playBill ConnellySep 22, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseBill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsWhen LSU got the ball back Saturday night at Ole Miss, down 8 points with 6:07 remaining, Lane Kiffin made it very clear he wasn’t aiming for two bites at the apple. The Tigers trailed 32-24 after the Rebels had scored and converted a bold 2-point conversion, so LSU had to have a plan not only in case it didn’t score in response, but also if it scored and failed on the 2-point conversion.
But it seemed Kiffin was preoccupied with something else entirely: He didn’t want to give the ball back to Trinidad Chambliss. He decided the best plan was to eat up the rest of the clock, score with as little time remaining and simply hope they made the coin-flip 2-point conversion.From a math standpoint, this was a tenuous decision. There was more than enough time left for two possessions, and LSU’s defense had made stops on three of Ole Miss’ last four drives. But it was easy to understand the sentiment: When it’s important, Chambliss never really makes you feel like you have a chance.Louisville had tied Ole Miss with 1:28 left in Week 1, and Chambliss almost effortlessly drove the Rebels into game-winning field goal range, just as he had when getting the ball back with 55 seconds left against Georgia in last year’s College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Hell, he damn near beat Miami with only 18 seconds to work with in the semifinals. He has become the college version of the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. So LSU ate up as much clock as possible before failing on fourth-and-goal from the Ole Miss 6 with less than a minute left.Chambliss was indeed the difference-maker in Ole Miss’ cathartic Saturday night revenge win. He threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three first downs and what turned out to be the winning 14-yard touchdown.
LSU’s defense landed some blows in the second half, pressuring him into an interception and a pair of sacks. But when the Rebels’ 17-point lead had evaporated and it was time to go win the game — without injured star running back Kewan Lacy, no less — Chambliss did so. Amid a sea of great quarterback performances throughout the country, he was your Week 3 Heisman winner.This season, Heisman is running its Heisman Hopefuls Fan Vote all season long, with a platform that provides statistics, EA Sports ratings and other information. In that vein, I am once again awarding the Heisman every week of the season and doling out weekly points, F1-style (in this case, 10 points for first place, 9 for second, and so on).How will this Heisman race play out, and how different will the result be from the actual Heisman voting?
We’re going to find out.This week’s Heisman winner: Trinidad Chambliss 1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole MissWeek 3 numbers: 33-for-48 passing for 363 yards, two TDs and an INT, plus 24 non-sack rushing yards and a score against LSUWith his second winning drive of the season, Chambliss moved past Miami’s Darian Mensah as the Heisman betting favorite at DraftKings.Granted, the September favorite almost never actually wins the award, and there could be countless twists and turns to come. But if Ole Miss makes another run to the CFP, Chambliss could finish with 4,000-plus passing yards and 30-plus TDs, and while he seems to be more selective about his rushing (not including three sacks, he has carried just 18 times for 92 yards this season), he’s still more than capable of moving the chains when it counts. And with the Rebels’ defense proving to be hit-or-miss early in the season, he’ll be the reason Ole Miss makes another CFP run if it happens.
Or as head coach Pete Golding put it, “As long as the ball is in 6’s hands, we’re good.”play0:52Golding on Chambliss: ‘As long as the ball is in 6’s hands we’re good’The rest of the top 10 2. Keelon Russell, AlabamaWeek 3 numbers: 23-for-30 passing for 320 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus 67 non-sack rushing yards and a score against Florida StateIt was indeed a great Saturday for big-time quarterback play, and Russell turned heads by passing another big test. After overcoming early mistakes to play well against Kentucky the week before, Russell was tasked with overcoming his defense’s mistakes Saturday. Florida State scored touchdowns on its first four drives to turn the game into a track meet, but after settling for a couple of early field goals, Russell threw three touchdown passes in just 134 seconds to turn a 21-6 deficit into a 26-21 halftime lead.
And then his 57-yard TD run late in the third quarter provided what ended up being the winning points in a 50-36 victory. Dynamite stuff. 3. Michael Hawkins Jr., West VirginiaWeek 3 numbers: 10-for-17 passing for 190 yards and two touchdowns, plus 128 non-sack rushing yards and three scores against VirginiaHawkins produced the best single-game Total QBR of the week as his Mountaineers scored a resounding upset of No. 25 Virginia. With Cam Cook grinding away between the tackles, Hawkins punished a wrong-footed defense for five completions of more than 20 yards, plus eight first-down runs, including gains of 21, 20, 17 and 15 yards.
The score was tied at 21-21 in the third quarter, but Hawkins led three straight scoring drives to turn it into a comfortable win.play0:34Michael Hawkins Jr. goes on impressive 13-yard rushing touchdown 4. Avery Johnson, Kansas StateWeek 3 numbers: 21-for-28 for 227 yards, plus 152 non-sack rushing yards and two scores against TulaneJohnson seemed to battle himself a bit last year, torn between being the excellent runner he is and the pro-style quarterback he wants to be. He found a hell of a balance Saturday, completing 75% of his passes but also breaking off runs of 66, 25 and 23 yards. K-State’s offense started slowly but scored TDs on four of five drives to put the game away. 5.
Martell Hughes, Arizona StateWeek 3 numbers: 11 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and 4 run stops against KansasThe inaugural Union Jack Classic in London between Arizona State and Kansas was a strange one. ASU averaged only 3.5 yards per play and got outgained by 186 yards but prevailed because of a defense that forced three turnovers and rendered the Jayhawks 6-for-16 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth. Hughes was the anchor of the opportunistic performance, stuffing Micah Johnson on one of those fourth downs and living in the Kansas backfield. 6. Wayne Knight, UCLAWeek 3 numbers: 18 carries for 177 yards and 2 TDs, plus 23 receiving yards against PurdueUCLA has a brilliant trio of backs in Knight, Anthony Woods and Jaivian Thomas, but Knight is the unquestioned leader.
The Bruins rushed for 369 yards in Saturday’s 52-38 win over Purdue, and Knight was responsible for nearly half of that, plus three receptions, by himself. A batch of James Madison transfers contributed heavily to Indiana’s incredible turnaround in 2024-25, and now another group, led by Knight, is turning UCLA around as well. 7. Noah Fifita, ArizonaWeek 3 numbers: 31-for-34 passing for 325 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 33 non-sack rushing yards and a score against Northern IllinoisWhen Fifita is in rhythm, the ball never hits the ground. He completed more than 90% of his passes for the second time Saturday night, and he has gone over 70% in 14 of his 37 career starts.
The Wildcats’ offense is hyperefficient at times, and despite the Week 2 loss to BYU, they aren’t out of the Big 12 race just yet. 8. Kendrick Raphael, SMUWeek 3 numbers: 24 carries for 197 yards and 3 TDs, plus 11 receiving yards against LouisvilleSMU’s 41-31 loss to Louisville was damaging to the Mustangs’ ACC title hopes, but don’t blame Raphael. The Cal and NC State transfer — a true ACC lifer — posted a career high in rushing yards and gave SMU the lead on three separate occasions before two late Louisville TDs turned the tide. 9. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi StateWeek 3 numbers: 18-for-26 passing for 251 yards, 4 TD
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