As we head into our third week of college football, we tend to feel like we have a grasp of what to expect from our favorite teams and teams in the nation’s spotlight. I try to hold myself back from that this early because usually teams haven’t played a full four quarters of their best ball yet. There are usually injuries or eligibility issues still lingering from the offseason. Position battles are still being settled, as much as coaches try to deny it. Looking at the schedule, there are only a handful that are intriguing to me. The early games aren’t all that impressive. I’ll be watching my Buckeyes endure their first real test playing Keenan Allen (9th in the nation last year in receiving yards) and the Cal Bears, but I don’t envision myself flipping to check on other games really. I suppose I might keep an eye on the LA-Monroe/Auburn game, but only because it’s a little interesting to see if the Warhawks can actually pull off two upsets in a row. I don’t see it happening, but, then, who saw it happening last week? Let's dive in to Week 3!
1. #1 Alabama versus Arkansas: Rumor is that Tyler Wilson, who was a 1st Team All-SEC selection last season, will not be playing in this game. He was knocked out of the game late in the first half against the aforementioned Warhawks. If, in fact, Wilson doesn’t play, the Tide may roll to a big win. Before the season started, I predicted while talking to a few Alabama fans, that Arkansas would upset the Tide in Week 3. I can’t logically make that kind of pick now with a Wilson-less Razorbacks offense. John L. Smith will have to choose between a couple of quarterbacks named Brandon. Brandon Allen is a redshirt freshman who did not play very well at all against LA-Monroe last week. Brandon Mitchell was Wilson’s backup last year but moved to wide receiver this year. I think Allen will start but Mitchell will get some snaps because of his running ability. Alabama did not look good despite winning 35-0 last week against Western Kentucky. Their offensive line, which is probably the most talented in the nation, was shaky and led to McCarron being on the ground five times (he was sacked six times, but one was due to a corner blitz which is not the o-line’s responsibility; that belongs to the running back). Arkansas lost one of their starting corners this week too, and with Nick Saban suddenly allowing AJ McCarron to play more naturally (throwing the ball aggressively downfield), I can see McCarron having his first 300-yard game. Wilson’s absence will lead to more three-and-outs, which will give Alabama more possessions. No Wilson: Alabama wins and maybe wins pretty big.
2. #18 Florida versus #23 Tennessee: I am still a bit confused how Florida won last week, but they did. The Gators have not been impressive yet this year. They struggled against Bowling Green and trailed for most of the game against Texas A&M. I could write all day about Tyler Bray and the Volunteers offense, which is just getting warmed up in my view, but I want to mention the Volunteers defense. Last week they held Georgia State’s triple- option offense to a mere 87 yards rushing! I realize that it’s just Georgia State (an FCS school) and I realize part of that is that the Panthers are working with a freshman quarterback, but given that no one really practices against, or for, a triple-option offense (there’s only a handful of teams that run it in the nation), I was pretty impressed by it. It also timed itself pretty nicely because Will Muschamp has the Gators running the ball … a lot. Gators quarterbacks have a combined 38 pass attempts through two games. As a contrast, Tyler Bray has 61 alone (and his backup Justin Worley has 8)! I think Muschamp will have to let Jeff Driskel air it out a little more this week because Tennessee will be up pretty early and it’s hard to match score for score on the ground because it eats up clock. Cordarrelle Patterson is taking over for Da’Rick Rogers’ spot at wideout very nicely playing opposite Justin Hunter. Patterson, who is a junior college transfer who is 6’3” and has run a 10.3-second 100 meters, is bigger and faster than Rogers. Bray may well lead the SEC in passing yards this season! Tennessee is playing at home, but I think even if the game was in The Swamp, the Volunteers would win this game. Tennessee wins and fairly convincingly.
3. Ohio versus Marshall: I said Week 1 that Ohio has a chance to make a run at being undefeated if they pulled off a win against Penn State. They did (and I picked it!), and now they face one of two more obstacles from pulling off the feat -- the last one being a Week 10 matchup with Bowling Green. Marshall leads the nation in passing right now. That stat is a bit weak given that is only after two weeks, but keep in mind that Marshall played West Virginia in Week 1. The buzz that week was the WVU’s Geno Smith had as many touchdown passes (4) as he did incompletions. Yeah, well Rakeem Cato threw for 413 yards and 2 touchdowns that day too! Ohio is a more balanced team in that it has a pretty strong running game behind Beau Blankenship and a nice passing game behind Tyler Tettleton. The Bobcats are going to have to play their best defensive game of the season this week, specifically in the secondary. If they don’t get some pressure on Cato, it might be a long day and the last day of their dreams of being undefeated. Ohio is the alma mater of one of my favorite sports columnists, SI’s Peter King, so I am interested in seeing if they can pull this off. I actually think that if Ohio were to do it, they may be the first 12-0 team to be unranked due to the absolutely weak schedule they are playing. Ohio wins on a last-second dramatic play.
4. #2 USC versus #21 Stanford: USC wants this win pretty badly. They want to avenge the fact that the Cardinal handed them one their two losses last season in a dramatic overtime matchup against Andrew Luck. Luck is gone as is half their offensive line. Stanford struggled week one against San Jose State. It wasn’t a case in which the Cardinal let the starters sit or there was a major injury that allowed the Spartans to make it a game. The game was tied at the end of three and Stanford squeaked out a win by a field goal. The barely defeated the Spartans, and they have the Trojans this week. The Trojans will be a much bigger challenge with their offensive weapons. Matt Barkley, the supposed Heisman frontrunner, has two wide receivers to whom he can basically just throw it up and they’ll go get it in Robert Woods and Marqise Lee (each had over a 1000 yards receiving last year). Silas Redd, the running back that fled Penn State in free agency, is coupled with Curtis McNeal in the backfield. Oh, by the way, each of them rushed for over 1000 yards last year! Stanford likes to control the clock with their running game and their short passing game, but I don’t think that’s going to work. The Trojans will set the tempo and it will be more fast-paced. Can quarterback Josh Nunes bring the Cardinal back if they get behind on the scoreboard? Perhaps, but I don’t think he will be able to outduel Barkley. USC wins and either Woods or Lee will have a play near the top of SportsCenter’s Top Ten Plays.
5. #20 Notre Dame versus #10 Michigan State: Erin Andrews beat me to it earlier this week when she questioned how Everett Golson will respond to being pulled in favor for Tommy Rees at the end of last week’s game. Will he have a goldfish memory and forget about it, or will he be playing the game with anxiety worrying about being pulled if he makes a mistake? It looked like Brian Kelly just didn’t trust the sophomore with the game on the line. So if it comes down to it again, will Kelly yank him again? Everett, don’t worry yourself over that and just go play your game. You need to worry about William Gholston and that Spartan defensive line! Each team’s biggest strength will battle all day. The Spartans’ defensive line versus Notre Dame’s offensive line. The Fighting Irish haven’t faced a strong defensive team yet (or a strong offensive team either, for that matter) and they struggled against Purdue last week. Notre Dame shouldn’t be ranked and they won’t be after this week. MSU has already been tested, in Week 1, when they played against a surprisingly good Boise State team. I think Sparty will be dancing on Saturday afternoon. Michigan State wins by double digits.
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