It was just another normal college football Saturday. Of course, that means surprising results and important storylines. Here are some of the top headlines coming out of the third week of the season.
Gator Chomp
The Florida Gators made an impressive comeback against Kentucky on Saturday night, but they had to do it without starting quarterback Feleipe Franks, which is something they’ll have to get used to moving forward. Franks dislocated his right ankle during the third quarter for the game, an injury that could potentially keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.
“They feel pretty certain that there was a break with the dislocation and he’ll be done for the season,” Florida coach Dan Mullen said after the game.
Franks suffered the injury after being tackled both behind and in front while scrambling. The injury looked gruesome at the time, and Franks’ teammates surrounded him as he was being carted off the field, sensing that it was a serious injury.
Backup Kyle Trask entered the game and led Florida to the comeback. The Gators outscored Kentucky 19-0 in the fourth quarter to win 29-21. With Franks out, it’ll be Trask’s job moving forward with the Gators set to host Tennessee next week.
What To Make of the Trojans?
In just three weeks, the USC Trojans have had a rollercoaster of a season. First, the fanbase was displeased during an eight-point win over Fresno State in the season opener in a game that saw starting quarterback JT Daniels suffer a season-ending injury. Last week, all was right in the world after new quarterback Kedon Slovis led a comeback victory over rival Stanford.
But that rollercoaster went screaming down the hill Saturday, as the Trojans fell to BYU in overtime. USC held a fourth-quarter lead it couldn’t hold, and Slovis threw three interceptions, including the game-sealing pick in overtime, as the Trojans suffered their first loss of the season.
USC now faces the most difficult part of its schedule, as it hosts Utah next week and visits Washington the following week. That rough three-game stretch concludes the second weekend of October with a trip to Notre Dame, so the Trojans’ recent inconsistency could lead to more losses in the weeks ahead.
To BYU’s credit, they beat a power-conference opponent in overtime for the second week in a row after an unlikely comeback over Tennessee last week. Heading into the season, the Cougars knew they’d play Utah, Tennessee, USC, and Washington in the first month of the season, making a 0-4 start a distinct possibility. However, BYU now has a chance to go 3-1 when it hosts Washington next week.
Seeing Pink
The Georgia Bulldogs beat Arkansas State 55-0 on Saturday, but the Georgia faithful made sure Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson felt loved and supported. Anderson lost his wife Wendy just before the start of the season following a two-year fight with breast cancer. To honor her, Georgia fans organized a “pink out” to help raise awareness for breast cancer. Anderson was emotional in thanking the Georgia fans, almost finding it difficult to focus on the game.
“I would say thank you to all those who showed up today wearing pink or thinking pink,” said Anderson. “They don’t know my wife, and they don’t know me, and they didn’t have to do it. I’m very grateful and honored and obviously overwhelmed.”
“I’ll be a Georgia fan the rest of my life,” added Arkansas State center Jacob Still.
