Week 3 of the college football season is in the books, and a number of different teams made big statements on Saturday (and Friday) and sent a loud message to the College Football Playoff selection committee.
The loudest among those statements was made by Ole Miss. The Rebels welcomed Lane Kiffin and LSU back to Oxford on Saturday night, in a hostile environment that will stand as one of the loudest in the SEC all season. Trinidad Chambliss put forth a Heisman-worthy performance and led Ole Miss to a 32-24 win over LSU that cemented his squad as a CFP contender.
Elsewhere, Alabama survived a scare from Florida State, Texas A&M fell at the hands of Kentucky, and Oklahoma and USC both continued to win in uninspiring fashion.
As a result, there has been a shakeup in the projected College Football Playoff heading through the rest of the season. LSU is now coming off of a loss and has a very tough schedule coming up in the SEC. On the flip side, Louisville is now looking like a dark horse to make the CFP after beating SMU, with a fairly manageable schedule ahead.
Who makes the cut in the latest projections?
1. Texas (13-0, SEC Champion)
Week 4 will be a telling one for Texas, as the Longhorns travel on the road to Knoxville to take on Tennessee to open SEC play. So far, Texas showed just how good it can be in a stellar second half against Ohio State, but the Longhorns have not been impressive outside of that. Texas still has the talent advantage over just about everyone, but it's going to have to start executing at a much better clip if it wants to keep its spot at the top of these rankings.
2. Ohio State (12-1, Big Ten Champion)
Ohio State had no trouble with Kent State, as expected, and was able to rebound easily from the loss to Texas the week before. The Buckeyes have some tough tests ahead, but they could easily be at the top of the rankings right now and still haven't shown anything that would be alarming in Big Ten play. Ryan Day and company are still in a very good spot.
3. Ole Miss (11-2, SEC Runner-Up)
Ole Miss has the best quarterback in the country, and Trinidad Chambliss showed everything off on Saturday night. He made throws all over the field, hurt LSU with his legs, and showed off his moxie on a great final drive to put his team in front.
The Rebels' defense still has some questions, but they held LSU down for much of the night and came up with one final stop to secure the victory. Ole Miss still has a tough road ahead, but Pete Golding and company have earned the benefit of the doubt as one of the best teams in the conference at the moment.
4. BYU (12-1, Big 12 Champion)
BYU hasn't really had a chance to show what they're made of yet, but Kalani Sitake and company have a pretty good team that is playing some good football at the moment. The Cougars are stout on defense, physical on the ground and have a quarterback in Bear Bachmeier who will take care of the football.
Texas Tech's defense doesn't look nearly as daunting as it did a year ago, and while Houston and Utah will also be factors at the top of the Big 12, BYU looks like the team to beat at the moment.
5. Georgia (11-1)
Georgia still hasn't played anyone who can test it, and it beat Arkansas so bad on Saturday that the Bulldogs' defensive line was doing individual drills during timeouts. Things get a little tougher in Week 4, as Georgia hosts an Oklahoma team with a fearsome defense and an offense that is equally as dreadful. Bigger tests await for Georgia, but so far so good in Athens in 2026.
6. Notre Dame (11-1)
Notre Dame continues to roll through an easy schedule to start the season, but is there reason to be concerned about CJ Carr and the offense? Once again, that side of the ball struggled to get going early on before finding a better rhythm late in the game in a 27-10 win over Michigan State. Marcus Freeman and the Irish have a date with Purdue on Saturday, another opponent that should be overwhelmed.
Article Continues Below7. ÃÂ Miami (FL) (12-1, ACC Champion)
Miami made it 10 quarters into the season before hitting a bit of a hiccup, as Darian Mensah and the offense stalled out a bit in the second half against Wake Forest on Friday night. Still, this Hurricanes team has the talent at every position to overwhelm most opponents, especially against a weak ACC schedule. There's no reason to panic at the moment for Mario Cristobal.
8. Indiana (11-2, Big Ten Runner-Up)
Three weeks, three cupcakes for Indiana as Curt Cignetti and company now get ready for Big Ten play. The Hoosiers outscored their three non-conference opponents 145-16, so there's no question this team can run away from anybody that can't match it for talent. The defending champs get conference play underway on Friday night at home against a Northwestern team coming off of an impressive win over Colorado.
9. LSU (10-2)
LSU will be hurting from its loss to Ole Miss, especially after flipping the momentum back in its favor in the second half. Still, the Tigers have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball and have two elite play-callers, which will give them an upper hand coming into most games. A knee injury to star tight end Trey'Dez Green is something to watch moving forward.
10. Oregon (10-2)
Oregon got to get right in Week 3 with an 84-0, yes that's right, win over Portland State. The Ducks had a week to sit with themselves after a nasty loss to Oklahoma State and now will step back into the spotlight in Week 4 to show how much they have improved. Dan Lanning and company will have to be sharp on both sides of the ball on Saturday night when they head to The Coliseum to take on USC.
11. Texas Tech (11-2, Big 12 Runner-Up)
Texas Tech is unquestionably one of the best teams in the Big 12, and Joey McGuire's group did an excellent job coming back to beat Houston on Friday night, needing a clutch stop on a two-point conversion to do so. The schedule from here on out is pretty easy for Texas Tech, so the Red Raiders still look like a playoff team for now.
12. Boise State (12-1, Pac-12 Champion)
Boise State didn't look all that great on Saturday, as it needed to push hard for four quarters to beat South Dakota 38-24 on the blue turf. Still, the Broncos showed over the first few weeks that they have what it takes to hang with some very good teams, and that should go a long way later in the year. This Boise State team is still the CFP pick coming out of the Group of Five for now.
Next Out:ÃÂ Alabama, Houston, Louisville, Utah