The Associated Press national player of the week in football for Week 3 of the season:
Mario Craver, Texas A&M
The Mississippi State transfer posted career highs with 207 yards on seven catches, including an 86-yard touchdown, in the Aggies’ 41-40 win at Notre Dame.
Craver is the nation’s leading receiver after amassing over 100 yards in a third straight game. He’s averaging 147.5 yards per game and 22.2 per catch and has four TDs.
He scored the Aggies’ first points against Notre Dame when he got past his defender to make a catch at the A&M 30, broke through three would-be tacklers at the 50 and ran down the sideline to complete the 86-yard play.
Craver is the first player in program history to have a TD reception of at least 70 yards in two straight games. He had a 72-yarder against Utah State.
His 173 receiving yards at halftime were the most in a half since Mike Evans had 182 in the first half against Auburn in 2013.
Runner-up
Carson Beck, Miami. The Georgia transfer completed 23 of 28 passes for 340 yards with three touchdowns and rushed six times for 28 yards and a TD in a 49-12 win over South Florida.
Through three games, Beck has connected on 79.3% of his passes (65 of 82), the best mark in the nation, for 812 yards and seven touchdowns. He threw his first two interceptions of the season in the USF game.
Honorable mention
LSU DB Dashawn Spears had two of LSU’s five interceptions in a 20-10 win over Florida. He ran back his second pick 58 yards for the Tigers’ final touchdown. … Georgia QB Gunner Stockton was 23 of 31 for a career-high 304 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-41 overtime win at Tennessee. Stockton sent the game to OT with a 28-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-6 and a tying 2-point pass. … Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II caught six balls for career highs of 177 yards and three TDs against Georgia.
Six stats
— No. 1 Ohio State’s 37-9 victory over Ohio extended the Buckeyes’ win streak to 48 against in-state opponents. The Columbus Dispatch noted that Wooster is the last Buckeye State team to not lose to the Buckeyes, tying them 7-7 in 1924. Ohio State’s last loss to an in-state team was in 1921, a 7-6 defeat to Oberlin.
— DJ Lagway’s five interceptions against LSU were the most by a Florida quarterback since Shane Matthews threw five against Mississippi State in 1992, according to the Gainesville Sun.
— Nebraska is 3-0 for the second straight year. The Cornhuskers have won nine straight nonconference games, their longest streak since they won 12 in a row from 1999-2001.
— Duke and Coastal Carolina each have lost five fumbles through three games. That’s one fewer than their 13-game totals last season.
— Utah has converted 71.1% of it third downs (32 of 45) to rank second nationally after three games. Last year the Utes converted 32.8% (56 of 171) in 12 games to rank 124th.
— Hayden Teeter of Division III Puget Sound (Washington) turned in the top all-division passing performance of the season, throwing for 585 yards and six touchdowns at Southwestern (Texas). Teeter’s team lost 51-43.
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AP voters: Aaron Beard, Cliff Brunt, Maura Carey, Pat Graham, Stephen Hawkins, Mark Long, John Marshall, Steve Megargee and Eric Olson.
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