An unexpectedly wild week two of the college football season provided plenty of drama, but mostly left the top 25 landscape unchanged.
That won’t be the case in week three, with four games pitting ranked teams and plenty of other matchups involving power conference and conference opponents ensuring a lasting impact from this Saturday.
My record last week was 7-3, moving my mark on the season to 19-5. Here are the picks.
Oregon 57, Georgia State 13 – Nothing like scheduling two tough non-conference opponents in a row.
Michigan State 45, Air Force 17 – You might as well watch the Premier League until 12:30. Maybe Jose Mourinho will strangle someone this weekend.
Georgia Tech 25, Notre Dame 24 – Paul Johnson seems like a nice man. Better than that, he didn’t just need a virtual Hail Mary from his backup quarterback to beat Virginia.
Nebraska 34, Miami 31 – It’s kind of satisfying to watch the likes of Mark Banker, who ran around screwing up OSU football for years, now running around screwing up Nebraska football.
LSU 20, Auburn 17 – Les Miles’ commitment to always having unwatchable offense is so masterful, it drove his defensive coordinator out of town. I can’t help but root for the guy.
Georgia 34, South Carolina 20 – If this really is the end for Steve Spurrier, it’ll be one sad departure. The Gamecocks are abysmal.
Arkansas 21, Texas Tech 14 – Yes, Texas Tech still exists. Yes, they will finish 8-5.
Kentucky 27, Florida 24 – The Gators are still bad. So is Michigan and Nebraska, by the way, first year turnarounds in college football are extremely rare and require acts of god such as the Miracle at Jordan-Hare and the Pick Six that Gus Malzahn had in his first year at Auburn.
Texas 54, California 31 – Never underestimate the incredible uplifting powers of Steve Patterson being fired at your school.
USC 31, Stanford 10 – What if I said I missed having USC around as a national contender. What then?
Oregon State 34, San Jose State 10 – I look forward to Gary Andersen punting from the San Jose State 21 yard-line with three seconds in the first half, with boosters crowing, “Well, he sure isn’t Mike Riley!”
Alabama 34, Ole Miss 31 – This game becomes approximately 732,000 times less fun when it’s in Tuscaloosa and Ole Miss has no shot.
UCLA 41, BYU 31 – Nothing like stepping into the cauldron that is the Rose Bowl for a UCLA home game. Even Bronco Mendenhall’s iron ears will be ringing.
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