Week 3 of the 2025 college football season proved to be just as good as advertised.
The two headlining games of the day were instant classics. In the first, Georgia outlasted Tennessee in overtime in a high-powered SEC showdown, and in the nightcap, Texas A&M knocked off Notre Dame in South Bend 41-40 on a last-second touchdown as last year’s national runner-up finds itself in an 0-2 hole to begin the season.
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Even games that weren’t particularly hyped ultimately became thrillers, such as Georgia Tech’s walk-off, fire-drill field goal to upset Clemson.
It was a weekend that reminded us just how great this sport can be, and that’s something you may need to remember looking ahead to the Week 4 slate, which is stunningly lacking in the big-game department.
That’s a problem for a later date, however. For now, let’s look back at the winners and losers from Week 3.
Winner: Texas A&M rides explosive offense to a big win
Sep 13, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Texas A&M Aggies tight end Nate Boerkircher (87) celebrates after their win against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images
The Mike Elko era at Texas A&M began in 2024 with a frustrating home loss to Notre Dame in College Station. On Saturday night in South Bend, the Aggies returned the favor.
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It was a back-and-forth game that could have gone either way, but ultimately, Texas A&M made just enough plays to escape with a one-point win on the road. Marcel Reed wasn’t exactly efficient against the Fighting Irish, completing just 17 of his 37 pass attempts, but those 17 completions went for 360 yards — a career-high — and two touchdowns.
One of those came in the final seconds of the game to tight end Nate Boerkircher on fourth and goal with the game on the line, and thanks to a botched extra-point on Notre Dame’s previous go-ahead touchdown, the Aggies return home 3-0 after the one-point win.
It’s the kind of offensive explosion we didn’t really see from Texas A&M last season, particularly in the passing game. A lot of that can be attributed to the play of its transfer receiver additions, as Mario Craver surpassed 200 yards in this game, while KC Concepcion totaled 82 yards on just four catches.
The run game did its job, as well, with Le’Veon Moss scoring three times and Reed adding 37 yards on the ground himself.
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There are certainly things Elko will want to see cleaned up defensively, but in a wide-open SEC race, the Aggies will be contenders if this is what they’re going to bring to the table offensively in conference play.
Loser: Notre Dame’s CFP hopes may already be over
Sep 13, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks on during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images
As far as 0-2 starts go, Notre Dame’s is pretty acceptable. It lost by three to a potentially very good Miami team on the road in Week 1, and after a bye in Week 2, it suffered a heartbreaking one-point loss at home to another potentially very good team on Saturday night.
But 0-2 is 0-2, and unfortunately for Freeman’s squad, that may be enough to end the Fighting Irish’s hopes of returning to the College Football Playoff before the campaign has even gotten off the ground.
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There are certainly positives to find with Notre Dame so far. New quarterback CJ Carr has made some mistakes you would expect from a true freshman, but he’s also made some big plays. Meanwhile, Heisman candidate Jeremiyah Love made a much bigger impact on Saturday than he did in Week 1.
There are concerns, though. For one, the defense seems to have taken a considerable step back from last season, and the highly touted receiver duo of Jaden Greathouse and Malachi Fields hasn’t exactly yielded a ton of results to this point in the season.
Still, there will assuredly be several two-loss teams in the CFP this season, and Notre Dame should be favored in all of its remaining games. The biggest issue facing Marcus Freeman’s team is who those games come against.
Only one team on Notre Dame’s remaining schedule — No. 25 USC — is currently ranked. Its game against Boise State doesn’t look nearly as intriguing as it did before the season, and wins over the likes of Arkansas and Pittsburgh probably won’t move the needle when it comes to a playoff berth. It really needed to win one of these first two games.
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The Fighting Irish don’t have the benefit of earning an automatic bid by winning a conference, and as a result, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Freeman’s squad to return to the postseason.
Winner: Georgia silences questions about the offense
Tennessee place kicker Max Gilbert (90) holds his helmet in disbelief as Georgia defensive lineman Xzavier McLeod (94) celebrates Gilbert’s missed field goal in the final seconds of a college football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 13, 2025.
As has been the case since Kirby Smart got things rolling at his alma mater, Georgia entered the season as a top-10 team with SEC and national title hopes. Still, this year’s roster had some questions with quite a bit of talent leaving, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
Through two games, some valid questions were being raised about quarterback Gunner Stockton, his offensive line and his new-look receiving corps. After all, the Bulldogs delivered a sluggish offensive performance in Week 2, scoring just 28 points over FCS Austin Peay. With the first real test of the season looming on the road against Tennessee, the concerns were understandable.
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After dropping 44 points in an overtime win over the Volunteers, it’s safe to say those doubts have been mostly silenced.
Stockton was fantastic in Knoxville on Saturday afternoon, completing 23 of 31 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while adding another score on the ground. Transfer receiver Zachariah Branch had five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown while also catching the two-point conversion at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime.
Georgia totaled 502 yards in total, and it needed every bit of it to hold on for the win in front of the hostile Neyland Stadium crowd.
Sure, the game may have raised some new questions, especially about the defense after the Bulldogs surrendered nearly 500 yards themselves and allowed big play after big play to Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar. We’ll find out exactly what this team is soon enough, but it’s hard not to be impressed with the play of Stockton and the offense on Saturday.
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Loser: What happened to the Clemson we were sold?
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 13: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers reacts after their 24-21 loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game between the Clemson Tigers and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium on September 13, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
It feels like Dabo Swinney has been treading water at Clemson ever since Trevor Lawrence left for the NFL following the 2020 season. The Tigers have been successful by most programs’ standards, winning two ACC titles in that span, but after not losing more than two games since 2014, Clemson has lost three or more in each of the last four seasons.
The 2024 campaign would have felt like another disappointment for the Tigers had they not backdoored their way into an ACC title and CFP berth, but Clemson’s 2025 squad was supposed to be the one that returned the program to its former glory.
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The Tigers boasted a Heisman candidate at quarterback, an experienced offensive line, a ferocious front seven and their most talented receiving corps in what feels like a decade. So far, none of that has come to fruition.
Saturday’s frustrating loss to Georgia Tech showed the Tigers’ struggles in Week 1 against LSU were no one-off, and now, Clemson falls to 1-2 for the first time since 2014.
The Tigers rallied to win 10 games that year, but doing so this time around may not be so easy. Clemson has issues on both sides of the ball, and Klubnik seems to have regressed to his 2023 self.
With Miami rolling and Florida State looking to be vastly improved, what once looked like an easy path to an ACC title now seems to be an outright unlikely one. Swinney has immense political capital at Clemson (it’s amazing what two national titles will do for you), but I don’t know how many more times his teams can fall short of expectations before fans begin asking for changes.
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Quick Hitters
Sep 13, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea celebrates with safety Marlen Sewell (7) following their win over the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
Winner: Houston
The Cougars had a rough Year 1 under Willie Fritz, but America’s top rebuild artist seems to have things cooking with Conner Weigman after a 16-point win over Colorado.
Loser: Colorado
Deion Sanders has had his son at quarterback in every season as a coach except his first at Jackson State. After turning to Ryan Staub, who struggled in the loss to the Cougars, over transfer addition Kaidon Salter and five-star freshman JuJu Lewis, the early returns on post-Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter Colorado aren’t very encouraging.
Winner: LSU
The Tigers’ defense looks like one of the best in the entire country after forcing five (!) interceptions from DJ Lagway in Saturday night’s win over Florida. The fact that those five interceptions led to just 13 offensive points is a bit concerning, however.
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Loser: Florida
If Billy Napier was going to right the ship in Year 4, it probably had to happen on Saturday night. With upcoming games against Miami, Texas and Texas A&M, it feels like a question of when, not if, for Napier.
Winner: Miami
Elsewhere in the state of Florida, the vibes are pretty good. After listening to a week of upset discussions ahead of its matchup against South Florida, which was coming to Miami fresh off a win over the Gators, the Hurricanes absolutely rolled, shrugging off a rain delay in a 49-12 win.
Loser: South Florida
You would have liked to see the Bulls be a bit more competitive against the ‘Canes, but they remain in an excellent position to be the Group of Five’s playoff representative if they can take care of business in American play.
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Loser: Tennessee
There was a lot to like about the way the Vols played on Saturday against Georgia, particularly when it comes to Joey Aguilar and the offense. Still, Tennessee had ample opportunities to score its first win against UGA since 2016, including a missed game-winning field goal at the end of regulation. There’s a lot to be encouraged about, but this loss is going to sting for a while.
Loser: Texas QB Arch Manning
Perhaps the preseason expectations were unfair, but Manning’s issues have been present in each of his three starts so far this season. The hope was that he would use these tune-up games to get in rhythm, but after completing just 11 of 25 passes for 114 yards, a touchdown and an interception against UTEP, Manning doesn’t seem to be getting any more comfortable.
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Winner: Vanderbilt
All Clark Lea, Diego Pavia and the Commodores do is win big games. They look like a solid upper-half SEC team after dominating South Carolina on the road.
Loser: South Carolina
The Gamecocks get a bit of slack here after having to turn to backup quarterback Luke Doty early in this game when LaNorris Sellers exited with a possible concussion, but you would still hope to be more competitive at home if you’re the CFP contender you were expected to be.
Winner: Georgia Tech
I don’t know if the Yellow Jackets can compete to win the ACC, but there’s no denying Brent Key gets his team up for these big games. Haynes King also deserves a statue at Georgia Tech for the way he puts his body on the line every week.
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Winner: Ole Miss
The Ole Miss offense may be about as plug-and-play as it gets. When Austin Simmons got hurt, Lane Kiffin turned to backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, a transfer from Division II Ferris State. Against an SEC opponent, Chambliss completed 21 of 29 passes for 353 yards while adding 62 on the ground and scoring three total touchdowns.
Winner: Alabama
It remains to be seen if Alabama has fixed the problems that plagued it in its Week 1 loss to FSU, but the Tide looked the part in a dominant win over Wisconsin as Ryan Williams finally got things going.
Loser: Wisconsin
No one expected the Badgers to win in Tuscaloosa, but you would have ideally liked to see a bit more fight against a team that was gashed in Week 1. It may take several upsets in Big Ten play to save Luke Fickell’s job.
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Loser: Fired coaches
Just three weeks into the season, two power conference programs are already looking for new head coaches after 0-3 starts. Brent Pry was fired at Virginia Tech after an embarrassing blowout loss to Old Dominion, while UCLA pulled the plug on the DeShaun Foster experiment after just 15 games following a 35-10 loss to New Mexico.
Loser: Kansas State
The Wildcats fell to 1-3 with a frustrating road loss to Arizona. The Ireland Curse is real, and it looks like Chris Klieman is in for his worst season yet in Manhattan.
Winner: Delaware
The Blue Hens notched their first win against an FBS team since moving up from the FCS, beating UConn in overtime. Delaware could be a bigger player in Conference USA than many expected.
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Winner: North Texas
The Mean Green have shown flashes under Eric Morris, but after a 59-10 win over Washington State, it seems North Texas may finally have the defense to pair with its always-explosive offense.
Loser: Liberty
The Flames have far too much talent and resources to be losing games to middling MAC teams like Bowling Green.
Winner: Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles were the worst team in the Sun Belt a year ago, but the Charles Huff hire is paying early dividends after USM beat Appalachian State on Saturday.
Winner: Tulane
Duke poached the Green Wave’s quarterback, Darian Mensah, this offseason. Tulane got some revenge with a win over the Blue Devils on Saturday night in New Orleans. Few wins this week will feel as sweet.
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Winner: Stanford
Many pegged the Cardinal as the worst team in the Power Four entering the season. Stanford has its issues, but it clearly isn’t QUITE as bad as we thought after a 10-point win over Boston College.
Winner: West Virginia
Nothing will entirely erase the pain of losing to Ohio, but an overtime upset win over bitter rival Pitt in the Backyard Brawl is about as close as you can get.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: College football Week 3 winners and losers include Texas A&M, Clemson
