Week 3: All Eyes on Oxford
Updated: Oct 31
After a weekend that turned the Top 25 upside down, Week 3 brings three matchups between ranked teams. But one game dominates every conversation.
Texas against Ohio State probably carried more on the line last week, with the nation's No. 1 team on the road. But LSU against Ole Miss has a rare emotional weight. Nine months after leaving for LSU, Lane Kiffin returns to Oxford.
LSU (No. 7) at Ole Miss (No. 8): Kiffin Returns to Oxford, Where No One Has Forgotten
Nine months of waiting for this moment. Lane Kiffin announced his departure from Ole Miss on November 30, 2025, just weeks before the program's first ever playoff game, to join LSU, its biggest rival. He left Oxford with 55 wins and 19 losses over six seasons. For part of the Rebels fan base, the way he left still stings. On Saturday, he walks into the visitors' locker room.
In Oxford, the story went on without him. Pete Golding, promoted from defensive coordinator, led the team to two playoff wins before a semifinal loss to Miami at the Fiesta Bowl. He didn't need to fire up his players this week. In his view, any player who can't get up for this game has no business playing football.
An extraordinary security operation. The town expects at least 100,000 people this weekend, and police officers from New Orleans and Mobile are coming in to help. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry even joked about flying Kiffin in on a fighter jet and the team on a military plane. On the LSU side, the alumni association rented a theater in downtown Oxford for a watch party, after hosting a roast of Kiffin there a few days earlier.
College GameDay is also in Oxford, with Morgan Freeman, a Mississippi native, as guest picker. On the field, a real heavyweight clash. It's the first top 10 meeting between the two programs since 1962. LSU arrives with an imposing defense: first in the nation at 142.5 yards allowed per game, and second against the run. Its pass rush leads the country with 12 sacks already. On the other side, Kiffin knows the danger well, having seen it up close: he describes two Heisman candidates in the same backfield, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy.
The big question: Sam Leavitt. The LSU quarterback, a transfer from Arizona State, is listed as doubtful on the injury report, roughly a 25 percent chance of playing. He was coming off an uneven game against Louisiana Tech, with 344 passing yards but three interceptions, offset by three rushing touchdowns.
The numbers that matter. Ole Miss has won its last 13 home games. When Kiffin was in Oxford, he went three and three against LSU, with the home team winning every time. The last meeting, in September 2025 in Oxford, ended in a 24 to 19 Rebels win. LSU is still a slight favorite, by about 3 points, even though Ole Miss was favored before the season.
Our take: if Leavitt doesn't play, the atmosphere at Vaught-Hemingway could weigh heavily. Chambliss against the best defense in the country is the duel within the duel.
The Rest of the Weekend's Top Matchups:
Houston (No. 22) at Texas Tech (No. 13): The Big 12 Opens Fire
This is the week's first ranked matchup, and it's on a Friday night. Houston comes in unbeaten after wins of 33 to 20 over Oregon State and 77 to 6 over Southern. The Cougars are coming off a ten win 2025 season that went largely unnoticed, partly because everyone was watching the rise of Texas Tech.
The defending Big 12 champions haven't yet found last year's form. Oregon State still led 24 to 21 with seven minutes left last week before the Red Raiders pulled away 35 to 24. History favors Lubbock, though: Texas Tech has won the last seven meetings, a streak dating back to 2010. The Red Raiders are favored by 7.5 points.
Mississippi State at South Carolina: A First Real Test for the Gamecocks
It's the SEC opener for two unbeaten teams that have both put up big offensive numbers so far. The programs haven't met since 2023, and South Carolina has won eight of the last nine meetings.
A family affair. South Carolina offensive coordinator Kendal Briles and Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby are brothers in law. They spent nine years together at Baylor under Art Briles, Kendal's father. When both were offensive coordinators between 2020 and 2023, Lebby's team won two of their three meetings, all of them high scoring affairs. Another Starkville connection: new South Carolina running backs coach Stan Drayton was on the Bulldogs staff with Shane Beamer in 2004.
Two powerful ground games. Mississippi State ranks second in the nation in total yards per game (620.5), South Carolina fifth (573.5). The Gamecocks are third with 341.5 rushing yards per game, the Bulldogs tenth with 298.5. Against Towson, South Carolina ran for 405 yards, the third best performance in program history. The question is what those numbers are worth against an SEC defense.
The Gamecocks beat Kent State (57 to 0) and Towson (45 to 9), two modest opponents, while Mississippi State went on the road and won 38 to 13 at Minnesota, a Big Ten team.
Players to watch. For the Bulldogs, sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor has already thrown seven touchdown passes, the most by a Mississippi State QB through two games since 2022. His favorite target, Anthony Evans III, leads the SEC with 14 receptions and ranks ninth nationally at 119.5 yards per game. On the other side, LaNorris Sellers hasn't needed to open it up yet. On special teams, keep an eye on Vicari Swain: the senior cornerback broke a 55 year old school record for career punt return touchdowns. He has five, tied for third in SEC history.
A stingy defense. The Gamecocks have allowed just one touchdown in two games under Clayton White, now in his sixth year as defensive coordinator. They could get reinforcements Saturday: edge rusher Dylan Stewart and offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak are listed as probable and could make their season debuts. Starting center Carter Miller, however, is questionable with a back issue from the Towson game.
Conflicting streaks. Beamer has never won a Week 3 game in five tries. Meanwhile, Lebby has yet to win any of his eight SEC road games since arriving in 2024. One of those streaks will end Saturday.
The odds. South Carolina is favored by 3.5 points, with the total set at 58.5. ESPN's model gives the Gamecocks a 64.5 percent chance to win. Mississippi State, for its part, has covered the spread in every game this season.
Our take: home field and the Gamecocks defense could make the difference, but the Bulldogs have the stronger résumé. A combined total around 60 points would come as no surprise.
SMU (No. 16) at Louisville (No. 23): The ACC Showdown
SMU comes in unbeaten, but its win over Florida State came down to the wire: 27 to 24 on a last second field goal, despite four turnovers. Louisville, meanwhile, lost narrowly to Ole Miss before rolling past Villanova. Cardinals quarterback Lincoln Kienholz has been efficient to start the season: 68 percent completions, 639 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, plus 111 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Louisville is favored by 2.5 points.
Florida State at Alabama (No. 10): Revenge on the Menu
Last year, Florida State snapped Alabama's streak of 23 straight season opening wins, winning 31 to 17 with 230 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. The context has changed since: the university fired the athletic director who hired Mike Norvell this week, a decision that only adds to the pressure on the head coach.
History is against the Seminoles. Alabama is 26 and 4 in revenge games since 2007, and has won 89 straight home games against unranked opponents. For the Crimson Tide, the question is young quarterback Keelon Russell, highly talented but still prone to mistakes. Alabama is favored by 19.5 points.
Kentucky at Texas A&M (No. 9): Beware the Trap
On paper, it's a mismatch: Kentucky is an underdog by three possessions. But Will Stein's Wildcats, in his first season as head coach, led Alabama at halftime last week before failing to score a single point after the break. The schedule adds a trap for the Aggies: LSU, Arkansas, Missouri and Alabama are among their next five opponents, with a trip to Baton Rouge next week. Quarterback Marcel Reed has thrown for 396 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception, but head coach Mike Elko described his latest outing as up and down.
Ohio State vs. Kent State: Waiting for a Response
After the 24 to 23 loss in Austin, the Buckeyes host a much weaker opponent. Trailing 23 to 3, the Longhorns pulled off the largest fourth quarter comeback ever to beat an AP No. 1 team. The Ohio State offense managed just one field goal after halftime, then missed a 45 yard attempt that could have sealed the game. Ryan Day summed up the night: his team had Texas on the ropes and didn't finish. On Saturday, one player gives the game a special storyline: Jeremiah Smith, who had 164 yards in Austin, is just 26 yards shy of Michael Jenkins's career receiving record at Ohio State. Beyond that record, the real interest will be whether the Buckeyes can finally play four full quarters.
