On paper, Week 2 of the college football regular season didn’t appear to have many marquee matchups, with the Alabama-Texas and Kentucky-Florida contests being the two games that got the most media attention. But, as college football tends to do, Week 2 may go down as one of the craziest weeks of the season, as two Sun Belt teams – Marshall and Appalachian State – picked up huge road victories at Notre Dame and Texas A&M respectively, while the Longhorns nearly shocked the Crimson Tide on their home field and Nebraska lost to Georgia Southern before relieving head coach Scott Frost of his head coaching duties.
The moral of the story: With 131 FBS college football teams playing every weekend, anything can happen and college football will always, always deliver exciting moments and unexpected upsets that keep fans tuning in week after week. Keep that in mind as we break down the Week 3 schedule, which once again doesn’t feature many Top 25 matchups, but could very well divulge into complete chaos by Saturday evening.
As a reminder, the games to watch are broken down into four tiers. The “headliners” category consists of the marquee games of the week. When two ranked teams square off, particularly if it’s a conference game or rivalry game, the matchup is a definite must-watch. I also included a section of “Solid TV” games, featuring games that may not get the most media attention but should certainly be entertaining. Next, we have “under the radar” games, which will highlight games that could be more entertaining than expected, either because of an upset possibility, two underrated teams facing off, or an intriguing battle between some of the most talented players in the nation. Finally, I also chose one game in which an AP top 25 team could be facing an upset.
Headliners
Sept. 17, 3:30 ET on FOX
New Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks couldn’t keep up with Georgia in their first game against a ranked opponent and will now welcome BYU to Eugene after the Cougars’ massive home win over Baylor. The Cougars have the better quarterback with the dual-threat Jaren Hall, but will be on the road in a hostile, PAC-12 environment. Saturday’s game will also give us a good indication if Oregon’s offense is closer to the three points they scored against Georgia or the 70 points they scored against FCS Eastern Washington. My guess is the former.
Sept. 17, 9:00 ET on ESPN
The second of two games featuring two Top 25 teams, the Aggies will come into Saturday after a stunning 17-14 home loss to App State, in which their offense looked paltry at times. Quarterback Haynes King and the rest of the unit will look to rebound against a 2-0 Miami team has allowed only 20 points this season, though the two wins came against Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss. Should the ‘Canes win, Miami may be able to crack the Top 10 of the AP poll.
#22 Penn State @ Auburn
Sept. 17, 3:30 ET on CBS
The Nittany Lions and Tigers squared off last season in Week 3, with both schools coming in ranked inside the AP Top 25. The Nittany Lions, winners of last season’s game, will head to Auburn in the rematch as a new addition to the top 25 this week. Both teams come into play 2-0, and while Auburn does hold home field advantage, Sean Clifford and the Penn State offense enters play averaging 40.5 points per game, a tough task for an Auburn defense that has yet to be tested by a Power 5 team this season.
#11 Michigan State @ Washington
Sept. 17, 7:30 ET on ABC
Saturday’s showdown with Washington should go a long way in determining how far the Spartans can go in the Big Ten this season. Mel Tucker’s team has picked up two easy victories over Western Michigan and Akron, though the Huskies should prove to be a much bigger challenge on their home field. Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has been strong in two wins for the Huskies this season, tossing six touchdowns to just one interception while completing almost 70 percent of his passes.
Solid TV
#1 Georgia @ South Carolina
Sept. 17, 12:00 ET on ESPN
The Bulldogs have looked the part of the number one team in the country so far this season and will play their first true road game Saturday in Columbia. Stetson Bennett has picked up where he left off in last season’s national championship season, while new South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler has been more up and down to begin the year. Rattler tossed one touchdown and a pair of interceptions in the Gamecocks’ loss to Arkansas last weekend.
#6 Oklahoma @ Nebraska
Sept. 17, 12:00 ET on FOX
After firing head coach Scott Frost, Nebraska interim head coach Mickey Joseph will have his hands full when the sixth-ranked Sooners visit Lincoln. This will be Oklahoma head coach Brett Venables’ first game against another Power 5 team before the Sooners play nine consecutive games against Power 5 opponents.
San Diego State @ #14 Utah
Sept. 17, 10:00 ET on ESPN2
The Aztecs came away with a 33-31 win last season against the Utes on their home field. Do they have the talent to be able to knock off Utah for the second consecutive year, this time on the road? To do so, the Aztecs will have to contain Utah’s dominant duo of quarterback Cam Rising (39-55, 4 TD, 1 INT) and running back Tavion Thomas (163 yards, 3 TD), the latter of whom only had rushing attempt during their last meeting.
Fresno State @ #7 USC
Sept. 17, 10:30 ET on FOX
Unranked Fresno State has made our Games to Watch list in back-to-back weeks and for good reason. The Bulldogs are one of the most exciting teams to watch with quarterback Jake Haener and will be looking for a win over a Pac-12 opponent for the second straight season. Haener led Fresno State to a thrilling 40-37 victory over UCLA in Week 4 last year, at a time when the Bruins were 3-0 and ranked 13th in the nation. Can history repeat itself against Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams, and the Trojans?
Under-the-Radar
UTSA @ #21 Texas
Sept. 17, 8:00 ET on LHN
The Longhorns were unable to pull off the upset against Alabama last weekend, but the team showed enough for voters to place them inside the Top 25 at 1-1. UTSA now comes to town it what could be a trap game for the Longhorns after last week’s thriller. UTSA quarterback Frank Harris has completed 68 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and just one interception for the Roadrunners.
Kansas @ Houston
Sept. 17, 4:00 ET on ESPNU
The Cougars came into the season with aspirations of a New Year’s Six Bowl, but after last week’s loss at Texas Tech, Houston has dropped out of the AP Top 25. On the other side, the Jayhawks have proven that they may not be the perennial Big 12 bottom-dweller that they have been in the past, defeating Tennessee Tech and West Virginia to start 2-0. Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels has been solid to begin the season, completing 70 percent of his throws, while rushing for over 100 yards through two weeks.
Upset Alert
Texas Tech @ #16 NC State
Sept. 17, 7:00 ET on ESPN
NC State has already been featured once in this “Upset Alert” portion of this series, when they narrowly defeated East Carolina on the round. The Wolfpack and quarterback Devin Leary are at home on Saturday, but the Red Raiders are coming off a terrific win over Houston and may be able to do so again against the Wolfpack. To do so, they will need to stop an offense that has averaged 38.0 points through two games.
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