The Associated Press national player of the week in college football for Week 3 of the season:
Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Milroe threw for three touchdowns and ran for two in the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide’s 42-10 win at Wisconsin.
The Heisman Trophy candidate’s TD passes were 31 yards to Ryan Williams, 26 yards to Germie Bernard and 37 yards to Josh Cuevas. His scoring runs were from 3 and 10 yards.
Milroe finished 12 of 17 for 196 yards and he carried 14 times for 75 yards.
Milroe has had a hand in 14 touchdowns through three games, and he’s the first Football Bowl Subdivision player to have multiple rushing and passing TDs in three straight games since 2012. He is responsible for 84 of Alabama’s 147 points (57.1%).
Runner-up
Texas’ Arch Manning took over for an injured Quinn Ewers early in the second quarter and completed 9 of 12 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns and added a 67-yard TD run in a 56-7 win over UTSA. The five touchdowns accounted for were the most for a Texas freshman since Colt McCoy had a hand in five against Baylor in 2006.
Manning threw a 19-yard touchdown to DeAndre Moore Jr. on his first play after entering the game and broke off the long sprint for another score on Texas’ next possession. He also had TD passes of 51, 75 and 12 yards.
Honorable mention
Kansas State’s Avery Johnson passed for 156 yards and two touchdowns and ran 17 times for 110 yards in a 31-7 win over Arizona. Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel was 20 of 24 for 291 yards and two touchdowns and ran four times for 64 yards, including tie-breaking 54-yard TD early in the second quarter of a 49-14 win over Oregon State. Texas A&M backup Marcel Reed accounted for three touchdowns in his first collegiate start, a 33-20 win over Florida. Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke passed for 307 yards and four touchdowns as Indiana spoiled UCLA’s Big Ten debut, 42-13. Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson ran 25 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-21 win over Troy.
Six stats
— South Alabama’s 87 points against Northwestern State (87-10 win) were most by an FBS team since Fresno State beat New Mexico 94-17 in 1991.
— Mississippi has allowed no touchdowns through three games. The last time the Rebels did that was 1961.
— Virginia Tech’s Antwaun Powell-Ryland recorded a national season-high four sacks and forced two fumbles in a 37-17 win over Old Dominion.
— Jay Ducker’s 86-yard run in Sam Houston’s 31-13 win over Hawaii was longest in the nation this season — and the longest to not result in a touchdown since Syracuse’s LeQuint Allen broke a 90-yarder and was stopped at the Wagner 4 on the final play of a 56-0 win in 2022.
— BYU ran back its first kickoff for a touchdown since 2014 when Keelan Marion took the second-half kickoff 100 yards in a 34-14 win over Wyoming.
— Cincinnati walk-on Nathan Hawks kicked a 55-yard field goal on his first Bowl Subdivision attempt and connected on a 50-yarder late in the game in a 27-16 win over Miami (Ohio). The 55-yarder was the Bearcats’ longest since 2007. Hawks transferred from Division III Wittenberg before the 2023 season and was place-kicking for the Bearcats for the first time Saturday.
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AP voters: Aaron Beard, Tim Booth, Pat Graham, Gary B. Graves, Stephen Hawkins, Pete Iacobelli, John Marshall, Eric Olson, Ralph D. Russo, John Zenor.
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