The Ole Miss Rebels, Stanford Cardinal, LSU Tigers, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish were the weekend’s biggest winners. Bret Bielema got owned by Kliff Kingsbury. The Texas Longhorns continue a downward spiral that has no end in sight. UCLA survived BYU and Auburn just wants a sign of life from it’s offense (or defense).

Rebels Rising

Ole Miss defeated Alabama in Tuscaloosa 43-37 in one of the longest games I’ve ever witnessed. It was obviously an exciting game and I was certainly proud of Ole Miss for beating Alabama for the first time on the road since 1988. This was also the first time Ole Miss has beaten Alabama in consecutive seasons.

Hugh Freeze wasn’t able to use much tempo against Alabama. The Crimson Tide ran a ridiculous 101 offensive plays and Ole Miss needed to slow down the game as much as possible. I was impressed with the depth of the Ole Miss defense. I also want to credit Alabama for coming back from two large deficits to make the game close.

Chad Kelly, who entered this season in a quarterback battle, played an excellent game for the Rebels. Kelly’s arm strength and quick release was an important tool against Alabama. I do feel, however, that the most pivotal attribute Kelly brings to the table is his attitude. He isn’t volatile and didn’t allow the pressure to get to him. He played with a lot of poise and has a fearless nature that seems to resonate with his teammates. Kelly’s four touchdowns and zero turnovers versus Alabama reaffirms what his supporters believed after the first two weeks.

Losing Longhorns

Texas lost 45-44 to the Cal Golden Bears. I was shocked they fought back to give themselves a shot to tie so late in the game. Texas would miss the extra point to lose by one. Charlie Strong is going to need to improve a lot of things in a hurry. Texas is lagging behind Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU, and maybe even Texas Tech right now. There will need to be changes made at some point soon and I hope that Charlie Strong is given the benefit of the doubt in a bad situation.

Bayou Beatdown

LSU throttled Auburn over the weekend. It wasn’t even close and I’m not sure if it is going to get better for Auburn. The Auburn defense looked like it didn’t even want to tackle Leonard Fournette and he ran wild. The expectations heaped upon Auburn at the beginning of the year seem foolish at this point. I don’t know if the offense can be fixed this season and the defense is not good either. Auburn needs to improve quickly because they have a tough matchup this weekend versus Mississippi State.

Final Drive:

• The Georgia Bulldogs looked impressive against South Carolina. Greyson Lambert had one of the best games I’ve ever seen. Nick Chubb runs wild (again) and that game versus Alabama in two weeks looks intriguing.
• Stanford proved once again it is tougher than USC. Pretty simple. If only they could go back and play Northwestern again.
• Notre Dame is better than I thought. I thought they would lose to Georgia Tech and I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Irish have injuries, but they keep winning.
• Bret Bielema is rapidly becoming one of the least liked coaches in the country. He talks trash and sticks out his chest while criticizing other teams, coaches, etc. Arkansas looks like a bust and they face Texas A&M this weekend.
• Ohio State needs to make a decision on their quarterback. I like J.T. Barrett more than Cardale Jones. Jones has a lot of upside and looked tremendous in a small sample size last season. He has looked shaky so far and his immaturity is incredibly irritating. Jones simply doesn’t get it. Barrett is a better player and leader. Jones should be fine on the bench, he’s been there before.

• Kentucky couldn’t get it done in a 14-9 loss to Florida. The Gators winning streak extends to almost three decades.

Heisman Watch:

I will typically look at the Heisman Trophy race every few weeks. I have never enjoyed the revisions made each week to some lists. I think this will give us a nice read on who is most deserving of the award. I will point out this is not what I think the “experts” will have.

1A. Leonard Fournette

He looks like Adrian Peterson. He has played in two games so far (Mississippi State and Auburn) and has averaged almost 200 yards per game. He looks like a man on a mission. LSU’s passing game averages around 73 yards per game and they look like a SEC contender.

1B. Chad Kelly

Kelly has 12 touchdowns and has been the key piece to an Ole Miss team that has been on fire offensively. The Rebels are averaging over 60 points per game and Kelly is the reason why.

Also, there is this.

3. Nick Chubb

Chubb has been a highlight reel so far in his career. He will have a chance to move up to the top spot with a game against Alabama in two weeks.

4. Trevone Boykin

Boykin was my preseason pick. He has done nothing to make me think he can’t win the award.

5. Jared Goff/Derrick Henry/Cody Kessler