3 Stat Drop - Pac-12, MWC & Best of the Rest Week 3 Preview
Taking a look at the teams likely fighting for that final CFP spot
Welcome to 3 Stat Drop - a weekly college football newsletter from So, About that Stat.., in collaboration with & spun off from Y-Option by co-founder Jim Thornby. 3 Stat Drop delivers “3-ish” notes on every relevant program in college football this season, pouring through each team’s game notes to surface fun, surprising, and useful stats you can drop into any conversation this season.. The style is loose and the bias is definitely West Coast but in the end we let the numbers tell the stories. Share this newsletter with all the college football fans you know.
As we head into Week 3, we’ll once again do these previews in 3 parts where everyone is still more or less relevant before switching up the format a bit next week when we get to the heart of conference play. The ACC kicked things off on Thursday night, so we started with them & the Big 12 in part 1, then transitioned to the Big Ten & SEC in part 2, and finally wrap it up here with a version for the Pac-12/Mountain West + the best of the rest.
Pac-12
Despite outgaining Fresno State by over 200 yards (528-318), OREGON STATE was outscored 16-6 in the 4th quarter in a 36-27 loss to the Bulldogs. Maalik Murphy set career highs with 371 pass yards and 4 pass TD but the Beavers gave up a punt return for a touchdown at the end of the 1st half and a Pick 6 in the final seconds to seal the victory. Trent Bray’s squad now travels to Texas Tech for the 2nd time ever with the previous meeting also in Lubbock back in 1959.
WASHINGTON STATE beat future Pac-12 rival San Diego State 36-13 to make Jimmy Rogers the first Cougars coach since Mike Price in 1989 to win their first 2 games as WSU’s head coach. Jaxon Potter set new career highs with 257 pass yards and 3 pass TD. The Cougs now hit the road for the first time this season to take on North Texas for the 1st time in program history. Mean Green head coach Eric Morris is a 2-time assistant at Wazzu, first in 2012 as Inside WR coach under Mike Leach and then in 2022 as the team’s Offensive Coordinator under Jake Dickert.
Mountain West
BOISE STATE bounced back from their Week 1 loss by stomping Eastern Washington 51-14 for their 13th straight home win. The Broncos rushed for 328 yards, the 3rd time they’ve topped 300 since the start of last season, while Maddux Madsen matched his career high with 307 passing yards. The Broncos have a bye this week before returning to visit Air Force who they've beaten in 6 of their last 7 meetings.
AIR FORCE is coming off a bye following their Week 1 win over Bucknell that extended the Falcons winning streak to 5 games dating back to last season. Josh Johnson had 2 pass TD in Week 1 to become the first Air Force QB with multiple pass TD in a game in nearly 2 years since Zac Larrier in September 2023. Troy Calhoun’s team opens Mountain West play with Utah State, a team they did not face last year but beat 39-21 in 2023.
COLORADO STATE picked up their 1st win of the season with a 21-17 victory over nearby Northern Colorado, after trailing 10-0 at the half. The Rams turned the ball over 5 times and didn’t take their first lead until QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi scrambled into the end zone from 13 yards out with 44 seconds to go. It was CSU’s 4th win since 1996 when they turned the ball over 5 times and the first time since 2015. Jay Norvell’s squad has a bye this week before hosting UTSA on the 20th.
It wasn’t always pretty, but FRESNO STATE scored 10 points in the final 29 seconds to pull off a 36-27 victory and their first win in Corvallis since 1991. The Bulldogs returned a punt for a score at the end of the 1st half and then closed the game with a Pick 6 with 4 seconds remaining. QB E.J. Warner had his first TD with FSU on a 30-yard run in the 1st quarter but has 0 pass TD and 5 INT through 3 games. Matt Entz’s squad looks to improve to 3-1 as Southern comes to town, becoming the 1st HBCU to play at Fresno’s Valley Children’s Stadium.
With QB Micah Alejado out due to injury, HAWAII got back in the win column by defeating Sam Houston 37-20. Luke Weaver made his 1st start for the Rainbow Warriors and threw for 294 yards and 3 scores. Portland State comes to town this week for Homecoming, looking to snap Hawaii’s 23-game win streak over FCS opponents. The last FCS team to beat the Rainbow Warriors… Portland State in the 2000 season opener.
NEVADA avoided disaster in Week 2 with a Pick 6 by Jonathan Maldonado with 2:17 remaining to give the Wolf Pack a 20-17 victory over Sacramento State with those 7 points the only ones scored by either team after the 1st quarter. The Hornets had touchdowns on consecutive plays nullified by penalties before ultimately missing a 42-yard FG with 12 seconds left. Nevada QB Chubba Purdy had 2 interceptions without a pass TD but did lead the team in rushing with 115 yards and 2 scores on the ground. Nevada now hosts Middle Tennessee, who is 0-2 with both losses by 20 points or more.
Jason Eck picked up his first win with NEW MEXICO with a 32-22 victory over Idaho State as they scored the game’s final 15 points after trailing 22-17 with just over 10 minutes left. Scottre Humphrey rushed for 141 yards and 2 scores for his 11th career 100+ yard game and 1st with the Lobos. New Mexico now heads to the Rose Bowl to face an 0-2 UCLA squad with the only prior meeting between these schools coming in the 2002 Las Vegas Bowl.
SAN DIEGO STATE fell back to .500 with a 36-13 loss at future conference rival Washington State. The Aztecs offense struggled, putting up just 215 yards of total offense, but RB Lucky Sutton was able to put up 88 yards on the ground after rushing for 100 yards in Week 1. After a bye week, SDSU will host Cal - a team they have lost 3 of the last 4 meetings including a 31-10 loss in Berkeley last year.
SAN JOSE STATE had the misfortune of being the team to face Texas after their loss to Ohio State and the Longhorns prevailed 38-7. The Spartans gave up 4 passing TD to Arch Manning, the first opposing QB to have 4+ pass TD since Utah State’s Jordan Love had 5 against SJSU in 2018. Ken Niumatalolo’s squad now has a bye week before hosting Idaho on Sept. 20th.
UNLV is off to a 3-0 start for the 2nd straight season following their 30-23 win over UCLA to join Iowa State as the only 3-0 teams through Week 2. The Rebels led 23-3 at the half before holding off the Bruins . Virginia transfer Anthony Colandrea threw for 203 yards and a career-high tying 3 scores while adding 59 yards on the ground as fellow QB Alex Orji suffered a season-ending hamstring injury. Following a bye week, UNLV will head to Miami, Ohio for their first ever meeting with the RedHawks.
UTAH STATE dropped their 1st game of the season last week at Texas A&M. After trailing 30-6 at the half, Utah State outscored A&M 16-14 in the 2nd half. Bryson Barnes was 15 of 30 for 169 yards and 2 pass TD, giving him 11 pass TD in his last 5 games. The Aggies now return home to start conference play with Air Force and are 3-2 in their last 5 home meetings with the Falcons.
For the 2nd time in the last 3 years, WYOMING is 2-0 thanks to a 31-7 win over Northern Iowa. The Cowboys have allowed just 7 points through 2 games, their lowest through their first 2 games of the season since 1966. Kaden Anderson was 17-23 for 167 yards and 2 scores, his 2nd career game with multiple pass TD. Wyoming now hosts Utah for the first time since 2010 when they were both in the Mountain West and the Utes have won 10 of the last 11 meetings between the 2 teams.
Best of the Rest
SOUTH FLORIDA entered 2025 with a 19-game losing streak against AP Top 25 opponents with their last win coming in 2016 over #22 Navy. After an 18-16 win at #13 Florida on Saturday, the Bulls have now won back-to-back games against ranked opponents for the 1st time in school history and are now #18 in the AP poll, ranked for the 1st time since 2018. Byrum Brown threw for 263 yards and his 1st TD of the season as well as leading the team in rushing with 66 yards. Brown has thrown 240 straight passes without an INT, a new school record. They now visit #5 Miami for their 3rd straight game against a Top 25 opponent and with a win would become the first team since Miami in 1987 to open their season with 3 straight wins over ranked opponents.
Up just 17-16 at halftime, MEMPHIS outscored Georgia State 21-0 in the 2nd half for the Tigers 12th straight win over a Sun Belt opponent. Ryan Silverfield’s team has now scored 20+ points in 42 straight games, the longest active streak in the country. Makari Bodiford has 2 rush TD for his first career multi-TD game and doubled his output from last season. Memphis now visits another Sun Belt team in Troy whom the Tigers have won the last 5 meetings with the Trojans since their lone loss of the series in their first meeting back in 1937.
For the 2nd straight year, TEXAS STATE knocked off I-35 rival UTSA with a 43-36 victory in the Alamodome to improve to 2-0 in consecutive seasons for the 1st time since 1983-84. Brad Jackson set a career high with 286 pass yards with 1 TD in the air and 2 more on the ground for the redshirt freshman’s 2nd career game with multiple rushing touchdowns. The Bobcats now head to Tempe, looking for revenge after Arizona State pulled out a 31-28 victory in San Marcos last year.
Coming off a bye week, NOTRE DAME is looking for their first win of the season after falling to Miami 27-24 in Week 1. The Irish are 14-5 in home games after a bye week since 2000. Marcus Freeman’s team welcomes Texas A&M to South Bend in a rematch of the 2024 season opener at Kyle Field when Notre Dame pulled out a 23-13 win in Mike Elko’s Aggie coaching debut. Texas A&M’s only previous trip to South Bend was the 2000 season opener which the Irish won 24-10.