College Football Picks Week 3: Odds, Score Predictions for Top 25 Teams
Week 3 of the college football season provides no rest for the weary. Eight teams in the newly ranked Top 25 will play each other, including two that escaped with wins in Week 2 but experienced two different movements within the polls.
Starting last week at No. 6, Auburn had serious difficulty defeating FCS side Jacksonville State, winning 27-20. No. 9 Notre Dame had its hands full with Virginia, needing a last-minute touchdown to move past the Cavaliers 34-27.
Auburn plummeted 12 spots in the new rankings, and rightfully so. Meanwhile, Notre Dame moved up a spot to eighth. That's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes in the unpredictable polls. Let's take a look at the complete Top 25.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| 1 | Ohio State | 2-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Alabama | 2-0 | 2 |
| 3 | TCU | 2-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Michigan State | 2-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Baylor | 2-0 | 4 |
| 6 | USC | 2-0 | 8 |
| 7 | Georgia | 2-0 | 10 |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 2-0 | 9 |
| 9 | Florida State | 2-0 | 11 |
| 10 | UCLA | 2-0 | 13 |
| 11 | Clemson | 2-0 | 12 |
| 12 | Oregon | 1-1 | 7 |
| 13 | LSU | 1-0 | 14 |
| 14 | Georgia Tech | 2-0 | 15 |
| 15 | Ole Miss | 2-0 | 17 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 2-0 | 19 |
| 17 | Texas A&M | 2-0 | 16 |
| 18 | Auburn | 2-0 | 6 |
| 19 | BYU | 2-0 | Unranked |
| 20 | Arizona | 2-0 | 22 |
| 21 | Utah | 2-0 | 24 |
| 22 | Missouri | 2-0 | 21 |
| 23 | Northwestern | 2-0 | Unranked |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 1-1 | Unranked |
| 25 | Oklahoma State | 2-0 | Unranked |
Both Auburn and Notre Dame will be playing Top 25 teams on Saturday. The Tigers get SEC rival No. 13 LSU, while the Irish face No. 14 Georgia Tech.
These aren't the only big matchups this week, either. Here's the complete Week 3 schedule for the Top 25 teams, plus odds and my score predictions for each game. Odds are courtesy of OddsShark.com.
| Thursday, Sept. 17 | |||
| No. 11 Clemson at Louisville | 7:30 p.m. | Even | Clemson 24-20 |
| Friday, Sept. 18 | |||
| No. 9 Florida State at Boston College | 8 p.m. | FSU -10.5 | FSU 34-17 |
| Saturday, Sept. 19 | |||
| Air Force at No. 4 Michigan State | 12 p.m. | MSU -27.5 | MSU 44-10 |
| Nevada at No. 17 Texas A&M | 12 p.m. | TAMU -25 | TAMU 42-17 |
| UConn at No. 22 Missouri | 12 p.m. | Mizzou -24 | Mizzou 28-13 |
| Tulsa at No. 16 Oklahoma | 12 p.m. | OU -33 | OU 52-14 |
| No. 23 Northwestern at Duke | 12:30 p.m. | Duke -2.5 | Northwestern 28-24 |
| Georgia State at No. 12 Oregon | 2 p.m. | Oregon -48.5 | Oregon 62-7 |
| Troy at No. 24 Wisconsin | 3:30 p.m. | Wisconsin -35 | Wisconsin 45-10 |
| Northern Illinois at No. 1 Ohio State | 3:30 p.m. | OSU -31.5 | OSU 38-9 |
| Texas San Antonio at No. 25 Oklahoma State | 3:30 p.m. | Ok. St. -24.5 | Ok. St. 49-20 |
| No. 14 Georgia Tech at No. 8 Notre Dame | 3:30 p.m. | ND -2 | Georgia Tech 31-27 |
| No. 18 Auburn at No. 13 LSU | 3:30 p.m. | LSU -6.5 | LSU 23-14 |
| South Carolina at No. 7 Georgia | 6 p.m. | UGA -15.5 | UGA 31-20 |
| Stanford at No. 6 USC | 8 p.m. | USC -8 | USC 20-10 |
| SMU at No. 3 TCU | 8 p.m. | TCU -38 | TCU 69-28 |
| No. 15 Ole Miss at No. 2 Alabama | 9:15 p.m. | Alabama -8.5 | Alabama 24-14 |
| No. 19 BYU at No. 10 UCLA | 10:30 p.m. | UCLA -14.5 | UCLA 30-17 |
| No. 21 Utah at Fresno State | 10:30 p.m. | Utah -15.5 | 35-14 |
| Northern Arizona at No. 20 Arizona | 11 p.m. | N/A | Arizona 41-14 |
Game to Watch
No. 15 Ole Miss at No. 2 Alabama
Saturday, 9:15 p.m. ET
Ole Miss is on an absolute roll. While scoring over 70 points in each of its last two games, the Rebels offense has looked capable of lighting up scoreboards all season.
But the Alabama defense is no pushover and is having quite the season itself. ESPN Stats & Info showed how the two streaking sides match up:
Ole Miss should feel pretty confident going into Tuscaloosa, too. Last season, they upset Alabama 23-17 to improve to 5-0 before the wheels fell off and they lost four of their last six games.
But the Rebels' overwhelming success this season has come against Tennessee-Martin and Fresno State, teams not quite on par with Alabama. Despite their win last season, history is not exactly on the Rebels' side, as Around the SEC pointed out:
What could be Ole Miss' downfall is its defense, which has given up over 300 yards of total offense to its subpar opponents. Taking on a Crimson Tide offense that has averaged 36 points per game, including a 35-17 win over No. 20 Wisconsin in Week 1, Ole Miss is going to have its hand full.
If this game turns into a shootout, I would take Ole Miss. They have big-play running backs in Jaylen Walton and Eugene Brazley, who both average over 10 yards per carry.
But Alabama plays a slow, bruising game with a two-headed attack much like Ole Miss'. Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake have combined for 47 carries for 360 yards and eight touchdowns. Henry has accounted for six of them.
The Crimson Tide won't let Ole Miss dictate the pace of the game as they'll try and win a classic-style, low-scoring SEC game.
Prediction: Alabama wins 24-14
Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
