Week 3 Preview

Week 3 brings us one of the most anticipated rematches in a while. Top ranked Alabama goes to College Station to play Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M. That is the main story of the coming weekend. I know I can’t wait to sit on my bed for a few hours with no distractions(except for maybe some other games) and watch two of the best and most exciting teams in the country play. But, there are more games this week than just this clash of giants.

Notable Games
Manziel and McCarron Battle in College Station; This should be one of the best games of the season. Top ranked Alabama goes to 6th ranked Texas A&M to play an SEC West game. Last year’s game in Tuscaloosa saw ‘Bama fall to the freshman phenom Johnny Manziel. Can the Crimson Tide repay the favor and go to Kyle Field and get a win? It would have been coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s 100th birthday on Wednesday, will that motivate Alabama to a win? One last question, can both teams get past the off field distractions? All of these questions should be answered on Saturday night. I am picking Alabama to win by a TD or less.

Potential Scare for Louisville? The 7th ranked Louisville Cardinals head to Lexington to face in-state rival Kentucky. I don’t really think Kentucky has much of a chance, but there is a possibility. This Wildcat team is not expected to do well this year, so they are looking to prove they aren’t just a rollover team. Teams like Kentucky can cause major problems for ranked teams because they are usually underestimated. I think Teddy Bridgewater will have another good game against this not so great Kentucky defense. But don’t sleep on Kentucky. I am picking Louisville by at least 2TD.

Can Vandy Stun the Gamecocks?; Last year’s meeting saw Vanderbilt almost take down 13South Carolina. There was a blown call by the ref that led to Vanderbilt not being able to score. South Carolina is coming of a major loss to Georgia and will be looking to change the atmosphere by beating Vanderbilt. I have been talking up the Commodores since the beginning of last year, and I stand by what I said. This is a good team. They played Ole Miss very well, but used all their energy celebrating a TD that put them up with under 2 minutes, leaving the door open for Ole Miss to win. Vandy has some weapons and talent that will make them pretty competitive in the SEC East. But, I think South Carolina has too much to lose in this game. I am picking South Carolina by 2TD or less.

Top 25 Matchup in Nebraska; 16UCLA goes to 23Nebraska this week. This will be UCLA’s first real test. Nebraska has some questions to answer after their week one scare against Wyoming. We should see if that was because Wyoming is really good this year or if Nebraska is overrated. UCLA should give us the answers to these questions. I am picking Nebraska to win by about a TD.

Wait, Which One is Ranked?; Who would have thought that Ole Miss would be the ranked team in this game. That ranking might not last very long, but Texas has been inconsistent the past couple years. It will be interesting to see how Texas responds to their 19 point loss at BYU. The starting QB for the Longhorns, David Ash, might not play in the game after getting hurt last week. His backup is senior Case McCoy. Will Texas still have a chance to beat the Rebels? Ole Miss is looking to prove that they deserve their ranking. Ole Miss has to go to Texas for this game, and that could be the difference maker. I am picking Ole Miss by less than a TD.

SEC West Matchup; Mississippi State goes to Auburn this weekend. Both of these team are picked to finish at the bottom of the SEC. Auburn is coming off a definitive win over Arkansas State and doesn’t look too bad this year. Mississippi State’s loss came to a very good, 13th ranked Oklahoma State team. Does that mean they are a bad team? We should get a good feel of where these team are in the SEC after this game as well as how good they really are. I am picking Auburn by 2TD.

The Hog’s Final Tune-Up Game; This is Arkansas’ last week to get everything in order before they start an extremely tough season. The Southern Miss Golden Eagles come to DWR to play Arkansas this weekend. The Eagles have lost their last 14 games after going 12-2 in 2011 and ruining Houston’s(and C-USA’s) chance at being a BCS buster. These kinds of teams scare me. They have absolutely nothing to lose because no one expects much from them. Other teams tend to overlook these teams, and that leads to upsets. Arkansas has been putting up amazing rushing numbers this season. True Freshman RB Alex Collins is the first Razorback to rush for 100+ yards in his first two games. He and RB Jonathan Williams have each rushed for 100+ yards in both games, giving Hog fans visions of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. These two might not make it to that status, but it has only been 2 games. Will they be able to continue their dominance this weekend? After last week, we learned Arkansas’s defense needs a lot of work before they can compete in the SEC West. Will we see an improvement? After this week, Arkansas goes to New Jersey to play an explosive Rutgers team.

Top 25
24TCU at Texas Tech (Thursday)
Tennessee at 2Oregon
4Ohio State at California
5Stanford at Army
Kent State at 8LSU
Nevada at 10Florida State
Akron at 11Michigan
Lamar at 12Oklahoma State
Tulsa at 14Oklahoma
Western Michigan at 17Northwestern
19Washington at Illinois
20Wisconsin at Arizona State
21Notre Dame at Purdue

Other Games
Troy at Arkansas State
Boston College at USC
Iowa at Iowa State
UCF at Penn State
Central Michigan at UNLV