He was the most famous strength coach in college football. Now, Scott Cochran opens up about his addiction
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Mark Schlabach
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Mark Schlabach
ESPN Senior Writer
- Senior college football writer
- Author of seven books on college football
- Graduate of the University of Georgia
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Marty Smith
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Marty Smith
ESPN
- ESPN NASCAR lead reporter
- Former NASCAR.com senior writer
- 15 years covering NASCAR
ATHENS, Ga. — For more than two decades, Scott Cochran’s thundering bullhorn of a voice helped him become the most famous strength and conditioning coach in college football.
It was his instrument in motivating 77 All-Americans and 41 NFL first-round draft picks as a member of coaching staffs that won eight national championships at LSU, Alabama and Georgia.
That booming voice — the one that welcomed Alabama fans to Bryant-Denny Stadium in scoreboard videos and was featured in profiles on ESPN and “60 Minutes” — is also one of the reasons Cochran won’t be standing on the sideline during Saturday night’s showdown between the No. 2 Bulldogs and No. 4 Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa (7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN App).
In 2012, while Cochran was assisting legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban in guiding the Crimson Tide to back-to-back national championships, he was suffering from debilitating migraine headaches. The man affectionately known as “Coach Yeah” was screaming so loud and so often during workouts he was left with splitting pain near his temples that wouldn’t go away.
As Cochran pushed and prodded his players to give him one more lift or just another ounce of effort, his brain would sometimes throw up a white flag.
“I had to literally run and put my head into the ice tub just to get rid of the headache because there’s no way I was going to miss a lift group or miss a player walking through the door,” Cochran told ESPN.
Doctors advised him that the migraines were the result of increased pressure in his head and neck from screaming. As Cochran shouted instructions to his players in the weight room, the blood vessels in his head contracted, leaving him in throbbing pain. The migraines would last from a few minutes to several hours. Cochran said at times it felt like a “vise was cranking” his head.
A doctor offered Cochran a simple remedy: Stop screaming so much.
There was one problem: Cochran’s voice was his brand, akin to legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s houndstooth hat and former Florida coach Steve Spurrier’s visor.
“But this is who I am,” Cochran told the doctor. “You try not breathing.”
According to Cochran, a doctor initially prescribed blood thinners and then beta-blockers, which slow a person’s heart rate and relax blood vessels to control migraines. However, neither drug did much to control the frequency or intensity of his headaches.
A doctor proceeded to the next step, providing Cochran with a prescription for Vicodin, which contains the opioid pain reliever hydrocodone and acetaminophen (Tylenol).
The doctor delivered a stern warning: “Be careful. This can be addictive.” When that didn’t work, the doctor changed the drug to extended-release OxyContin.
“And, of course, with my ego, I’m like, ‘I’m not going to get addicted to something,'” Cochran said. “Come on. I’m winning. I’m winning everything. I’m financially successful. Life is too good for something like that. I’ll be fine.”
Cochran, 45, grew up in New Orleans and earned kinesiology and sports management degrees from LSU. He started as a strength and conditioning coach at University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When Saban left Michigan State to take over the Tigers in 2000, he hired Tommy Moffitt, Cochran’s strength coach in high school, to oversee his weight room.
“I called Coach Moffitt and said, ‘Hey, I’ll cut your grass. I’ll scrub your toilets. Whatever I need to do, let me come work for you,'” Cochran said.
After three years as a graduate assistant and two more as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, Cochran departed LSU to join the New Orleans Hornets’ staff.
When Saban left the Miami Dolphins to take over Alabama’s struggling program in 2007, he tried to hire Moffitt away from LSU. Moffitt wouldn’t leave, so he hired Cochran instead.
“I just think people like positive people,” said Saban, who joined ESPN as a college football analyst after retiring from Alabama. “I don’t know that people relate to negative, ‘poor me’ type people. Scott was always upbeat and positive. I think his energy and enthusiasm and that positive attitude was contagious in a lot of ways in terms of the work ethic that we were able to establish.”
In a role that traditionally operated behind the scenes, Cochran became the second-most-powerful voice in Alabama’s football program — behind only Saban’s.
Along the way, Cochran’s high energy and raspy voice developed a cult following among Tide fans. When the Crimson Tide played at No. 3 Georgia in 2008, the Bulldogs wore black jerseys and urged their fans to wear black at Sanford Stadium. In practice that week, Cochran told Alabama’s players, “They’re wearing black jerseys because they know they’re going to a f—ing funeral.” The No. 8 Crimson Tide blasted the Bulldogs 41-30 on the road.
“Probably to the outside world, it’s like he was 6 feet, 4 inches and 300 pounds and bench-pressed the whole world because of the voice,” said Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who worked as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2014 to 2016. “He was really not that big of a guy when you’re next to him, but his voice was so powerful.”
With Cochran leading Alabama’s famous “Fourth Quarter” conditioning program in the spring and summer, the Crimson Tide were the sport’s standard for more than a dozen years. The Tide captured three national titles in Saban’s first six seasons, then played in four straight College Football Playoff National Championship games from 2015 to 2018. They defeated Clemson 45-40 in 2015 and Georgia 26-23 in overtime in 2017. Alabama went 55-4 over those four years, never losing more than once in a season.
Cochran received plenty of notoriety for Alabama’s success. He was named the Samson Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2011. Regions Bank featured him in a TV commercial with his gravelly pipes cheering on customers as they saved money. By 2016, he was the highest-paid strength coach in the FBS, earning $525,000 per year.
Kiffin and other coaches who worked with Cochran at Alabama said he was more than just a highly successful strength coach who transformed five-star recruits into All-Americans. He was also a much-needed filter between the demanding Saban and his players.
Kiffin joked Alabama’s weight room was like Munchkinland from the “Wizard of Oz.”
“Everybody is miserable up here and then when you walk down the stairs to Munchkinland, everybody’s singing, there’s music playing, everybody’s happy,” Kiffin said. “It was a very interesting dynamic — good cop, bad cop.”
Other former Alabama assistants, including Maryland head coach Mike Locksley, who worked under Saban from 2016-2018, agreed that Cochran was often a sounding board for players and other assistants.
“He knew the players and kind of got a great feel for how the players were,” Locksley said. “He also was the guy that kind of motivated and kept the coaches from jumping off the ship sometimes.”
None of the eight former coaches contacted by ESPN who previously worked with Cochran said they were aware of his substance abuse struggles at the time.
By 2015, three years after getting his first prescription, Cochran said he had developed an addiction, taking 10 pills per day. He crushed and snorted the pills, so they’d get into his bloodstream and rid him of his migraines faster. Cochran said he obtained prescriptions from a doctor in Alabama and another one in Mississippi. He bought additional pills from dealers off the street.
“I had to go to docs outside of the building to get more and more and more,” Cochran said. “But the one thing was, it fixed my headaches, which was crazy. It was literally like, ‘Oh, shoot. I can coach all day.’ Like, my head doesn’t hurt. I don’t have to put my head into the ice tub between every workout group, you know?”
Defensive coordinator Kirby Smart was one of Cochran’s closest friends at Alabama. When Smart was hired to coach Georgia in December 2015, he tried to bring Cochran with him. Cochran wasn’t ready to leave Saban, but as his addiction worsened over the next few years, he finally agreed to join Smart at Georgia. He was hired as the Bulldogs’ special teams coordinator– an on-field position — in February 2020.
Cochran’s dream was to become a head coach, and he figured no school was going to hire a strength coach to lead its program. He also believed a change of scenery would help him leave his addiction in the rearview mirror.
“For about two years, I was trying to figure out, ‘How do I stop?'” Cochran said. “Because I couldn’t put it down. And so, I was thinking, ‘OK, if I change jobs, if I change geographical location, maybe I can leave this stuff behind.'”
Cochran said he took a few pills with him to Georgia, knowing he’d be sick from withdrawal symptoms. He never stopped using. When the university shut down its campus and moved classes online because of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Cochran returned to Tuscaloosa, where his family was still living. He was back among his old dealers and was soon snorting 20 to 25 pills a day.
On April 10, 2020, Cochran was discussing special teams play with coaches from the Atlanta Falcons in a videoconference. His wife, Cissy, found him passed out in his office chair. He was sweating profusely and wasn’t breathing. His skin had turned purple. She initially believed he’d had a heart attack or stroke.
“He was kind of slumped over, just not really responsive,” she said.
When two paramedics arrived at Cochran’s house, one of them recognized that he was the former Alabama strength coach. He started giving Cochran chest compressions, believing he’d suffered a heart attack.
But then the other paramedic spoke up: “This is an overdose. NARCAN him now.”
One of the paramedics administered NARCAN nasal spray, which is designed to reverse an opioid overdose. When that didn’t work, he injected Cochran with another narcotic blocker. Cochran said he woke up in a hospital about two days later.
A doctor told him, “That was a really close call. You were dead.”
Cochran knew the doctor and asked him, “Can you write me a script?”
Cissy Cochran had noticed her husband was more irritable during his final two years in Alabama, sometimes snapping at her or their three children. She never suspected he was abusing painkillers.
After her husband’s overdose, Cissy remembered that former NBA player Chris Herren had talked to the Alabama football team over the years about his own drug and alcohol addictions. She called Herren, who told her to put Scott on a plane and get him to Herren Wellness, his recovery center in Seekonk, Massachusetts.
“She was in a panic, and she just wanted to find a place for him to get help,” said Herren, who spoke to ESPN with Cochran’s permission.
Cissy flew with her husband on Easter Sunday to make sure he made it. Herren’s staff picked Scott up at the airport, and Cissy flew home.
“He’s a very prideful guy,” Herren said. “He’s got an unbelievably big personality. I always watched him firing people up. He was always helping, always motivating. When I saw him come up the first time, he wasn’t the same. He seemed like he was worn out.”
Scott Cochran spent 28 days at Herren Wellness. He and his wife were the only ones who knew he was in recovery; he didn’t tell Smart about his addiction. Since Georgia’s coaches were still working from home during the pandemic, he participated in staff meetings via Zoom and had FaceTime calls with recruits.
“No one had a clue,” Cochran said.
During his initial stay at Herren Wellness, Cochran felt like he was suffering from the flu as his body withdrew from the opioids. He was wearing a Fitbit and remembers sleeping about eight hours over 10 days.
Cochran returned to Georgia to prepare for the abbreviated 2020 season. He said his sobriety lasted about two months. He was in a new college town and had to find new dealers. Soon, according to Cochran, he was snorting as many as 50 pills a day.
The Bulldogs went 8-2 in 2020, and Cochran’s first season as special teams coordinator was a success. Georgia led the SEC in kickoff returns and kickoff coverage and was fourth in punting.
By June 2021, Cochran’s life was being consumed by his addiction. He told his wife that he was using again and needed to return to Herren Wellness for a two-week refresher course. When he arrived at the facility, he told administrators that his urine test wasn’t going to be clean. They told him there wasn’t OxyContin in his system, there was only fentanyl.
“I was basically addicted to fentanyl,” Cochran said.
The doctors at Herren Wellness wanted Cochran to stay for 100 days to get clean. Cochran knew he could no longer keep the secret from Smart, so he called his good friend and boss.
“You hired a drug addict,” Cochran told Smart.
“What are you talking about?” Smart asked.
Cochran told Smart he’d been abusing painkillers for nearly 10 years and was calling him from rehab. Smart assured him he and Georgia would do anything to help him. Smart flew to Massachusetts to see him about a month later.
“It was tough,” Cochran said. “You have so much guilt, so much shame. And to open up and tell someone that you’re broken, how do you say that to somebody, you know?”
Worst of all, Cochran said he felt like he betrayed the players who had been open to him about their mental struggles and off-field problems while he was hiding his own.
“The worst part was I neglected my family,” Cochran said. “I dove all into work, all into the players. And it’s so sad and so disgusting to be saying one thing, and then as soon as they’re walking out the door, I’m doing something completely different. To be there and execute whatever they need done, but I’m broken bad.”
Herren said therapists and patients at his facility were soon wearing Georgia football T-shirts. During Cochran’s second stay, he was more committed to getting sober and more transparent about his struggles.
“To be honest with you, most people who call and say, ‘I want to come to your place for a month,’ I’m not that place,” Herren said. “I want to see people kind of unplug, disconnect and really jump in and focus on their recovery. He stayed. He was committed. He just kind of took his hands off the wheel and said, ‘You drive. You tell me where to go.'”
When Cochran’s wife and three children visited him during his second month of recovery, they were surprised to hear him laugh during a walk.
“They had never heard me laugh,” Cochran said. “It was like, ‘Are you kidding?’ But it made sense, you know? Everything’s about winning. Everything’s about the next game, the next play. How do you get the most out of your players?”
On Aug. 8, 2021, Georgia announced that Cochran was taking a leave of absence and was “dealing with health issues and is taking time to prioritize his mental health and well-being.”
Cochran returned to work in mid-October 2021. Former Florida and South Carolina coach Will Muschamp had assumed his on-field position, so Cochran worked behind the scenes as an analyst and player development director.
Georgia went 14-1 in 2021, losing only to Alabama in the SEC championship game. The Bulldogs avenged that loss with a 33-18 victory in the CFP National Championship, ending the program’s 41-year title drought.
The Bulldogs went 15-0 the next season, claiming their second straight CFP national title with a 65-7 rout of TCU.
Cochran’s biggest victory came nearly six months later when he reached his two-year sobriety anniversary on July 5, 2023. Smart congratulated him via text message.
Then, in the beginning of November 2023, Cochran relapsed again. He was buying painkillers from a former addict — two a day at first and then six to eight. He didn’t tell his wife or anyone at Georgia that he was using again. Cochran said he started out of boredom more than anything else.
A few days before Georgia played Florida State in the Orange Bowl this past January, Cissy Cochran grabbed her husband’s arm and said, “I know you’re struggling. I don’t know if you’re using, but I know you’re struggling. This can be the last game we coach.”
Georgia announced on Feb. 14 that Cochran was no longer a member of its coaching staff. He entered rehab in Athens and signed a two-year contract to remain sober through the program.
On Aug. 16, Cochran was back in front of a college football team. Georgia Tech coach Brent Key, who worked with Cochran for three years at Alabama, invited him to speak to his players about the dangers of substance abuse.
“As men, we hide things,” Key told his players. “That’s what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to hide things, not let people know when we’re hurt, if we’re in a different place. So, what you have to do is pay attention. Scott’s going to be very transparent and open with you guys tonight.”
Over the next 42 minutes, Cochran shared all the details — even the ugly ones — about his career, addiction and recovery. His program included segments from his “60 Minutes” interview, Regions Bank Commercial and a video of him smashing a crystal CFP runner-up trophy with a sledgehammer.
“I’m making the money. Life’s good,” Cochran told the players. “I wouldn’t be standing here if it was sunshine and rainbows, right? I relapse. I pick back up last year because my ego got so big. My ego got so big because I’m the man. My ego got so big, you couldn’t tell me s—, and so I picked back up.”
While his life used to be defined by championships, draft picks and All-Americans, Cochran now measures it by days of sobriety.
“My life’s a little different now,” Cochran said. “I attack it a little different. I have to be right where my feet are 24/7. If I start thinking about the future, I’m going to start stressing about the dumb s—, right? And I’m going to miss this. I’m going to miss this moment right here with y’all.
“If I start thinking about the past, that’s shame. It’s shame in that past. There’s shame back there. ‘Man, I can’t believe I’ve ruined all this, all that.’ So, if I can just be right where my feet are, if I can find that juice, that energy to be who I need to be right here in this moment, this is nothing different from football.”
On June 26, Cochran and former Georgia political staffer Jeff Breedlove, who battled a cocaine addiction, launched the American Addiction Recovery Association. The group’s mission is “to save lives, restore families and strengthen communities.” AARA wants to be what the Susan G. Komen Foundation was for breast cancer and eliminate the stigma surrounding addiction.
“Why not stand up and say, ‘Hey, let’s come together,'” Cochran said. “Let’s talk about addiction for what it is, and not, ‘Because you’re an addict, we don’t want you around.’ The opposite of addiction is connection. If we can get people out of that shame and guilt cycle, there’s going to be a lot more recovery, and that’s going to save lives.”
As part of Cochran’s work, he has spoken to football teams at Ole Miss, Maryland, Oregon, Florida, Clemson and Marshall. He has appeared at fraternities in Alabama and a construction convention in California.
“I’m happy for him,” Smart said. “I think he’s really in his calling now. He is in his element when he’s telling his story. I think about a team that’s never heard that, how impactful he can be. We all have people that have been really in need of help, and he’s lucky to be alive. I’m happy as hell for him.”
At the end of each program, Cochran posts his cell phone number on the screen. He tells anyone to contact him if they’re having a problem with substance abuse or have a family member who’s using. He averages a couple of text messages a day. He recently helped a 52-year-old man get to the hospital and in recovery.
“It’s so rewarding to see the miracle of recovery every day,” Cochran said.
Cochran has been sober for more than eight months, but he knows it remains an ongoing, daily battle. For the most part, his migraines are gone, although one will pop up occasionally when he’s speaking to a group without a microphone or playing rough with his kids.
Herren said one of the most rewarding parts of Cochran’s recovery is seeing his face on a weekly Zoom meeting of alumni from his recovery center.
“That’s the beauty of being sober and sharing your story is that you know you have a front-row seat to watch people that you help rebuild their life,” Herren said. “He’s a very selfless, giving human being, and to see him now and who he is and what he’s doing and what he’s overcome and the way he’s still fighting, that’s the most fulfilling thing to me because he’s finally putting himself first.”
Gene Wojciechowski contributed additional reporting.
HONOLULU — Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed last month accusing them of causing a Hawaii real estate investor and broker to be fired from a $240 million luxury housing development on the Big Island’s Hapuna Coast.
Ohtani and Balelo were sued Aug. 8 in Hawaii Circuit Court for the First Circuit by developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto, West Point Investment Corp. and Hapuna Estates Property Owners, who accused them of “abuse of power” that allegedly resulted in tortious interference and unjust enrichment.
Hayes and Matsumoto had been dropped from the development deal by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the joint venture’s majority owner.
In papers filed Sunday, lawyers for Ohtani and Balelo said Hayes and Matsumoto in 2023 acquired rights for a joint venture in which they owned a minority percentage to use Ohtani’s name, image and likeness under an endorsement agreement to market the venture’s real estate development at the Mauna Kea Resort. The lawyers said Ohtani was a “victim of NIL violations.”
“Unbeknownst to Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo, plaintiffs exploited Ohtani’s name and photograph to drum up traffic to a website that marketed plaintiffs’ own side project development,” the lawyers wrote. “They engaged in this self-dealing without authorization, and without paying Ohtani for that use, in a selfish and wrongful effort to take advantage of their proximity to the most famous baseball player in the world.”
The lawyers claimed Hayes and Matsumoto sued after “Balelo did his job and protected his client by expressing justifiable concern about this misuse and threatening to take legal action against this clear misappropriation.” They called Balelo’s actions “clearly protected speech “
In a statement issued after the suit was filed last month, Kingsbarn called the allegations “completely frivolous and without merit.”
Ohtani is a three-time MVP on the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Nez Balelo has always prioritized Shohei Ohtani’s best interests, including protecting his name, image, and likeness from unauthorized use,” a lawyer for Ohtani and Balelo, said in a statement. “This frivolous lawsuit is a desperate attempt by plaintiffs to distract from their myriad of failures and blatant misappropriation of Mr. Ohtani’s rights.”
Lawyers for Hayes and Matsumoto did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Bill Connelly
What’s the old Guy Fieri line from “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”? “Slow down and take a look around”? College football’s superpower is its absolute enormity, and if you search, you’ll always find a wild game worth watching.
Some weeks, however, you don’t have to try very hard to find them. Week 3 of the 2025 season basically smacked us in the face with them.
Whether you considered Texas A&M-Notre Dame or Georgia-Tennessee the biggest game of the week, it didn’t matter — they both went down to the wire with quarterback heroics and special teams heartbreaks. And two of the sport’s wildest rivalries, Pitt-West Virginia and Ole Miss-Arkansas, both gave us classics too. Throw in a Division III Hail Mary and a pair of stunning HBCU endings, and just about the only thing we were missing Saturday was a late-night thriller.
After two straight wild weekends, 39 FBS teams remain unbeaten. Obviously some of those teams have more blemishes and weaknesses than others, but until you lose, you haven’t lost! SP+ projects an average of 0.95 of these teams reaching 12-0 — it might as well be your team!
All 39 of these teams are playoff contenders as long as their loss column zeros remain. As has become tradition at this point, let’s rank all the remaining unbeaten teams three weeks into the season.
Ranking all 39 unbeaten teams
SP+ and FPI rankings: second and first, respectively
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 10.4%
What the Ducks did in Week 3: def. Northwestern 34-14
It took Dan Lanning’s Ducks a little while to put Northwestern away early Saturday, primarily because their opponents were embarking on a series of lengthy (and eventually scoreless) drives. But they were never in danger, and they’ve spent most of three games in kick-butt-and-take-names mode.
SP+ and FPI rankings: third and second
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 11.5%
What the Buckeyes did in Week 3: def. Ohio, 37-9
Ohio is good enough that I expected the Bobcats to force the Buckeyes to put in a shift, but I can’t say I expected “one-score game with 22 minutes left.” Ohio State hit the gas and put this one to bed, but this team clearly hasn’t reached its final form yet.
SP+ and FPI rankings: first and seventh
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 11.2%
What the Nittany Lions did in Week 3: def. Villanova, 52-6
Penn State pulled a Penn State on Saturday, starting slowly against a lesser opponent before eventually steamrolling them. The Nittany Lions have yet to face a team ranked better than 112th in SP+, but that changes very soon: After a Week 4 bye, they’ll host Oregon in a loaded Week 5.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 20th and 15th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.6%
What the Aggies did in Week 3: def. No. 8 Notre Dame, 41-40
Even as someone who leans heavily on stats, I’m allowed to listen to my gut sometimes, and my gut has been telling me A&M is for real since the preseason. If I believed that before the Aggies’ late rally in South Bend on Saturday night, I’m certainly going to keep believing it afterward.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 10th and 11th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 10.3%
What the Hurricanes did in Week 3: def. South Florida, 49-12
Miami treated upstart USF as an elite team is supposed to. The Hurricanes’ defense was a bit more bend-don’t-break than I would like to see, but a ruthless offense rolled up 576 yards and didn’t allow the Bulls to ever feel as though they had a foot in the game.
SP+ and FPI rankings: eighth and fourth
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 2.5%
What the Bulldogs did in Week 3: def. No. 15 Tennessee, 44-41 (OT)
In their past three wins against power-conference opponents, Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs have had to go to overtime each time. Is that sustainable? No. Has Georgia shown signs of slippage over the past two seasons? Absolutely. Do I ever feel particularly good picking against them? Absolutely not.
SP+ and FPI rankings: fifth and eighth
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 6.5%
What the Rebels did in Week 3: def. Arkansas, 41-35
Forced to face a prolific Arkansas team without their starting quarterback, the Rebels laced up their track shoes and won a wild one all the same. Trinidad Chambliss enjoyed an epic star turn, and after three tight losses kept Ole Miss out of the CFP last season, they’ve nabbed a pair of tight wins early in 2025.
8. USC (3-0)
SP+ and FPI rankings: ninth and fifth
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.3%
What the Trojans did in Week 3: def. Purdue, 33-17
The poll voters have been slow to trust USC this season. The computers? Not so much. The Trojans blew out two cupcakes to start the season, then survived a tricky, storm-delayed test at Purdue with defensive playmaking. That’s right! I said defensive playmaking! USC!
9. LSU (3-0)
SP+ and FPI rankings: 17th and 19th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.3%
What the Tigers did in Week 3: def. Florida, 20-10
On one hand, they’re 3-0, and they’ve already beaten two teams ranked 31st or higher in SP+ (Clemson and Florida). On the other hand, the offense has been a painful disappointment, and the Tigers needed five interceptions to put away a 20-10 win over the Gators. Surviving and advancing is what’s important, but that will get harder if LSU can’t top 24 points.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 33rd and 27th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.9%
What the Seminoles did in Week 3: bye week
Metrics are programmed to avoid overreacting to small samples as much as possible, so last year’s 2-10 campaign is still pretty large in the rearview mirror for SP+ and FPI. The eyeballs, however, think the Noles are just dandy. That Week 6 matchup with Miami looks awfully intriguing, doesn’t it?
SP+ and FPI rankings: 11th and 12th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.1%
What the Tigers did in Week 3: def. Louisiana, 52-10
Mizzou has overachieved against SP+ projections by an average of 12.6 points per game, and after Saturday’s steamrolling of Louisiana, the Tigers are averaging 302.3 rushing yards per game. Handle South Carolina as projected next week, and they should be unbeaten when Bama comes to town in Week 7.
SP+ and FPI rankings: seventh and 13th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.1%
What the Sooners did in Week 3: def. Temple, 42-3
The offense went into cruise control a hair early at Temple on Saturday, but the Sooners’ defense has allowed just 19 total points in three games. This is what a Brent Venables team was supposed to look like; now they have a chance to score another ranked win next week when Auburn comes to town.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 12th and 26th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 5.9%
What the Red Raiders did in Week 3: def. Oregon State, 45-14
Joey McGuire’s Red Raiders have played just about the softest set of opponents in FBS. They’ve also beaten those soft opponents by a combined 174-35. That’s still pretty telling. Behren Morton is putting up Air Raid-style passing numbers, and the defense hasn’t allowed a non-garbage-time point. Hard to top that.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 16th and 23rd
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.5%
What the Illini did in Week 3: def. Western Michigan, 38-0
The offense took its time shifting into gear against WMU on Saturday, but the defense has allowed 22 points in three games. The next time you think something in your life feels impossible, just step back and realize that unbeaten Illinois is playing unbeaten Indiana this Saturday in an enormous game with playoff implications, and that the two teams are a combined 27-5 since the start of 2024. If that’s possible, anything is.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 13th and 16th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.0%
What the Hoosiers did in Week 3: def. Indiana State, 73-0
My favorite tidbit from the weekend: Not only did IU’s Omar Cooper Jr. go off for 10 catches and 207 yards against poor, outmatched Indiana State on Friday night, he also caught TD passes from two different Mendozas (Fernando and Alberto).
SP+ and FPI rankings: 27th and 21st
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.1%
What they did in Week 3: def. No. 11 South Carolina, 31-7
Yes, the Commodores’ surprising blowout of the Gamecocks was impacted by an injury to South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers (which came from a hit deemed targeting). But Vandy was winning when Sellers got hurt and has outscored two power-conference opponents by a combined 65-7 in its past six quarters.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 38th and 33rd
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.4%
What the Yellow Jackets did in Week 3: def. No. 12 Clemson, 24-21
Brent Key’s Yellow Jackets against ranked opponents: 7-1.
Brent Key’s Yellow Jackets against unranked opponents: 14-15.
Does this make sense? No. Is it utterly delightful? Yes. (And has Tech overachieved against SP+ projections in all three games thus far? Also yes.)
18. Utah (3-0)
SP+ and FPI rankings: 15th and 18th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 4.7%
What the Utes did in Week 3: def. Wyoming, 31-6
Missed field goals and a turnover kept Utah from pulling away from Wyoming until well into the second half Saturday, but instead of getting Laramie’d, the Utes kept their heads and laid the hammer down. It’s probably pretty easy to keep your head when you know you have a defense as good as Utah’s on your side.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 26th and 43rd
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.2%
What the Cardinals did in Week 3: bye week
Jeff Brohm’s Cardinals have played almost precisely to SP+ projections thus far. If they keep that up, it’s going to be an awfully fun fall in Louisville considering they’re projected favorites in nine of their final 10 games.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 23rd and 34th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 2.7%
What the Cyclones did in Week 3: def. Arkansas State, 24-16
ISU’s Saturday trip to Jonesboro was … strange. The Cyclones averaged 7.7 yards per play with a robust 52.5% success rate, and they held ASU to 16 points. But they still had to make two fourth-quarter stops to secure a win thanks to a couple of missed opportunities and a pretty slow tempo. Regardless, they’re 4-0, and they finally get a welcome week off.
21. TCU (2-0)
SP+ and FPI rankings: 24th and 25th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.9%
What the Horned Frogs did in Week 3: def. Abilene Christian, 42-21
The Frogs only beat ACU by 21 despite being projected as 39-point favorites. A major letdown? Not really. They were up 28-0 at half and outgained the Wildcats 444-157 before garbage time set in. Sonny Dykes’ squad is taking care of business quickly in 2025.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 19th and 20th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.3%
What the Tigers did in Week 3: def. South Alabama, 31-15
Against a tricky and athletic South Alabama team, Auburn raced to an early lead, and while the Tigers never quite landed the knockout blow, they should be able to close out an unbeaten nonconference slate for the first time in six years. (Only Mercer remains.) That’s what we call progress.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 21st and 17th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.7%
What the Cornhuskers did in Week 3: def. Houston Christian, 59-7
Since an entirely unconvincing Week 1 win over Cincinnati, the Huskers have mauled two outmatched opponents (Akron and HCU) by a combined 127-7. Is that a sign of improvement or simply a sign that they can maul outmatched opponents? We’ll find out soon enough: Michigan comes to Lincoln this Saturday.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 51st and 47th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.7%
What the Green Wave did in Week 3: def. Duke, 34-27
Jon Sumrall’s Green Wave nearly let things get messy Saturday night, watching an 18-point lead shrink to seven in the final minute. But they still got the job done, and they still have a pair of power-conference victories on the résumé. No one else in the Group of 5 can say that. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff was one hell of a summer pickup.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 32nd and 29th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.1%
What the Huskies did in Week 3: bye week
Few teams have backfields with more dynamic combos than Washington with Demond Williams Jr. and Jonah Coleman. The Huskies get to face one more sketchy defense (Washington State’s) before the grind really begins. So far so good, however, in Jedd Fisch’s second season.
26. BYU (2-0)
SP+ and FPI rankings: 28th and 22nd
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.2%
What the Cougars did in Week 3: bye week
True freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier has looked like a true freshman, and that will probably catch up to the Cougars in a Big 12 loaded with even matchups and close games. But their defense has been downright mean thus far, and few teams are more physical in the trenches.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 29th and 36th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 8.7%
What the Tigers did in Week 3: def. Troy, 28-7
The Tigers haven’t had the marquee opportunities that conference mates Tulane and USF have seen thus far, but they’re the top-ranked Group of 5 team in both SP+ and FPI, and they get their shot this weekend. With maybe their best defense in more than a decade, they’ll try to slow down a torrid Arkansas attack in Fayetteville.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 39th and 38th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.3%
What the Wildcats did in Week 3: def. Kansas State, 23-17
Good news for Arizona fans: Your team is pretty good again! Bad news: Of the Wildcats’ nine remaining games, eight are projected as one-score affairs, per SP+. Anxiety potential is off the charts. They have a puncher’s chance at 11-1 or 12-0, but 4-8 or 5-7 are still on the table too.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 43rd and 60th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.03%
What the Terrapins did in Week 3: def. Towson, 44-17
Freshman quarterback Malik Washington is holding up, and the defense has overachieved against projections in two of three games. I don’t know where Maryland is going to end up this season, but this team’s ceiling is quite a bit higher than it seemed a few weeks ago.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 50th and 49th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.2%
What the Cougars did in Week 3: def. Colorado, 36-20
The defense hasn’t fallen off at all under new coordinator Austin Armstrong, and while the offense isn’t amazing, quarterback Conner Weigman (222 passing yards, 83 rushing yards) was awfully solid against Colorado on Friday night.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 45th and 42nd
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: <0.01%
What the Bulldogs did in Week 3: def. Alcorn State, 63-0
The Bulldogs probably aren’t going to win many more games this season — after this week’s matchup with Northern Illinois, they’ll face eight straight opponents ranked in the SP+ top 30 — but after a dismal first season under Jeff Lebby, they’re decidedly decent, and they’ll have a shot at eking out bowl eligibility.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 46th and 44th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: <0.01%
What the Scarlet Knights did in Week 3: def. Norfolk State, 60-10
An offense that ranks ninth in points per possession and a defense that ranks 83rd? What in the name of Greg Schiano is going on here? The Scarlet Knights, unrecognizable as they may be, will have a chance to stay on this list for a while with close upcoming games against Iowa, Minnesota and Washington.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 53rd and 58th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.1%
What the Golden Bears did in Week 3: def. Minnesota, 27-14
It will take an upset to knock freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and the Golden Bears off this list: After Saturday night’s upset-that-didn’t-look-like-an-upset over Minnesota, they’re projected favorites in each of their next six games.
34. Navy (3-0)
SP+ and FPI rankings: 49th and 68th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.5%
What the Midshipmen did in Week 3: def. Tulsa, 42-23
Quarterback Blake Horvath and the Midshipmen just continue to cruise right along. They’re now 13-3 since the start of 2024, and while trips to North Texas, Notre Dame and Memphis loom late in the season, they’re projected favorites in their next five games.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 56th and 53rd
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.04%
What the Wolfpack did in Week 3: def. Wake Forest, 34-24
Dave Doeren’s resilient Wolfpack trailed both Virginia and Wake Forest midway through the third quarter but allowed a combined seven second-half points in the two games and eventually pulled off wins. The pass defense scares me, and the offense is pretty all-or-nothing, but this is a confident, 60-minute team.
36. UCF (2-0)
SP+ and FPI rankings: 59th and 48th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.01%
What the Knights did in Week 3: bye week
Scott Frost has won 15 straight games as UCF’s head coach, dating back to his first tenure. The offense scored only 17 points against Jacksonville State in Week 1, but the defense has been legit thus far, and Frost could become the second collegiate head coach to hand Bill Belichick a loss this Saturday.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 66th and 67th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 1.7%
What the Mean Green did in Week 3: def. Washington State, 59-10
On Saturday, North Texas laid down maybe the best performance of any G5 team this season. The Mean Green were about 7-point favorites against Washington State and won by seven touchdowns instead. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker‘s next poor performance will be his first in college.
38. UNLV (3-0)
SP+ and FPI rankings: 76th and 65th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 2.2%
What the Rebels did in Week 3: bye week
Dan Mullen’s first UNLV team is learning and growing, from a narrow defeat of Idaho State in Week 0 to a win over UCLA in Week 2. (Granted, New Mexico’s Week 3 pummeling of the Bruins made that look less impressive.) Now come tricky trips to Miami (Ohio) and Wyoming.
SP+ and FPI rankings: 58th and 69th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: <0.01%
What the Spartans did in Week 3: def. Youngstown State, 41-24
Like Louisville, Jonathan Smith’s Spartans have basically played precisely to projections in 2025. Unlike Louisville, it won’t be great if that continues: They’re projected underdogs against eight of nine Big Ten opponents.
This week in SP+
The SP+ rankings have been updated for the week. Let’s take a look at the teams that saw the biggest change in their overall ratings. (Note: We’re looking at ratings, not rankings.)
Moving up
Here are the five teams that saw their ratings rise the most this week:
• Marshall (up 7.0 adjusted points per game, ranking rose from 123rd to 99th)
• Penn State (up 6.3 points, rose from seventh to first)
• UTSA (up 6.0 points, rose from 90th to 67th)
• Stanford (up 5.8 points, rose from 103rd to 86th)
• Miami (up 5.5 points, rose from 27th to 10th)
It’s been a really funky year in FBS-versus-FCS games. We’ve seen enough strangely unimpressive performances — Georgia vs. Austin Peay, for example — that teams seem to be getting extra credit for dominating decent FCS opponents. This week’s top three movers, for instance, beat three top-40 FCS teams by a combined 138-33 and charged upward. It is what it is, I guess.
The other two teams on the list, however, surprised in different ways. Miami handled its business against everyone’s favorite Group of 5 team (USF), while Stanford shut out a decent Boston College team in the second half to win with shocking comfort, 30-20.
Moving down
Here are the five teams whose ratings fell the most:
• South Carolina (down 8.9 adjusted points per game, ranking fell from 12th to 48th)
• Central Michigan (down 8.3 points, fell from 119th to 132nd)
• Washington State (down 8.0 points, fell from 76th to 103rd)
• New Mexico State (down 6.9 points, fell from 109th to 125th)
• Appalachian State (down 6.1 points, fell from 84th to 100th)
There’s no “your quarterback got hurt in the second quarter” adjustment in the SP+ formula, so South Carolina’s jarring 31-7 loss to Vanderbilt as a projected 9.5-point favorite resulted in an absolute plummet. It’s probably not a surprise that Washington State fell by a similar amount after a 59-10 no-show at North Texas.
Who won the Heisman this week?
I am once again awarding the Heisman every single week of the season and doling out weekly points, F1-style (in this case, 10 points for first place, 9 for second, and so on). How will this Heisman race play out, and how different will the result be from the actual Heisman voting?
For the third straight week, we have an almost completely new top 10:
1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (21-for-29 passing for 353 yards and 1 touchdown, plus 64 non-sack rushing yards and 2 TDs against Arkansas).
2. Gunner Stockton, Georgia (23-for-31 passing for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 48 non-sack rushing yards and a TD against Tennessee).
3. Taylen Green, Arkansas (22-for-35 passing for 305 yards and 1 touchdown, plus 115 non-sack rushing yards and a TD against Ole Miss).
4. Ty Simpson, Alabama (24-for-29 passing for 382 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 39 non-sack rushing yards against Wisconsin).
5. Jake Retzlaff, Tulane (15-for-23 passing for 245 yards, plus 113 non-sack rushing yards and 4 TDs against Duke).
6. Ahmad Hardy, Missouri (22 carries for 250 yards and 3 TDs against Louisiana).
7. Behren Morton, Texas Tech (23-for-35 passing for 464 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT against Oregon State).
8. Eric Gentry, USC (8 tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles against Purdue).
9. Mario Craver, Texas A&M (7 catches for 207 yards and 1 TD against Notre Dame).
10. Colton Joseph, Old Dominion (16-for-22 passing for 276 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 63 non-sack rushing yards and a TD against Virginia Tech).
Considering how many SEC quarterbacks have played disappointing ball this season – Texas’ Arch Manning, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Florida’s DJ Lagway, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers – it’s pretty incredible that four other SEC QBs were no-brainers for the top five this week. All of them had a case for No. 1 (as did Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff, honestly), but I went with the sentimental choice. You know I love the smaller-school guys, and watching former Division II star Trinidad Chambliss, a Ferris State transfer, light up Arkansas with deep ball after deep ball (and a few nice runs) made me very happy.
Honorable mention:
• Damon Bankston, New Mexico (15 carries for 154 yards and a TD, plus 49 receiving yards and another TD against UCLA).
• Carson Beck, Miami (23-for-28 passing for 340 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs, plus 32 non-sack rushing yards and a TD against USF)
• Chris Brazzell, Tennessee (6 catches for 177 yards and 3 TDs against Georgia).
• Omar Cooper, Indiana (10 catches for 207 yards and 4 TDs against Indiana State).
• John Henry Dailey, Utah (six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup against Wyoming).
• Josh Hoover, TCU (21-for-27 passing for 337 yards and 4 touchdowns against Abilene Christian).
• Ismail Mahdi, Arizona (22 carries for 189 yards, plus 32 receiving yards against Kansas State).
• E. Jai Mason, Charlotte (10 catches for 228 yards and 2 TDs against Monmouth).
• Fernando Mendoza, Indiana (19-for-20 passing for 270 yards and 5 touchdowns, plus a rushing touchdown against Indiana State).
• Bryce Underwood, Michigan (16-for-25 passing for 235 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, plus 114 non-sack rushing yards and 2 TDs against Central Michigan).
Through three weeks, here are your points leaders:
1T. QB Taylen Green, Arkansas (15 points)
1T. QB Ty Simpson, Alabama (15 points)
3T. QB Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (10 points)
3T. RB Jonah Coleman, Washington (10 points)
3T. QB Sawyer Robertson, Baylor (10 points)
6T. QB Rocco Becht, Iowa State (nine points)
6T. QB Gunner Stockton, Georgia (nine points)
6T. DB Vicari Swain, South Carolina (nine points)
10. QB Parker Navarro, Ohio (eight points)
Three weeks in, and this list still makes no sense. This has been a very unusual season thus far. The only two players to show up on this list twice so far are Green and Simpson, and that certainly isn’t something I would have guessed when the season began (or after Simpson struggled so much in Week 1 against Florida State). On we go, into the back half of September, and the Heisman race hasn’t even really begun yet.
My 20 favorite games of the weekend
Once again, I couldn’t hold my 10 Favorite Games list to 10 games. Saturday was absolutely glorious. You could have had about a six-way tie at No. 1.
1-2. No. 16 Texas A&M 41, No. 8 Notre Dame 40 and No. 17 Ole Miss 41, Arkansas 35. These were basically the same games, only Texas A&M actually scored at the end, while Arkansas lost a fumble and came up 25 yards short. Regardless, both games topped 900 total yards, and each had about 38 plot twists. Absolutely delightful.
3. No. 6 Georgia 44, No. 15 Tennessee 41 (OT). A surefire No. 1 in a normal week. This one had 998 total yards and what felt like a couple of different knockout blows. And crowd reaction shots. So many great crowd reaction shots.
4. Georgia Tech 24, No. 12 Clemson 21. Now I’m mad at myself. How is this one not No. 1?? It only had the smoothest game-winning, 55-yard fire-drill field goal you’ll ever see …
0:27
Aidan Birr kicks 55-yard field goal
Aidan Birr kicks 55-yard field goal
5. Division III: Plymouth State 47, Worcester State 46. Up in Plymouth, New Hampshire, we got a D-III classic. Worcester State scored twice in the fourth quarter to take a 39-32 lead into the final minute, but Jacob Morris snagged a 52-yard Hail Mary at the buzzer, and after both teams traded overtime TDs, Greg Walker’s rush gave the Panthers a thrilling win.
Hail Mary alert!!!!! Jacob Morris hauled in a 52 yard heave from Braden Lynn to help force OT in a game the Panthers would eventually win 47-46!! #d3fb #SCTop10 #d3playbook @mascacsports pic.twitter.com/5I0D8KWvqe
— Plymouth St. Sports (@PSUPanthers) September 13, 2025
6. West Virginia 31, Pitt 24 (OT). A Backyard Brawl featuring a 10-point comeback in the final 10 minutes, overtime and an exultant Rich Rodriguez? And it was sixth? What a week.
7-8. FCS: NC A&T 33, Hampton 30 (2OT) and Grambling 37, Kentucky State 31 (OT). The HBCU universe always delivers. North Carolina A&T trailed Hampton by 10 with one minute left and was all but assured of a 13th straight loss, but a patented touchdown-onside kick-field goal combo forced overtime, and Wesley Graves‘ second-OT touchdown finished an absolute heist.
Grambling, meanwhile, spotted D-II opponent Kentucky State leads of 14-0 early and 31-24 late, but C’zavian Teasett forced overtime with a TD run with 10 seconds left, and overtime gave us one of the best phrases in the sport: walk-off fumble return.
TYRELL RABY!!! FORCES THE FUMBLE AND RETURNS IT FOR THE GAME WINNING TOUCHDOWN!!!
TIGERS WIN!!!#GramFam | #ThisIsTheG🐯 pic.twitter.com/xUkY7x6hQR
— Grambling State Football 🐯 (@GSUFootball01) September 14, 2025
The poor cameraman had no idea.
9. Delaware 44, UConn 41 (OT). It seemed like UConn had finally taken control after falling into an early 21-10 hole, but a big Nick Minicucci-to-Kyre Duplessis pass set up a game-tying 43-yard field goal for Delaware at the buzzer. And after UConn opened overtime with a field goal, the Blue Hens secured a lovely upset with a 13-yard Minicucci run up the middle.
10. NAIA: Louisiana Christian 43, Wayland Baptist 37. It isn’t just that the teams combined for 36 fourth-quarter points. It’s that basically all the points came from fireworks. Wayland Baptist turned a 30-17 deficit into a 37-30 lead with touchdown passes of 79 and 27 yards and an 83-yard fumble return, but Louisiana Christian turned right around and tied the game on a 24-yard touchdown pass, then won it on a 31-yard Jaterrius Johns run with 1:33 left. It was almost surprising that WBU couldn’t squeeze in one more score at the end.
11. Middle Tennessee 14, Nevada 13. After a hopeless 0-2 start, MTSU found itself down 13-0 midway through the fourth quarter in Reno. But Nicholas Vattiato threw a touchdown pass to Nahzae Cox, then scored the winning touchdown run with 21 seconds left to create a hockey stick of a win probability chart.
12. Buffalo 31, Kent State 28. A game of runs: 14-0 Kent State, then 24-0 Buffalo, then 14-0 Kent State. Dru DeShields gave Kent State — a huge home underdog — a 28-24 lead with just 2:38 left, but Buffalo saved itself with a Ta’Quan Roberson-to-Victor Snow TD pass and a pair of late stops.
13-15. FCS: No. 19 Northern Arizona 52, Southern Utah 49; No. 7 Montana 24, No. 17 North Dakota 23; Weber State 42, McNeese State 41. The Big Sky delivered a trio of thrillers. Weber State nearly blew a 42-21 lead in the final 10 minutes of a big-play festival but stopped a last-minute 2-point conversion to survive. Montana, meanwhile, had to dig out of a 23-14 hole in the last five minutes to win with a 28-yard Keali’i Ah Yat-to-Brooks Davis TD pass. And in Cedar City, Utah, Ty Pennington‘s 2-point conversion pass to Jayson Raines with 29 seconds left gave NAU a Grand Canyon Trophy win over host Southern Utah.
16. Charlotte 42, Monmouth 35. A tossup game on paper, this one saw five ties and wasn’t decided until Conner Harrell plunged into the end zone with 90 seconds left and Charlotte’s defense made a late stop.
17. Ball State 34, New Hampshire 29. Ball State was actually a home underdog in this one and gave up a blocked punt touchdown 67 seconds into the game. But running back Qua Ashley keyed a 27-7 Cardinals run, and the defense stopped UNH near midfield on its final possession.
18. Division III: No. 6 Hardin-Simmons 24, McMurry 19. In the battle for the Wilford Moore Trophy, these Abilene rivals went down to the wire. Hardin-Simmons took a 24-6 lead into halftime, but McMurry charged back and had a chance to win until Caden Sampson-Stuckey’s fourth-down sack of Dylan Plake with 49 seconds left.
19-20. Division II: No. 25 Minnesota Duluth 17, No. 7 Minnesota State 14 and No. 24 Pittsburg State 17, No. 3 Grand Valley State 14. Two top-10 teams in Division II fell by the same score almost simultaneously Saturday evening. First, Minnesota-Duluth’s Jadon Apgar hit a 25-yard field goal at the buzzer to beat Minnesota State in Duluth; a few minutes later, GVSU imploded, throwing an interception with 5:04 left, then committing two fourth-down penalties to allow host Pitt State to run out the clock. Ouch.
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