Keelon Russell shines for Alabama, NC State collapses, Kentucky celebrates historic Saturday

The Week 3 college football slate looked strong, but delivered more than anyone could have expected. No. 13 Texas Tech survived a battle with No. 22 Houston in an instant classic in Lubbock, while No. 5 Miami got a nearly record-setting performance from QB Darian Mensah.

Then, No. 23 Louisville beat No. 16 SMU to take control of the ACC title race, and Kentucky picked up its first top 10 victory under coach Will Stein. But more than the wins, a few individual performances have defined the weekend, with more coming together as of publication.

In the night slate, No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss battle in the game of the weekend. Auburn and Florida are also locked in a fight, while BYU tries to outlast Colorado State in a highly competitive game. But before those go final, here are the winners and losers of Week 3 early in the primetime slate.

Winner: QB Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss

Usually, we wait until the end of the primetime games to include them as winners, but Trinidad Chambliss's start against LSU will go down in history. On a night where the spotlight was on former coach Lane Kiffin, Chambliss wrested it away with a magical performance.

The senior completed 15-of-19 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown as the Rebels took a stunning 17-0 halftime lead against No. 7 LSU. The numbers barely do credit to his brilliance as Chambliss bought time and created opportunities with his otherworldly ability to create on the run.

Ole Miss has to survive a second-half onslaught against LSU -- perhaps the most expensive roster in college football. But if they can, Chambliss's performance will be commemorated forever in Oxford.

Loser: NC State

NC State put itself into hallowed territory with its loss to Vanderbilt: They pulled off arguably the worst final football play of all time.

Leading by three points with seconds remaining, all the Wolfpack had to do was fall down. A safety would all but clinch the win, and that appeared to be the call.

Instead, quarterback CJ Bailey tried to make something happen with his legs to buy more time. Vanderbilt stripped the ball and recovered in the end zone with one second left on the clock to pull off a stunning 35-31 victory.

Frankly, there's no path forward in the Dave Doeren era after this embarrassment. He finds himself squarely on the hottest of seats.

Winner: QB Keelon Russell, Alabama

Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell has flashed prodigious talent in his first year as the starter, but his consistency has been suspect. He needed a real breakout moment, a four-quarter performance. Florida State came ready to play against the No. 10 Crimson Tide, but Russell was ready to deliver.

After going down 15 points in the second quarter, Russell scored three touchdowns over a 2:36 period to end the half to give Alabama an improbable lead. With the game close in the third quarter, Russell put his foot down and broke off a 57-yard touchdown run to give the Crimson Tide a two-score lead they would never surrender.

Russell's final stat line was impressive: 320 yards passing, 56 yards rushing and four total touchdowns. The Dallas native has arrived.

Loser: Texas A&M

The No. 9 Aggies showed reasons for concern over the first two weeks, but a 10-point loss at home to Kentucky sent the program into full-on panic mode. The Wildcats completely outplayed Texas A&M from the start, jumping out to a 28-7 lead and overcoming an early missed field goal to still go on a run.

Quarterback Marcel Reed was especially disappointing in the loss. The second-year starter threw for only 4.8 yards per attempt and two interceptions as the Aggies were totally outclassed by Kentucky transfers Kenny Minchey and CJ Baxter.

After the loss, Texas A&M's playoff dreams are on life support with a road trip against No. 7 LSU coming next week. After that, there's still No. 1 Texas, No. 10 Alabama and No. 15 Tennessee on the schedule. Could Texas A&M follow up a playoff berth by missing a bowl game? It's on the table.

Winner: The state of Kentucky

To the winner go the spoils, and Kentucky is a huge winner after pulling off a road top 10 upset in Will Stein's first road SEC game. Stein talked big game when he took the job in Lexington, and his Wildcats immediately challenged Alabama and Texas A&M in his first two big games. Kentucky will be a problem in the SEC.

Not to be outdone, No. 23 Louisville pulled off a massive victory against No. 16 SMU at home to take control of the ACC Championship Game race. Trailing by three points late in the fourth quarter, star running backs Keyjuan Brown and Isaac Brown each broke off long touchdown runs to take a 41-31 lead.

Regrettably, Western Kentucky wasn't able to put up much of a fight against Indiana, but this still has to rank among the biggest football days in the state's modern history.

Winner: WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State

There have been countless great wide receivers to walk through the halls of Ohio State. In Week 3, Smith formally stamped himself as the best. With 85 yards against Kent State, Smith took the all-time lead with 2,958 receiving yards, passing Michael Jenkins' 2,898 for No. 1 in the Ohio State record books. Smith has two of the top six receiving seasons in Ohio State history and is positioned to extend well past the 3,000-yard mark. With another strong season, he could soon challenge John Standeford's all-time Big Ten record of 3,618 yards -- despite playing only three seasons.

Loser: The Weather

In a year filled with weather delays, Week 3 delivered some of the worst. At one point, Florida State-Alabama and Clemson-North Carolina were in deep weather delays. South Carolina against Mississippi State was pushed into the late window. Storms blanketed Auburn before the Florida game, though they thankfully cleared before kickoff. As of publication, BYU-Colorado State on CBS is in weather delay. In addition to ruining crowds and pregame activity, all these weather delays ruin the flow of the college football schedule. Figure it out, big weather!

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-winners-losers-alabama-qb-keelon-russell-texas-a-m/)._