College Football Rankings 2020: Week 3 Polls, Schedule and Standings Predictions

Now, college football is really back. After a Week 1 schedule that featured no Power Five schools in action, many teams from the ACC and Big 12 got their seasons underway over the weekend. And while there were no marquee matchups, some noteworthy events transpired.

No. 1 Clemson continued its dominance of ACC competition with a season-opening road win at Wake Forest. No. 3 Oklahoma debuted its new quarterback in impressive fashion, with redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler throwing four touchdowns in a rout of Missouri State. And No. 7 Notre Dame won its first game as a temporary member of the ACC, holding on for a victory over Duke.

There was also the season's first major upset. Louisiana-Lafayette, which was unranked at the time, went on the road and beat then-No. 23 Iowa State 31-14. The Ragin' Cajuns have now moved into the No. 19 spot in this week's AP Top 25 poll.

Here's a look at the current rankings after this past weekend's action, followed by the Week 3 schedule along with a preview and predictions.

Latest Polls

AP Top 25 Poll

1. Clemson (1-0)

2. Alabama (0-0)

3. Oklahoma (1-0)

4. Georgia (0-0)

5. Florida (0-0)

6. LSU (0-0)

7. Notre Dame (1-0)

8. Auburn (0-0)

9. Texas (1-0)

10. Texas A&M (0-0)

11. Oklahoma State (0-0)

12. North Carolina (1-0)

13. Cincinnati (0-0)

14. UCF (0-0)

15. Tennessee (0-0)

16. Memphis (1-0)

17. Miami (1-0)

18. Louisville (1-0)

19. Louisiana-Lafayette (1-0)

20. Virginia Tech (0-0)

21. BYU (1-0)

22. Army (2-0)

23. Kentucky (0-0)

24. Appalachian State (1-0)

25. Pittsburgh (1-0)

Amway Coaches Poll

1. Clemson (1-0)

2. Alabama (0-0)

3. Oklahoma (1-0)

4. Georgia (0-0)

5. LSU (0-0)

6. Florida (0-0)

7. Notre Dame (1-0)

8. Texas (1-0)

9. Auburn (0-0)

10. Texas A&M (0-0)

11. North Carolina (1-0)

12. Oklahoma State (0-0)

13. UCF (0-0)

14. Cincinnati (0-0)

15. Memphis (1-0)

16. Louisville (1-0)

17. Tennessee (0-0)

18. Miami (1-0)

19. Virginia Tech (0-0)

20. Kentucky (0-0)

21. Louisiana Lafayette (1-0)

22. BYU (1-0)

23. Appalachian State (1-0)

24. Baylor (0-0)

25. Army (2-0)

Top 25 Schedule, Predictions

All times ET. Picks in bold.

Saturday, Sept. 19

Tulsa at No. 11 Oklahoma State, noon, ESPN

Austin Peay at No. 13 Cincinnati, noon, ESPN+

No. 19 Louisiana-Lafayette at Georgia State, noon, ESPN2

Syracuse at No. 25 Pittsburgh, noon, ACC Network

No. 23 Appalachian State at Marshall, 1:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network

South Florida at No. 7 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m., USA Network

Charlotte at No. 12 North Carolina, 3:30 p.m., ESPN3

No. 14 UCF at Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m., ABC

The Citadel at No. 1 Clemson, 4 p.m., ACC Network

No. 17 Miami at No. 18 Louisville, 7:30 p.m., ABC

Complete Week 3 schedule available at ESPN.com

Week 3 Preview

On Saturday night, the first matchup of the season to feature two ranked opponents is set to take place as No. 17 Miami will travel to take on No. 18 Louisville in ACC action. Both these teams have some challenging matchups later on (the Hurricanes play at No. 1 Clemson on Oct. 10, while the Cardinals play at No. 7 Notre Dame on Oct. 17), so neither will want to lose a game this early.

Miami and Louisville each picked up convincing victories over a Group of Five opponent in its season debut in Week 2. This past Thursday, the Hurricanes beat UAB 31-14 at home. Meanwhile, the Cardinals hosted Western Kentucky on Saturday and notched a 35-21 win.

In the first 10 all-time meetings between these two schools, Miami went 9-0-1. Then, Louisville notched three consecutive wins in the series in 2006, 2013 and 2014. However, when the two teams played on Nov. 9 last year, the Hurricanes dominated in a 52-27 win.

That last meeting came at Miami. This time, Louisville is hosting the contest. And although there will only be a limited number of fans in the stands (11,179 attended the Cardinals' season opener), it will still provide a home-field advantage.

The Hurricanes' rushing attack could be difficult to stop, as junior running back Cam'Ron Harris (134 rushing yards and two touchdowns) and senior quarterback D'Eriq King (83 yards and one touchdown on the ground) each had strong showings in the opener against UAB.

Louisville is led by redshirt junior quarterback Micale Cunningham, who passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns in the Cardinals' season-opening win.

With the SEC not beginning its season until Sept. 26, there will only be two top-10 teams in action this week. No. 1 Clemson will play its home opener against The Citadel, while No. 7 Notre Dame will be at home for the second straight week as it hosts South Florida.

The Tigers and Fighting Irish are both heavy favorites and are likely to open the season 2-0.

One ranked team that could face a challenge this week is No. 23 Appalachian State as it travels to take on Marshall. The Thundering Herd opened their season with a 59-0 home win over Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 5, led by an impressive debut from redshirt freshman quarterback Grant Wells (307 yards and four touchdowns).

Marshall received votes in this week's AP Top 25 poll, and it could potentially move up into the rankings by knocking off Appalachian State. It will be the first time that these two schools have gone head-to-head since 2002.