2008 College Football Championship Series: Week Three

CFB Championship Series Week One

CFB Championship Series Week Two

Now we enter week three and the season really starts to get going.  Here's how week three looks to play out.

Top 10 after Week Two:

1. Georgia 2-0

2. Ohio State 2-0

3. Florida 2-0

4. Southern Cal 1-0

5. Oklahoma 2-0

6. Missouri 2-0

7. Clemson 2-0

8. Texas 2-0

9. Auburn 2-0

10. LSU 2-0

Key Games in Week Three:

Ohio State at Southern Cal

In what should be the best game of the year, the Buckeyes travel to Los Angeles to take on the Trojans in a huge early season matchup that could have a big impact on who plays for the national championship.

The Buckeyes return loads of experience, which should be a key factor in this early season road game.  Chris Wells will have to be big against that Trojan defense to get a win.  Wells can catapult himself up the Heisman rankings as well with a big performance.

The Trojans will have only played one game at this point in the season, so they should be well rested.  On the other hand, new quarterback Mark Sanchez will only have made one start in 2008 before he faces the tough Buckeye defense.

The Buckeyes experience should be more than enough to keep them in this game, but I look for the Trojans at home to score just enough points to win this early season clash.

Winner: Southern Cal

Kansas at South Florida

Who knew two or three years ago that this would be such an intriguing matchup?  The up and coming Jayhawks travel to Tampa to take on the Bulls in a great non-conference game.

The Jayhawks return a lot of talent, but losing both tackles on the offensive line will hurt going up against pass rushing specialist George Selvie.  Todd Reesing and company should be able to move the ball with success though.

South Florida and Matt Grothe will look to test that Jayhawk defense on the ground with Mike Ford and the running game.  The Jayhawk defense will be tested with the multiple formations and Grothe's ability to run and make plays.

This should be a very entertaining game and will jump one of these teams near the top 10 with a win.

Winner: Kansas

Georgia at South Carolina

In Georgia's first obstacle on their way to what hopes to be a championship run in 2008, they travel to division rival South Carolina in a tough conference road game.

The Gamecocks always seem to play the Dawgs tough, and this time around doesn't look to be any different.  Look for the Dawgs to keep it on the ground and really ride Knowshon Moreno on the road to control the crowd and the clock.

The Gamecocks will need to have their quarterback situation settled by now or it could get ugly.  They will face a stiff pass rush from Georgia and they will need to be ready. The home crowd should help keep Carolina in this game as well.

Even though the Gamecocks always play the Bulldogs close, don't look for an upset here.  The Gamecocks struggle to score against Georgia, and with Moreno and company on the other side, 17 points isn't getting it done against this Georgia team.

Winner: Georgia

Other Key Games: Wisconsin at Fresno State, Arkansas at Texas, UCLA at BYU

Top Heisman Trophy Candidates after Week Three:

1. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida

2. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia

3. Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State

4. Pat White, QB, West Virginia

5. Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech

6. Percy Harvin, WR, Florida

Top 10 after Week Three:

1. Georgia 3-0 (next week: at Arizona State)

2. Southern Cal 2-0 (next week: bye)

3. Florida 2-0 (next week: at Tennessee)

4. Ohio State 2-1 (next week: Troy)

5. Oklahoma 3-0 (next week: off)

6. Missouri 3-0 (next week: Buffalo)

7. Texas 3-0 (next week: Rice)

8. Clemson 3-0 (next week: South Carolina State)

9. Auburn 3-0 (next week: LSU)

10. LSU 3-0 (next week: at Auburn)

Others receiving votes: West Virginia, Kansas, Arizona State, Tennessee, BYU

Next week we take a look at week four.

And stay tuned, at the end of the season, we will start the eight team playoff and you will be able to go to my blog and vote on who will win each matchup every week to decide the championship.