Week 3 of NCAA College Football was easily one of the best we have seen this year. There were some upsets and some amazing high-scoring battles between powerful teams. In this article, a few of the week’s best and most significant games will be covered.

Georgia Tech vs. #12 Clemson

Overview: The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take down the Clemson Tigers in Clemson with a 55-yard field goal as time expires. The game started out with the Yellow Jackets striking first, putting up two field goals and a touchdown. These points went unanswered until Clemson’s Cade Klubnik found the endzone with a one-yard rushing touchdown. A few minutes into the second half, Klubnik connected with his star receiver, Bryant Wesco Jr., for a 73-yard touchdown pass to take the lead. In the fourth quarter, the Yellow Jackets’ standout quarterback, Haynes King, pushed his way through for a 1-yard rushing touchdown, and Georgia Tech elected to go for the two-point conversion, which they were successful with. This sequence put Georgia Tech up 21-14 with around 10 minutes left. The pressure was on for Clemson with time running out, and the Tigers led a drive down the field and scored with 3 minutes and 26 seconds left to tie the game up. The Yellow Jackets got the ball back with the clock winding down and got the ball around the 40-yard line, where they elected to go for a 55-yard field goal. As time expired on the game clock, Aidan Burr drilled his 3rd field goal of the game and secured the upset win for the unranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. 

Standout Players: For the Yellow Jackets, three standout players were Haynes King, Omar Daniels, and Aidan Burr. Haynes King, Georgia Tech’s QB, completed 20 of 28 passes for 200 yards and rushed for 103 yards with a touchdown. Omar Daniels, a defensive back, leaped up to intercept a pass from Cade Klubnik in the red zone and returned it to around the 50-yard line. Finally, the game’s MVP, Aidan Burr, went 3/3 on field goals and 2/2 on extra points. In addition to his 100% accuracy during this game, all of his field goals were over 40 yards (40, 42, and 55), including the game-winning 55-yarder as time expired. As for the Tigers, Bryant Wesco Jr and Adam Randall showed out, despite the loss. Wesco Jr. posted a stat line of 7 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown, by far the most receptions and yards out of any player on either team. Additionally, the running back Adam Randall, rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries and a game-tying touchdown with under 4 minutes remaining.

#15 Tennessee vs. #6 Georgia

Overview: The Georgia Bulldogs defeat the Tennessee Volunteers in a back-and-forth battle in Knoxville, Tennessee. Early in the game, Tennessee took a lead on Georgia with a touchdown just a few minutes into the game. Georgia responded with a touchdown of their own, and that was kind of the trend that this game stayed with. One team would score a touchdown or two, and immediately after, the other team would match them. The game went on like this until late in the 4th quarter when Georgia tied the game up 38-38 on a touchdown and a two-point conversion with only two and a half minutes left in regulation. Eventually, the game went to overtime. In overtime, Tennessee took a quick lead with a 42-yard field goal, but Georgia drove all the way down the field and scored a game-winning touchdown for a huge conference victory. The final score ended up being 44-41, Georgia. When asked about the game, student and football player JT Reale said, “Most definitely one of the best games I have seen this year. I was hoping Tennessee would be able to pull off the upset, but it was a great game to watch”.

Vanderbilt vs. #11 South Carolina

Overview: Vanderbilt pulled off a huge upset against South Carolina in a shocking way. Vanderbilt opened the game with a Diego Pavia 18-yard touchdown pass, and South Carolina quickly responded with a 75-yard drive capped off with a 7-yard rushing touchdown by Rahsul Faison. After these two touchdowns, the game slowed down, and there were 4 straight turnovers, 2 punts from Vanderbilt, and 1 punt and 1 interception from South Carolina. Vanderbilt was finally able to score a touchdown late in the 2nd quarter, and from there, it was all Vanderbilt. They scored 2 more touchdowns and a field goal in the second half, and most importantly, they shut out South Carolina for the rest of the game. The final score ended up being 31-7 Vanderbilt. When asked about Diego Pavia’s excellent performance in this game, Mac Corey said, “It would have been hard to play any better than the way he did in the second half. I am interested to see how this Vanderbilt team plays moving forward.”