College Football Picks Week 3: Odds, Predictions, Schedule, Rankings for Top 25
On the heels of a thrilling weekend of college football that is still being digested, there's no stopping the 2015 regular-season train as it chugs toward Week 3.
Before those matchups can truly be dissected, however, it's worth seeing how Saturday's action impacted the Top 25 rankings across the board. Along with the count of SEC teams dropping from an all-time high 10 to "just" seven, Michigan State also climbed into a top-five spot and Auburn plummeted 12 spots despite holding on in overtime against Jacksonville State.
But in reality, the rankings are perused over during the early days of the week just to get us by until the next Saturday. With that in mind, let's go ahead and check out what there is to look forward to.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
College Football Top 25 for Week 3
| 1 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Ohio State Buckeyes | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| 2 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Alabama Crimson Tide | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| 3 | TCU Horned Frogs | TCU Horned Frogs | Michigan State Spartans |
| 4 | Michigan State Spartans | Michigan State Spartans | TCU Horned Frogs |
| 5 | Baylor Bears | Baylor Bears | Baylor Bears |
| 6 | USC Trojans | Florida State Seminoles | USC Trojans |
| 7 | Georgia Bulldogs | USC Trojans | Clemson Tigers |
| 8 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Georgia Bulldogs | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| 9 | Florida State Seminoles | Clemson Tigers | UCLA Bruins |
| 10 | UCLA Bruins | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Georgia Bulldogs |
| 11 | Clemson Tigers | Ole Miss Rebels | Ole Miss Rebels |
| 12 | Oregon Ducks | UCLA Bruins | Oregon Ducks |
| 13 | LSU Tigers | Oregon Ducks | Florida State Seminoles |
| 14 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | LSU Tigers | Texas A&M Aggies |
| 15 | Ole Miss Rebels | Auburn Tigers | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets |
| 16 | Oklahoma Sooners | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | LSU Tigers |
| 17 | Texas A&M Aggies | Oklahoma Sooners | Oklahoma Sooners |
| 18 | Auburn Tigers | Texas A&M Aggies | Auburn Tigers |
| 19 | BYU Cougars | Arizona Wildcats | Arizona Wildcats |
| 20 | Arizona Wildcats | Missouri Tigers | Utah Utes |
| 21 | Utah Utes | Utah Utes | Wisconsin Badgers |
| 22 | Missouri Tigers | BYU Cougars | BYU Cougars |
| 23 | Northwestern Wildcats | Wisconsin Badgers | Missouri Tigers |
| 24 | Wisconsin Badgers | Northwestern Wildcats | West Virginia Mountaineers |
| 25 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | Oklahoma State Cowboys | Northwestern Wildcat |
Rankings courtesy of Amway coaches', Associated Press and Bleacher Report
Week 3 Schedule and Predictions
| - | Thu., Sept. 17 | - | - |
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 11 Clemson at Louisville (Even) | ESPN | Clemson |
| - | Fri., Sept. 18 | - | - |
| 8 p.m. | No. 9 Florida State (-10.5) at Boston College | ESPN | FSU |
| - | Sat., Sept. 19 | - | - |
| 12 p.m. | Connecticut at No. 22 Missouri (-24) | ESPN | Missouri |
| 12 p.m. | Nevada at No. 17 Texas A&M (-25) | SEC Network | A&M |
| 12 p.m. | Tulsa at No. 16 Oklahoma (-33) | Fox Sports 1 | OU |
| 12 p.m. | Air Force at No. 4 Michigan State (-27.5) | ABC | MSU |
| 12:30 p.m. | No. 23 Northwestern at Duke (-2.5) | ESPN3 | Duke |
| 2 p.m. | Georgia State at No. 12 Oregon (-48.5) | P12N | Oregon |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 18 Auburn at No. 13 LSU (-6.5) | CBS | LSU |
| 3:30 p.m. | Northern Illinois at No. 1 Ohio State (-31.5) | ABC/ESPN2 | Ohio St. |
| 3:30 p.m. | Troy at No. 24 Wisconsin (-35) | BTN | Wisc. |
| 3:30 p.m. | Texas San Antonio at No. 25 Oklahoma State (-24.5) | Fox Sports 1 | Ok St. |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 14 Georgia Tech at No. 8 Notre Dame (-2) | NBC | Georgia Tech |
| 6 p.m. | South Carolina at No. 7 Georgia (-15.5) | ESPN | Georgia |
| 8 p.m. | SMU at No. 3 TCU (-38) | FSN | TCU |
| 8 p.m. | Stanford at No. 6 USC (-8) | ABC | USC |
| 9:15 p.m. | No. 15 Ole Miss at No. 2 Alabama (-8.5) | ESPN | Alabama |
| 10:30 p.m. | No. 19 BYU at No. 10 UCLA (-14.5) | Fox Sports 1 | UCLA |
| 10:30 p.m. | No. 21 Utah at Fresno State (N/A) | CBSSN | Utah |
| 11 p.m. | Northern Arizona at No. 20 Arizona (N/A) | P12N | Arizona |
No. 18 Auburn at No. 13 LSU
Things don't get any easier for the Auburn Tigers. One week after surviving a scare against pesky FCS opponent Jacksonville State, Auburn steps right into Death Valley with another group of Tigers smelling blood.
Gus Malzahn's crew saw their aspirations of being an early Top 10 team fly away in the wind with their test against the Gamecocks, dropping them from No. 6 all the way to 18th. Still intact is their undefeated record, somehow, but that could very well change this weekend.
As noted by Russ Mitchell of SEC14.com, Auburn's opponent in Week 2 simply threw away their chance to knock off the Tigers, and you can't expect the same from one of the SEC's elite:
Questions were asked of how LSU would respond in its de facto season opener after its opening-weekend match was cancelled due to weather, but Les Miles' squad responded strongly. They jumped out to an early lead on the road at Mississippi State, holding on late to a 21-19 win.
Perhaps most encouraging was a breakout performance from quarterback Brandon Harris, who struggled much of last season. His playmaking ability could take the Tigers over the top, although there are still issues to be worked out as Fox Sports' Tim Brando noted:
It's tough to imagine Auburn playing anything similar to how it did against Jacksonville State, after a week of looking itself in the mirror and assessing what went wrong. But despite some late struggles against the Bulldogs, that LSU offensive attack is real.
Meanwhile, we saw firsthand Saturday just how far Auburn has to come on the offensive side—its usual bread and butter. Still working out the kinks, Auburn will fall to a hungry and now battle-tested LSU.
Prediction: LSU 27, Auburn 20
No. 19 BYU at No. 10 UCLA
After a pair of impressive victories to start the season, the UCLA Bruins get their first of many tests to their championship aspirations Saturday at home against BYU.
The Cougars come in ranked 19th in the nation and peaking after their incredible comeback over Boise State that included a go-ahead touchdown pass from 35 yards out with 45 seconds left. But they're still reeling after losing quarterback Taysom Hill to his third season-ending injury in the season opener.
Like he was scripted for it, however, unseasoned backup Tanner Mangum came in to save the day and take hold of BYU's offense from here on out. He rallied BYU from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, connecting on three touchdowns—one with his legs.
Many around the nation are impressed with the player who is finally getting his shot, as Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman shared:
The hype is warranted for Mangum, but he'll duel against a fellow hotshot young quarterback Saturday. UCLA has its own version of one in freshman Josh Rosen.
Rosen began his Bruins career on a tear with 351 yards and a completion percentage of 80—along with three touchdown passes—against Virginia, and barely cooled off at UNLV. He's already impressing NFL scouts including NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah:
That being said, the two quarterbacks can only do so much to help their teams win. The rest will likely come from two stiff defenses, one of which is a bit more seasoned and ready for the challenge than the other.
UCLA's defense has been nasty so far in 2015, only allowing an average of just over two points per quarter. Expect that trend to continue Saturday as they give Mangum his first loss of his career.
Prediction: UCLA 25, BYU 18
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
