College Football Risers and Fallers After Week 3 - 2024 College Football

Week 3’s slate may have been the worst we will see all season, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t love every second of it. 

The noon slate started with an Alabama thrashing of Wisconsin in Madison, a nail-biting LSU win in Columbia, yet another Florida State loss, and a boa-constrictor-style win in Missouri.

The middle of the day was highlighted by dominant wins for Oregon, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Miami, while the night was capped with an Arch Manning masterclass, a narrow Georgia road win, a thrilling Big 12 opener in Fort Worth, and a Colorado beatdown. Let’s dive into this week’s stock report.

Stock Up

Memphis Tigers

Picking on Florida State is the easy thing to do. The Seminoles are college football’s laughingstock right now, but don’t let that undermine the fact that Memphis is now 3-0 with a really strong road win against a Power 4 opponent.

That wouldn’t have mattered in the past, but the Group of 5 now gets one ticket to the College Football Playoff and Memphis is now a frontrunner. The Tigers still have a tough AAC schedule ahead that includes road trips to USF, UTSA, and Tulane, but this team is starting to garner playoff attention behind senior quarterback Seth Henigan.

Oregon Ducks

The Ducks found themselves freefalling through two weeks after squeaking out narrow wins over Idaho and Boise State, but Oregon looked like the Oregon team we all thought they would look like coming into the year in the Civil War game on Saturday.

DILLON GABRIEL TOOK OFF 💨@oregonfootball is back on top 🦆 pic.twitter.com/iIHmJhiacF

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 14, 2024

The Ducks dominated their former Pac-12 rival, and Dillon Gabriel looked a lot more comfortable under center this week. The sixth-year senior completed 20-of-24 passes for 291 yards and two scores while rushing four times for 64 yards and a score. Dan Lanning’s team just needed a few weeks to heat up. Next up after a bye, they will dive into Big Ten play. That still feels weird to say.

Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M

Texas A&M bounced back from Week 1’s loss with a flashy road win over Florida, earning the Aggies the #25 spot in the polls this week. The biggest takeaway from the game? The performance of freshman quarterback Marcel Reed, who played a complete game in the win.

Reed was filling in for Conner Weigman, who had received a lot of hype this offseason but did not look spry over the beginning of the season. Weigman is still listed as week-to-week with his injury, and Mike Elko has stated that he will play whoever gives his team the best chance to win.

That just might be Reed, who completed 11-of-17 passes for 178 yards and two scores while rushing 13 times for 83 yards and a touchdown in the big road win. A&M has themselves a quarterback controversy, and Reed looks to be the beneficiary.

Curt Cignetti, Indiana

Indiana hired Curt Cignetti from James Madison this offseason, and nobody batted an eye. It’s IU football after all, historically one of the worst power conference programs. Cignetti garnered a few laughs from college football fans when he proclaimed that “Purdue sucks… and so do Ohio State and Michigan” at a basketball game this winter shortly after being hired.

“We got done what we wanted to get done. I’m not into labels.” 🗣️

Here’s what 3-0 Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti had to say on his football program following the Hoosiers 42-13 conference win over UCLA. #iufb pic.twitter.com/9DGKfXcPGC

— The Hoosier Network (@TheHoosierNet) September 16, 2024

Big Ten fans surely aren’t laughing now. The Hoosiers have been dominant through three games, with their latest win coming all the way across the country at 42-13 over UCLA. Cignetti has won at every level, and this Hoosier football team has looked like one of the most dominant in the nation through three games. They are fundamentally sound, have a veteran presence at quarterback, and are built to ruin seasons. 

This team very well might beat Michigan when they play them on November 9th. Keep your eyes out for Cignetti’s Hoosiers.

Stock Down

Wisconsin Badgers

No team took more of a fall this weekend than the Wisconsin Badgers. Not only did Luke Fickell’s team lose 42-10 on their own turf, but they lost transfer quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the season. 

Can confirm the @madisondotcom report that Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Van Dyke will miss the rest of the season. Sources tell ESPN that the injury is a full ACL tear in his right knee, and the timeline for recovery isn't clear yet.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 16, 2024

Backup quarterback Braedyn Locke, who saw action last season in place of an injured Tanner Mordecai, is now the defacto starter for the rest of the season. 

Things could go south quickly for the Badgers, who play USC on the road coming out of this week’s bye. The schedule also contains games against Penn State, Iowa, Oregon, and Nebraska, which are probably four more guaranteed losses. Fickell’s seat may be heating up in year 3.

Georgia Bulldogs

The surprise of the slate was Georgia’s narrow 13-12 win over Kentucky on Saturday night. The Wildcats had struggled so far this season, but they held their own against the nation’s number-one team in prime time.

The Bulldogs have struggled in their SEC road openers the past few seasons under Kirby Smart, so no need to overreact here. This is still one of the best teams in the sport. However, the showing was not promising considering that they have to go on the road to Tuscaloosa in two weeks. The schedule only gets considerably harder from here on out - after Alabama, Georgia still has to play Texas, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. Wins will be needed to make the playoffs.

Ryan Walters, Purdue

Purdue’s second-year coach had a rough first season at the helm, finishing at 4-8. No loss he suffered in that season was as embarrassing as what the Boilermakers endured on Saturday. Purdue surrendered 66 points to a Notre Dame team that had scored just 14 in the previous week in a loss to Northern Illinois. 

That level of defensive effort won’t get you anywhere in Big Ten play. With familiar Big Ten West foes on the schedule in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Northwestern, at least some level of defense has to be played to have a prayer in those games. Walters, a defensive-minded head coach, has to get back in the lab quickly before he’s given the Darrell Hazell treatment in West Lafayette.

Davis Warren, QB, Michigan

The former walk-on was a great story, coming out of nowhere to win Michigan’s quarterback job, until he wasn’t actually very good. The Wolverines’ offense struggled again on their home turf against Arkansas State, and Davis Warren threw three interceptions in the 10-point win.

BREAKING: Alex Orji will start at QB for Michigan this week against USC. pic.twitter.com/tETMqnl3sr

— Tony Garcia | Detroit Free Press (@RealTonyGarcia) September 16, 2024

Warren has now been benched in favor of Alex Orji, the junior who many thought would win the job coming into the season. It would be surprising to see him under center for Michigan again considering how poor his play was with the season on life-support entering Week 4.

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