COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECAP - 9/19/11
Here's a brief look at the highlights of week three of the college football season, a week which saw 11 Top-25 teams play on the road, with four of them suffering losses. The rankings used in this recap are the AP Rankings from prior to the games.

#2 Alabama 41, North Texas 0: The Crimson Tide holds the Mean Green to 169 total yards while its running backs, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy, each rush for over 160 yards. 

#3 LSU 19, Mississippi State 6: In a defensive battle, LSU's dominant defense takes care of business, holding the Bulldogs to just 193 yards as the Tigers capture a key SEC West victory on the road.

#4 Boise State 40, Toledo 15: After giving Ohio State a run for its money last week, Toledo runs into the Boise State buzz saw of Kellen Moore, who throws for 455 yards and five touchdowns in a blowout victory on the road.

#6 Stanford 37, Arizona 10: A potentially challenging game for the Cardinal turns into another rout as Andrew Luck throws for 325 yards and Stepfan Taylor runs for a career-high 153 yards.

Miami 24, #17 Ohio State 6: After winning their first two games at home, the Buckeyes find the road much less friendly as they complete just 4-of-18 passes for 35 yards while Miami's Lamar Miller runs for 184 yards.

Clemson 38, #21 Auburn 24: Auburn's national-best 17-game winning streak is snapped on the road as Clemson piles up 624 yards of offense behind quarterback Tajh Boyd - it is the third time Clemson has hosted the defending national champion since 1936, winning all three contests.

Illinois 17, #22 Arizona State 14: The Fighting Illini sack Brock Osweiler six times and turn one into a touchdown as Ron Zook picks up a key victory over a ranked opponent.

HOLD ON
#10 Nebraska 51, Washington 38: The Huskers break open this shootout with a 17-point third quarter and then hold off a three-touchdown fourth-quarter by the Huskies.

#11 South Carolina 24, Navy 21: The Midshipmen give Steve Spurrier and South Carolina all they can handle, but Marcus Lattimore is up to the task, running for a career-high 246 yards to keep the Gamecocks perfect.

#14 Arkansas 38, Troy 28: Ronnie Wingo rushes for 109 yards and scores three touchdowns as Arkansas remains perfect, despite being outgained by Troy (457-454), heading into Saturday's showdown with Alabama.

#16 Florida 33, Tennessee 23: Chris Rainey piles up 233 total yards, including an 83-yard touchdown catch, while also blocking a punt, as the Gators pull away from the Volunteers before needing a Matt Elam interception with under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

#18 West Virginia 37, Maryland 31: The Mountaineers hold off a second-half rally by Maryland as Geno Smith throws for a career-high 388 yards and Eain Smith picks off a Danny O'Brien pass with 1:13 remaining to clinch the victory.

#8 Oklahoma State 59, Tulsa 33: In a game that didn't begin until after midnight due to weather delays, Brandon Weeden throws for 369 yards and three touchdowns as the high-octane Cowboys cruise over their state rivals.

#9 Texas A&M 37, Idaho 7: Three touchdowns from Cyrus Gray and 337 passing yards for Ryan Tannehill lead the Aggies to a blowout victory over Idaho.

#13 Virginia Tech 26, Arkansas State 7: Arkansas State strikes first, but then the Hokies take charge, holding the Red Wolves to just 269 yards, snapping a strong of 14 straight games with 300-plus yards, while Logan Thomas throws for 292 yards and a pair of scores.

#23 TCU 38, UL-Monroe 17: The Horned Frogs trail in this one, but they come to life with 24 unanswered points to bury the Warhawks, lifting coach Gary Patterson to his 100th career victory.

#24 Texas 49, UCLA 20: The Longhorns finally pull together after a rough 2010 and a slow start to this year as Case McCoy (12-of-15, 168 yards, 2 TDs) is solid in his first career start and D.J. Grant has three TD grabs.

CUPCAKE CITY
#12 Oregon 56, Missouri State 7: LaMichael James runs for 204 yards and three touchdowns, including a 90-yard scoring run, as the Ducks crush FCS foe Missouri State.

#19 Baylor 48, Stephen F. Austin 0: Robert Griffin, III, is 20-of-22 for 238 yards and three TDs as the Bears crush the Lumberjacks in a lightning-shortened three-quarter game.

#20 USF 70, Florida A&M 17: B.J. Daniels (382 yards, four touchdowns) leads the Bulls to touchdowns on eight of 10 drives before leaving the game for good in the third quarter.

INTO THE RANKINGS
#21 Clemson 38, Auburn 24: See above.

#22 Michigan 31, Eastern Michigan 3: Denard Robinson runs for 198 yards and accounts for three touchdowns as the Wolverines climb into the national rankings under first-year head coach Brady Hoke.

#23 USC 38, Syracuse 17: Matt Barkley throws for 324 yards and matches a school record with five touchdown strikes as the Trojans remain perfect by crushing the Orange.

#24 Illinois 17, Arizona State 14: See above.

#25 Georgia Tech 66, Kansas 24: The Yellow Jackets' option offense clicks to near perfection as it piles up a school record 768 yards behind a great effort by Orwin Smith who registers more than 100 yards rushing and receiving.

MANNING AWARD STARS OF THE WEEK
While 31 quarterbacks are on the Manning Award Watch List, additional players may be added later in the season and every quarterback in the country remains eligible for the honor. Here's a look at the best performances of the third week of the football season:

Tajh Boyd, Clemson
(30-of-42, 386 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT)
Trailing by 14 points on two different occasions, Boyd leads Clemson to the comeback victory to snap No. 21 Auburn's national-best 17-game winning streak.

Seth Doege, Texas Tech
(40-of-44, 401 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT)
Doege completes his first 15 passes and sets an FBS record for completion percentage as he leads the Red Raiders to a 59-13 blowout of New Mexico.

Ryan Griffin, Tulane
(22-of-26, 281 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
The Green Wave picks up its second victory of the season as Griffin completes his first 11 passes to direct an offense that holds the ball for almost 42 minutes in a 49-10 win over UAB, lifting Tulane to a 2-1 start for the first time since 2005.

Case Keenum, Houston
(25-of-40, 351 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT)
Keenum leads Houston to 28 unanswered points in a furious second-half rally to keep the Cougars undefeated with a 35-34 win over Louisiana Tech.

Kellen Moore, Boise State
(32-of-42, 455 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT)
The Broncos' run-game struggles early, but Moore is outstanding once again, leading Boise State to a 40-15 blowout victory over Toledo.

Sean Renfree, Duke
(40-of-52, 359 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)
Renfree ties a school record with 40 completions as he rallies the Blue Devils from a 12-point deficit in their ACC opener against Boston College.

James Vanderberg, Iowa
(31-of-48, 399 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Down 24-3 late in the third quarter, Vandenberg runs for a touchdown then throws for three fourth-quarter scores as the Hawkeyes stun Pitt, 31-27, with the biggest comeback in school history.

Russell Wilson, Wisconsin
(23-of-32, 347 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Wilson leads the potent Wisconsin offense to 621 yards of total offense, including scores on six of its first seven possessions, in a 49-7 win over Northern Illinois.

UPCOMING GAMES
(current AP Rankings)

#14 Arkansas at #3 Alabama: The Tide is a national title favorite, but Arkansas can derail its hopes with an upset in Tuscaloosa.

#2 LSU at #16 West Virginia: Continuing a challenging non-conference schedule, the Tigers take on Big East favorite West Virginia on the road.

#11 Florida State at #21 Clemson: The Seminoles' loss to Oklahoma puts a big dent in their national title hopes, but now they need to recover to battle Clemson, which jumped into the rankings for the first time this year.

Missouri at #1 Oklahoma: The Sooners are the overwhelming favorite in the Big 12, but coming off the key national showdown with Florida State could provide letdown opportunities with a solid Tiger squad in town.

#7 Oklahoma State at #8 Texas A&M: These two teams finished in a near tie for second-place in the Big 12 preseason poll and both have been very impressive through the non-conference slate.

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh: The Fighting Irish take on Pitt on the road, Panthers will look for revenge after 23-17 loss in 2010.

#23 USC at Arizona State: The top two picks in the Pac-12 South meet in the desert - undefeated USC just clawed back into the rankings while the Sun Devils just slipped out after a road loss.

#10 Oregon at Arizona: The Wildcats were handled by Stanford last week, but have little recovery time as another Pac-12 powerhouse comes to town.