Expect a whole lot of flux in the NCAA college football Top 25 after Week 3.
There are four marquee matchups pitting Associated Press Top 25 teams against each other in Week 3 of the 2015 season.
No. 14 Georgia Tech travels to South Bend, Indiana, to take on No. 8 Notre Dame, who are without starting quarterback Malik Zaire after the junior suffered a season-ending broken ankle injury in the Fighting Irish's 34-27 win over Virginia on Saturday.
Also on the docket is a clash between Hail Joseph-throwing Tanner Mangum and his No. 19 BYU Cougars and No. 10 UCLA, which features a bright signal-caller of its own in true freshman Josh Rosen.
Finally, there are two big SEC West showdowns on the slate. No. 13 LSU hosts No. 18 Auburn, while No. 2 Alabama takes on No. 15 Ole Miss at home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Here's the Associated Press Top 25, with win-loss records and respective conference standings heading into Week 3.
Matchup of the Week
No. 19 BYU vs. No. 10 UCLA
Listen, you have all season to watch SEC West teams beat the snot out of each other. It's time to turn your attention elsewhere, to the big game between ranked opponents at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night, when you have time to concentrate on a game after all the overlapping college football mayhem of the afternoon and early evening is over.
It's BYU against UCLA, the dream matchup between two of the most interesting quarterbacks of the young season.
Rosen played like a seasoned senior in his debut against Virginia, completing 80 percent of his passes for 351 yards, three scores and no picks in a 34-16 win. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller had high praise for the 18-year-old:
He was shakier the next week against UNLV, throwing for just 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The drop-off was a non-issue, as the defense overwhelmed UNLV, and running back Paul Perkins scampered for 151 yards and two scores in a 37-3 win.
Rosen's poise has been excellent, and the talent around him is remarkable. Where there was once cautious optimism for a big season is now wild excitement.
BYU represents the toughest test in the early campaign, and Bruins linebacker Myles Jack isn't about to take things lightly despite great early success.
"We definitely understand what's ahead of us. The growth with our team, with what fans and we wanted to see, was how we handled these first two games," Jack said, via the Los Angeles Times' Helene Elliot. "Moving into BYU and conference play, if we did what we were supposed to do in these games, we would feel pretty good moving forward."
Mangum wasn't supposed to be the Cougars' big star this season. He only came into play when senior quarterback Taysom Hill suffered a season-ending foot injury against Nebraska. His numbers aren't as gaudy as Rosen's after two games—420 yards, three scores, two interceptions—but he's already proven something Rosen hasn't had a chance to do yet: make plays in the clutch.
Here's USA Today's Paul Myerberg summing up his heroics against Nebraska and Boise State:
The 11th pass of his college career was a game-winning Hail Mary as time expired to shock Nebraska, a moment already memorialized on shirts for sale outside of Lavell Edwards Stadium.
On the third play of his first career start, Mangum rolled far, far to his right, nearly onto the white stripe of the sideline, before tossing a rainbow heave that was lost briefly in the stadium’s bright lights before falling into the arms of wide receiver Mitchell Juergens, who strolled into the end zone for an 84-yard touchdown.
Trailing by a field goal with less than a minute left against Boise State, Mangum opted against the safe play — the 8-plus yards needed to convert a fourth-down try — and went for it all, again finding Juergens for the winning touchdown.
Here's video proof that miracles do happen when Mangum is around, via ESPN Stats & Info:
Outside of the quarterbacks, defensive play will make this game plenty interesting. BYU has allowed just 186 rushing yards this season, including a measly 64 to Boise State.
Perkins has found plenty of room to run in the early season behind a polished offensive line, but the Cougars could key in on him and force Rosen to beat them with his arm and football acumen. Rosen's been as good, if not better, than advertised thus far, but BYU represents his toughest test yet.
If Mangum wants to deliver the Cougars another win, he might need the rest of his team to have some patience. UCLA has allowed just one passing touchdown against two interceptions this year, with 19 overall points scored.
Jack and company are a disciplined bunch, and Jim Mora has done wonders with the Bruins program in such a short amount of time. All told, a loss for either team at this juncture wouldn't be the end of the world.
UCLA would certainly like to pad its win total and keep the early momentum going with road games against Arizona and Stanford looming in the next three weeks.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2566796-college-football-rankings-2015-win-loss-records-week-3-standings-for-top-25
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