Week 3 of the college football season allowed the picture to come more into focus. These were the 10 best all-around individual performances across college football last week.
Quarterbacks usually get most of the attention and credit, so TeamFB7’s “Game Balls” selection committee has strived to make the bar especially high for QBs to make the list.
Each week, some of the best performances left in the honorable mentions bin are prolific passing efforts that were simply outdone by other prolific passing efforts.
But this week, there was no getting around a QB-heavy list.
The best quarterback in college football delivered one of the biggest wins of the season so far, another Heisman Trophy candidate was darn-near perfect, a Group of 6-level QB put up one of the biggest yardage totals of the season, a veteran passer became his program’s all-time leader with a sterling stat line and a couple of dual-threat QBs flexed in big wins.
Top Performances Across College Football in Week 3
As always, cutting the list at 10 meant too many deserving players got snubbed, but those are the rules.
Here were the 10 “Game Ball” recipients from Week 3 …
1. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss
The Miami Dolphins couldn’t have timed their tank-a-thon any better this season as they look to be in the pole position to post the NFL’s worst record and receive the top pick in the 2027 draft.
Because that pick should unquestionably be generational quarterback prospect Trinidad Chambliss, who showed again Saturday night why he’s unrivaled as the best QB in college football.
Taking on a top 10 LSU team and his former coach Lane Kiffin in the most anticipated game of the week, Chambliss took the spotlight like a Broadway star and commanded the stage from start to finish in Ole Miss’ 32-24 home victory over the Tigers.
Chambliss completed 33 of 48 passes for 363 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception and then rushed for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter in a momentous win that vaulted the Rebels to No. 4 in the AP rankings.
This is one where the stats don’t even do the performance justice, though.
Chambliss was throwing darts all night, making next-level, NFL-caliber throws against one of the better defenses in college football.
For the season, the Heisman Trophy contender has completed 70% of his passes for 924 yards, 7 TDs and 2 INTs with 2 rushing TDs and already two top-25 wins.
2. Louisville RB Keyjuan Brown
Louisville running back Keyjuan Brown might just be the most efficient player in all of college football.
He only needed 96 carries last season to rush for 704 yards and 6 TDs, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt, and he’s making that number look pedestrian so far in 2026.
Brown turned 10 carries into 163 yards and 2 TDs Saturday in Louisville’s 41-31 win over then-No. 16 SMU.
Through three games, Brown has just 18 rushing attempts but has totaled 231 yards while averaging an unthinkable 12.8 YPC. All but one of those carries came against ranked opponents (Ole Miss and SMU).
Just imagine if he didn’t have to share the Louisville backfield with fellow prolific veteran running back Isaac Brown (no relation).
Both of Brown’s touchdown runs came from beyond 50 yards in the second half with Louisville trailing at the time. His 58-yarder early in the third quarter gave the Cardinals a 21-17 lead.
And his 53-yard scoring scamper early in the fourth quarter put Louisville up for good in the back-and-forth game, 35-31.
3. Toledo QB John Alan Richter
This performance was a 10.0 on the Richter Scale.
Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves.
Redshirt junior John Alan Richter waited three years for his turn to run the offense at Toledo and had never thrown for more than 252 yards or completed more than 16 passes in a game before Saturday.
So consider this the most surprising performance of the week.
In a 49-48 overtime win over Temple that might have been the most entertaining game of the week that most college football fans missed, Richter completed 36 of 51 passes for 429 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs.
To make it even more impressive, all four of those touchdowns came in the second half as Toledo rallied back from a 24-14 halftime deficit.
To make it more impressive still …
– Toledo was down 42-28 with just over 3 minutes remaining when Richter led a 10-play, 83-yard touchdown drive, converting on fourth-and-8 with a 25-yard completion and connecting on 7 of 10 passes overall for 78 yards and a TD.
– The Rockets then recovered the ensuing onside kick with 1:03 on the clock, and Richter promptly hit for completions of 26 yards and then the 23-yard game-tying touchdown that was one of the best-thrown balls of the entire weekend by any quarterback in the country.
Both teams scored in overtime, but Temple failed on a 2-point conversion try to end the game.
Get to know the name as Richter looks like the real deal.
4. West Virginia QB Michael Hawkins Jr.
In the second season of his second stint as West Virginia head coach, Rich Rodriguez looks to have the Mountaineers moving in the right direction again with a 3-0 start (after a 4-8 finish last year).
A big reason for that is quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., the dual-threat transfer from Oklahoma.
Hawkins led West Virginia to a 38-27 upset over then-No. 25 Virginia on Saturday, passing for 190 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs while also leading the team in rushing with 18 carries for 123 yards and 3 TDs.
With that, Hawkins became the first Big 12 quarterback to score 5 touchdowns against a ranked opponent since 2019 and the first FBS QB to do so this season.
Through three games, Hawkins has passed for 477 yards, 5 TDs and 0 INTs and rushed for 322 yards and 6 TDs on 7.3 YPC.
5. Miami QB Darian Mensah
Miami quarterback Darian Mensah makes the list for the second time in three weeks (and arguably could have made it the other week as well).
As much as we like to mix things up and spread the spotlight around here at Game Balls HQ, this list wouldn’t have any legitimacy if Mensah wasn’t on it after what he did in the Hurricanes’ 33-20 win at Wake Forest.
Mensah set ACC records by completing his first 24 pass attempts Saturday and 35 straight overall (one shy of the NCAA record) going back to Week 2. He finished this one 30-of-34 passing for 220 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs.
For the season, Mensah is completing 89.9% of his passes for 873 yards, 11 TDs and 0 INTs for the No. 6-ranked Hurricanes.
6. Arizona QB Noah Fifita
Noah Fifita managed to set both single-game and career records for Arizona in a 42-17 win over Northern Illinois.
The veteran QB completed 31 of 34 passes for a program-record 91.2% completion rate. And with 325 passing yards, 4 TDs and 0 INT (plus a rushing TD), Fifita overtook Nick Foles as Arizona’s all-time passing leader with 10,017 yards and counting across parts of five seasons.
7. UCLA RB Wayne Knight
New UCLA coach Bob Chesney has the Bruins rolling with a 3-0 start to his tenure, and a big part of that is one of the players he brought with him from James Madison’s 2025 College Football Playoff team.
Running back Wayne Knight is proving his skills are just as impactful at the Big Ten level as they were in the Sun Belt.
Knight rushed for 177 yards and 2 TDs on 18 carries (9.8 YPC) and added 3 catches for 23 yards, giving him 200 all-purpose yards in the Bruins’ 52-38 win over Purdue.
For the season, Knight is up to 345 rushing yards and 8 TDs on 8.8 YPC.
8. Texas State RBs Torrance Burgess Jr. and Davian Jackson
Texas State came into last weekend 0-2 and needing a win in a big in-state showdown with North Texas, and its backfield made sure that happened for the Bobcats.
Fifth-year senior running back Torrance Burgess Jr. rushed for 214 yards on 25 carries — the most rushing yards of any FBS player in Week 3 — while freshman Davian Jackson took care of the scoring with 4 TDs. Jackson rushed for 77 yards and 3 scores on 10 carries and added a receiving TD.
With 337 rushing yards and 605 yards of total offense, Texas State won the Lonestar State shootout, 49-35.
After two seasons at UTEP and now in his third at Texas State, Burgess had never had a 100-yard rushing performance until going for 149 yards in Week 2 vs. UTSA. He blew past that a week later, including a long run of 76 yards.
Jackson’s final touchdown came on a 57-yard scamper late in the fourth quarter that gave the Bobcats a 14-point lead to put the game out of reach.
9. Northwestern QB Aidan Chiles
Quarterback Aidan Chiles is on his third school after stops at Oregon State and Michigan State, where he had a disappointing two seasons and lost his job.
So that context makes what Chiles is doing now at Northwestern all the more significant.
He completed 17 of 22 passes for 241 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs and rushed for two TDs in a 41-7 win over Colorado.
With that, he became the first Northwestern QB since 2001 with 3 passing TDs and 2 rushing TDs in a game. Also, he is the first Big Ten quarterback to complete at least 75% of his passes for 240 passing yards, throw for 3 TDs and rush for 2 scores in a game since 2017.
Northwestern is off to a 2-0 start with a pair of lopsided wins over South Dakota State and Colorado as Chiles has passed for 514 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs with 3 rushing TDs.
10. Delaware WR Sean Wilson
Sean Wilson had the most receiving yards in the country in Week 3 with 9 catches for a career-high185 yards and 2 TDs in a 22-14 Delaware win over Coastal Carolina.
Wilson had a 40-yard score in the second quarter and a 36-yard TD in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to eight points.
The first TD catch earned the top spot on ESPN’s “You Got Mossed!” segment with Hall of Famer Randy Moss.
Honorable Mentions
San Diego State RB Javion Kinnard: 33 carries for 181 yards and 1 TD, 4 catches for 70 yards in a 26-13 loss to James Madison.
North Texas QB Tayven Jackson: 42-of-56 passing for 492 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT in a 49-35 loss to Texas State.
Purdue WR Xavier Townsend: 6 catches for 162 yards (27 yards per reception) and 2 TDs in a 52-38 loss at UCLA.
Arizona State LB Owen Long: 12 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception in ASU’s 24-17 win over Kansas.
Louisville DB Kaleb Beasley Jr.: 10 tackles, 2 interceptions (including a game-sealing pick in the fourth quarter) in Louisville’s 41-31 win over ranked SMU.
Kentucky EDGE Sam Greene: 6 tackles, an interception and a fourth-and-1 tackle to force a turnover on downs in Kentucky’s 31-21 upset of then-No. 9 Texas A&M.
UCLA LB Sammy Omosigho: 12 tackles (11 solo), 2 forced fumbles and 2 sacks in Bruins’ 52-38 win over Purdue.
Notre Dame WR Micah Gilbert: 8 catches for 170 yards in a 27-10 win over Michigan State for a junior receiver who never had more than 3 catches or 47 yards in any other game.
SMU RB Kendrick Raphael: 24 carries for 197 yards and 3 TDs with 11 receiving yards in a 41-31 loss to Louisville.
BYU RB LJ Martin: 15 carries for 176 yards (11.7 YPC) and 3 first quarter TDs in a 41-23 win over Colorado State
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