College football Week 3 overreactions: Miami is back (back again)

Overreacting to all we saw in college football Week 3 and Miami’s statement win, UCF’s impressive season-opener and more.

There was plenty of excitement on the docket for Week 3 of the 2020 college football season. Teams like the UCF Knights, Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cincinnati Bearcats made their debuts for the 2020 campaign while we also got our first matchup between ranked teams — Miami vs. Louisville — this year. And the results didn’t disappoint.

For the second-straight week, we got a top 25 team being upset while there were a number of other close calls as well. But more importantly, college football Week 3 was about making statements, even if those statements weren’t necessarily positive ones.

With that in mind, let’s blow everything we saw out of proportion with some overreactions to what happened in college football Week 3.

4. Miami is ready to challenge Clemson in the ACC

Throw all of your trepidation about Manny Diaz‘s Miami Hurricanes out of the window. D’Eriq King is for real, the defense is back (even without Gregory Rousseau, Brevin Jordan is a star and The U is about to make a run at Clemson for the ACC crown.

When we got our first look at Miami in Week 2 in a Thursday night win over UAB, they were impressive but, at the end of the day, we needed to see them against Power 5 competition. We got that opportunity in primetime on Saturday as they went on the road to face a ranked Louisville team with an explosive offense. And the Canes dominated from start to finish, gaining 485 total yards and earning a 47-34 victory.

Sure, Louisville’s defense may not be the greatest. But Miami decisively made them look that way in Week 3 with the way they consistently and effortlessly drove down the field. More importantly, the Hurricanes came up with one big stop after another, forcing three total turnovers, against an explosive Cardinals offense.

Miami proved they’re for real with King at quarterback. They’ve already taken down one of the better ACC contenders and now, just go ahead and give them a crack at the Tigers — The U is ready for it.

3. Tulane is the worst FBS team in the country

With a win over South Alabama already to their credit coming into Week 3, the Tulane Green Wave seemed to be in line for a cruise to a 2-0 record as they welcomed the Navy Midshipmen to New Orleans. After all, Navy looked like possibly the worst college football team in the nation in their Week 1 Monday night contest against BYU, getting their doors blown off in a 55-3 rout and seemingly looking like they’d never played a competitive football game before.

Through two quarters, Tulane seemed to prove that true as they went into halftime up 24-0. Then it happened — then the Green Wave proved that they, in fact, are the worst FBS team in the country.

The Green Wave allowed 27-straight points from Navy in the second half, culminating in a last-second field goal to give the Midshipmen the win. Losing to a team that lost 55-3 in their first game is bad enough — but to blow a 24-point lead in two quarters to that same team is unforgivable. Who cares if Tulane already has a win; there’s no coming back from this.

2. Oklahoma State will be lucky to get five wins in the Big 12

I, among many others, was gassing up the Oklahoma State Cowboys coming into the season as a potential Big 12 winner and College Football Playoff team. So imagine my surprise when they opened their 2020 campaign on Saturday by struggling to beat a middling Tulsa team, scraping by with a 16-7 victory.

Yes, quarterback Spencer Sanders — a player who I expected to make a big leap in his second season as the starter — was injured on the second offensive series for Oklahoma State. But even that doesn’t excuse the fact that Heisman candidate Chuba Hubbard was pedestrian at best (3.4 yards per carry) against a team he burned for roughly 250 yards and three touchdowns when they met last season.

The hype and the dream are both dead. Mike Gundy‘s Cowboys are clearly lacking the gear they need to compete not just at a national level but at the top of the Big 12. That’s especially true with Sanders’ health already in question. This team will be lucky if they finish .500 in the conference after what they showed in Week 3.

1. UCF wants Bama

Every time the UCF Knights take the field against a Power 5 opponent, it feels as if they have something to prove. And while no one is mistaking the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for a National Championship contender this year, that was again the case for Josh Heupel‘s team as the went on the road to Atlanta for their first game of the season.

Though there were expected first-game jitters and rust to shake off, the Knights were overall dominant in a 49-21 victory. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel was an outright stud with over 400 yards passing and four touchdowns while the multi-headed rushing attack was effective. More importantly, a shaky start from the defense rebounded as they forced five turnovers.

So really, there’s only one answer for what’s next with UCF: Give them Bama. This is a program that once crowned themselves National Champions after an undefeated season, so they clearly consider themselves in that esteem. And in the year 2020 when nothing has been normal, the Knights are clearly positioning themselves early on to have a shot at a College Football Playoff berth and, as such, Bama.

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