College Football Picks Week 3: Odds, Predictions, Schedule, Rankings for Top 25
Week 3 in college football begins to ease fans into conference play, as a handful of ranked teams start their respective in-conference schedules.
The other marquee games feature a collision of storied programs, some intriguing road tests for programs in the AP Top 25 and a Group of Five power hoping to earn a marquee road victory.
Just like Week 2, there's a possibility for a decent amount of upsets to occur, but Saturday could also replicate the prior week and keep everything relatively calm.
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Even if the majority of the results go in favor of the top teams in the nation, a small shakeup will occur in the Top 25 because of three matchups between ranked opponents.
AP Top 25
1. Alabama (2-0)
2. Clemson (2-0)
3. Georgia (2-0)
4. Ohio State (2-0)
5. Oklahoma (2-0)
6. Wisconsin (2-0)
7. Auburn (2-0)
8. Notre Dame (2-0)
9. Stanford (2-0)
10. Washington (1-1)
11. Penn State (2-0)
12. LSU (2-0)
13. Virginia Tech (2-0)
14. West Virginia (2-0)
15. TCU (2-0)
16. Mississippi State (2-0)
17. Boise State (2-0)
18. UCF (2-0)
19. Michigan (1-1)
20. Oregon (2-0)
21. Miami (1-1)
22. USC (1-1)
23. Arizona State (2-0)
24. Oklahoma State (2-0)
25. Michigan State (1-1)
Week 3 Schedule, Odds and Predictions
All Times ET.
Predicted winners against the spread in bold.
No. 5 Oklahoma (-17.5) at Iowa State (Noon, ABC)
Kent State at No. 11 Penn State (-35) (Noon, FS1)
No. 18 UCF (-14.5) at North Carolina (Noon, ESPNU)
No. 21 Miami (-9.5) at Toledo (Noon, ESPN2)
East Carolina at No. 13 Virginia Tech (-29.5) (12:20 p.m., ACC Network)
UC Davis at No. 9 Stanford (2 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
Vanderbilt at No. 8 Notre Dame (-13) (2:30 p.m., NBC)
Georgia Southern at No. 2 Clemson (-35) (3:30 p.m., ESPN2)
BYU at No. 6 Wisconsin (-21.5) (3:30 p.m., ABC)
No. 12 LSU at No. 7 Auburn (-10) (3:30 p.m., CBS)
No. 14 West Virginia at NC State (-3) (3:30 p.m., ESPNU)
No. 17 Boise State at No. 24 Oklahoma State (-2.5) (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
SMU at No. 19 Michigan (-32) (3:30 p.m., BTN)
San Jose State at No. 20 Oregon (-39) (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
No. 1 Alabama (-22.5) at Ole Miss (7 p.m., ESPN)
Middle Tennessee at No. 3 Georgia (-33.5) (7:15 p.m., ESPN2)
Louisiana at No. 16 Mississippi State (-30.5) (7:30 p.m., SEC Network)
No. 4 Ohio State (-12.5) at No. 15 TCU (8 p.m., ABC)
No. 22 USC at Texas (8 p.m., Fox)
No. 10 Washington (-6.5) at Utah (10 p.m., ESPN)
No. 23 Arizona State (-3) at San Diego State (10:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
Odds obtained from OddsShark.
Predictions
Boise State Makes Statement in Stillwater
The game with the most College Football Playoff implications in Week 3 isn't the one you'd think of automatically.
No. 17 Boise State won't guarantee a spot in the final four as a Group of Five representative Saturday, but the Broncos could lose out on their playoff chances with a loss to No. 24 Oklahoma State.
After Saturday's trip to Boone Pickens Stadium, Boise State exits the national spotlight and enters conference play in the Mountain West, where the overall talent fails to size up to any power conference.
If the Broncos want to achieve what UCF didn't a year ago, they must make a statement against a Big 12 opponent, which must be followed by nine consecutive wins in the Mountain West.
Quarterback Brett Rypien will be the key to success for the Broncos. He has 667 passing yards and seven touchdowns in two victories.
If Rypien is able to get the Boise State offense into a rhythm early, the Broncos will quiet the crowd and build confidence as the game goes on.
Although the Cowboys enter at 2-0, they lack experience at quarterback, and senior Taylor Cornelius must improve from his performance against South Alabama, in which he threw for 428 yards but recorded one touchdown and two interceptions.
If the Broncos force Cornelius into first-half turnovers, it could rattle the signal caller, who has thrown three total interceptions against Missouri State and South Alabama.
In order to have a serious chance to make the playoff, the Broncos can't just win, they need the margin of victory to be at least 10-15 points in order to impress the selection committee if they run the table.
Auburn Takes 1st SEC West Showdown Of Season
The first major clash in the toughest division in college football takes place at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Alabama Saturday afternoon.
Both No. 7 Auburn and No. 12 LSU passed nonconference tests in Week 1, which built foundations for their respective playoff resumes.
Of course, the SEC West title still goes through Alabama, but Auburn and LSU have a chance to move up the totem pole with a victory Saturday.
Auburn enters its second home game of the season with more experience in big games than LSU, as quarterback Jarrett Stidham helped the Tigers beat top-ranked Georgia and Alabama over the course of three weeks in November.
Driving Stidham even more is the chance to rebound against LSU, who he completed just nine passes against in a 27-23 road loss in 2017.
Auburn hasn't lost at home since September 17, 2016, to Texas A&M, and while it will be favored to win Saturday, LSU will give the Tigers a test.
Joe Burrow appears to be the answer to LSU's quarterback struggles, as he's steadied the ship with a pair of decent performances since transferring from Ohio State.
However, Burrow needs to do much more than throw for 150 yards and manage the game to lead Ed Orgeron's team to its first SEC win.
In addition to Burrow contributing more out of the pocket, running back Nick Brossette needs a third straight 100-yard performance on the ground.
If Auburn follows a similar format to its defensive strategy against Washington, it should be able to limit one aspect of LSU's offense.
Against Washington, Auburn held running back Myles Gaskin to 75 yards on 17 carries and forced a pair of turnovers out of quarterback Jake Browning.
The combination of Stidham's experience, a tenacious defense and home-field advantage will be enough to propel Auburn further up the rankings with a victory.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com
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