College Football: Landry Jones Struggles and 25 Hunches for Week 3

We have a huge weekend of college football coming up in Week 3.

Twelve of the top 25 ranked teams in the country are playing away from home, highlighted by Ohio State at Miami and Oklahoma at Florida State.

This is a list of 25 "hunches" going into next week.

I always thought a hunch had something to do with whipped cream, waffles and Jose Canseco, but turns out I was wrong.

You might call them educated guesses.

It's like that feeling you had right before you picked Boise State to upset Oklahoma back in that infamous Fiesta Bowl, or for the particularly clairvoyant, when you just knew Appalachian State was going to upset Michigan.

That was a hunch.

They are not locks, so I wouldn't recommend betting on them, except for potentially the Lou Holtz reference, but they are all likely to happen.

25. Maryland Proves They Are Legit

Since Maryland beat Miami on Labor Day, Miami fans have been littering comments everywhere they possibly can about how bogus that win was due to the Hurricanes' suspensions.

However, when one takes a close look at the Terps, one can see that they are going to be a tough out for any squad, suspensions or no.

West Virginia got off to a very slow start last week against Norfolk State and will struggle mightily with an athletic Terps team on the road.

24. Georgia Tech Squashes Kansas' Dreams

Paul Johnson's tenure at Georgia Tech has been mildly successful.

This season, the Yellow Jackets are off to a 2-0 start heading into Week 3.

Their opponent this week, Kansas, is also 2-0.

In just one of the 14 contests between undefeated teams, Tech will end Kansas' undefeated run.

The Jayhawks have been flying high to this point, but now it's time to come back to reality.

The Yellow Jackets aren't that good, but the Jayhawks are worse.

23. Adonis Thomas and Toledo Will Scare Boise State

You think Chris Petersen took notice of what happened in the Horseshoe last Saturday?

While it's likely the Broncos are a better squad than the Buckeyes at this point, Toledo served notice that they aren't backing down from anybody.

Kellen Moore and company had better not be resting on their laurels already after that opening victory over Georgia.

And this game is not on the "smurf turf."

Will we see the dominant Boise State squad against a lesser opponent?

Or will Toledo seize early momentum and put up a fight?

Either way, if this game is anything like last week's Friday night contest, it's going to be worth watching.

22. UNC Will End Virginia's Undefeated Run

Head coach Mike London has the Cavaliers sitting pretty at 2-0.

The problem for London and his squad is that those wins came against William & Mary and Indiana.

This week, they find out how good they actually are, or aren't.

They have to travel to face UNC and will likely be blown out by a Tar Heel unit that still has tons of talent.

It couldn't go on forever, Cavs fans.

21. The Hawkeyes Will Bounce Back

Hawkeye Nation needs to take a deep breath and relax.

It was foolish to expect this team to pick up right where last season's squad left off.

Ricky Stanzi is gone, the defensive line underwent major changes and Marcus Coker has yet to live up to his bowl game performance.

That being said, please move your hands away from the "panic button."

The Hawkeyes are returning to Kinnick and will bounce back against another solid BCS foe, Pitt.

Now, if the Hawkeyes fall apart in this one, you have permission to hit that button...

20. Wazoo vs Aztecs Will Be Vastly Entertaining

Washington State quarterback Jeff Tuel went down with an injury, but the Cougs haven't slowed down a bit.

In fact, Marshall Lobbestael has kept the Wazoo offense humming admirably.

He is currently third in the country in quarterback efficiency and has scored seven touchdowns to go with no interceptions.

The Cougars face a San Diego State team with the ability to score 50 points per game.

Running back Ronnie Hillman should garner some Heisman consideration, and quarterback Ryan Lindley has proven he has the ability to win games and put points on the board.

On the surface, it looks like a yawner, but this one may turn into another Baylor/TCU.

19. Tyler Bray Will Continue Solid Play

Yes, Florida's defense is good, allowing only three points so far through two games.

However, they have done so against UAB and Florida Atlantic.

They might not look so good against a decent SEC offense.

Tennessee's numbers have not exactly been put up against stellar competition either, but sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray is looking like the real deal.

He has completed 51-65 passes for 698 yards and seven touchdowns so far through the air, with one on the ground and no interceptions.

It's not time to break out the Heisman for Bray yet, but after a solid performance against Florida, win or lose, Bray should be in the conversation.

18. Lee Corso Will Pick the Winner

Love him or hate him, Corso has been right on in the big games this season.

He is 2-0 picking the Gameday featured contest and will continue that streak this week.

He might get every other pick wrong and be as annoying as fingernails on a chalkboard, but so far, he has been perfect.

Of course, so has my dog, so there you go.

17. Mississippi State Gets Hammered

Mississippi State suffered that brutal loss last week on the Plains, falling a half inch short of scoring the tying touchdown.

Things are only going to go down from here.

LSU is coming to visit Starkville.

While the Bulldogs did not play particularly poorly against Auburn, the Bulldogs had difficulty punching the ball into the end-zone when it counted.

Conversely, LSU has looked like the best team in the country to date, even with Jarrett Lee at quarterback.

Tyrann Mathieu is going to have another big day for the Tigers, and MSU will be knocked from the rankings.

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted, Bulldogs.

16. Bo Pelini Will Burst a Blood Vessel in the Post-Game Press Conference

Pelini is one of the more volatile coaches in the country.

Just ask Taylor Martinez.

He has also been known to blow up in press conferences.

The Huskers have looked less than impressive in their first two games, even though they are 2-0.

With time running out before Big Ten play begins, Pelini may just pop a blood vessel if the Huskers struggle with Washington this weekend.

15. Lou Holtz Will Use "Notre Dame" and "BCS" in the Same Sentence Repeatedly

I like Lou Holtz.

He was a great coach and is entertaining, as long as he can stay away from the subject of Notre Dame.

Less than 30 minutes after the end of the Michigan-Notre Dame contest, we heard Holtz ask if the Irish could make a BCS bowl even after starting 0-2.

While you have to admire the dedication and loyalty, it can get ridiculous.

Forget this 2012 stuff; we will know the world is coming to an end when Holtz becomes an Irish hater...

14. Auburn Continues to Sneak Them out

Rewind the first two games of Auburn's season.

It took two touchdowns and a successful onside kick in the closing minutes at home against Utah State to pull out a win.

Last week, it took a referee not stopping the clock, Dan Mullen calling a dumb play and a goal-line stand to eke out the victory at home.

This week, while the game is in an incredibly hostile environment that will be completely amped, the Tigers will sneak out another win.

Clemson has not looked impressive thus far; as a matter of fact, they have played at a very pedestrian level, at best.

The young Tigers of Auburn will need to rely heavily on playmakers Michael Dyer and Emory Blake to take advantage of an underwhelming Clemson defense.

13. Big Ten Has Another Miserable Week

Ohio State eked out the win against Toledo.

Purdue lost to Rice.

Minnesota fell to New Mexico State.

Nebraska looked atrocious against Fresno State, while Indiana fell apart at the end of the game to lose to Virginia.

Penn State's offense looked awful against Alabama.

And then there was the loss by Iowa to rival Iowa State in triple OT.

Last week was rough for the Big Ten

It probably won't be quite as bad, but the upper echelon of the conference are almost all facing bigger challenges than they have this season.

OSU is traveling to Miami, MSU to Notre Dame and Wisconsin faces a deceptively good NIU team, while Illinois hosts a resurgent Arizon State squad.

Somebody is going to be upset, and Minnesota is going to lose to Miami (OH)...

12. Chris Rainey Will Continue Explosive Play

The Gators have been uber-successful on offense this season, and most of the credit for that should go strictly to Chris Rainey.

The guy leads the team in receiving and rushing after two weeks and has scored touchdowns rushing, receiving and in the return game.

At this point, he appears to be the most dynamic, versatile player in the country,

Against a Tennessee defense that has yet to face a challenge, he may run wild.

11. Brock Osweiler and Nathan Scheelhaase Win the "Unusual Names" Weekly Award

Osweiler, Arizona State's monstrous gunslinger, and Scheelhaase, Illinois mobile dual-threat guy, will lead their respective teams against each other in Champaign on Saturday.

Football action aside, this one will be interesting to watch to hear the announcers pronouncing these things.

Also, the over/under on Vontaze Burfict caused looks of sheer terror is currently sitting at plus-six.

Make time for this one, these two teams are very entertaining, and by season's end, will both be ranked.

10. Texas Will Struggle at UCLA

Yeah, yeah, Case McCoy and Jaxon Shipley are going to turn this thing around...

Yeah, right.

That's about as likely as Sarah Palin and Glen Rice...oh wait.

Anyway, it was a one-point win against an unranked squad loaded with young players at DKR.

It wasn't Oklahoma or Alabama, and that game was certainly not pretty for Texas.

On the road, against one of the teams that beat them in DKR in 2010, the Longhorns will have another tough one.

They may win it, but it should leave 'Horn fans just as concerned as they were after last season when it's not easy.

9. South Carolina Will Look Lost for the First Half

South Carolina has been awfully unimpressive in their first two wins.

(Other than Melvin Ingram, just give the man the Heisman, now)

Stephen Garcia looked awful last week against Georgia, and the Gamecocks were fortunate to get some key turnovers and pull out the "W".

Navy gives teams fits with their style of offense, and a young, but talented SC defense may be confused by the scheme.

Navy will not be able to win in Williams-Brice, but expect Navy to hang around for a while.

8. Robert Griffin III Will Continue Heisman Level Play...for Now

Robert Griffin III and the potent Bears' offense have been laying dormant since their Week 1 victory against TCU.

Griffin is sitting atop the country with the highest quarterback rating of any FBS QB.

He will likely stay there this week, as Baylor takes on Stephen F. Austin in what should be a pummeling.

He threw for over 350 yards and five touchdowns against a usually stout TCU defense.

It will be interesting to see what kind of numbers he can put up in the first half before this gets out of hand.

7. Mark Richt Will Finally Get a Win

Yeah, it's just been that kind of season for Richt.

The Broncos mauled his squad and then their mistakes doomed them against South Carolina.

But Richt shouldn't feel desperate just yet.

The Bulldogs get a taste of what it's like to be Boise State this season, playing their toughest opponents in their first two games then watching the level of competition throughout the season drop off significantly.

It starts this week with Coastal Carolina, whose major claim to fame seems to be that their coach has a viral video.

Call me crazy, but without LSU, Alabama or Arkansas on the schedule, the Bulldogs could go undefeated for the rest of this season. 

6. Vontaze Burfict Will Ring Up a Sack or Two

There are various rumors circling the 'net about Burfict.

Contrary to popular belief, he doesn't chew nails, eat small children or bang his head into concrete repeatedly.

He is, however, one of the most dynamic guys in the college game, and a scary sight to see bearing down on an opposing player.

Burfict is currently sitting at four sacks on the season and was all over the field against Missouri and their mobile quarterback last week.

In this week's matchup with Illinois, Burfict will wreak havoc in the backfield once again.

5. Michigan Will Join the Rankings

Denard Robinson has once again thrust himself into the too-early Heisman conversation with monster stats against Notre Dame.

The Wolverines face Eastern Michigan this week and will move to 3-0 and enter the top 25.

When you take a look at U of M's schedule, it appears that they could be 5-0 heading into back-to-back road games against Northwestern and Michigan State.

Deja vu, anyone?

4. Miami Will Make a Statement

The Hurricanes have gone through all kinds of well-documented turmoil and controversy, and then they lost their opener to Maryland.

With Jacory Harris back on the field and Ohio State coming to town for the NCAA Violations Bowl, the "U" needs a big win.

They will get it against the Buckeyes.

Toledo took the Buckeyes to the limit last week, and the Hurricanes are infinitely more explosive than the Rockets.

As long as Harris can avoid throwing as many completions to OSU players as he does to his own team, Miami will take this one.

3. Wisconsin Will Score 50+

Wisconsin has yet to be seriously challenged by an opponent this season.

In Week 3, they go on the road to face Northern Illinois in Soldier Field.

The Huskies have an explosive offense, and they are coached by former Wiscosnins defensive coordinator Dave Doeren.

However, they have one of the worst run defenses in the country.

Uh-oh.

The Badgers feast off of their run game, using it to pound defenses into submission and setting up their brutally accurate play-action attack.

While the Badgers will win this one with a huge score, expect them to have difficulty stopping NIU.

2. Michigan State's Defense Will Be Exposed

Notre Dame is now 0-2, mainly due to their inability to hang onto the football.

They have coughed it up 10 times to this point.

At some point, it is going to stop.

At some point, running backs will stop holding the ball away from their bodies, and Tommy Rees will figure out coverages.

Unfortunately for the Michigan State Spartans, it's going to be this weekend.

The Irish have been able to move the ball nearly at will in both of their contests this season, only to shoot themselves in the foot repeatedly inside their opponents redzone.

They are desperate. They can't go to 0-3, and the Spartans are coming to their house this week.

Expect the Irish to finally get that elusive first win, and in the process, expose some flaws in the MSU defense.

1. Landry Jones Will Struggle

It's clear that Landry Jones is a very good quarterback.

And he's not alone. Bob Stoops' squad is extremely talented and is the best team in the Big 12.

This game will be a huge opportunity for the 'Noles to get their swagger back and return to a place of relevance in the college football universe.

Landry Jones may just help them out.

In his nine true road starts, Jones and the Sooners are 4-5.

In those games, he has completed 17 touchdown passes, but has also thrown 15 interceptions.

With the team speed the Seminoles can throw on the defensive side of the field, they will have opportunities to force Jones into continuing this trend of making mistakes and keeping FSU in the game.

Jones will struggle, and if he does, the Sooners will struggle to beat the Seminoles in Tallahassee.