Week 3 of the 2025 College Football season is in the books.
Let’s take a snapshot of the week that was, with three teams trending up after this weekend, and three teams headed in the wrong direction.
Down: Clemson
Last week, Clemson fell down 16-0 early to Troy before rattling off 27 unanswered points en route to a 27-16 victory. The 16-point comeback was the third-largest home comeback in program history, a fact Dabo Swinney noted in his post-game comments.
“There’s a reason there are only three,” Swinney said after the win over Troy. “Because when you get down like that, you usually get beat.”
If you thought the Tigers would have learned a lesson from that game, you were wrong.
On the road against Georgia Tech, Clemson fell down 13-0 early before storming back yet again to take a 14-13 lead in the second half.
Only this time, it was not enough.
Aidan Birr’s fire-drill field goal from 55 yards out as time expired stunned the Tigers, as Georgia Tech upset Clemson by a final score of 24-21.
On this Saturday, Swinney’s post-game comments struck a different tone.
“It’s my job to find a way to make those couple of plays. That’s my job, and I take responsibility for that. Obviously, incredibly disappointed. This is Clemson, and we’ve got two tough, tough losses to two good teams. But we’ve got to stay together,“ began the Clemson head coach.
“We’ve won a bunch of close games around here, and right now we’re finding a way not to win them. That falls on me. But there’s no quit in that locker room. We’ll respond. That’s all you can do.”
The loss was nearly catastrophic for the Tigers and their chances of reaching the college football playoff. According to CBS Sports, their odds of making the College Football Playoff dropped to just 16% with the loss, and now there are even questions over whether Swinney can keep his job.
As it stands, the loss dropped the Tigers out of the AP Top 25, where they now received just six votes.
The veteran head coach knows the road ahead is long.
“We’ve got no room for error,” added Swinney. “The wind’s in our face and we’re climbing uphill. But we’re not out. As long as we stay together and keep competing, anything can happen. We’ve just got to find a way to win a game.”
Up: Georgia Tech
On the other side of the field, the arrow continues to trend upward for Brent Key and Georgia Tech.
Since taking over for the Yellow Jackets, first on an interim basis in 2022, Key has a 21-16 record and a pair of bowl games under his belt in both 2023 and 2024.
But what stands out is what he has done against nationally ranked ACC opponents. Saturday’s win over Clemson was his seventh win over such opponents at Georgia Tech, improving his record to 7-1 in those contests.
They jumped into the AP Top 25 on Sunday, debuting at No. 18.
Now the Yellow Jackets sit at 3-0 on the young season. While it is still early, Georgia Tech fans are probably looking at the rest of the schedule this morning and starting to dream a bit. As things stand, the Yellow Jackets will not see a ranked opponent again until “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate,” the annual clash with Georgia to close out their regular season slate.
Down: Texas
First things first.
Texas won a football game on Saturday, improving to 2-1 on the short season. You celebrate the wins when you get them.
But Saturday’s 27-10 win over UTEP was not the kind of performance that will inspire confidence in Austin and beyond.
According to ESPN BET, the Longhorns were favored by FORTY-AND-A-HALF POINTS. They needed a touchdown just before halftime to get into double digits, as they took a 14-3 lead into the locker room. And even that final drive was not awe-inspiring, as quarterback Arch Manning misfired on a short five-yard out route into the boundary by a few feet for an incompletion.
Manning did finish off that drive with a touchdown run, his second of the day, and he added a passing touchdown as well. But the young Texas QB ended his afternoon having completed just 11-of-25 passes for 114 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Voters dropped the Longhorns one spot in the AP Top 25, where they now sit at No. 8.
Texas has one more “tune-up” game next week, against Sam Houston, before their SEC schedule begins.
They need to make the most of it.
Up: Georgia
When the schedule makers released the 2025 SEC slate, the Georgia Bulldogs drew a tough assignment for their conference opener.
A date at Neyland Stadium against Tennessee.
Kirby Smart’s charges did not make things easier on themselves, giving up three touchdown passes from Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar in the first quarter to trail 21-7 early. But the Bulldogs scored ten unanswered points in the second to close within four by halftime.
While 60 minutes were not enough to settle this one, as the game went to overtime, Georgia’s defense held Tennessee to a field goal to open OT, and then a big run from Nate Frazier to open the Bulldogs’ possession set Georgia up with a first-and-goal from the four. Big Josh McCray inched Georgia closer on first down, and then finished off the Volunteers with a touchdown run on second from one-yard out.
Georgia gets another test next week as they welcome Alabama to Sanford Stadium, but this was a good early test for Smart and company.
One that they passed.
Down: South Florida
South Florida’s 2025 campaign got off to a dream start, as the Bulls knocked off a ranked opponent in each of their first two games.
Those dreams ran into a buzzsaw Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami hung 28 points on USF in the first half en route to a 28-6 lead at the halftime break. USF threatened to make it a two-score game late in the third quarter, but quarterback Byrum Brown was stopped short of the line to gain on a fourth down inside the Miami 10-yard line, and the Hurricanes retained their 28-6 advantage at that point.
Miami went on to win by a final score of 49-12.
South Florida has yet to open AAC play, and still look to be contenders in the conference this year. But their dream start took a knock on Saturday night.
Up: Vanderbilt
Diego Pavia and company have done it again.
Last year, the Commodores stunned then-No. 1 Alabama at home, sending shockwaves through the college football world. On Saturday, Vanderbilt went into Williams-Brice Stadium and throttled No. 11 South Carolina.
While the Gamecocks lost quarterback LaNorris Sellers early with a head injury, that should not take away from what Vanderbilt did in their 31-7 rout. Pavia completed 18-of-25 passes for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns (along with an interception), and the Commodores improved to 3-0 on the season.
After last week’s win over Virginia Tech, the Commodores received just one vote in the AP Top 25.
They earned a few more this week, as they slid into the No. 20 spot in the poll, which was released yesterday.