How could we have doubted you, Week 3? You were wonderful.

Sure, there were only 2 SEC games with single-digit spreads, but we had no shortage of storylines that unfolded in Week 3. We saw No. 1 Georgia play a 4-quarter game as a 24-point favorite, we saw whatever that was in Columbia and we saw … Arch Manning! Like, a lot of him!

A wild Saturday? Eh, maybe not bonkers. But it was certainly eventful.

Here are takeaways from Week 3 in the SEC:

Don’t overreact to Georgia’s underwhelming offensive showing at Lexington

Kirby Smart said it in the postgame after UK’s nail-biter win at Kentucky. Two years ago, Georgia had an early-season dog fight at Mizzou. Last year, UGA had an early-season dog fight at Auburn. Smart pointed out that both of those teams learned the hard way that winning on the road in the SEC is no picnic.

Make of that what you will. I wouldn’t make of it that Georgia is doomed to falter several times and miss out on a trip to Atlanta. I also wouldn’t overlook the fact that Carson Beck struggled to find any rhythm for the majority of the night. That was the first time when it felt like UGA truly missed a safety valve like Brock Bowers.

Let’s not overlook Kentucky’s defense playing a significant role in that, too. UGA struggled to impose its will against that talented Kentucky defensive line and Beck faced pressure, especially after the injury to veteran All-SEC offensive guard Tate Ratledge. It remains to be seen how much that’ll impact Georgia in its pursuit of a 4th consecutive trip to Atlanta.

For now, all that matters is that Georgia avoided a late-game meltdown and instead closed out its 28th consecutive SEC regular-season victory.

Next up? A bye and then a trip to unbeaten Alabama.

Stick a fork in the Billy Napier era

I present to you, reader of this column, everything you need to know about the football game played in Gainesville on Saturday afternoon:

Need a little more context?

OK, how about the fact that Florida went into the locker room down 20-0 at home against a backup quarterback who made his first career start? Or, what about the fact that A&M did that after entering the day in hopes of winning a road game for the first time in 3 years? How about the fact that Billy Napier’s “reworked” defense allowed 310 rushing yards to an A&M rushing attack that was held to 3.8 yards per carry in the opener against Notre Dame.

For all the talk about Florida’s QB situation, that was somewhat irrelevant because Florida’s defense still didn’t have a pulse after it was embarrassed in the opener against Miami. Remember, this was a program that entered the day having allowed 38.7 points in its past 6 games vs. FBS competition. Napier said Florida’s 500 pounds of lean muscle gained was going to lead to better finishes.

Speaking of finished, that’s what Week 3 showed. Florida didn’t get back up off the mat after the Miami debacle. That’s 7 consecutive losses against Power 5 competition with no end in sight.

Fortunately for Gator fans, there should be an end in sight to the Napier era.

No Conner Weigman, no problem … but now a question

Weigman was a game-time decision after he was on the injury report, but Marcel Reed got his first career start. Reed picked up where he left off from last year’s bowl game performance — he got into that game after the first series when Jaylen Henderson got hurt — and delivered A&M’s first road win since Oct. 16, 2021.

To be fair, Reed wasn’t asked to throw the ball 30 times. He got big throwing windows and a beautifully schemed ground game via OC Collin Klein, who recognized early that A&M wouldn’t need to have balance to control the line of scrimmage.

So now, does that mean Reed needs to be the starter? I wouldn’t go that far. I’d say he showed great poise as a second-year player, and that’s an asset for how injury-prone A&M quarterbacks have been the past 3 seasons. He could still be more involved, but my guess is that Mike Elko isn’t bailing on Weigman.

Arch Manning is ready … to be a backup who prevents Texas from free-falling

Quinn Ewers left the game with an abdomen strain, which prompted Manning to get action in the first half. Ewers spent significant time in the injury tent before he left for the locker room and returned in sweats.

That gave us Manning, who then delivered touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 passing) on his first 2 scrimmage touches. Of course he did. Manning was effective in relief, just as we saw in his dazzling spring game performance. Against an overmatched UTSA squad, he finished the night with 5 total touchdowns, most notably his 67-yard touchdown run, wherein he made a man miss at the second level with a nice move.

It remains to be seen what Ewers’ status will be moving forward. The good news for Texas is that it has Louisiana-Monroe, Mississippi State and then a bye week before the Oklahoma showdown. Being conservative with Ewers might all but rule him out of the Heisman race after that remarkable showing at Michigan, but turning to a plenty capable backup in Manning could be the long-term move for Steve Sarkisian.

Either way, Texas’ quarterback entertainment level will continue to be through the roof.

LSU does have some poise after all

Look. I know that South Carolina was on the wrong end of multiple pivotal calls late (LSU also was on the wrong end of an illegal punt block on an uncalled leaping play). That game was not anything to write home about from the officiating crew.

But let’s acknowledge that LSU needed to rally from a 17-0 deficit, and it trailed with less than 2 minutes to play. Oh, and the Tigers had to prevent South Carolina from forcing overtime or winning the game with a last-minute drive. After the way that LSU collapsed late against USC in the opener, none of that should be taken for granted. Instead of pounding the postgame podium, Brian Kelly was all smiles leaving Williams-Brice Stadium.

Some of that poise was shown by a ground game that might’ve found its identity. Caden Durham emerged as a potential feature back with 11 carries for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns. Mind you, that was someone who had 5 carries for 4 yards on 12 snaps in LSU’s first 2 games. On Saturday, the true freshman highlighted an LSU ground game that had 144 sack-adjusted rushing yards, 2 of which came via Williams on the go-ahead touchdown.

Granted, that overshadowed LSU having a snap miscommunication deep in its own territory, and it allowed a 66-yard touchdown run from Rocket Sanders after South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers was sidelined with an ankle injury. LSU made enough mistakes to lose.

But in the 12-team Playoff era, mistakes have more grace. They certainly had plenty of grace on Saturday.

South Carolina just can’t have nice things

Here’s what I mean by that. That was South Carolina’s first time hosting College GameDay since 2014. In that game, South Carolina blew a 2-score lead to Mizzou in the 4th quarter. In 112 of the next 109 games, the Gamecocks played as an unranked team and in the 3 games they played as a ranked team, they lost.

(College GameDay actually cited SDS for that stat as the lead-in to the game, which was pretty darn surreal.)

So you can see where I’m going with this. Up 17-0 with that pass-rush dominating and Beamer Ball in full effect, the Gamecocks could see the path to 3-0 with an obvious case for an AP Top 25 ranking, and thus, early-season national relevance that’s been lacking throughout the post-Steve Spurrier era.

But then, of course, things didn’t go South Carolina’s way. LaNorris Sellers got hurt and left the game, there was a phantom pass-interference call that negated a big passing play (the broadcast crew couldn’t figure out) and a pick-6 was called back because of an unnecessary roughness penalty. The potential game-tying field goal missed just left and South Carolina watched a golden opportunity slip away.

The Tigers avoided getting behind the sticks against that loaded South Carolina pass-rush and they found enough running lanes to find a bit of balance after a slow start. That’ll be a tough one to look back on for Beamer and the Gamecocks.

Let’s dismiss the notion that Alabama will always play down to its competition

I realize what we witnessed (again) vs. USF suggested that Alabama was in jeopardy of playing lackluster showings against teams with lesser talent. But against a Wisconsin team that’s still working to establish an identity with Luke Fickell, the Tide rolled in every way.

Jalen Milroe was exceptional as a true dual-threat signal-caller. The touchdown pass he dropped in a bucket to Ryan Williams set the wheels in motion for another big day for Milroe. I say “another” because as slow of a start as last week was, Milroe still had plenty of big days in 2023. Many seem to have forgotten that.

Related: Looking to place a wager on the 2024 Heisman Trophy? SDS has you covered with all the latest odds!

The most pleasant surprise of the young season is that Alabama’s secondary passed the eye test in the early going. Sure, it helped that Tyler Van Dyke went down with a knee injury on the first series, but Malachi Moore and that group haven’t given any indication that they’ll be an Achilles’ heel. That’s a major early positive in the Kalen DeBora era.

That was a nice response by Mizzou, but it doesn’t feel like a No. 6 team yet

Mizzou fans, don’t get defensive. You know it’s true. So far, the Tigers are riding last year’s momentum with that ranking. That’s fine. You’ve gotta start somewhere. It beats starting out as the team that was trying to have its first winning season since 2018, which was what last year’s squad faced.

This year’s squad is being held to a different standard. A ground game that had just 4 yards per carry against Boston College was effective, but not overwhelming. A downfield passing attack continued to struggle, though it was nice to see Brady Cook get Luther Burden III his first touch of the game on a crossing route that went for 44 yards. And it wasn’t necessarily a bad defensive day, but some coverage busts suggest that Corey Batoon’s unit is maybe not quite as good as that scoreless start suggested.

The good news? Mizzou’s schedule is favorable and this is the 12-team Playoff era. There’s some margin for error for contenders who get off to slow starts. That might sound strange after Mizzou beat a ranked foe, but having to overcome a double-digit deficit as a 2-touchdown favorite is the type of thing we scrutinize top-10 teams for doing.

Vandy is mortal

Hug a Vandy fan, especially one who traveled to Atlanta. Vandy was 75 seconds from hitting the over on 2.5 regular-season wins, but Georgia State quarterback Christian Veilleux led the Panthers down the field and then dropped a dime for the go-ahead score with 15 seconds left.

I guess Vandy’s path back to Atlanta might not be so imminent.