Why Jordan Rodgers doesn’t believe Fernando Mendoza is a top 3 pick (0:51)Jordan Rodgers explains why Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza isn’t a top-three pick in the NFL draft for him. (0:51)
The third Saturday in October delivers a lot of good things in college football, and not just Tennessee-Alabama, as the Vols try to break their Tuscaloosa curse and win there for the first time since 2003.
The SEC figures to dominate the spotlight, as it often does, as Ole Miss and Georgia tangle between the hedges. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin took a shot at Kirby Smart’s waistline this week, giving the Georgia coach and his team even more fuel to avenge last season’s loss in Oxford. Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt have had two weeks to stew over the Alabama loss, and now welcome offense-challenged LSU to Nashville.
There is also non-SEC action to monitor, including the USC-Notre Dame rivalry, which hopefully will extend long beyond Saturday, and the Holy War, featuring No. 15 BYU and No. 23 Utah. There are also sneaky-good matchups such as undefeated Georgia Tech visiting a surging Duke team.
Jump to: Heisman contenders | Big 12 title race Baylor-TCU rivalry | Key matchups Quotes of the Week
No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 15 BYU and No. 24 Cincinnati all enter the week 3-0 in conference play, but it’s clear that Texas Tech has emerged as a heavy favorite to win the Big 12. The Red Raiders have what previously seemed like a difficult test this week at Arizona State, but after the Sun Devils fell 42-10 against Utah last week, some of the luster is gone. If quarterback Sam Leavitt is sidelined again, Texas Tech should be in good shape.
Cincinnati has run off five straight wins since dropping its opener to Nebraska and gets reeling Oklahoma State this week. The Bearcats don’t have Texas Tech on the schedule but will see both Utah and BYU later in the year. — Kyle Bonagura
Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson might have a little extra on the line in the recently renamed Bluebonnet Battle against TCU.
It’s a key Big 12 game for both teams. The teams are both 4-2, though Baylor is 2-1 in the conference and TCU is 1-2. They also have a deep history and have played 120 times. There’s plenty at stake.
The Robertson and Dykes families have been close for decades. Sawyer grew up a Red Raiders fan, and even attended the same high school Sonny did. So when Sonny recruited Sawyer — he offered him first a scholarship as a sophomore when Dykes was at SMU — there was an easy rapport. Maybe too easy. During the process, a little family secret might have been unearthed.
Dykes just smiled and said he wasn’t sure where that story came from, which made Sawyer laugh when told of Dykes’ memory.
Our independent investigation didn’t turn up any box scores between the Coronado Thunderbirds and the Plainview Bulldogs to verify or dispute the claim. The truth might forever be lost to history.
Dykes said he has been incredibly impressed with Robertson’s development and the way he’s playing now, leading the country in all the major passing categories. And on Tuesday, during his news conference to discuss Baylor, he conceded that Stan was “a lot better [baseball] player than I was” and said Sawyer was a “first-class kid in every sense of the world” and he roots for him every Saturday — except this one. The Robertson and Dykes families will stay friends no matter what happens Saturday.
“You know, I’m just going to focus on us this week. Our guys, our coaches. So I’m not going to give much thought on the opponent this week. So, really, you have to ask them what they think of Bear.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, when asked what he has seen from BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier ahead of its Holy War rivalry game.
“Halt! No. We haven’t tried it. Let’s be real now. We have not tried it. I’m not going to get into what we do have. We have not tried it. All due respect to everybody who put forth their effort. We have not tried it. Not at a Division I level. Forget Big Ten level, we have not done it at the Division I level. Let’s be clear on that.” — Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, on the school’s efforts to be competitive in NIL.
“Look, there’s three things you go through when you’re a coach. You’re in the honeymoon phase, you’re in the ‘please don’t leave’ phase and you’re in the ‘please leave now’ phase.” — Duke coach Manny Diaz, reacting to the firing of his former boss, James Franklin, at Penn State.
1. Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama: You know it’s a wild Heisman race when a quarterback who lost his first career start to a now-floundering Florida State team sits atop the list. But Simpson and the Tide have bounced back nicely from their struggles in Tallahassee. Simpson is completing 70.9% of his passes for 1,678 yards with 16 touchdowns and only one interception. He’s one of only four FBS quarterbacks to record multiple passing touchdowns in every game he has played, and has 200 or more passing yards in all six. Simpson completed all 17 of his attempts against UL Monroe and had only five incompletions the following week against Wisconsin. He showed toughness in a road win against Georgia, and then outplayed fellow Heisman candidate Diego Pavia the following week. Simpson has endured one of the tougher first-half schedules, especially for a first-time starter, and has spread the ball around nicely to his targets while showing strong leadership skills.
2. Carson Beck, QB, Miami: The biggest name in last year’s quarterback transfer cycle entered the fall with a good degree of uncertainty, joining a new team with a new offense, and coming off of UCL surgery in December. But Beck has looked a lot more like the quarterback who propelled Georgia’s offense in 2023, and projected as a top 2025 NFL draft pick. He has completed 73.4% of his passes for 1,213 yards and 11 touchdowns, and helped Miami to a 5-0 start despite facing three FBS opponents from within the state — Florida State, Florida and South Florida — as well as Notre Dame. Beck had four touchdown passes in a win at Florida State and has spread the ball around well in coordinator Shannon Dawson’s offense to Malachi Toney, CJ Daniels and others. He has completed at least two-thirds of his passing attempts in all but one game and ranks sixth nationally in QBR.
3. Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana: Another notable name in the quarterback transfer portal, Mendoza has been a fantastic addition to an Indiana team seeking a second consecutive College Football Playoff appearance, and a deeper postseason run. The Cal transfer has completed 71.2% of his passes for 1,423 yards with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions. After an uneven opening performance against Old Dominion, Mendoza put together one of the best three-game stretches by an Indiana quarterback. He recorded 782 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and no interceptions, while completing 58 of 68 passes in wins against Kennesaw State, Indiana State and then-No. 9 Illinois, which Indiana routed 63-10. Mendoza then helped Indiana grind out a road win against Iowa, before completing 20 of 31 attempts in a 30-20 win last week at No. 3 Oregon. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza is a bona fide NFL draft prospect and a main reason why Indiana could be an even better team than its 2024 version.
4. Jayden Maiava, QB, USC: He plays for the right coach (Lincoln Riley), in the right offense and at the right school, as USC has eight Heisman winners, more than any other program. Maiava became the starter late last season and didn’t enter this fall with as much hype as other quarterbacks, but he has delivered consistently for the Trojans. The junior leads the nation in QBR (93.1) and has completed 71.9% of his passes for 1,852 yards with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. He has connected on at least two-thirds of his attempts in five of six games, and showed remarkable accuracy in last week’s win over Michigan, hitting on 25 of 32 attempts. Maiava has multiple touchdown passes in five of six games, leads the nation in yards per pass attempt (10.8) and leads the Big Ten in passing yards (1,852), passing average (308.7) and passing yards per completion (15.1). He has a big showcase opportunity ahead this week at No. 13 Notre Dame.
5. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State: The Heisman doesn’t always go to the best player in the sport, for a multitude of reasons, especially when that player isn’t a quarterback. Smith entered the season with the designation of being No. 1, and his established star power should help his contender status with a big second half. The true sophomore still has 40 receptions through Ohio State’s first six games, and has a receiving touchdown in the past five, ranking second nationally with seven scoring catches. He has five or more receptions in every game and two 100-yard receiving performances. Smith ranks in the top 10 nationally in total receptions, receptions per game and touchdowns scored. He also isn’t disappearing from the radar as the face of the nation’s No. 1 team and the defending national champion. Smith needed only 19 games to reach 1,500 career receiving yards, and is the fastest Ohio State player to record 22 touchdown catches. — Rittenberg
The most intriguing matchup of the week is, of course, the Holy War between BYU and Utah. Utah has been rolling since it fell apart late against Texas Tech a few weeks ago and will head to Provo needing a win to remain a serious contender to reach the conference title game. BYU, meanwhile, is 6-0, but those wins haven’t exactly come with style points. The Cougars had a miraculous escape at Arizona last week to conclude the first half of their schedule, which was significantly easier than what they’ll see the rest of the way (Utah, Iowa State, Texas Tech, TCU, Cincinnati, UCF).
Sawyer ended up picking Mississippi State to play for another Red Raiders legend, Mike Leach. Then when Leach died in 2022, Robertson entered the transfer portal and Dykes again recruited him, this time to TCU. But Robertson said both times, Dykes’ quarterback situations were good and he was honest with him, and said the calls to let him know he was going somewhere else were the hardest. At TCU, he admired quarterback Josh Hoover and thought the Frogs had their guy. On Saturday (noon ET, ESPN2), he’ll face off against Hoover and Dykes as he and Hoover rank No. 1 and 2 in the nation in passing yards.