against unranked Syracuse, which allowed 134 rushing yards on 33 carries to Central Michigan's top two backs on Saturday. Fournette shouldn't have a problem against that defense.
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
Oklahoma's defense gave up 603 yards of total offense on Saturday. That would be a big problem for most teams. You might even expect a team allowing that many yards to lose, even if its opponent comes from a weaker conference.
But when you rack up a staggering 773 yards of total offense, spearheaded by a stellar performance from your starting quarterback, giving up great gobs of yardage isn't so tough to overcome.
Baker Mayfield was the consummate field general for the Sooners on Saturday, completing 32 of 38 passes for 487 yards, four touchdowns and no picks in a 52-38 win over Tulsa. Oh, he also ran for 85 yards and two more scores—he's the best caddy that star running back Samaje Perine could ask for.
Mayfield has been doing this dual-threat thing superbly all season, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Big 12 Conference showed off his 39-yard touchdown run:
According to Oklahoma Football, Mayfield set a team record with 570 yards of total offense, besting the 554 yards Landry Jones put up in 2012. Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops knew a day would come where the offense would have to be superlative to make up for his shoddy unit:
With the offense looking particularly fantastic, Oklahoma will need the defense to come around if it is to survive in the Big 12. Back-to-back dates against Baylor and TCU loom large in November.
With Mayfield and Perine in the backfield, the Sooners at least look capable of turning those games into shootouts. Those could be some of the most entertaining scraps of the season the way these Big 12 teams' respective campaigns are shaping up.
Notre Dame Defense
Notre Dame fans could have been understandably nervous heading into Saturday's matchup with Georgia Tech. The Fighting Irish lost starting quarterback Malik Zaire to a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2 against Virginia.
Georgia Tech's offense looked downright unstoppable after two weeks, racking up 134 points and 1,124 yards (915 on the ground) against Alcorn State and Tulane. Notre Dame would, of course, be the toughest test yet for the Yellow Jackets, but it's doubtful they expected it to be this tough.
Notre Dame held Georgia Tech to 337 yards on offense. Yellow Jackets quarterback Justin Thomas completed just 33 percent of his passes, and his two scoring throws didn't come until the fourth quarter. Georgia Tech was also a lowly 3-of-15 on third-down conversion attempts. It averaged just 4.6 yards per carry, well below Notre Dame's rate of 6.7 yards per rush.
ESPN's Danny Kanell felt Notre Dame's linebackers were better than advertised:
ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg felt health was a big factor:
Notre Dame has a winnable game against Massachusetts in Week 4 but then runs into a good Clemson team the following week. Without Zaire in the fold, the Notre Dame defense will have to continue its stellar performances if this team is to make good on its promise.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
