Week 3 of the college football weekend was just as stacked with marquee games as opening weekend, but there were also a plethora of close games and monumental upsets that helped make this perhaps the wildest weekend of the season. Here's a recap of all the biggest happenings from this past Saturday:
Lamar Jackson, Louisville crush Florida State
The first matchup of the season between top 10 teams was anything but close, as #10 Louisville handed #2 Florida State the worst lost in FSU program history, beating them 63-20. Quarterback Lamar Jackson cemented himself has the Heisman front runner by accounting for 362 total yards (216 passing, 146 rushing) and five total touchdowns (one pass, four rush) in the win.
Louisville is now due for a big jump in the rankings, and should move into the top 5 when the new polls are released on Sunday. The win also makes the Cardinals the leaders in the ACC Atlantic - over Florida State and Clemson.
Historic upset
North Dakota State has won five straight FCS national titles, and now, they've pulled off the second biggest FCS-FBS upset in college football history. The Bison became just the third FCS team to beat a top-13 FBS team (JMU over #13 Virginia, Appalachian State over #5 Michigan) by beating #13 Iowa, 23-21.
After trading the lead back and forth through the hole game (neither team gained more than a 7-point advantage), kicker Keith Duncan drilled 37-yard game winning field goal as time expired.
North Dakota State now has won six straight games against FBS opponents, although none have been on the level of Iowa. The Hawkeyes were 12-0 last season before losing in the Big Ten title game and in the Rose Bowl, and came into the season with expectations of winning the conference this year.
Other Big Ten close calls
It was also a nearly catastrophic weekend in the Big Ten. Iowa was the only team that was upset, but #9 Wisconsin needed a 4th-quarter rally to beat Georgia State at home and #4 Michigan trailed Colorado for much of the game before pulling away in the final quarter. A few teams from the conference did make a statement, however, including Nebraska. The Huskers used this late TD run from Tommy Armstrong to beat #22 Oregon:
Marquee night games
Last year's Big Ten champion, #12 Michigan State, had no problems rolling past #18 Notre Dame. Even though the Spartans were on the road, the Spartans scored 36 straight points to go up 36-7, then held on for the 36-28 win. This year's favorite to win the conference, #3 Ohio State, also rolled to a victory, cruising past #14 Oklahoma in Norman for the 45-24 victory.
Christian McCaffrey also helped his Heisman campaign, accounting for 238 total yards and two total touchdowns, including this long receiving TD in #7 Stanford's 27-10 win over USC:
Back to the NCAA NewsfeedChristian McCaffrey reels in the 56-yard TD catch! pic.twitter.com/TS8tbXyyjM
— Stanford Cardinal (@ChatCardinal) September 18, 2016