College Football Week 3 Final Scores: Kentucky Stuns Texas A&M, Ole Miss Beats LSU
College football delivered another chaotic Saturday on September 19, 2026, with ranked teams falling, conference races beginning to take shape and several games turning dramatically after halftime.
Kentucky delivered one of the afternoon’s biggest surprises by defeating No. 9 Texas A&M 31-21 in College Station. Later, West Virginia added another ranked upset by knocking off No. 25 Virginia 38-27.
The marquee game of the night belonged to the SEC, where No. 8 Ole Miss defeated No. 7 LSU 32-24 in Oxford.
Here’s a look at the major final scores and storylines from Week 3.
Ole Miss Takes Down LSU in Top-10 Showdown
Final: No. 8 Ole Miss 32, No. 7 LSU 24
Ole Miss jumped ahead 24-7 in the first half before LSU mounted a second-half comeback and eventually tied the game at 24.
The Rebels responded when quarterback Trinidad Chambliss scored on a 14-yard run in the fourth quarter, followed by a successful two-point conversion.
Chambliss finished with 363 passing yards and two touchdowns as Ole Miss improved to 3-0.
LSU drove deep into Ole Miss territory late, but Sam Leavitt was intercepted in the end zone with just over a minute remaining, ending the comeback attempt.
Kentucky Shocks No. 9 Texas A&M
Final: Kentucky 31, No. 9 Texas A&M 21
One of Saturday's biggest upsets came at Kyle Field.
Kentucky broke open a 7-7 game with three touchdowns in the third quarter, building a 28-7 advantage before Texas A&M attempted to rally.
Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey completed 14 of 18 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns, while running back CJ Baxter scored twice.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed finished with 236 passing yards but was intercepted twice.
Kentucky improved to 2-1 while Texas A&M fell to 2-1.
West Virginia Knocks Off No. 25 Virginia
Final: West Virginia 38, No. 25 Virginia 27
West Virginia quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. was responsible for five touchdowns as the Mountaineers earned their first ranked victory of the season.
Hawkins rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns while adding 190 passing yards and two scores.
West Virginia improved to 3-0.
Alabama Storms Back Against Florida State
Final: No. 10 Alabama 50, Florida State 36
Florida State raced to an early advantage and led 21-6 during the second quarter, but Alabama's offense exploded from there.
Quarterback Keelon Russell threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns while also producing a 57-yard rushing touchdown.
Alabama finished with 567 yards of offense and improved to 3-0.
Louisville Wins Ranked ACC Battle
Final: No. 23 Louisville 41, No. 16 SMU 31
SMU and Louisville traded the lead throughout the afternoon before Louisville pulled away late.
Keyjuan Brown provided the Cardinals' biggest offensive spark, rushing for 163 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries.
SMU running back Kendrick Raphael produced 197 rushing yards and three touchdowns, but three Mustang turnovers proved costly.
No. 1 Texas Handles UTSA
Final: No. 1 Texas 30, UTSA 6
Top-ranked Texas remained unbeaten with a 30-6 victory over UTSA in Austin.
Arch Manning connected with Cam Coleman for two early touchdowns as Texas built a 20-3 halftime advantage.
The Longhorns held UTSA to only 142 total yards while producing 400 yards of offense.
Texas improved to 3-0, while UTSA fell to 2-1.
Georgia Dominates Arkansas
Final: No. 2 Georgia 45, Arkansas 17
Georgia remained undefeated behind a powerful rushing performance and a defense that largely shut down Arkansas' running game.
Chauncey Bowens scored three rushing touchdowns, while quarterback Gunner Stockton added 147 passing yards and 97 rushing yards.
Georgia finished with 464 total yards and held Arkansas to only 17 rushing yards.
USC Survives Rutgers
Final: No. 12 USC 42, Rutgers 35
USC escaped Piscataway with its undefeated record intact, but Rutgers pushed the Trojans until the final minutes.
Jayden Maiava passed for 277 yards and two touchdowns for USC, while King Miller rushed for 102 yards and a score.
The teams finished almost dead even offensively, with USC producing 461 total yards compared with Rutgers' 460.
USC improved to 4-0.
AP Top 25 Final Scores
These rankings reflect the AP Top 25 entering Week 3.
Friday, September 18
- No. 5 Miami 33, Wake Forest 20
- No. 13 Texas Tech 28, No. 22 Houston 26
- No. 21 Oregon 84, Portland State 0
Saturday, September 19
- No. 2 Georgia 45, Arkansas 17
- No. 6 Ohio State 59, Kent State 3
- No. 14 Penn State 55, Buffalo 13
- No. 12 USC 42, Rutgers 35
- No. 19 Michigan 52, UTEP 17
- No. 23 Louisville 41, No. 16 SMU 31
- Kentucky 31, No. 9 Texas A&M 21
- No. 17 Utah 33, Utah State 0
- No. 4 Indiana 38, Western Kentucky 0
- No. 18 Iowa 55, Northern Iowa 0
- No. 10 Alabama 50, Florida State 36
- No. 20 Missouri 27, Troy 17
- West Virginia 38, No. 25 Virginia 27
- No. 24 Oklahoma 14, New Mexico 6
- No. 8 Ole Miss 32, No. 7 LSU 24
- No. 3 Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 10
- No. 15 Tennessee 42, Kennesaw State 9
- No. 1 Texas 30, UTSA 6
- No. 11 BYU 41, Colorado State 23
Other Wild Finishes
The ranked games weren't the only source of Saturday chaos.
Toledo erased a 14-point deficit in the final minutes against Temple, recovered an onside kick and eventually won 49-48 in overtime after Temple attempted an unsuccessful two-point conversion.
Clemson overcame North Carolina 28-20 after a lengthy weather delay.
Southeastern Louisiana added another FCS-over-FBS victory by defeating UL Monroe 38-35.
Vanderbilt produced one of the strangest finishes of the weekend, defeating NC State 35-31 after forcing a late fumble in the end zone while NC State was attempting to intentionally take a safety.
Week 3 Takeaway
The third weekend of the 2026 season provided another reminder of how quickly the college football picture can change.
Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame and Indiana avoided major upset trouble, while Ole Miss earned a top-10 conference victory. Kentucky and West Virginia supplied the biggest surprises by taking down ranked opponents.
The results also set the stage for movement when the next AP Top 25 rankings are released.
With conference play increasing across the country, the margin for error is getting smaller. September football is already beginning to carry postseason consequences.
Sources
- NCAA.com: Week 3 recap, scores and highlights NCAA.com Week 3 Final Scores and Recap
- NCAA.com: Kentucky and West Virginia Top 25 upsets NCAA.com Upset Recap
- ESPN: Week 3 college football results ESPN College Football Week 3 Schedule and Scores
- Associated Press: Ole Miss 32, LSU 24 AP Ole Miss-LSU Report
- Associated Press: Kentucky 31, Texas A&M 21 AP Kentucky-Texas A&M Report
- Associated Press: West Virginia 38, Virginia 27 AP West Virginia-Virginia Report
- Associated Press: Louisville 41, SMU 31 AP Louisville-SMU Report
- Associated Press: BYU 41, Colorado State 23 AP BYU-Colorado State Report
- Associated Press: Oklahoma 14, New Mexico 6 AP Oklahoma-New Mexico Report
- USC Athletics / AP: USC 42, Rutgers 35 USC-Rutgers Game Recap
- Associated Press: Vanderbilt 35, NC State 31 AP Vanderbilt-NC State Report