College Football Week 3: Previews and Predictions for the Top 5 Games
Week 3 of the 2014 college football season will be headlined by an SEC East Division rivalry game between Georgia and South Carolina.
The Dawgs and Gamecocks will battle it out in Columbia in a game that could determine who represents the division in the SEC Championship Game in December. Tennessee will also be out to prove it’s capable of competing in the SEC when it travels for a Saturday night nonconference game at No. 4 Oklahoma.
Brett Hundley and the UCLA Bruins will hope to finally put a solid performance together against Texas in Arlington, while Penn State will play its first game as a bowl eligible team since 2011 against Rutgers.
As we look forward to another week of the college football season, here are the top five games to watch on Saturday.
No. 6 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina
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No. 6 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
The SEC East Division rivals will face off in what will be the best game of the weekend. The winner of this matchup has gone on to play in the SEC Championship Game three out of the last four years.
Georgia heads into Williams-Brice Stadium off a bye week after knocking off then-No. 16 Clemson 45-21 on Aug. 30. Todd Gurley had a career-high 198 rushing yards and four total touchdowns, which included a 100-yard kickoff return. Gurley will look to be a dominant force in the backfield yet again with senior quarterback Hutson Mason starting in his toughest road game yet.
South Carolina opened the season with an embarrassing 52-28 blowout loss to Texas A&M at home. It bounced back the following week with a 33-23 home win against East Carolina, but the defense still managed to give up 321 passing yards. The Gamecock defense has given up an average of 416 yards through the air in its first two games.
Georgia is capable of making plays through the air, but South Carolina’s main focus will be stopping Gurley and Co. on the ground.
On the other hand, Gamecock quarterback Dylan Thompson (632 yards, five TDs, two INTs) must be strong in the pocket and make big plays with his arm against Georgia’s secondary if the offense is forced into third-and-long situations. Running back Mike Davis also needs to have another big game, after he rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns against East Carolina.
South Carolina has won three of the last four meetings against Georgia and has not lost at home to Mark Richt’s team since 2008. It's also outscored the Dawgs 52-13 in the last two meetings in Columbia.
A loss for Steve Spurrier’s squad will more than likely eliminate it from winning the division. With a do-or-die mentality, South Carolina will give Georgia all it can handle. Unfortunately, it won’t be enough, as the Dawgs will make plays when they need to most and come away with a big road win.
Prediction: Georgia 38, South Carolina 31
Iowa State at Iowa
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Iowa State at Iowa, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
It will be the 62nd time these two rivals will play for state bragging rights in the Cy-Hawk Series.
Iowa State has already suffered two difficult losses this season, as it failed to hold off FCS North Dakota State and then-No. 20 Kansas State at home. Paul Rhoads‘ Cyclones desperately need to win in Iowa City for a second consecutive time if they want any chance of playing in a bowl game.
Senior wide receiver Jarvis West should be a factor again this week, after he had eight receptions for 75 yards and two total touchdowns, including an 82-yard punt return against Kansas State. The offense, led by dual-threat quarterback Sam Richardson, will need to have success through the air with a run game averaging only 103.5 yards in its first two games.
Iowa has had its fair share of problems in the first two weeks of the season, despite winning both games. The Hawkeyes managed to fend off a tricky FCS Northern Iowa team 31-23 and needed a touchdown with one minute left in regulation to defeat Ball State 17-13.
Jake Rudock is steadily improving the Hawkeye passing game, as he threw for a career-high 322 yards against Ball State. Rudock has also recorded four touchdowns and no interceptions. Much like Iowa State, Iowa’s run game has been dismal thus far with Mark Weisman only recording 47 yards and one touchdown.
Iowa will be challenged by Iowa State, but in typical Kirk Ferentz fashion, the Hawkeyes will lean heavily on their defense and win ugly.
Iowa will go on to win its fifth game in its last seven tries in the series to move to 3-0, while Iowa State will suffer another tough loss and fall to 0-3.
Prediction: Iowa 20, Iowa State 16
Tennessee at No. 4 Oklahoma
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Tennessee at No. 4 Oklahoma, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Oklahoma blew its first two opponents out this season by outscoring Louisiana Tech and Tulsa by a combined score of 100-23. In those games, it put on dominating first-quarter performances by averaging 21 points.
While the fourth-ranked Sooners hope to compete for a national championship, Tennessee heads into Norman with an upset on its mind. The Volunteers are 2-0 with wins against talented mid-majors Utah State and Arkansas State.
The Sooner offense has not disappointed this season, as sophomore quarterback Trevor Knight (552 yards, three TDs) has led a balanced offensive attack that has averaged an impressive 50 points per game. Knight will again look to Sterling Shepard, who had a career-high 177 yards and one touchdown last week at Tulsa. The Oklahoma rush attack, led by Keith Ford and Alex Ross, will also look to challenge a Tennessee defense that has held opponents to an average of 13 points and been tough in third-down situations.
While Oklahoma has been lighting up the scoreboard on offense, the defense has picked up right where it left off last season. Senior linebacker Geneo Grissom (eight tackles, one INT, one TD) leads a stingy Sooner defense that has shut down opponents by allowing only 11.5 points per game and 74 rushing yards per game.
Butch Jones’ Volunteers need to establish a passing game on offense with senior quarterback Justin Worley, who has thrown for 520 yards and five touchdowns this season. All-SEC middle linebacker A.J. Johnson (18 tackles, one INT) will look to be a key factor in slowing down Oklahoma’s offense and preventing it from blowing the game wide open in the first half. The Vols' front seven must put pressure on Knight in the hopes of getting three-and-outs or causing turnovers.
Bob Stoops has made it known that he is not a fan of the SEC and should get a second consecutive win over the conference. The Sooners have won 22 of their last 25 in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, and home-field advantage will prove to be a factor when they blow a young Tennessee team out in the second half.
Prediction: Oklahoma 42, Tennessee 17
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No. 12 UCLA vs. Texas (Arlington)
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No. 12 UCLA vs. Texas (Arlington), 8 p.m. ET, FOX
Two programs with something to prove will face off in Arlington on Saturday night. UCLA, who came into the season ranked No. 7 in the country, has fallen in the AP Top 25 to No. 12 because of close calls against mediocre Virginia and Memphis teams. The Charlie Strong era at Texas has gotten off to an interesting start with injuries and off-field issues. Being blown out by BYU last week wasn’t something the Longhorns planned on happening either.
Heisman Trophy contender Brett Hundley hasn’t quite made the noise many would have anticipated yet, despite passing for 638 yards and three touchdowns so far this season.
The Bruins have struggled to be solid on both sides of the ball in their first two games. At Virginia in Week 1, it was the defense that helped score 21 of the team’s 28 points, while in Week 2 it shifted to the offense scoring 42 points and the defense allowing 28 points and 469 yards against Memphis.
After watching Texas get manhandled by BYU quarterback Taysom Hill on the ground, the Bruins have the potential to run over the Texas defense with a running game consisting of Hundley and Paul Perkins (178 yards, two TDs).
Texas redshirt freshman quarterback Tyrone Swoopes will have another difficult challenge ahead of him this week after completing 20 of 31 passes for 176 yards and one touchdown against BYU. Swoopes could be without Jaxon Shipley, who is questionable for Saturday’s game with a head injury, and might be forced to rely heavily on senior wide receiver John Harris. Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray need to be better in the backfield and help take pressure off Swoops as well.
The two teams split their home-and-home series back in 2010 and 2011. Texas is going to have an uphill battle and must contain Hundley if there is any chance of keeping up on the scoreboard. The threat of Myles Jack on both sides of the ball will be another issue the Longhorns will have to face, too.
Jim Mora’s Bruins will go into AT&T Stadium and get a convincing win over a beat-up Texas team.
Prediction: UCLA 35, Texas 13
Penn State at Rutgers
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Penn State at Rutgers, 8 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
The two teams haven’t met since 1995, but this Big Ten opener has the chance to be a big one. Penn State is 2-0 and ready to prove that it can compete for a Big Ten Championship with the postseason bowl ban lifted. Not only are the Nittany Lions hoping to make a statement, but Rutgers is off to a 2-0 start and would like nothing more than to win its first conference game as a new member of the Big Ten.
The success of quarterback Christian Hackenberg will determine how well Penn State’s offense plays. Hackenberg is currently ranked fourth in the country with 773 passing yards and four touchdowns. He’ll look to Geno Lewis, DaeSean Hamilton and Jesse James in the passing game, which has averaged 386.5 yards per game.
While the offense has racked up yards through the air, Penn State has only averaged 23.5 points so far this season.
The defense, led by linebacker Mike Hull (22 tackles, one sack), has kept opponents out of the end zone and shut down opposing run games by surrendering an impressive 46.5 yards per game.
Rutgers opened its season two weeks ago in Seattle and got a big win over Washington State 41-38. Gary Nova has played well, but this will prove to be the biggest test yet for the senior quarterback. The Scarlet Knights need to get their passing game going to open up the run game. Being able to run the ball with Paul James (216 yards, four TDs) is critical to moving down the field against a stout Penn State defense and having an opportunity to start 1-0 in conference play.
If Rutgers can somehow manage to contain Hackenberg from making big plays with his arm, it has a chance to pull the upset. James Franklin’s squad, though, should head to Piscataway energized and knowing it can compete for a conference title and come away with a hard-fought victory.
Prediction: Penn State 24, Rutgers 21
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