Week 3 Preview

Week 3 here we come! This season is flying by. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was watching SEC Media Days. This weekend has some major games. All three of the top 3 teams are going on the road to play a ranked opponent. These games could shake up the whole season of college football. I know I’m excited.

Notable Games
1Alabama at 19Ole Miss Will the third time be the charm for Alabama? I think so. (But I have picked Bama the last two times.) I have been really impressed with QB Jalen Hurts over the last two weeks. Chad Kelly is a great QB, but the guys around him haven’t been as good so far. It will be interesting to see how the Bama offense looks after Nick Saban tore into Lane Kiffin last week. It should be a good game, but I think Alabama’s defense will be the difference. I am picking Alabama.

2Florida State at 10Louisville Florida State looks pretty good. The way they came back to beat Ole Miss was impressive. Lamar Jackson has been on fire for the Cardinals. He has scored 13TDs in just two games. THIRTEEN. He had 610 offensive yards against Syracuse. That’s absurd. It will be interesting to see how he does against stronger competition. I highly doubt he will end up with those kinds of numbers against the 2nd ranked team in the country. I do expect each team to put some points up on the board. I am picking Florida State.

3Ohio State at 14Oklahoma I feel like flipping a coin would just be easier than trying to pick this game. Motivation is going to be the biggest factor in this game. With their week 1 loss to Houston, Oklahoma most likely has to win out to make the playoff. Baker Mayfield needs to have a great game to give his team a chance to win. A big win here for Ohio State could give them some breathing room over the rest of their schedule. This game should be a shootout, so a defensive play might be the difference. This will be the biggest test so far for OSU’s young and inexperienced team. We’ll learn a lot about both of these teams from this game. I am picking Ohio State.

USC at 7Stanford This is usually a pretty good game. Even though USC got beat badly by Alabama, I think they could be very competitive in this one. Stanford hasn’t played since week one. They struggled a little bit against Kansas State. The thing about Stanford is they have Christian McCaffrey. They are going to hand the ball to him, throw it to him, he’s going to return kicks and punts and I wouldn’t even be surprised if he threw the ball. A high-scoring game favors the Trojans. I think the tough Stanford defense is going to be the reason they win. That and McCaffrey. I am picking Stanford.

12Michigan State at 18Notre Dame I know Michigan State is ranked higher than Notre Dame, but the Spartans haven’t played since week one and they weren’t very dominant in that game. Notre Dame has that loss to Texas and then a decent win over Nevada. The Fighting Irish offense has shined- dare I say: DeShoned? ( Because of QB DeShone Kizer… Ba-da tss.) I just don’t see MSU coming out of South Bend with a win. But I’ve been wrong before. So, as much as it pains me, I am picking Notre Dame.

17Texas A&M at Auburn So, is Auburn’s defense good? Is Clemson just not playing to their potential? This game should answer the first question. A&M scored 67 points last week. I highly doubt that they will score that many this weekend, but I think they will score more than a few points. Sean White looks to be Auburn’s QB. Trevor Knight has looked great for the Aggies and I think he is the reason they win this one. This A&M offense is scary good. I’m really interested in seeing how Auburn looks against it. I am picking Texas A&M.

Texas State at 24Arkansas I’m still not fully recovered from last weekend’s win at TCU. But, I’m not sure I’m fully recovered from the win at Ole Miss last season either. The Hogs have to be over the win and totally focused on this game. In recent seasons this is the game they have faltered on. This is big game for Arkansas. Austin Allen has established that he can, in fact, play QB very well. (So I need all of the Razorback “fans” to stop ragging on him, please.) Texas State is going to give all they have in this game and if the Hogs aren’t careful they could be facing an unfortunately familiar feeling. I would really appreciate a not stressful game. A big win would be great, but as long as they win I can’t complain. Actually, that isn’t true; I’ll always have something to complain about because I just care too much. Go Hogs!

Top 25
Colorado at 4Michigan
South Carolina State at 5Clemson
6Houston 40 Cincinnati 16 (Thursday)
Portland State at 8Washington
Georgia State at 9Wisconsin
11Texas at California
North Dakota State at 13Iowa
Ohio at 15Tennessee
16Georgia at Missouri
Mississippi State at 20LSU
21Baylor at Rice
22Oregon at Nebraska
North Texas at 23Florida
25Miami at Appalachian State

Other Games
Arkansas State at Utah State (Friday)
Vanderbilt at Georgia Tech
San Diego State at Northern Illinois
UNLV at Central Michigan
East Carolina at South Carolina
UCLA at BYU
Duke at Northwestern