September 23, 2026
Week 3 Rankings Recap
SEC teams continue to slide, and Jesse Legree should be the Heisman frontrunner
Ole Miss gets revenge on LSU, another SEC team in Texas A&M bites the dust, and a great Big 12 game between Texas Tech and Houston comes down to a razor thin wire. It's just a matter of time before Oklahoma starts a losing spree with how bad their offense is, and Louisville looks like a legitimate ACC contender once again. Jesse Legree is playing insane, his worst game of his college career this week was still a solid 100 yard + 1 TD performance. If we were to vote on the heisman now he'd have my vote.
Biggest Moves
| Team | Move | Rank | Rating | Week 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | ▲ 47 | 94th → 47th | 45.5 → 55.2 | W 31-21 at Texas A&M (7th) |
| North Texas | ▼ 44 | 62nd → 106th | 49.7 → 43.2 | L 35-49 at Texas State (124th) |
| Louisville | ▲ 38 | 83rd → 45th | 46.5 → 55.6 | W 41-31 vs SMU (23rd) |
| Liberty | ▲ 38 | 121st → 83rd | 38.6 → 47.7 | W 51-15 vs Ball State (115th) |
| Wake Forest | ▼ 36 | 32nd → 68th | 60.7 → 52.2 | L 20-33 vs Miami (20th) |
| Texas State | ▲ 36 | 124th → 88th | 37.0 → 46.3 | W 49-35 vs North Texas (62nd) |
Biggest Rating Gain
| Team | Change | Rating | Rank | Week 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | +9.6 | 45.5 → 55.2 | 94th → 47th | W 31-21 at Texas A&M (7th) |
| Texas State | +9.3 | 37.0 → 46.3 | 124th → 88th | W 49-35 vs North Texas (62nd) |
| Liberty | +9.1 | 38.6 → 47.7 | 121st → 83rd | W 51-15 vs Ball State (115th) |
| Louisville | +9.0 | 46.5 → 55.6 | 83rd → 45th | W 41-31 vs SMU (23rd) |
| Washington State | +9.0 | 33.2 → 42.2 | 131st → 111th | W 48-7 vs Duquesne |
Biggest Rating Loss
| Team | Change | Rating | Rank | Week 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M | -10.0 | 66.3 → 56.2 | 7th → 41st | L 21-31 vs Kentucky (94th) |
| Colorado State | -8.7 | 59.4 → 50.7 | 38th → 73rd | L 23-41 vs BYU (34th) |
| LSU | -8.6 | 69.9 → 61.3 | 2nd → 28th | L 24-32 at Ole Miss (21st) |
| Wake Forest | -8.5 | 60.7 → 52.2 | 32nd → 68th | L 20-33 vs Miami (20th) |
| Georgia State | -8.4 | 60.9 → 52.5 | 31st → 66th | L 30-44 at UCF (72nd) |
NovaModel Losses
| Result | Winner (NovaModel) | Loser (NovaModel) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky 31, Texas A&M 21 | 94th (45.5) | 7th (66.3) | 20.7 |
| Louisville 41, SMU 31 | 83rd (46.5) | 23rd (61.8) | 15.3 |
| UCF 44, Georgia State 30 | 72nd (47.9) | 31st (60.9) | 13.0 |
| Texas State 49, North Texas 35 | 124th (37.0) | 62nd (49.7) | 12.7 |
| Clemson 28, North Carolina 20 | 64th (49.1) | 35th (59.9) | 10.7 |
| East Carolina 20, Old Dominion 17 | 126th (36.1) | 100th (45.1) | 9.0 |
| Ole Miss 32, LSU 24 | 21st (62.1) | 2nd (69.9) | 7.8 |
| Oklahoma 14, New Mexico 6 | 48th (53.5) | 29th (60.9) | 7.5 |
Ratings and ranks shown as "before → after" are the Week 3 and Week 4 runs: what the model thought before that week's games, and after. Every win and loss above is judged on the pre-game numbers, which knew nothing about these results.