CFB Week 3 winners, losers: Ole Miss gets revenge, NC State's stunning loss and more

The inexplicable result turned what would have been a key early-season win into a potential point of no return for head coach Dave Doeren. In 14 seasons, he's never elevated the Wolfpack to the upper reaches of the ACC, topping out with four nine-win seasons, most recently in 2023.

After Saturday, the idea of him leading NC State to a breakthrough has never felt more far-fetched.

Winner: Louisville Cardinals

The No. 5 Miami Hurricanes (3-0) have separated themselves as the ACC's top team, but No. 23 Louisville (2-1, 1-0 in ACC) took a significant step to stake a claim as the conference's second-best team with a 41-31 win over the No. 16 SMU Mustangs (2-1, 1-1 in ACC).

Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz continues to impress, finishing Saturday with 219 total yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Louisville ended the game on a high note, forcing a turnover on downs and two turnovers over SMU's final three drives to preserve the win.

Loser: Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed

Kentucky announced its arrival under first-year coach Will Stein in a stunning 31-21 road win at No. 9 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 in SEC), which has renewed concerns at quarterback following Reed's rough game.

He finished 26-of-49 for 236 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, the first when he failed to account for an underneath defender to kill a potential scoring drive.

During the third quarter, Reed badly missed on a pass out to the flat on 4th-and-2 deep in his own territory, allowing Kentucky to take a 28-7 lead.

Over the past two seasons, Reed has struggled against power conference competition, throwing 14 interceptions in 11 games. After struggling in last year's first-round College Football Playoff loss to Miami, Reed hasn't shown any noticeable growth this season. Until he takes a leap, Texas A&M will be held back.

Winner: Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith

It only took Smith three games into his junior year to become Ohio State's all-time leading receiver. The star wideout had five receptions for 85 yards in a routine 59-3 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes (1-2), giving him 2,958 receiving yards for his career.

Soon enough, he could surpass former Purdue receiver John Standeford's Big Ten record of 3,618 yards. Only 661 yards shy of moving into first place, Smith would only need to average 73.4 yards per game over the rest of the regular season to add another record to his name.

Loser: South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers

It wasn't long ago that Sellers was one of the most promising young quarterbacks in college football. But it sure feels like it after South Carolina's 41-34 home loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 in SEC).

Sellers was out-dueled by the next hot young SEC quarterback, Kamario Taylor, finishing the loss 25-of-40 for 282 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, both the product of poor decisions.

Life happens fast in college football. Unless he gets back on track, Sellers could be left behind.

Winner: West Virginia Mountaineers

Rich Rodriguez built a winner at West Virginia once before. Why not again?

He's well on his way after West Virginia's 38-27 neutral-site win over the No. 25 Virginia Cavaliers, who defeated their first two opponents by a combined score of 93-11. His Mountaineers out-gained last year's ACC runner-up, 437-354, behind a dominant ground game. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. and running back Cam Cook each had 123 rushing yards, and Hawkins had five total touchdowns.

All of a sudden, next Saturday's home date against Oklahoma State (2-1), which defeated Oregon last weekend, just became a lot more interesting.

Loser: Arkansas Razorbacks

Look around college football, and you'll see several first-year coaches thriving thanks to the NIL and transfer portal era. 

But that isn't the case at Arkansas, which is licking its wounds following a 45-17 home loss to No. 2 Georgia in coach Ryan Silverfield's SEC debut. The game wasn't even that close, with Georgia at one point leading 38-3 early in the fourth quarter and holding the Razorbacks to 17 rushing yards on 20 carries.

It's been over a decade since Arkansas (1-2, 0-1 in SEC) has been relevant in the SEC, its last 10-win season coming in 2012. The early returns of the Silverfield era suggest things won't be changing in Fayetteville anytime soon.