College Football Rankings 2011 Week 3: 3 Teams That Will Rise After Big Wins

After another eventful day of college football, it's time to analyze which teams will fly up the rankings thanks to big Week 3 victories. While there is still a bunch of football to be played, the contenders are starting to separate themselves from the pretenders, making each game that much more important.

No. 11 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska gave up more than 400 yards to the high-powered Washington Huskies offense, but were able to use a strong third quarter to propel themselves to victory, 51-38. Taylor Martinez was the star once again, passing for two touchdowns and running for another to lead the Cornhuskers.

Rex Burkhead gained 120 yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns. No player who received at least two carries averaged less than 4.9 yards per carry for Nebraska, which is the main reason they were able to overcome the pass-heavy Huskies despite completing just 10 passes.

Washington was also undefeated heading into the game and had just started to garner AP Top 25 votes. The impressive performance by Nebraska should be enough to push them into the top 10. They should crush Wyoming next week, setting up a huge Week 5 clash with Wisconsin.

No. 16 Florida Gators

Florida used a balanced attack to defeat the previously undefeated Tennessee Volunteers, 33-23. John Brantley passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns while Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps combined to rush for over 150 yards.

Rainey also caught an 83-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, which sealed the victory for Florida. Stopping the Tennessee rushing attack was probably a bigger factor in the win, though. The Volunteers carried the ball 23 times and lost nine yards in the process.

The Florida offense isn't as potent as it was during the Tim Tebow era, but the defense has been among the best in the country so far and will keep Florida in the tough SEC games. Florida should be 4-0 and safely in the top 15 before their titanic clash with Alabama in Week 5.

No. 23 Texas Longhorns

Expectations were tempered heading into the season for the usually highly-ranked Longhorns. With the quarterback position a question mark, Texas started the season unranked, but three strong performances will likely push them into the top 20 in the new poll.

After demolishing Rice and surviving an upset bid from BYU, Texas went to California and knocked off UCLA, 49-20. Case McCoy, the younger brother of Cleveland Browns quarterback and former Texas field general Colt, led the way with two touchdowns and completing all but three of his passes.

The Texas pass defense was outstanding, especially when Kevin Prince was in the game for UCLA. The junior quarterback was intercepted three times in seven attempts.

If Texas passes the Iowa State test next week, they'll have back-to-back games against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to prove just how good they truly are.