Upsets are as close to expected as one can get in college football.
The Associated Press Top 25 Poll has undergone changes to its top-4 each of the past two weeks. While Georgia and Michigan sit firmly at Nos. 1-2, respectively, the teams at Nos. 3-4 have shuffled.
Florida State rose to No. 3 this week after claiming a second-consecutive victory by a 66-13 margin over Southern Mississippi.
While Alabama fell to Texas, the Longhorns climbed into playoff territory at No. 4.
Here are some noteworthy quotes as focus turns from Week 2 to Week 3.
Phil Jurkovec, Pitt
Pitt suffered a disappointing home loss to Cincinnati over the weekend, and the home fans made sure to let the Panthers know about it.
The Panthers trailed by as many as 20 points during the game against the Bearcats. A comeback bid fell short as Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec threw two second-half touchdowns.
Boos apparently rang through Acrisure Stadium to the disapproval of Jurkovec, who had a strong thought of his own about what he heard.
“I think if you’re a grown a– man booing in that stadium, then you got to look at things yourself,” Jurkovec said. “I think that’s pathetic, but you know what we didn’t play well enough so we’re going to be better.”
Nick Saban, Alabama
The Crimson Tide suffered their first loss of the season to Steve Sarkisian, one of Saban’s former assistant coaches, and the Longhorns last Saturday.
It marked Saban’s third loss to one of his former assistant coaches, and the win vaulted Texas up to No. 3 in the AP poll.
One of the messages Saban wanted to make at his postgame press conference was that the Crimson Tide “appreciate the support” of the 100,077 fans in the stands at Bryant-Denny Stadium despite a 34-24 outcome.
“I do think that there was a great atmosphere out there and our fans that a tremendous job,” Saban said. “We appreciate the support. It was fantastic, and you know, it’s a privilege to play in games like this. It’s a privilege to play at the University of Alabama. It’s a privilege to play where you have such great tradition. It’s a privilege to play where you have such great fan support, so we really appreciate it. Thank you.”
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
The rivalry between Colorado and Nebraska is storied and real.
This season, the Buffaloes have Deion Sanders and a transformed roster on their side while Matt Rhule took over head coaching duties at Nebraska. Colorado kept its momentum going and moved to 2-0 behind a 36-14 rout of the Cornhuskers.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw for 393 yards and two touchdowns in his performance one week after breaking the program record for passing yards among others.
Shedeur Sanders said after the game that the meeting between the Buffaloes and Cornhuskers was “personal” to him, his team and his family. Below is his full quote.
“It was extremely personal,” Shedeur Sanders said. “We go out there and warm up. You got the coach of the other team trying to stand in the middle of the buff like it’s OK. If like a couple players do it it’s fine. Like just enjoy the scenery but when you got the whole team trying to disrespect it, I’m not going for that at all so I went in there and disrupted it so they knew I was repping, like no. The Buffaloes mean a lot to me. And personally, that’s what I was seeing pregame and that’s when I knew it was just extreme disrespect and that’s why. The coach said a lot of things about my pops, about the program but now that he wants to act nice I don’t respect that because you’re hating on another man. You shouldn’t do that. So it was just all respect was gone for them and their program. Now I like playing against their DC. I like playing against him but the respect level, it ain’t there because you disrespected us first.”
