College Football Week 3 Preview

The excitement of Week 1 carried over into Week 2 with multiple matchups featuring ranked teams going against each other. The only down side was none really contained the type of drama and down to the end finishes one might have expected from at least a couple of them. The top teams are starting to prove themselves and that includes Alabama and Ohio State, who sit at the top of college football for now.

Both Florida and Texas had early struggles again before turning it around in the second half. In one of the bigger shockers of the weekends, Virginia Tech coming off a loss against Boise State fell at home to James Madison. The Hokies are now wondering what is wrong as they must get back on track before conference play commences. Also, Kansas going off a rough opening game surprised a ranked Georgia Tech team with consistent scoring. And, Oregon and TCU were very impressive and have great outside chances of making the top 2 in the polls if teams ahead of them stumble.

In terms of my top 5 game picks, I went 3-2 and now stand at 7-3 after two weeks. At South Bend, Michigan QB Denard Robinson proved that his first game was only a warm up as he turned it up against the Irish and contributed over 250 yards on the ground alone and over 500 overall. He put the team on his shoulders late after Notre Dame took the lead and won the game with less than a minute to go in the game. Not aiding the Irish was the fact that their starting QB Dayne Crist went out in the first half and by the time he game back in; there was not enough time to build a lead or put the game out of the reach of Robinson. The matchup's ending certainly rivaled their game last year and adds another chapter in their long rivalry. Georgia and South Carolina locked up in a traditional hard nosed battle. Anytime Georgia tried to establish some consistency, South Carolina's defense stood up. They used enough offense behind the running game of HB Marcus Lattimore. Georgia might have a tough year ahead in the SEC if their start is a sign of things to come.

For Penn State, it was a long night for the team and QB Rob Bolden. The Crimson Tide handled the Nittany Lions by running them down and playing great defense. They didn't have to blow out Penn State and nearly shut them out. The defending champions have looked very good after two weeks and should be set up well for a run in the SEC and they should be getting HB Mark Ingram back in time for that. They way that both Florida State and Oklahoma played in week 1, one would have thought this one would have favored Florida State and been much closer. In a battle of two good quarterbacks, Oklahoma QB Landry Jones was a lot better than Florida State QB Christian Ponder as Jones passed for nearly 400 yards in a rout of what looked like a very good Seminoles team. The confidence that Florida State had might be gone and the confidence that Oklahoma was lacking might be in their pocket. And, in my big game of the week, QB Tyrelle Pryor of Ohio State performed better and made no mistakes unlike QB Jacory Harris of Miami (FL). Harris turned the ball over a couple times including a late turnover that prevented almost any Hurricanes comeback.

Now on to Week 3 with a bunch of big games.

Games featuring top 25 teams/some that might be interesting:

Friday, September 17: California at Nevada: This one could be interesting to see how Nevada plays against a Pac-10 school. The Wolfpack could be a wildcard team throughout 2010.

Saturday, September 18

Ohio at No. 2 Ohio State: This will be one of those games for QB Tyrelle Pryor to make a Heisman argument with a lot of stats.

No. 12 Arkansas at Georgia: Arkansas is looking very good while Georgia is struggling on offense.

Massachusetts at No. 20 Michigan: How will QB Denard Robinson's third game go? Will Michigan be able to handle their growing pressure to perform?

Maryland at No. 21 West Virginia: West Virginia has not looked especially great and could be on upset alert if not careful.

Kent State at No. 22 Penn State: The Nittany Lions return home and should perform better than last week.

Georgia Tech at North Carolina: Both have had their share of interesting game results. The Yellow Jackets might open it up against a still undermanned Tar Heels team.

Connecticut at Temple: This one will be close and the Owls could pull off a big victory at home.

East Carolina at Virginia Tech: Can't imagine the Hokies starting 0-3. But East Carolina is not a push over.

No. 1 Alabama at Duke: HB Mark Ingram should be back this week, which means this could get ugly.

Air Force at No. 7 Oklahoma: Air Force has had a good start and if Oklahoma plays more like they did in week 1 as opposed to last week; then the Sooners might end up in trouble.

No. 8 Nebraska at Washington: This is a battle between two very good quarterbacks, but Nebraska has a lot more weapons and a better defense.

Arizona State at No. 11 Wisconsin: The Badgers have been their effective selves and should run their way to another victory.

No. 18 USC at Minnesota: Can USC finally show they have a defense? If not, this one becomes closer than it should be.

Brigham Young at Florida State: Florida State and QB Christian Ponder will look to rebound at home against a BYU team not as good as a year ago.

Baylor at No. 4 TCU: TCU looks to make a statement against a Big 12 school. Their defense has not dropped off at all.

Louisville at No. 25 Oregon State: The Badgers should have a field day.

Portland State at No. 5 Oregon: Will this one become a 60 point blowout? Would not be surprised.

Furman at No. 13 South Carolina: This South Carolina team might have the makings of a SEC title game run.

Mississippi State at No. 15 LSU: LSU must be careful at home against a Bulldogs team that can capitalize on any silly mistakes by the Tigers.

No. 3 Boise State at Wyoming: Boise State will need to continue to show that they deserve in the national title game conversation.

No. 14 Utah at New Mexico: Utah has looked better than expected thus far.

No. 23 Houston at UCLA: This is one of those intriguing non conference game matchups with not a lot on the line.

Wake Forest at No. 19 Stanford: Wake Forest has put up a lot of points so far. They might be on the other end of a blowout this week.


And of course, the top 5 games to watch this week.

Top 5
5) Clemson at No. 16 Auburn: These two "Tigers" will play heated and it should be close going into the fourth quarter. That is when QB Cameron Newton for Auburn will turn it up and run and pass his way down the field for an Auburn victory. A defensive or special teams play might be something to watch for especially from Clemson. PREDICTION: AUBURN

4) Notre Dame at Michigan State: The Fighting Irish must turn their attention from Michigan to Michigan State. The Spartans have shown some balance that they have not had in recent years and because of that they will give Notre Dame a lot of headaches. QB Dayne Crist should be healthy and if he plays a full game, they should be poised to pick up a win. I feel that this one ends similarly for the Irish; a late stunner against a team from the state of Michigan. PREDICTION: MICHIGAN STATE

3) No. 10 Florida at Tennessee: Florida and Tennessee used to play in competitive games. That did not occur very much while QB Tim Tebow was in Gainesville. This year will be a return to that. Tennessee's defense bottled up Oregon for about a quarter. They do that again this week against Florida; they might allow themselves a two touchdown lead by halftime. Florida needs to get their running game going and if they can do that; they might open it up in the second half. Close game early, but Florida separates down the stretch. PREDICTION: FLORIDA

2) No. 6 Texas at Texas Tech: Most recall what happened two years ago in Lubbock. Texas will certainly be looking to avenge that loss there. Texas has yet to establish consistency on offense and must be leery of a very capable Texas Tech team. They have a potent passing game that could find holes in the Texas defense. This one is close and turns on a turnover or two. PREDICTION: TEXAS

1) No. 9 Iowa at No. 24 Arizona: This is the only ranked matchup of the week. It gives us a great Big Ten vs. Pac-10 matchup. Both have good quarterbacks who can do some damage and both teams possess very good defenses. For that reason, the quarterback that gauges the other defense better will put his team in position to win. This has the makings of a field goal late type of game. PREDICTION: IOWA

Not too sure how much excitement might come out of Week 3, but you never know when a couple big upsets might occur.