The Week 3 slate of college football action brought all the drama.
ACC powers clashed, Notre Dame stumbled at home and West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez secured sweet redemption to cap off a big weekend featuring some of the season’s best finishes.
Here’s a look at some of the top storylines.
Georgia Tech overcomes Clemson on last-second field goal
Aidan Birr’s field goal as time expired propelled Georgia Tech to a massive conference win over No. 12 Clemson. The Yellow Jackets and Tigers traded punches for much of the afternoon in Bobby Dodd Stadium, neither team wanting to give in.
After Adam Randall’s rushing touchdown drew the Tigers even, quarterback Haynes King led the Yellow Jackets on a grinding, physical drive to the edge of field goal range. With no timeouts left, Georgia Tech failed to convert a third down and did not stop the clock, forcing their field goal team to rush onto the field in fire drill fashion.
With the clock ticking towards zero, the Yellow Jackets got the snap off in time, and Birr held his nerve. The redshirt junior connected on a career-long 55-yard field goal to send the home patrons into rapturous joy.
The win propelled Georgia Tech from unranked to No. 18 in the new AP Top 25 poll, while Clemson fell completely out of the rankings after opening the season ranked fourth.
Botched extra point proves costly in Notre Dame’s loss to Texas A&M
A fourth-and-goal touchdown pass from Marcel Reed to Nate Boerkircher with 13 seconds to go vaulted Texas A&M to a big road win over Notre Dame.
The Aggies and Fighting Irish traded touchdowns all night in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame seemed poised to knock out Texas A&M when star running back Jeremiyah Love scored from 12 yards out to break a 34-all tie. On the ensuing extra point, Alabama transfer quarterback Tyler Buchner fumbled the snap, forcing the Irish to settle for a six-point lead.
Unfazed by the moment, Reed led the Aggies down the field, but struggled to punch the ball over the goal line. On fourth-and-goal, Reed was forced from the pocket to his left and lofted a pass up to Boerkircher. The big senior tight end came up with the catch to stun a sold-out Fighting Irish home crowd. With no complications on the extra point, the Aggies walked out of Notre Dame Stadium with a signature win.
Miami weathers storm, takes down upstart USF
Miami raced past USF at home, halting the Bulls’ win streak over ranked teams at two.
The Hurricanes broke out to a 14-3 lead when lightning struck within the vicinity of Hard Rock Stadium, leading to a nearly two-hour weather delay. When play resumed, the Miami offense picked up right where it left off, stretching the lead to 28-6 by halftime.
Unlike its win over Florida, USF never stayed close enough with Miami to give itself a chance. The Hurricanes executed their offense at a high level to put away their road foes and shut down the Bulls’ hunt for another upset.
Georgia transfer signal-caller Carson Beck continued his resurgence in his new home, throwing for 340 yards and three touchdowns for the Hurricanes. Byron Brown put up a respectable 274 passing yards and a touchdown for the Bulls.
West Virginia knocks out Pitt in overtime, wins Backyard Brawl
The last time Rodriguez led West Virginia out of its home tunnel in 2007, he left shellshocked after a stunning 13-9 loss to his hated Pitt foes, ending the dreams of a national championship in the last week of the season. Now, 18 years later, he left the site of his most devastating heartbreak with one of his greatest redemptions as the Mountaineers came back to beat the Panthers in overtime in the 108th Backyard Brawl.
With 11 seconds to go in regulation, West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol threw his lone touchdown pass of the day to tight end Grayson Barnes to tie the game.
With the Mountaineers opening overtime with the ball, running back Tye Edwards plunged into the endzone for his third touchdown of the day to put his team out front. A questionable decision from Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein to throw the ball out of bounds on fourth down sealed the Panthers’ fate, and the West Virginia faithful broke into their sweetest rendition of John Denver’s “Country Roads.”
Best of the rest
Vanderbilt left Columbia, South Carolina, undefeated after a big 31-7 win over the Gamecocks. Diego Pavia was efficient for the Commodores, going 18-for-25 while throwing two touchdowns. His South Carolina counterpart, LaNorris Sellers, left the game in the second quarter with a concussion.
USC topped Purdue 33-17 as 360-pound defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett made a highlight reel rumble to the end zone with a 70-yard pick-six for the Trojans. The win vaulted unblemished USC into the AP Top 25.
LSU shut down Florida in the deafening confines of Tiger Stadium, 20-10. Gators’ quarterback DJ Lagway struggled mightily in primetime, throwing five interceptions against the Tigers’ vaunted secondary.
