Buffaloes to Benefit from Chaotic Week 3

The Top 25 is in shambles and the Colorado Buffaloes will be one of the main benefactors of such a tumultuous Week 3. The Buffs didn’t do much to deserve to jump into the Top 25 — they’re currently 27th in the Coaches Poll and 28th in the AP Poll — but because six ranked teams lost, it could turn out that CU just needed to avoid a loss.

The college football day started with some good ole fashioned chaos in the form of #25 UCLA playing at Memphis. Josh Rosen threw for 463 yards and 4 touchdowns, but, as Bruins Nation put it, “The chickens on defense came home to roost.” If you ever wondered how a team can put up 633 total yards and still lose, look at their 3 turnovers and the 560 yards their defense allowed.

The polar opposite of that game was the tragicomedy of #23 Tennessee vs. #24 Florida. The loser of this game was always going to drop out of the Top 25, but this game was so awful that even the winner might fall. This game was 6-3 entering the third quarter, so there had to be an insane fourth quarter for this game to end 26-20. Florida won the game on a 63-yard Hail Mary (which was 30% of Florida’s total passing yards) on one of the most aesthetically pleasing miracles you can find.

But still, the game was so bad former Auburn head coach and current SEC Network analyst Gene Chizik said of Tennessee’s coach, "We've just got to get Butch [Jones] a nice tie for when he's sitting next to me up here on set next weekend." And with Florida, we know how bad Jim McElwain’s teams can be.

Moving down the rankings, you’ll see that #19 Stanford was upset on the road against San Diego State. Stanford running back Bryce Love was incredible as he ran for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 13 carries (!), but that was pretty much the entirety of the Cardinal offense. Quarterback Keller Chryst’s statline is a marvel in how ghastly it as. He had 72 passing yards and 2 interceptions on a horrendous 45% passing, good enough for a 4.9 QB Rating. On the other side of the ball, Stanford just allowed 307 rushing yards to USC last week and they looked just as bad as SDSU’s Rashaad Penny tore them up for 175 yards. All together, the Cardinal almost won this game, but the lights went out on their hopes the contention.

#18 Kansas State also lost on the road to an unranked team — 14-7 to Vanderbilt — but unlike the Cardinal, the Wildcats’ loss was more indicative of their opponent than of their self-destructive ways. K-State ran into a Vanderbilt defense has now allowed 13 total points in three games. Vandy couldn’t get anything going on offense, but when you allow just 279 total yards and force two turnovers, you’re going to win unless your offense is an endless pit of despair.

#14 Louisville lost to #4 Clemson, but since the Cardinals still have Lamar Jackson and considering how incredible the Clemson defense is, Louisville shouldn’t fall out of the rankings.

#12 LSU should fall out of the rankings because they were destroyed by Mississippi State, 37-7. That score doesn’t quite do this game justice because it doesn’t show exactly how dominant the Bulldogs were in every facet of the game. MSU dominated on the ground, efficient in the air, essentially perfect on special teams, and they held LSU to just 270 total yards.

With six teams likely falling from the Top 25, the Buffs will likely jump in. CU doesn’t really deserve it, but who cares? Now with a number beside their name, people will pay more attention to their Saturday night matchup with the 6th-ranked Washington Huskies.