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Need a primer for the college football week ahead? Look no further! Here are a few of the games worth checking out in week 3.
Texas at No. 4 Southern California
The Trojans and Longhorns meet for the first time since their memorable 2006 Rose Bowl Game tilt.
The Trojans were brilliant last week against Stanford (amassing more than 600 yards against the Cardinal defence) and come in with as balanced an offense as there is in the country, with a defence that, bar a few big plays, effectively smothered the vaunted Stanford ground game.
It’s been hard work for Texas, losing in week one to Maryland (and giving up 51 points in the process) but a 56-0 win over San Jose State that was Tom Hermann’s first victory in charge of the Longhorns, and there are quarterback questions to be answered, with starter Shane Buchele and freshman Sam Ehlinger, who won in his first start last week, and has a nice set of wheels to go with a strong arm.
Whoever starts at quarterback for Texas will want to hope that his offensive line is good, because USC’s pass rush really cranked it up last week and harassed Stanford quarterback Kellen Chryst multiple times. Ehlinger or Buchele, I can’t see either quarterback having sustained success against the Trojan front.
On the flip side, Sam Darnold last week looked a lot like the gun-slinging quarterback we saw shred Penn State in the Rose Bowl Game in January. And when Darnold isn’t finding Steven Mitchell, Deontay Burnett and others downfield, the backfield combination of Ronald Jones and Steven Carr is as good as any in America. It takes a good defence to limit USC all game, and I’m not sure that the Longhorns are that group.
On last week’s form, The Trojans are getting scary good, and should win by around twenty in a high-scoring game.
No. 3 Clemson at No. 14 Louisville
Lamar Jackson was a one-man wrecking crew last week against North Carolina, a performance that reminded everyone that he hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s a whole different ballgame this week as Jackson goes against a Clemson front that mauled Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham last week, recording eleven sacks.
Last year, after an offensive onslaught in the opening handful of games, Jackson ran into trouble against the more talented Atlantic Coast Conference defences, and he has a chance Saturday night in primetime to prove the doubters wrong and lead Louisville to an important home win in what I think is probably a match-up of the two best teams in the ACC, given the uncertainty of Florida State at quarterback.
Clemson’s quarterback Kelly Bryant didn’t do a lot last week, but didn’t need to with his defence playing lights-out football. He’s definitely got the tools to light up a secondary if given time, and there’s every chance that Saturday night is his national coming out party, when he emerges from the rather large shadow cast by DeShaun Watson.
I can see Jackson making a few plays here and there, but I don’t think he can have sustained and continued success against a Clemson defence, which is going to make life really difficult as the year goes on. Clemson will pull away late, and win by two or three touchdowns.
No. 23 Tennessee at No. 24 Florida
The Gators were nothing short of offensive on offense against Michigan in week one. It didn’t matter whether they had Feleipe Franks or Malik Zaire, they were pummelled by a very good Wolverine defence, and now we get to see whether it was more that Michigan were unstoppable or whether the Gators cannot move the football to save their lives. Considering we haven’t seen much offense from Florida in the last decade, I’m leaning towards the latter. Granted, Tennessee aren’t Michigan, but they’re still going to struggle.
I like what Tennessee brings to the table, despite being run over by Georgia Tech in a big way on Labour Day night and a little less brutally by Indiana State last week. Their defence is going to find it easier against a Florida offense that’s one-dimensional and I feel like their offense will move the football a bit, if not via quarterback Quinten Dormandy, then through running back John Kelly.
Tennessee has won just once against Florida since 2004 and are going for just their second win in Gainesville since 2003. The Swamp hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Vols. I see their fortunes changing this year, with Butch Jones getting another win to cool off his hot seat a touch. Tennessee by a touchdown.
Other games to keep an eye on…
Air Force at No. 7 Michigan: the rampaging Wolverine defence against the tricky triple option offense the Falcons run should be an intriguing game. Michigan win, but it’ll be closer than you might think.
No. 9 Oklahoma State at Pitt: the Cowboys face the best defence they’ve seen all season, so it’ll be interesting to see what sort of numbers Mason Rudolph puts up. Cowboys to win in their first real test.
No. 25 UCLA at Memphis: the Bruins are going a long way east for a midday kick-off. Looms as a trap game for Rosen and co. Despite that, I see them coming away with a narrow win.
Army at No. 8 Ohio State: watch this to see how the Buckeyes rebound from a home loss to Oklahoma last week. They should win handily.
No. 12 Louisiana State at Mississippi State: Derrius Guice is going at better than five yards a carry so far this year, but might find it a little more difficult against the Bulldogs in an early-season SEC West battle. Bayoux Bengals narrowly on the road in Starkville.
No. 19 Stanford at San Diego State: how does the Stanford front that got monstered by USC’s Ronald Jones last week go against the Aztecs brilliant running back Rashaad Penny? Plenty think the Aztecs are a good chance to win here, but I see Stanford winning narrowly.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone!
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