College football players of the week: Week 3, 2026
West Virginia's Michael Hawkins Jr. accounted for five touchdowns against No. 25 Virginia, Louisville's Kaleb Beasley intercepted No. 16 SMU twice, and Arizona State's Jaren Hamilton went 100 yards at Wembley.
By Taurean Matador · Added Saturday, September 26, after the week was played
Offense
Michael Hawkins Jr.
QB · West Virginia
W West Virginia 38, Virginia 27 · vs No. 25 Virginia in Charlotte
All five of West Virginia's touchdowns, no turnovers, against a ranked team on a neutral field. His touchdown pass with 12 seconds left in the third quarter broke a 21-21 tie. Trinidad Chambliss beat the better team in LSU and ran in the go-ahead score, but he threw an interception and accounted for three touchdowns to Hawkins's five.
Runner-up: Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss: 33 of 48, 363 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, plus the go-ahead 14-yard touchdown run in a 32-24 win over No. 7 LSU
10 tackles, 2 INT (caught at the Louisville 18 and 15)
Two interceptions against a ranked team. The first came with the game tied 14-14 in the second quarter; the second, with 1:31 left, ended SMU's last chance. Nobody else had two picks against a ranked opponent this week.
Runner-up: Owen Long, Arizona State: 12 tackles, an interception at the ASU 6, a forced fumble returned 77 yards and a fumble recovery in a 24-17 win over Kansas at Wembley
W Arizona State 24, Kansas 17 · vs Kansas in London
100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half
He took the second-half kickoff 100 yards to put Arizona State up 17-7, and the Sun Devils won by seven. A return touchdown worth exactly the final margin, in a one-score game between Power 4 teams.
Runner-up: Conor Talty, Alabama: 3 of 3 field goals (32, 43 and 45 yards) and 5 of 5 extra points in a 50-36 win over Florida State
One player per slot, judged the way the power rankings judge teams: what happened on the field, against whom and where. Production counts, and so does the opponent. A big game against a good defense or on the road beats the same numbers at home against a bad one, and a play that decided the game beats one that padded a lead. A great game in a loss can still win if nothing else comes close.
NFL awards follow the league's format, AFC and NFC, and go up on Tuesday morning, a day before the league names its own. College awards are national and go up on Sunday morning. Where there's an official pick (the NFL's, or Walter Camp's for college offense and defense), it's listed under ours, agree or not.